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Vincent Padois, head tutor at the Pierre and Marie Curie University who teaches robotics and is babysitting the Paris ICub, makes a demonstration with ICub robot, a ?hybrid embodied cognitive system for a humanoid robot" about 1 metre (3.2 feet) high, at the Pierre and Marie Curie University in Paris September 4, 2009. Six versions of ICub exist in laboratories across Europe, where scientists are painstakingly tweaking its electronic brain to make it capable of learning, just like a human child and hoping it will learn how to adapt its behaviour to changing circumstances, offering new insights into the development of human consciousness. REUTERS/Philippe Wojazer

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    Blu-ray outsells HD-DVD in U.S. for first 9 months

    Sue Zeidler
    LOS ANGELES
    Wed Oct 24, 2007 4:22am EDT

    Stocks

       
    Television images are reflected on a sign for Blu-ray Discs at the 2007 International Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas, Nevada January 9, 2007. Blu-ray DVD titles outsold rival HD-DVD titles by almost 2-to-1 in the first nine months of the year, but analysts expect additional HD-DVD support and new hit releases to ''transform'' the high-definition DVD battle score in the fourth quarter. REUTERS/Rick Wilking

    LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Blu-ray DVD titles outsold rival HD-DVD titles by almost 2-to-1 in the first nine months of the year, but analysts expect additional HD-DVD support and new hit releases to "transform" the high-definition DVD battle score in the fourth quarter.

    Technology

    Home Media Research, a division of Home Media Magazine, said on Tuesday total U.S. sales of Blu-ray discs, using a Sony Corp (6758.T)-backed technology, totaled 2.6 million units from January 1 through Sept 30, versus 1.4 million HD-DVD discs sold.

    HD-DVD was developed by Toshiba Corp (6502.T). It is backed by Microsoft Corp (MSFT.O) as well as film studios like Time Warner Inc's TWX.N Warner Bros.

    The division in Hollywood grew deeper in August when Paramount Pictures (VIAb.N) and DreamWorks Animation SKG Inc DWA.N signed exclusivity deals to distribute their next-generation discs on HD-DVD format for the next 18 months.

    Gerry Kaufhold, analyst with In-Stat research firm, believes newly released HD-DVD titles with new advanced Web-enabled features, such as Paramount's "Transformers", will help the HD-DVD camp in the fourth quarter.

    Paramount Home Video said that "Transformers" had the biggest debut of any high-definition titles, selling over 100,000 HD-DVDs on Oct 16, its first day of release.

    Tom Adams, president of Adams Media Research, also said the 18-month period of exclusivity for HD-DVDs by Paramount and DreamWorks should strengthen HD-DVD's hand this quarter.

    "This definitely smooths out the edge that Blu-ray had in exclusive titles and it very much strengthens HD-DVD's hand in the fourth quarter," he said, but still expects Blu-ray will

    lead for the year overall.

    Adams predicts that for 2007 overall, consumers will spend $186 million purchasing Blu-ray discs, versus $91 million for

    HD-DVD.

    Walt Disney Co (DIS.N), Sony, News Corp's NWSa.N 20th Century Fox, and Lions Gate Entertainment (LGF.N) are exclusively in the Blu-ray camp.

    Hollywood and electronics manufacturers had hoped new high-definition DVDs, with better picture quality and more capacity would revive the slowing $24 billion home DVD market.

    But like the Betamax-VHS battle in the 1980s, the DVD standards war has slowed adoption and created customer confusion. It has also raised the likelihood it will be years before next-generation players become standard equipment.

    Since both formats launched in the spring of 2006, an estimated 4.98 million high-definition discs have been sold, including 3.01 million in Blu-ray and 1.97 million in HD-DVD through the end of September, according to Home Media.

    One big factor giving Blu-ray an edge has been the popularity of Sony's PlayStation 3 game consoles, which also include a Blu-ray disc drive.

    "It's going to be 2008 before the dust will really starts to settle. For now, its like watching a yacht race," said Kaufhold, who expects the standards battle will lead more consumers to dual DVD players such as those made by South Korea's LG Electronics Inc (066570.KS), which supports both Blu-ray and HD-DVD.

    Samsung Electronics Co Ltd (005930.KS) is expected to market a dual format player later this year, ahead of the holiday shopping season.
    Technology


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