HD DVD Scores Big On Black Friday

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HD DVD Scores Big On Black Friday
DisplaySearch says HD DVD standalones captured 62 percent of overall sales.
By Swanni

Washington, D.C. (December 10, 2007) -- HD DVD players accounted for 62 percent of all standalone high-def player sales during Thanksgiving week, which included Black Friday.

That's according to the research firm DisplaySearch, as reported by Video Business.

The research company said Blu-ray captured only about 37 percent of overall standalone player sales during the week. (The remaining one percent were dual-format players.)

The Thanksgiving week was highlighted by a move by some retailers to sell Toshiba's entry-level HD DVD player for under $200. The decision apparently paid off in larger volume sales for the format.

However, since the cheapest standalone Blu-ray player retails for $499, DisplaySearch said Blu-ray hardware edged HD DVD in revenue, 52-47 percent.

Also, the sales numbers do not include the PlayStation 3 gaming console, which has a Blu-ray player inside; DisplaySearch says roughly 160,000 PS3 were sold during the week.

Despite the big week for HD DVD standalone players, neither format is threatening the dominance of the standard-definition DVD player. During Thanksgiving week, 57,000 standalone high-def DVD players were sold, compared to 600,000 standard-def DVD players.

Paul Erickson, director of DVD and HD DVD market research at DisplaySearch, credited HD DVD’s lower price with the increase in unit sales, according to Video Business.

DisplaySearch estimates that HD DVD unit sales jumped 454 percent during Thanksgiving week, compared to the previous week.

Blu-ray standalone unit sales rose 189 percent for the week.

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Swanni (Phillip Swann) is president and publisher of TVPredictions.com. He has been quoted in dozens of publications and broadcast outlets, including CNN, Fox News, Inside Edition, The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Chicago Tribune, The Financial Times, The Associated Press and The Hollywood Reporter. He can be reached at swann@tvpredictions.com or at 703-505-3064.

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