Audio Video News

A year after the end of the format war with HD DVD, the Blu-ray format is doing well.

Numbers released at last week's CES shows players in 10.7 million American homes after 2.5 years of existence. DVD, by contrast, was in only 5.4 million homes after three years. Granted, the Blu numbers include videogame machines. But even allowing for that, Blu-ray has achieved a rough parity with DVD at the same point in their lifespans.

Disc sales still lag. Blu sold $750 million worth of discs last year, vs. $21.6 billion for DVD. The studios really need to look at pricing. The Dark Knight, a bestseller in both formats, was the first Blu release to sell more than a million copies.

At CES, 21 new Blu-ray models were introduced, including 11 with Profile 2.0 (BD Live).