Blu-ray Won The Battle, Losing The War

The developers of the Blu-ray high-definition video format may have beat HD DVD on the technology, but both are losing the war for the hearts and minds of video consumers who look to cable, satellite and the Internet for video.

In a new Harris Poll, the results of which were released on Friday, only 11 percent of Americans own a HD DVD player, while only 7 percent own a Blu-ray player.

About 9 percent of Americans own a Sony PlayStation 3 gaming console, which includes the ability to play Blu-ray disks, while 3 percent have an external HD DVD drive for a Microsoft Xbox 360 gaming console.

The slow adoption of both Blu-ray and HD DVD comes despite the growth in the adoption of high-definition televisions. Harris Interactive, which runs the Harris polls, found in its new poll that about 47 percent of Americans now report owning a high-definition TV, up from 35 percent in May of 2008.

The Blu-ray and HD DVD player market faces strong competition from cable, satellite and the Internet as a way to access videos, wrote Milton Ellis, vice president and senior consultant for Harris' interactive technology, media and telecom practice.

"In the near future, access to high-definition movies may be a download or streaming delivery of one's favorite movies to a home media server that eliminates the need for a Blu-ray player and Blu-ray disk. One thing is for sure, the market will be highly competitive and consumers will have a wide variety of choices for their entertainment experience," Ellis wrote.

Sales of both Blu-ray and HD DVD, while still slow, are growing, said Harris Interactive.

Only about 4 percent of Americans had purchased Blu-ray players in 2008, compared to 7 percent who purchased HD DVD players, 5 percent who purchased PlayStation 3s, and 1 percent who purchased HD DVD drives for the Xbox 360, Harris said.

While the typical American consumer plans to purchase four standard DVDs in the next six months, down from six standard DVDs in the last six months, they do plan to purchase an average of 0.7 Blu-ray and 0.6 HD DVD disks in the next six months, compared to 0.5 Blu-ray and 0.7 HD DVD disks in the last six months.