Since late last year, Blockbuster has
been testing the waters, renting both Blu-ray and HD DVD titles in 250 of their stores. The company recently announced
plans to increase this number to 1700. However, with 70% of the high-def rentals going to Blu-ray, Blockbuster has decided not to
offer HD DVD titles at these new locations.
Blockbuster Inc. will rent high-definition DVDs only in the Blu-ray format in
1,450 stores when it expands its high-def offerings next month, dealing a major blow to the rival HD DVD format.
The move, being
announced Monday, could be the first step in resolving a format war that has kept confused consumers from rushing to buy new DVD players
until they can determine which format will dominate the market.
Blockbuster has been renting both Blu-ray and HD DVD titles in 250
stores since late last year and found that consumers were choosing Blu-ray titles more than 70 percent of the time.
This
isn't good news for HD DVD fans. With Blockbuster going Blu-ray, it probably won't be long before smaller video rental services do the
same. If you'd like to read more, the entire article can be found here.
