High-definition DVD market facing static
Hollywood is hoping high-definition DVDs will reignite a slowing market for movies at home, but they have drawn mixed reviews from retailers and analysts due to technical issues and a bitter format war.
The competing formats, Sony Corp.-backed Blu-ray and Toshiba Corp.-championed HD-DVD, aim to provide better picture quality and interactive features, but some early viewers have been underwhelmed.
"Neither format is selling well or at the level I had expected. I had expected early adopters to step up and other retailers have had the same experience," said Bjorn Dybdahl, president of San Antonio, Texas-based specialty store Bjorn's.
"High expectations were set. At every meeting with Sony, every demonstration was spectacular," Dybdahl said.
"Then along comes the first Blu-ray player from Samsung and that's when my expectations were hurt. When we put the disc in, all the sales people looked around and said it doesn't look much better than a standard DVD," he said.
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