High-Definition Sales Far Behind Standard DVD's First Two Years

While the format war is finally over, it seems that high-definition media still has a long way to go. According to Nielsen Media Research and Adams Media Research, the total high-definition software sales for the first two years are only half of what standard DVD's sales were for their first two years. There were 16.3 million standard DVD's sold in the first two years (1997-1998) and there have been only 8.3 million high-definition (both Blu-Ray and HD DVD) units sold in their first two years (2006-2007).

Analysts offered a few reasons for the slow start, including the fact that HDTV's aren't nearly as prevalent as standard TV's yet (26.5 million HDTV's to over 100 million standard TV's) and the fact that some people don't see much of a difference between high-def and standard, as opposed to the difference between VHS and standard DVD.

The good news is that things are looking up for high-definition in the present. There have been 1.5 million high-definition DVD's sold so far this year, and, last year, that number wasn't reached until June. Now that there is just one format to choose from, the numbers could go up even more.