Blu-ray player sales on the increase

According to an article in Video Business, sales of Blu-ray HDTV DVD players are catching up with the HD DVD player.

Standalone HD DVD player sales have been higher than the Blu-ray HD format since both formats were launched last year, with the exception of home penetration, where Blu-ray has a wide lead due to the inclusion of a Blu-ray player in the Sony PlayStation 3.

However Ultimate Electronics and Abt Electronics have told Video Business that for the last few weeks, Blu-ray players have outsold HD DVD players.

It seems that Sony’s decision to lower the price of its BDP-S300 Blu-ray player to $499 is responsible for sales increase, even though it is still significantly higher than Toshiba’s entry-level HD DVD player which sells for $299.

Although Blu-ray players are currently more popular collectively, Toshiba’s second-generation HD DVD players are still the best-selling individual units.

Abt Electronics believes that Blu-ray sales could be even higher if not for a limited supply of some of the less expensive Blu-ray players.