HD DVD Promotional Group has during CES released some interesting information about HD DVD. We’ve earlier reported that the format has been well received by the consumers, especially in North America, and that the format seemed to be heading for a bright future, in Blu-ray’s great despair. Since the launch HD DVD has sold over 175,000 player in North America and the demand is growing. Over 600 titles have been released around the globe and more are planned. It has, based on statistics calculated an average of 28 movies per player. It hopes to have sold over 2.5 million player worldwide before the end of 2007.
It is working on launching the more interactive features of HD DVD and expanding the network support in cooperation with Corel. They are counting on launching the interactive functions, which are based on Microsoft’s HDi, later this year. The network support will, among others, make it possible to communicate with the movie studios and download new material related to your movies.
HD DVD has also been gaining a broader support among hardware manufacturers, e.g. PC manufacturers, which have increased the expectations for having a broader establishment than the opposition at the end of the year. Toshiba has at the same time launched HD-A20 which is a HD DVD player with support for 1080p and a price of “only” $599. The player will become available this Spring.
All this, together with a broader support from movie studios and Warner’s new hybrid disc makes the HD DVD supporters look to the future with high expectations.
