Don't worry. I thought the same thing when I saw it.

And yes, since very little has happened thus far, this Q4 will be very interesting to watch.

DVD was already pretty well established before either the PS2 or XBox were released, so I'm not sure what your point is in that comparison. PS3 and Blu-ray are both new formats, so the chance of confusion is much, much greater. Remember, for most consumers, the introduction of the PS3 will be their first exposure to Blu-ray in general. Having the Blu-ray logo in the exact same position, size and color on PS3 cases as it will be on every BD-video case only compounds the issue.

I'm sure it is only a local phenomenon. When I pulled my weekly Best Buy insert out of the Sunday paper yesterday, it still featured nearly the full front cover as a Blu-ray ad (using a 5-year-old movie to "showcase" the format), with no mention of HD DVD to be found.

However, I did notice one conspicuous change in the ad. They no longer refer to Blu-ray as the next generation DVD player. It is now called the next generation HD video player. So, maybe the DVD Forum did get after them, after all.

At one of my local Best Buy's, they've taken down the poster that refers that says Blu-Ray: Experience Next Generation DVD. (Although it's still up at another one.) So, it's possible that they have been made aware of the trademark issues.

Yeah, I noticed that too. I told my girlfriend and she laughed.

In my experience, seeing sales ads and visiting the stores. I have not seen ANY bluray bias from BB. All the stores that I have been to have had hd-dvd and bluray on similar sizes sets and in similar locations. One store has a xa1 on a large mits 73in 1080p set (looks brilliant).

This weekend, I went to a store to look at the 71in sammy 1080p set, they had the sammy bd player on it, but it wasnt on. I had them turn it on. It had 50 first dates in it and it looked good (not great, but good).

Ive seen large advertisements for both BD and HD-DVD in their ads.

I just havent seen this BB bias that people speak of. I dont think it exists. Now, CC on the other hand, I have seen it in their ads.

Well, considering that over 50% of PS2 owners say that it was their first DVD player, I'd say the PS2 was a lot of people's first exposure to DVD as well.

I just think it's silly to think that people will be unable to distinguish between a movie and a game because they come in the same style case. People at large have come to be able to distingiush a disc format from what media is on it. They've had experience with CD vs. CD-ROM in PC and game systems and DVD vs. DVD-ROM as well. It's not that hard of a distinction and the population at large has had some practice at it.

Rock,

Have you talked to the employees or had them come up to you? It's definitely there.

That's a bit of a non sequitur. First DVD player and first DVD exposure are two very different things. The likelihood is that most, if not all of those people were already well aware of what DVDs were before their PS2 purchase. They just hadn't been sufficiently motivated to purchase a player yet. Of course, such a discussion assumes that one believes that statistic (which I do not, at least not to the extent you do).

Then please explain why, when DVD, DVD-A, and SACD were introduced, the companies involved went to such great lengths to develop packaging that visually distinguished those formats, both from each other and from Audio CDs. The reason is that people DO make mistakes.

Picture this scenario. A Mother is Christmas shopping for her children, who really want the X-Men III PS3 game. She's rushed, stressed, and fighting the crowds. She spies a familiar blue case on an end cap display that says X-Men III. Pushing through the crowd, she grabs it, makes a bee line to the checkout counter, and pays for it, without realizing that it is the movie, not the game. Your apparent belief is that this scenario could never happen. My belief is that with common packaging styles it will be more commonplace than it would with better, more visually distinguishable packaging.

I'm not saying that people will necessarily confuse the two (movies and games)... some people will, but there are still people who confuse CDs and DVDs. You can't help everyone. But people may get just confused enough to think that Blu-ray means "movies that you watch on your PS3."

That's a limiting perception. If a customer has that perception and has no interest in a PS3, they are consequently going to have no interest in blu-ray. With DVD, people may have first used a PS2 to play one, but they were certainly aware that it was as stand alone product as well. DVDs and gaming were never considered one and the same. There's a chance that this will happen with the BD 'brand'.

Again... who knows? Maybe I'm overthinking this. But it does seem to me that this aligns BD a bit too closely with the PS3 platform.

More good news: current commercials for Tokyo Drift mention the HD DVD.

This is just the beginning...

I know people who still expect a CD player to play DVDs. (and maybe even tapes) There will certainly be some confusion because many people can't cope with technology. We can only hope it won't be horrible and do damage to HD video discs overall.

