The Blu-ray Disc camp is disputing recent claims by the HD DVD camp that despite some recent setbacks for HD DVD (such as Blockbuster Video deciding to deal only with Blu-ray titles in most of its outlets), HD DVD sales are about three times higher in Europe than its lone next-gen disc competitor. Blu-ray says the claims are misleading.
The European-based HD DVD Promotion Group has been telling the media that Toshiba-brand HD DVD players currently account for nearly 75 percent of all European HD disc player sales. The group’s figures primarily are based on standalone units. But the Blu-ray Disc Association European Promotions Committee countered that using only those numbers is misleading because they exclude Blu-ray drives sold with PlayStation 3 game consoles and with computers.
The Blu-ray camp said if those additional figures were taken into account, Blu-ray sales would actually account for up to 95 percent of all next-gen disc sales, according to Reg Hardware.
In turn, HD DVD backers counter attack by charging that a sizeable majority of PS3 and PC owners do not buy HD movie titles, which HD DVD proponents say the next-gen disc players are really all about.
On a separate issue, both Blu-ray and HD DVD camps are under investigation by the European Union Commission, which began probing into the next-gen disc war nearly a year ago (HD Notebook, August 2006).
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