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Free hardware boosted Blu-ray Disc sales numbers

Recent NPD Group sales data would suggest that the Warner Bros. Blu-ray Disc announcement just before CES 2008 had an immediate and dramatic impact on the sales of high-definition movie players, but new information shows that Blu-ray Disc may not be tipping the scales as heavily as originally thought.

Last week, Digital Bits published NPD numbers showing that 93 percent of new high-definition hardware sold was for Blu-ray Disc. According to BetaNews, however, NPD is not supporting those figures, saying that they were not an official release from the firm and not a long-term indicator of the industry.

While HD DVD did suffer some lost momentum due to the loss of Warner’s support, Blu-ray Disc’s overwhelming command in the new hardware split was potentially due to free player deals rather than new sales.

Stephen Baker, vice president of industry analysis for NPD, explained that Blu-ray Disc players part of bundle deals with sales of new HDTVs were included in the sales figures.

Sony, Panasonic and Sharp all offered free or heavily discounted Blu-ray Disc players with purchase of new televisions, driving up the hardware numbers. Samsung, on the other hand, did not offer any such Blu-ray Disc hardware bundle promotion, and thus sales of Samsung players were almost non-existent.

NPD receives its sales data from multiple retail point-of-sale systems in the U.S., but does not include online sales.

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Player Numbers are Pointless
By deeznuts on 1/28/2008 12:56:37 PM , Rating: 2
quote:
The NPD figures did not include Sony's PlayStation 3 or Microsoft's HD DVD add-on for the Xbox 360 -- only standalone players.

Baker wouldn't get specific -- since NPD normally never even comments on weekly sales data -- but said there was some drop in HD DVD player sales. For its part, the HD DVD Promotional Group told BetaNews the weekly sales data was from before the HD DVD player price drop Toshiba announced last week.

With the PS3 being such a wildcard, in this war, it allows either party to spin the numbers, include/excluding the PS3 etc.

IMO, just keep an eye on media sales.




RE: Player Numbers are Pointless
By diablofish on 1/28/2008 1:43:25 PM , Rating: 2
I agree with you in some respects. Studios care more about how much of their product (the movies) they sell as opposed to how many players get sold. However, more players sold indicates more people are committing to a format and are therefore more likely to buy the movies they are selling. But when one format is dominating the market 80/20 (or whatever it's been since WB's announcement), it's pretty clear which one is likely to stick around over the other one.


RE: Player Numbers are Pointless
By griffynz on 1/28/2008 11:00:19 PM , Rating: 2
They should include the HD-DVD Players because they ONLY play HD-DVD (DVD also but really would doesn't alreay have one). I brought mine for a PC and also 23 movies (talk about feet first). However what do you do with PS3 numbers??????? NOT everyone who buys a PS3 buys movies.


RE: Player Numbers are Pointless
By griffynz on 1/28/2008 11:01:51 PM , Rating: 2
They should include the X360 HD-DVD Players because they ONLY play HD-DVD (DVD also but really would doesn't alreay have one). I brought mine for a PC and also 23 movies (talk about feet first). However what do you do with PS3 numbers??????? NOT everyone who buys a PS3 buys movies.


RE: Player Numbers are Pointless
By mars777 on 1/30/2008 6:02:29 AM , Rating: 2
If they include the Xbox HDDVD drive they should include PS3s.
Remember that these numbers are standalone players, not PS3s.


RE: Player Numbers are Pointless
By 306maxi on 2/1/2008 6:08:35 AM , Rating: 2
Not really. If you've bought the HD-DVD drive for the XBox you hvae bought it to play HD-DVD's. You could buy a PS3 and never intend to even purchase a Bluray disc.


By Kindjal on 1/28/2008 9:04:52 AM , Rating: 5
I recently purchased an HDTV along with an HD DVD player and so I've been taking in interest in how HD DVD and Blueray are promoted.

In Target, for example, Blueray disks were located on two endcaps, one endcap even had a Blueray player playing sample video, while HD DVD was not promoted on endcaps. In addition, Target had a far larger selection of Blueray titles (of course there may be more Blueray titles).

In Best Buy, there was a freestanding Blueray display while HD DVD was relegated to the standard shelving with fewer titles.

Anyways, this was just my unscientific observations on how the HD DVD vs. Blueray market appears to a new HD consumer.




By theapparition on 1/28/2008 10:48:05 AM , Rating: 2
Believe me, I'm not trying to start anything here, and as a disclaimer, own both formats.

Sony is very prominent in Target since they paid them a marketing incentive. That is fact, but also not uncommon or underhanded for retail. Many companies will work with reatilers to "showcase" thier items, and as such provide payments to help the cost of the stores to rearrange displays and pay for advertisements. You'd be surprised to see the lack of control stores have for product placement.

Gillete (for example) pays very well to get thier products moved to endcaps where casual shoppers will walk by and say "Oh yeah, I think I need one of these."

As to BR/HD, I was initally attracted to HD, even though BR was technically superiour. I thought the cost of discs would be compatible with DVD, since very little infrastructure investment had to be made. Yet in the end, the discs cost the same as BR. If HD wants a real fight, they need to get the price of the discs on par with DVD. Until then, mass consumers won't make the switch.


By PitViper007 on 1/29/2008 1:01:15 PM , Rating: 2
quote:
Yet in the end, the discs cost the same as BR. If HD wants a real fight, they need to get the price of the discs on par with DVD. Until then, mass consumers won't make the switch.


