Trade publication Home Media Magazine has released figures, based on studio estimates and Nielsen VideoScan point-of-sale data, which conclude that in the first quarter, 70% of high definition movies were in the Blu-ray Disc format and 30% were HD DVDs. More specifically, from January 1-March 31, consumers bought almost 1.2 million high-definition discs (832,530 Blu-ray units and 359,300 HD DVDs). Blu-ray reportedly took the lead in February, and its percentage of total sales accelerated to the point where it accounted for nearly three out of every four high-definition discs sold in March (335,980 Blu-ray discs vs. 119,570 HD DVD discs).
Research also shows that eight of the 10 top-selling high-definition titles in the first quarter were on Blu-ray Disc. At the top of the list was "Casino Royale", which sold through to consumers an estimated 59,680 units in the period. Warner Home Video released "The Departed" on February 13, in both formats. The Blu-ray Disc edition of the movie finished second (53,640 copies sold by end of March 31), while the HD DVD version of that Oscar-winning film placed third (31,590 copies).
HD DVD launched in April 2006, while Blu-ray got rolling two months later. Since then, more than 2.14 million discs have been purchased by consumers: 1.2 million Blu-ray Discs and about 937,500 HD DVDs.
News source: eWeek
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