The Register® — Biting the hand that feeds IT

Feeds

Blu-ray 300 outsells HD DVD version 2:1

Clash of empires

Agentless Backup is Not a Myth

A small, relatively insignificant strip of road in Greece twixt mountains and ocean has become the latest bloody battleground in the titanic uncompromising clash of next-generation optical disc formats: HD DVD and Blu-ray Disc...

Sony Bravia D3000 - 300 image courtesy Warner Bros

Last week, studio Warner Bros cheerfully claimed the new HD DVD version of the highly stylised Battle of Thermopylae movie 300, released in the US in the first week of August, was the fastest selling HD movie yet.

This week, however, it emerged the Blu-ray Disc version of the film has outsold the HD DVD copy by almost 2:1, according to Hollywood Reporter.

That's no great surprise, perhaps - 300 is the kind of movie that's likely to appeal to videogame players, quite of who own Blu-ray Disc-equipped PlayStation 3 consoles. And for ancient warfare buffs, it's rather better than the likes of Troy and Alexander.

Interestingly, website DailyTech identified the HD DVD version of 300 as the better package because of a superior line-up of extras. However, anecdotal evidence suggests extras don't play that much of a part in disc purchasing decisions. Consumers first and foremost want the movie - extras are nice to have but not essential.

If that's the case here, it suggests the battle between the formats will indeed be decided by the purchase volumes rather than technological benefits.

Customer Success Testimonial: Recovery is Everything

Latest Comments

BluRay will win in the end

The PS3 will mean that BluRay will win in the end; you have what is a relatively cheap BluRay player that plays games. Yes getting onto HD-DVD is cheaper with a XBOX 360 but that means yet another box next to the TV. This is the problem; look at the market who adopts this type of technology first, and what they will have already in the way of hardware in the front room. There is the TV, AMP, PS3, XBOX 360, Media Centre PC, Cable/Sat box Multi region DVD player, WII not to mention all the speakers littered around the front room. Now if I want HD-DVD that would be yet another box. How can I justify this, well you can’t so I will stick to BluRay, unless they bring out a killer film on HD-DVD in that case then HD-DVD it is.

0
0

Did you notice the price difference between BluRay and HD DVD?

Part of the reason BluRay is out selling the HD DVD disks is the price difference. You can get a couple of different DVD versions, a stand along BluRay version, but you had to get a DVD/HD DVD combo version which was quite a bit more expensive than the BlueRay version.

And yes, I bought the HD DVD version...

0
0

Give us numbers, not ratios.

Otherwise, I'll just believe that they sold 2 copies on bluray and 1 on hddvd.

0
0

More from The Register

 breaking news
Curtain drops on Apple Store ahead of WWDC: What lies behind?
Steve Jobs watching from on high. No pressure, lads
 breaking news
Cold, dead hands of Steve Jobs slip from iPhones: The Cult of Ive is upon us
Billionaire biz baron's death clears way for uber-shiny iOS 7
Airbus imagines suitcases that find themselves
Point your mobe at your smalls to track their every move
First look: iOS 7 for iPad
No, Apple hasn't released it yet, but that doesn't stop intrepid devs
Surprise! Intel smartphone trounces ARM in power trials
Tests show equal performance while sipping significantly less juice
Apple said to be 'exploring' 5.7-inch iPhone
Who's the copycat this time, Mr. Cook?
Samsung plans LTE Advanced version of Galaxy S4
1Gbps download capability could stiffen drooping S4 sales forecasts
Review: Belkin Thunderbolt Express Dock
Missing Mac ports reunited, for a price
 breaking news