HD DVD outsells Blu-ray at lower revenues

HD DVD players posted a more successful launch than its Blu-ray rival, at least in terms of the number of players sold. Home Media Retailing quotes an NPD study that found that HD DVD player outsold Blu-ray players by 33% during their first six weeks after launch. HD DVD sales began in April, while Blu-ray players followed in June ; the only Blu-ray play currently offered is Samsung’s $1000 BD-P1000, while HD DVD players are offered from multiple vendors for prices as low as $450.

The higher price allowed Samsung alone to capture higher revenues that all HD DVD player manufacturers combined. According to NPD, the BD-P1000 achieved 42% more revenue than HD DVD players during their first six weeks.

Overall high-def players are still playing an insignificant role of all disc player sales in the market. NPD said that HD DVD and Blu-ray players accounted for only 0.4% of all disc player sales. DVD players came in at 86.2%, DVD recorders at 13.4%.