Blu-ray triumphs in high-def DVD war
NEW YORK -- But while that eliminates a big source of confusion for some consumers, others will still struggle to see how the change benefits them. "Consumers are the losers in the short term," ABI Research said in a report. Reasons include:
•Price cuts for Blu-ray players may become less frequent and steep without competition from HD DVD. The cheapest Blu-ray player costs more than $300.
•Different kinds of Blu-ray players will confuse some. For example, only upcoming models have the Internet ports needed for interactive bonus features on some new discs.
•Limited capacity to produce Blu-ray discs could frustrate consumers who expect to see a flood of titles from all studios.
"It wasn't consumers who chose Blu-ray over HD DVD. It was the industry," says Toshiba's Jodi Sally.
Even without these problems, retailers might find it hard to persuade consumers to buy Blu-ray.
Toshiba said it might try to offer high-def videos without discs, for example on flash memory and wireless technologies.
Meanwhile, "A lot of consumers are still satisfied with their current DVD player and plan to continue using it until it breaks," says Ross Rubin, director of industry analysis for The NPD Group.
That's one reason Blu-ray backers and retailers are weighing deals to help HD DVD buyers switch.
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