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USA Today: HDTV DVD War Is Stalemate
Neither Sony and Toshiba have captured the consumer's  imagination, says the newspaper.
By Allison Moore
HD Observer

Washington, D.C. (August 22, 2006) -- The new HDTV DVDs have not "made much of an impact on the market."

That's the conclusion of an article in today's edition of USA Today.

The newspaper reports that fewer than 5,000 High-Definition DVD players have been sold since their launch last spring.

Sony is backing the Blu-ray player while Toshiba is supporting the HD-DVD player. Both players can display movies in high-def.

USA Today notes that the poor sales are not surprising because consumers are confused over the dueling formats and that it takes time for a new technology to win acceptance.

Toshiba's HD-DVD player.

However, the newspaper writes that industry analysts are surprised that Toshiba's HD-DVD has matched Sony's Blu-ray for picture quality.

"Both formats are very equal," Ron Sanders of Warner Home Video tells USA Today. (Warner is  releasing movies on both formats.) "We wish there were one format. That would make consumers' options easier."

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