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HD DVD Still Has Steam
A new report says that the defunct high-def format is still doing decent sales.
HD DVD Movies
Many HD DVD movie titles are still available—for cheap!
September 30, 2008 | by Rachel Cericola

Old habits die hard. Despite the downfall of HD DVD earlier this year, the defunct format still seems to be selling.

Don’t expect HD DVD sales to give Blu-ray a run for your money, but Pocket-lint says that recent economic conditions have given a boost to the old, cheap standby. HD DVD hardware, which can also upscale standard-def DVDs, can be found fairly cheap. Also, many movie titles are on sale for below the $10 mark. 

Ryan Kugler, president of Distribution Video & Audio, said that his company scarfed up many of the HD DVDs that retailers returned to the studios—only to sell them off to those still using the hardware. “Cheap entertainment always does well in a recession or depression,” Kugler said.

So, are you still using your HD DVD player? If so, for HD DVD, standard-def DVD, or both? Finally, are you still buying up old HD DVD titles? Tell us where you do your shopping, as well as some of your best deals. Drop a Comment below.



Rachel Cericola - Contributing Writer
Over the past 15 years, Rachel Cericola has covered entertainment, web and technology trends. Check her out at www.rachelcericola.com.



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Comments (62) Most recent displayed first.
Posted by Chris Artman  on  10/05/08  at  04:15 PM

HD-DVD has about as much steam as that from a dung heap…  It is a dead format with absolutely zero support.  Why is this even being discussed as a topic?  It is a dead format with no players and no support from the studios.  Good luck with that… 

P.S.  I heard 8 track tapes are on a comeback!

Posted by jverhey  on  10/05/08  at  05:18 AM

For the Slow People the picture and the sound are the same and have always been that way. I have already picked up all the movies I want on HD DVD So I am buying an occasional blu movie when I see an actual sale. Not too many so far though. over 100 HD DVD and 5 bluray. Just waiting for the price point.

Posted by Joe T.  on  10/04/08  at  11:32 AM

Sz—I don’t think that Rachel started this. And I don’t think that by buying an occasional cheap HD DVD that I’ve “completely screw(ed) (myself) out of HD out of hubris.”  Nor am I limiting the rest of my library to 480i—I’ve been format neutral for quite a while.

But given the choice, I’ll pick up a cheap HD DVD over a full price Blu Ray (and I’m not talking about MSRP).  That said, my last Amazon movie order was two Blu Rays and one HD DVD.

Posted by Soundzilla  on  10/03/08  at  09:27 PM

See what you started Rachel?

This is unbelievable. I hope when Blu-ray becomes the new standard all these HD-DVD nuts still enjoy their upscaled DVDs. They completely screw themselves out of HD out of hubris. They deserve what they get…a few dozen HD-DVD titles and a liibray chock-full of 480i content. Enjoy it suckers. The rest of us will move into the 21t century without you just fine.

Unreal. I may buy my third Blu-ray player this Black Friday. I recently bought a Samsung BD-P1400 for $219 open box at Circuit City. Even without the latest spec they are the best image I’ve seen on my projector, and the best sound without a doubt.

Posted by Rich86  on  10/02/08  at  03:35 PM

I should also add that my favorite place for shopping these days is Fry’s - they still tend to have a great selection of titles at terrific prices (although I think I have purchased most everything I really want by now).


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