Amazon supports Blu-ray in SHOCK announcement

Seattle (WA) – Perhaps it was the long holiday weekend that slowed down Amazon.com’s PR department : The company today announced that it now supports “Blu-ray as the digital format of choice for customers.”

Amazon.com said that its decision is part of an effort to “help demystify high-definition entertainment for consumers”. From now on it “will more prominently promote Blu-ray hardware and software products on its website.” It won’t be difficult to achieve this goal, since HD DVD players are expected to run out of supply by the end of next month, as a result of Toshiba’s decision to quit the format war.

"The high-definition landscape is rapidly changing, and consumers are looking for guidance on how to make the best high-definition buying decisions," said Peter Faricy, vice president of movies and music at Amazon.com. "Our customers have clearly voiced their support for the Blu-ray format. Blu-ray titles have increased from just over half of our high-definition sales to over three-quarters of our high-definition sales since early January.”

The company’s current best seller rankings currently list five Blu-ray movies among its 50 most popular movies : Planet Earth at #6, Michael Clayton at #14, I am Legend at #39 (pre-order), No Country for Old Men at #40 (pre-order) and Casino Royale at #50. Only one HD DVD movie is listed among the top-50 – Planet Earth at #47.

Like Best Buy, Amazon.com said that it will continue to carry a wide assortment of HD DVD products for the hundreds of thousands of HD DVD owners who may still wish to purchase products for that format.