Agreed. Either side can lower the price on the players all they want but until the price of the actual MOVIES comes down, people aren't going to bite yet. Early adopters yes, but the average Joe? I don't think so. And I neither own nor favor one format over the other. I'm waiting until there is a clear winner.


it may skew the sales numbers but...
By psypher on 1/28/2008 7:34:44 AM , Rating: 2
All those Blu Ray players are still out there in the hands of new owners who are probably going to use them and buymovies for them... So who cares if it was because of warner's announcement. The telling figures last week weren't the high number of Blu Ray sales, it was the extremely low number of HD DVD sales.




By kyp275 on 1/28/2008 7:58:55 AM , Rating: 4
I guess one can argue that since the high sales number for blu-ray was due to promotions, it would be a one-time phenomenon and may not repeat in the future.

On the other hand, it is nevertheless good PR for the blu-ray camp.


HD-DVD FUD
By winterspan on 1/28/2008 5:19:03 PM , Rating: 1
Does the author of this article even has ANY NUMBERS WHATSOEVER of how many free-with-HDTV BD players were sold versus standalone? If not, how can you possibly claim to know the impact?

And stating that HD-DVD "lost some momentum" from Warners announcment? Is that the biggest understatement made in 2008??? Give me a break! Hardware sales aside, DID YOU SEE THE HD MEDIA SALES BREAKDOWN AFTER CES ???

THIS IS A BUNCH OF HD-DVD BIASED BULLSHIT! I say fire the writer!




RE: HD-DVD FUD
By sweetsauce on 1/28/2008 10:41:37 PM , Rating: 2
Correct me if im wrong, but Marcus has been accused of being a ps3 fanboy in the past.


Only on Dailytech...
By Chiggs on 1/28/2008 5:38:46 PM , Rating: 1
...will you find a group of people so misguided they think HD-DVD will somehow recover. It's dead, Jim. Blu-ray will thrive...it may ever get as big as DVD was, but thrive it will...much to the chagrin of internet nimrods that spew crap like "DURRRR MINIDISC! DURRRRR ROOTKIT!"




RE: Only on Dailytech...
By SavagePotato on 1/29/2008 9:36:15 AM , Rating: 2
Dailytech no doubt will be the last bastion of hd-dvd. Even Ken Grafeo will figure it out before the faithful here.

Just sit back and enjoy the show.


By tallcool1 on 1/28/2008 7:34:57 AM , Rating: 2
If these companies want to give away players, all the better! Similiar to the out dated HD DVD player clearance that was going on for $99 before Christmas.




By killerroach on 1/28/2008 8:13:28 AM , Rating: 2
I don't see the electronics makers using these package deals as a way of pushing Blu-Ray players... I see it, in light of concerns about consumer spending and using the Warner announcement as good timing, using the cheap or free Blu-Ray players (with purchase) as a way of pushing HDTV sales...




Redbox
By kmmatney on 1/28/2008 8:56:25 AM , Rating: 2
The first format to go into Redbox machines will probably be the one I do with.




Hahaha, I love it.
By JustKidding on 1/28/2008 8:58:40 AM , Rating: 2
Inspired choice for the graphic, Marcus. I haven't seen spy vs spy for years, but it is spot on for the whole blueray vs hidef battle.




does it matter?
By diablofish on 1/28/2008 11:04:40 AM , Rating: 2
Does it even matter if they were sold or given to the consumer? As long as they count as part of the installed base that people are going to use to buy media for the format, I don't think whether they got them for free or paid money for them ultimately matters. If more people have those players (regardless of how they got them) the higher the chance is that those people will then buy the media that those players play. And the fact that Blu-Ray media sales increases with player sales demonstrates this.

Wasn't HD-DVD's strategy focused on reducing player price and advertising how affordable their players are? Yet when Blu-Ray "beats" HD-DVD's price by giving them away to consumers as part of an HDTV package, they don't count?

As I've stated in other posts, HD-DVD missed the biggest price point out there by not selling their media for less than Blu-Ray media. The players (in the relative cost category) are insignificant relative to how much people typically spend on media to feed their players.




HD-DVD is losing
By EnzoFX on 1/28/2008 11:19:25 AM , Rating: 2
They really are grasping at straws. Who cares if these were part of a promotion, HD-DVD had their own promotion in december, with their cheap, cheap, $100 players or something, a long with several free movies. This only proves that they both try to push their product out there, through these promotions. Even in december, Blu-Ray still outsold HD-DVD. Enough said..




Finally, a good reason to go HD
By wordsworm on 1/29/2008 1:12:47 PM , Rating: 2
Monty Python's Life Of Brian - Two-Disc Collector's Edition [Blu-ray] (1979)
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000VECAC6/ref=am...

What gets me is that they had to use two blu-ray discs to get it on. Now if they can get a free blu-ray player to me, I can see myself siding with it as *the* HD choice. Heck, I might even go for a blu-ray/DVD burner for $99. Someone wake me up when it happens, please.




Get a life HDDVD
By rupaniii on 1/28/2008 11:03:14 AM , Rating: 1
Please, you have 1 vendor making players.
Customers don't see any choice. If they like Sharp, LG, Sony, Samsung or Panasonic, they can buy a TV and player from the same vendor. It's better technology at the same price. Consumers aren't dumb. Bluray has more storage. All of the interactive BS can't help you when movies CAN look better and be better on the same size physical platform.