PCR Tech and IT retail, distribution and vendor news
The IFA consumer electronics show in Berlin has seen no let-up in the war of words between the two next generation optical media formats – with this weekend seeing the biggest escalation so far in hostilities.
Both camps are at the event in force and are making sure that attendees are listening to what they have to say – with the DVD forum making the first move, proclaiming that not only is the attached rate for HD-DVD far superior to Blu-ray, but confirming that it would be the first to break the £200 mark in the UK with the launch of the Venturer SHD7000 – the HD-DVD player PC Retail reported on last week.
Elaborating on the figures, the forum said that while HD-DVD’s attach rate was an average of four per machine, and Blu-ray’s only 0.7. It cited the figures as once and for all showing why Blu-ray drives installed in PS3s should not be counted as part of the competing formats numbers. It also said cited GFK’s figures from early on in the year which showed that 70 per cent of all stand alone next generation optical drives were HD-DVD.
However, Sony was keen not to allow its rival form get all of the attention and swiftly announced two new players, the BDP-S300 and the BDP-S500 – the former the Blu-ray consortium’s answer to Venturer’s drive. While no official pricing was announced, very few commentators expect it to be available for less than £300 when it launches here later this month.
