Despite of  the sudden decision by Warner Bros. to release its titles on Blu-ray disc (BD) exclusively starting from June, 2008, the HD DVD Promotional Group still believes that the format will have success in future. According to the HD DVD promo group, about one million of standalone HD DVD players have been sold so far in the USA; moreover, movie attach rate of an HD DVD player is two times higher compared to a Blu-ray disc player.

“Our focus from day one has been to deliver the highest quality hardware and the best, most immersive home entertainment experiences for consumers at affordable prices. With nearly one million dedicated players in the market in North America, and a leading position in the PC market worldwide, we’re seeing software growth follow suit said Jodi Sally, vice president of marketing, Toshiba’s digital A/V group.

HD DVD Promotional Group considers sales of both standalone players as well as add-on HD DVD drives for Microsoft Xbox 360 as standalone HD DVD players. Meanwhile, according to NPD data released by Toshiba late in 2007, Toshiba’s HD DVD players accounted for 49.3% of all “next generation DVD” standalone players sales throughout the year, which means that Blu-ray players from Sony Corp., Samsung Electronics and others appeared to be quite successful in 2007 as well.

A slide from a presentation by Toshiba.
Photo by Lee A. Stewart, the image was found over HighDefForum

On the PC front, the HD DVD Promotional Group announced that by the end of 2007, HD DVD-enabled PCs represented more than 80% of all high definition-capable personal computers (PCs).

Based on Nielsen data cited by HD DVD promotional group, among all high definition formats, HD DVD still maintains the highest attach rates – more than twice the rate of Blu-ray. Given that there are currently about three million Blu-ray playback capable devices (including discrete Blu-ray players, personal computers with Blu-ray as well as Sony PlayStation 3 game consoles, which represent the bulk of BD install base) in the USA, two times higher movie attach rate of HD DVD hardware indicates that HD DVD player owners are more interested in watching high-definition movies compared to those, who own PlayStation 3 game consoles.

“The HD DVD camp has always stuck to a simple set of principles. Give consumers who buy into HD DVD what they paid for.  In fact, give them more than they expected.  Show them that quality and value go hand in hand with HD DVD. Show them what advanced interactivity really means and how it can enrich your favorite movies that you watch over and over,” said Ken Graffeo, executive vice president of HD strategic marketing for Universal Studios Home Entertainment, and co-president of the HD DVD Promotional Group.