Bright future forecasted for HD-DVD

LAS VEGAS Studio executives and analysts expect a bright future for high-definition DVD despite a slow start in 2006 caused in part by a format war.

At the Home Media Expo opening business session in Las Vegas Tuesday, Warner Home Video worldwide senior vp Steve Nickerson said consumers are already preparing for the transition from standard to high-definition DVD. “It’s estimated that 36% of all U.S. households will have a high definition TV by year’s end,” said Nickerson.

A report from Adams Media Research said the Blu-Ray and HD-DVD high-definition formats launched last spring accounted for just 0.5% of total DVD sales in 2006 but that percentage is on the rise. Kagan Research estimates high-definition DVD will account for 14% of sales by 2009 and 53.7% ($14.98 billion) by 2012.