Blu-ray discs outsell HD-DVD rival

Sony PlayStation 3 users worried that their Blu-ray disc player will become a dust collector if HD-DVD wins the format war can breathe a sigh of relief as new figures show strong support for the fledgling platform.

Latest sales figures by American trade publication Home Media Magazine show that of all the high-definition movie discs bought in the first quarter of 2007, an impressive 70% were Blu-ray and just 30% were HD-DVD.

Blu-ray took the lead in February, and its percentage of total sales accelerated to the point where it accounted for nearly three out of every four high-definition discs sold in March.

Warner Home Video released The Departed on both formats on the same day, February 13. Between then and March 31, consumers bought 53,640 copies of the film on Blu-ray disc and just 31,590 on HD DVD, according to Home Media's market research, based on studio estimates and Nielsen VideoScan point-of-sale data.

Industry observers claim they are not surprised by the disparity, noting that Blu-ray disc enjoys the support of five of the six major studios, while HD DVD is supported by three of them. Three studios -- Sony, Disney and Fox -- are exclusively in the Blu-ray camp, as is mini-major Lionsgate. However, Paramount and Warner support both formats but Universal is the only major studio to release titles only in the HD DVD format, which backers claim is easier and cheaper to produce.