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Blu-ray format breaks into Boone |
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Thursday, 10 April 2008 |
by LINDSAY CRAVEN
Lifestyles Reporter
Technology is a constantly changing and evolving field, and DVD equipment is no exception.
However, the battle between high definition DVDs and Blu-ray ended in February.
Toshiba, the producers of HD discs, decided to discontinue the productions of HD DVDs and
electronics, leaving the market to be dominated by Sony’s Blu-ray format, according to CNET.com.
 With the battle between Blu-ray and HD-DVD over, Blu-ray takes large presence in stores. Photo by Adam Dixon
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“Blu-ray is the name of a next-generation optical disc format,” according to Bluray.com.
“The format was developed to enable recording, rewriting and playback of high-definition video (HD), as
well as storing large amounts of data. The format offers more than five times the storage capacity of
traditional DVDs and can hold up to 25GB on a single-layer disc and 50GB on a dual-layer disc.”
The declaration of Toshiba discontinuing their product left Appalachian State University with problems
as the new entertainment section of the University Bookstore features an HD DVD wall that will soon
be of little use.
“I was very disappointed when all HD DVDs arrived in the initial DVD shipment,” administrative officer
for the bookstore John A. Kirby said. “The impression I had is that they probably sent the HD DVDs
because they wanted to get rid of them.”
Currently, there are only two titles to select from in the Blu-ray format in the bookstore.
“We will probably return the HD DVDs and replace them with Blu-ray when we can,” Kirby said.
Kirby said the sales for the HD DVD and Blu-ray formats has been fair, but he expects it to improve in
the future.
Other markets in Boone prepared for the Blu-ray triumph and have supplied themselves with a large
array of titles.
Students and community members can rent and purchase Blu-ray DVDs from Blockbuster and
Wal-Mart.
Blockbuster currently has 500 titles in Blu-ray format for rent on its Web site.
The selection varies in the store, however.
“It was a corporate decision to move to Blu-ray,” Boone’s Wal-Mart store manager Tracy Stillwell said.
“They try to stay ahead of the electronic market. We only carry a small variety of Blu-ray right now.”
Stillwell said the store will continue to increase its selection of Blu-ray products.
“The Blu-ray [sells] well. We only have a small percentage of Blu-rays compared to DVDs right now.
We have one four-foot section compared to about a 34-foot section of the regular DVDs,” Stillwell said.
CNET.com accredits the largest problem with Blu-ray DVDs to the high price of Blu-ray players.
The most popular Blu-ray player is the Playstation 3, which currently runs at $500 for the 80 GB hard
drive and $400 for the 40 GB.
CNET.com notes it is unsure whether the price of the Playstation 3 and other Blu-ray players will
decrease over time or if the Blu-ray triumph will encourage them to maintain the high prices.
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