Blockbuster goes Blu-ray, HD DVD=beta?,


Blockbuster announced they will go exclusively Blu-ray. How much will this effect the format wars? Will this send HD DVD the way of the Beta? Could this be the Sony KO punch, or does BB really have that much clout? Sound the alarm or hit the snooze button?
blkadr
Don't forget that Sony's Play Station 3 will play Blu-ray, so there a huge market penetration due to the sale of these machines.

06-21-07: Fatparrot
Don't forget that Sony's Play Station 3 will play Blu-ray, so there a huge market penetration due to the sale of these machines.
And Xbox does HD DVD. But on the worldwide market, you're absolutely correct: Playstation has by far the dominant market share.

Microsoft is accustomed to setting standards, but in the case of gaming, Playstation has far more market penetration.

Having recently acquired a Toshiba A2, I wonder if I bet on the wrong horse given the disparity in studio support for the two formats, but at $249, I guess I can afford to for now. If I "lose", I still have a really good upconverting DVD player and a very decent CD player, and current Blu-ray players don't do CD.

For now, Sony is sitting in the catbird seat based on movie studio support, but the high price of Blu-ray players is blunting the theoretical advantage.
Never the less, with the introduction of the sony s300 at 500 dollars starting price (only to go down) also is rumored to play cd's.

the best buy near my house just got ours in yesterday and i wasnt set up yet so i havent had a chance to check it out but as far as i know its very good quality

On matters of the Toshiba... my guess for right now is they are trying to get a payday. they are probably hoping to beat the blu ray and then possibly make a lot of money if they win due to "trust" because they have been making them the longest helping them to sell the most.

Another rumor is there is going to be a "wal-mart" brand blu ray player. then again there is a reason it is a rumor so it may not be true.

Honestly, i am pulling for blu ray because there is still room for expansion as far as the possibilities because of the memory of the discs themselves.
Playstation 3 is the only Playstation that can be a Blu-ray player. Wii is outselling PS3 right now by 4 to 1. Xbox 360 is the Xbox that you can add an external HD-DVD player to.

Research firm Digital Entertainment Group (DEG) revealed that there are 1.5 million Blu-ray players in the U.S., compared to only 300,000 HD DVD players. But while the HD DVD hardware base is a nearly equal split of set-top boxes and Xbox 360 HD DVD players, the Blu-ray camp is divided up into 1.4 million PlayStation 3 systems and 100,000 set-top boxes.
Blu-ray Disc Beating HD DVD...Thanks to the PS3
Actually Blockbuster will carry HD-DVDs for online rentals. Walmart coming out in December with 199 players for HD-DVD from China and not selling any blu ray devices is the true KO and Blu-Ray will likely be the Beta.

Netflix will probably get more business from this actually over time, since their marketing is more straightforward and untainted by backroom palm greasing.