IMHO, the Number One Myth spun around in this format "war" is that "For High-Def Optical Media to survive, there has to be only one format". Or, spun another way: "The format war creates consumer confusion, and reluctance to buy either until there is one clear winner!"
This of course the rallying cry of Blu-ray - who conveniently feels that since they currently have a little more studio support, considerably more CE company support, and a current 61/39% (since inception) lead in the 1% of DVD sales HD currently enjoys - they are the logical choice and HD DVD should do us all a favor just die already. And one of their main cheerleaders is Bill Hunt of The Digital Bits, who claims to not really care which format wins - but for the reasons above, Blu-ray is the logical choice.
While I own both an HD DVD player and a PS3 for Blu-ray, I have always preferred and supported HD DVD for many reasons. I also believe both formats can and will survive, and does not create any meaningful consumer confusion. But, what about this #1 Myth that the vast majority of consumer aren't buying either Blu-ray or HD DVD until this format "war" is over and there is a clear winner?
In this week's Sept. 2-8 Home Media Magazine (available online for free at Nxtbook) there is an article on Page 1 entitled "Forget about the Format War - Indifference Reigns". It's about a research study conducted by Warner Home Video. The study, representing more than 1,000 consumers, found that 48% of respondents were indifferent to buying either Blu-ray or HD DVD movies Also, 31% cited prices as barrier to entry, and only 21% mentioned competing formats as significant challenges.
That's only 1 out of 5 of all consumers are hesitant to buy a Hig-Def player because of the "format war". Almost half of all consumers couldn't care less about either one of them - they're apparently perfectly happy watching VHS or standard DVD, or re-runs of "I Love Lucy" Nickelodeon.
OK, but what about owners of HDTV's - surely they give a gosh darn about this format war being over so they can rush right out and buy a HD player? Guess again.
It's even worse! Almost 6 out of 10 owners who already have an HDTV don't feel any need for either Blu-ray or HD DVD. They're apparently perfectly happy watching HBO, Showtime or HD Movie Net in HD from the cable or satellite TV company. Almost half think that if they were going to buy an HD player, current prices are too dang high! Only slightly more than one quarter of them are those folks waiting for a "clear winner" in the highly touted format war.
So much for the #1 myth that the majority of consumers are waiting for this format war to be over before buying one. Well over half don't see a need for a high-def player. Almost half have some interest, but think prices are too high to justify a purchase. But a $166 High-Def player does seem to be the sweet spot, even for those not really all that interested.
But, the Blu-ray group doesn't seem to be in any hurry to get there. The same article quotes Andy Parsons, spokesperson for the Blu-ray Disc Association. Parsons said high-def packaged media remains in the "early-adopter phase", and questioned why HD DVD has been aggressively cutting the prices of its players. "You don't see people heading down to Best Buy because there is a cheap player available," he said. "They go down because they want to see high-def content. That's when you want to have price reductions."
Well, with Chinese HD DVD players hitting stores this holiday season with a $199 MSRP, I guess we'll find out who's right.
This of course the rallying cry of Blu-ray - who conveniently feels that since they currently have a little more studio support, considerably more CE company support, and a current 61/39% (since inception) lead in the 1% of DVD sales HD currently enjoys - they are the logical choice and HD DVD should do us all a favor just die already. And one of their main cheerleaders is Bill Hunt of The Digital Bits, who claims to not really care which format wins - but for the reasons above, Blu-ray is the logical choice.
While I own both an HD DVD player and a PS3 for Blu-ray, I have always preferred and supported HD DVD for many reasons. I also believe both formats can and will survive, and does not create any meaningful consumer confusion. But, what about this #1 Myth that the vast majority of consumer aren't buying either Blu-ray or HD DVD until this format "war" is over and there is a clear winner?
In this week's Sept. 2-8 Home Media Magazine (available online for free at Nxtbook) there is an article on Page 1 entitled "Forget about the Format War - Indifference Reigns". It's about a research study conducted by Warner Home Video. The study, representing more than 1,000 consumers, found that 48% of respondents were indifferent to buying either Blu-ray or HD DVD movies Also, 31% cited prices as barrier to entry, and only 21% mentioned competing formats as significant challenges.
That's only 1 out of 5 of all consumers are hesitant to buy a Hig-Def player because of the "format war". Almost half of all consumers couldn't care less about either one of them - they're apparently perfectly happy watching VHS or standard DVD, or re-runs of "I Love Lucy" Nickelodeon.
OK, but what about owners of HDTV's - surely they give a gosh darn about this format war being over so they can rush right out and buy a HD player? Guess again.
It's even worse! Almost 6 out of 10 owners who already have an HDTV don't feel any need for either Blu-ray or HD DVD. They're apparently perfectly happy watching HBO, Showtime or HD Movie Net in HD from the cable or satellite TV company. Almost half think that if they were going to buy an HD player, current prices are too dang high! Only slightly more than one quarter of them are those folks waiting for a "clear winner" in the highly touted format war.
So much for the #1 myth that the majority of consumers are waiting for this format war to be over before buying one. Well over half don't see a need for a high-def player. Almost half have some interest, but think prices are too high to justify a purchase. But a $166 High-Def player does seem to be the sweet spot, even for those not really all that interested.
But, the Blu-ray group doesn't seem to be in any hurry to get there. The same article quotes Andy Parsons, spokesperson for the Blu-ray Disc Association. Parsons said high-def packaged media remains in the "early-adopter phase", and questioned why HD DVD has been aggressively cutting the prices of its players. "You don't see people heading down to Best Buy because there is a cheap player available," he said. "They go down because they want to see high-def content. That's when you want to have price reductions."
Well, with Chinese HD DVD players hitting stores this holiday season with a $199 MSRP, I guess we'll find out who's right.
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