Prices of HD DVDs dropping, sort of

Reports about Universal dropping the current price range of HD DVDs by $5 are currently making the rounds on the Internet. According to the articles published, such as this one on Digital Media Thoughts indicate that Universal Studios Home Entertainment has announced that it will price its entire HD DVD library at $30 starting 8 August - the majority of HD DVD movies already sells for $30, new releases, however, typically are priced at $35. There was no information on the pricing of DVD/HD DVD combo media, which currently sells for $40.

We were not able to confirm the reports. Competitor Warner Home Video (WHV), however, told us that it has no plans of reducing its current pricing model which includes suggested retail prices of $29, S30, $35 and $40. For now, Universal’s move appears to be an isolated case and it remains to be seen, if there will be any incentive for other publishes to match Universal’s pricing model.