Blu-ray group "refutes" HD DVD's "misleading" statement

And they have a pie-chart

15 November 2007 18:09 GMT / By Amy-Mae Elliott

The Blu-ray Disc Association European Promotions Committee has stated that it "refutes what it believes are incomplete and misleading comments made by the HD DVD promotional group".

The Association has said it believes the HD DVD camp is "distorting the facts and presenting information that is intended to portray a misleading message to consumers and the industry".

The reason for the furore is HD DVD's recent assertion that the "attach rate" (number of software products bought per hardware) was much higher for HD DVD than it was for Blu-ray, as much as eleven times more.

Quoting back the same independent stats source Gfk, the Blu-ray lot say that the statement by HD DVD "ignores the fact" that of HD discs bought by consumers year-to-date in Europe, 73% were in the Blu-ray Disc format and 27% were HD DVD.

Another issue in the dispute is the HD DVD group's definition of what constitutes a Blu-ray player, as they have been unwilling in the past to include the PS3 in hardware sales, but did include it for the attach rate data as it made their figures look better.

"The stakes are high, so it is understandable that each camp wants to portray their product in the best light", Frank Simonis, chairman of the BDA European Promotions Committee.

"However, to deliberately mislead the market by misrepresenting the facts is inexcusable. Coming into the critical holiday season many people will be making important purchasing decisions and these need to be based on sound information, not spin and hype."