HD DVD sales step up in the States

Format gets a third of all HD purchases

30 January 2008 10:35 GMT / By Amy-Mae Elliott

It seems sales of HD DVD hardware has made a slight recovery in the States after the initial dip seen after Warner Bros' announcement that they are to ditch the format.

HD DVD player sales totaled about 33% of all high-definition set-top unit sales for the week ended January 19, according to NPD Group data. Blu-ray held onto 63% of sales while dual-format players managed 4%.

The previous week's figures from NPD had reported that Blu-ray had enjoyed a 90% market share, although it was later revealed that these figures were leaked, and not meant for release due to high Blu-ray "free player" promotional activity.

Toshiba's $100 to $200 price cuts on its HD DVD players came effective on January 13th, no doubt helping the sales along.

Toshiba will hope the upward momentum will continue - they are spending a reported $2.7 million on an ad slot during the Super Bowl on Sunday, watched last year by 90 million Americans.