Yeah, I'm sure people will be confused no matter what. People don't pay attention.

I see people getting confused over BD and HD DVD as well, despite the logos and the packaging being different. Too many consumers will just think High Def and buy the movie that want to see, without regards to whether it's BD or HD DVD. Especially for Christmas gifts. Imagine:

Sally goes to visit her sister Jane. Jane's son Stephen (Sally's nephew) just bought a BD player. Sally sees the movie playing on the big screen TV and says, "Wow! That looks great!! What is it??" Stephen says, "Yeah aunt Sally, it's one of them new High Definition players." The next week, Sally goes to Best Buy and sees a movie which has "HD" plastered across the front and buys it as a present for Stephen. (The same can work for an HD DVD player. Sally goes to BB and sees a big poster for "HD Video" next to the BD display and buys a BD for Stephen.)

I think this is all too likely. At least as likely as people confusing CD and DVD, or people getting confused over a movie and a game.

Only briefly about the Sammy 71in (that im about to purchase). But, he didnt push the BD player on me at all.

So, your right, I have not had any experience in asking the employees about the products. I was just going on store setup and weekly ads.

Because all three of those are audio formats. CD-ROM based video game systems never bothered with a case different from regular CDs, and DVD-ROM based video games never bothered with a case different from regular DVDs. But both BD and HD DVD bothered with case design changes to differentiate it from DVDs. Within the same application, case changes are important, but not so much so for different applications.

That can happen with current DVD vs. PS2 or Xbox games as well, it's just as likely. And there are several things that differ between the two types, the game and the movie: The game banner on the cover, or lack of it, the location in the store (next to other movies or next to the video games), and the price. If she's ignoring all those other factors, I'm not sure how making the BD logo less prominent would really help.

I guess my point wasn't that it wouldn't happen ever, just that it's no more likely to happen with BD than it did with DVD or CD.

And they'd be correct, they can play BD movies on their PS3. The confusion would arise if they starting thinking that BD movies can only be played on their PS3.

However, when it comes to brand confusion, consumers tend to expand a format's compatability rather than restrict it. Some people may think the HD DVDs will be playable on their current DVD player, since it says DVD on the cover. Some people thought that a PSP could play DVD movies, or that the UMD movies could be played in other devices. Consumers are more likely to not make distinctions than to overly make distinctions.

I dont think almost anyone will confuse the BD games/movies as much as confusing HD-DVD, BD and DVD. Most gamers are pretty aware.

You might find the occasional parent who gets confused and buys a BD movie when they dont have an hdtv though. I think thats the real problem that they might face.

Doesnt all hd-dvd wrapping have the "can only be played on an hd-dvd player" sticker though?? or is it just some titles??

I'm almost positive all of mine have had it.

Actually some of them did, at first. Sega CD and 3D0 games came in long cases, and the Saturn and PlayStation followed suit. PS games started being packaged in jewel cases at some point several months after the console was released in the US, but I think Saturn stayed with the long cases.

And, in case I wasn't being clear, that's exactly what I'm saying. That by placing them in the same case with such distinctive (and similar) branding, that they run the risk of making the general public think that you need a PS3 to play a BD movie. And that, without a PS3, there's no way to use a BD movie. That when you say "blu-ray", people would think "PS3".


But I agree that there's probably going to be enough confusion already between DVD, HD DVD, BD, and Lord knows what else. This additional level of confusion is probably a drop in the bucket.

Yeah, mine too...im sure this is one reason why BB is keeping them out of the DVD section in the stores (at least for now). They dont want people to get confused. Hell, there are already enough versions of some movies without adding HD and BD to it.

Stephen: Aunt Sally, thanks for the movie, but I don't have an HD DVD player.
Sally: I thought you told me that your DVD player was HD!

While the sticker is a great idea, I don't think it does much if you're the type that doesn't pay attention. Or if you're shopping on line.

They can solve this by adding a sticker to the BD movie wrappings that say "Can only be played on the PS3 or Bluray player".

True, but at least it cuts down...plus, if someone buys it and then gets home and sees that it doesnt work in their player....maybe they will see the sticker then and not be as mad since they didnt read.

I think we can ALL agree that Aunt Sally is going to be too busy trying to find a PS3 to buy an HD movie.