Yawn...

Also, the 3 stores with HD movies I went to had almost every single title in stock. No one was renting them.

I'm calling BS on this. I have rented a ton of discs the past year and never had an issue with an HD DVD rental, however, I have had several BD discs that were scratched and unplayable. The BD hard coating is the biggest myth out there. That coating can easily be scratched and does not hold up well at all on rental discs. Scratched HD DVDs play fine, but even a single scratch on a BD can mean death if it is deep enough and believe me on BD it doesn't take much.

I see quite a few people at Blockbuster, either buying used DVD's, renting movies, or games. They're still pretty popular, at least around me. With people starting to have a few PS3's, it makes sense for them to try renting Blu-Ray discs at Blockbuster.

Actually CitiGroup just recommended buying Blockbuster stock because they now seem primed to beat Netflix in mail-order rentals, which I guess doesn't make a difference here as the article states.

I still have frustration with their B&M stores because some new releases are rented out early Tuesday mornings, but I guess that just means there are plenty of people giving them business each week.

Between this and Richard Doherty saying that Microsoft may not produce HD discs in five years, and would rather they would rather everything be On Demand so they don't have to print HD discs at all, I'll be happy if this is the beginning of the end for HD-DVD.

Finally I can make the switch to one format or the other!

The coating was the first thing that came to mind for me since I'm sure it will help them save money in not having to buy new discs.

I dont think so. You just wont be getting any new movies in that format

Believe me if the BD format ever gets really popular and these things get rented in high volume they will need to be replaced more often than standard DVDs. A scratched up DVD still plays most of the time, but a scratched up BD does not from my experience. They are not the indestructible discs Sony would have you believe. For people buying them they will be fine since we take care of our discs and they can handle normal use with no scratches, but the rental market will destroy these things. I won't buy used PS3 games unless the disc is still pristine. The data layer is just too easy to ruin with a single scratch.

The magic Blu-Ray Coating is just PR fluff. Now disc rot....well....

My experience is the complete opposite: I find the HD DVD's to be much more susceptible to scuffs than BDs... big reason why, if all other things are equal, I will purchase the BD title instead of the HD DVD title, IMO they're much more durable.

Well, I guess it's a good thing I don't rent movies.

Renting can be useful though, in case you ever scratch one of your own discs.

I agree if you are buying. Taken care of a BD disc should never get scratched. However, my experience with rental discs is that people are finding ways to scratch BD discs. I can only imagine how bad it will be if the format becomes popular.

I cant even remember the last time I went to BB, much less rented something. I think this could've been a devastating blow 5 years ago, but not now. Once DVDs started dropping in price so hard, it seemed like people would rather spend a few dollars more, and own rather than rent.

No matter which side you are on, none of this news is good for the HD DVD group. BD has always had stronger support, has not lost any exclusive studios, and has now gotten exclusive backing from the largest movie rental chain. HD DVD hasn't gained any extra support, which is a little troubling. And originally, Warners and Paramount were HD DVD exclusive.

I think I'm going to do this. I've supported both for months (HD DVD since launch). But I've been buying on BD if it's available. This war has gone on for a year and nothing has changed. BD hasn't lost any support and has gained an extra exclusive backer (BB). HD DVD hasn't gained any additional support. I know $499 is still high for many, but Sony is finally moving in the right direction in terms of standalone player pricing. I think it's possible the BDP-S300 could be in the $300 range for Christmas. I think the BD group will try to win this war outright during the holiday season. They will have a large amount of "popular" exclusives to promote (Spidey 3, Pirates 3, Fantastic Four 2, etc.). And the Matrix set will likely arrive on BD during that time.

In this see-saw format war, I felt it swinging back towards HD-DVD with the sub-$300 (sub-$250 at Costco) player price. The full effect from the A2 sales in the past month haven't been felt yet in the movie sales and rentals yet. Blockbuster's actions may be a bit premature, but perhaps they felt was necessary before doing a full rollout. Give them credit though, they did give the test market several months to work it out.

What crappy news to wake up to. I love my HD DVD player and will get use out of it watching movies I've purchased (as well as HD slideshows burned on my PC). But I'm afraid this news really could be the beginning of the end for the format.

I had thought with the recent sales of HD DVD players under the $300 price point that things may be turning around for the format. Now, I'm less optomistic.

I rent HD DVD movies from NetFlix, but despite their popularity, Blockbuster is still the household name when it comes to renting movies. Their support of Blu-Ray really could sway people to get one player over the other. Hell, it's a headline on USA Today's website. It's not like the studio release dates, hardware, picture quality debates, etc., that we follow here (and virtually no consumer ever even hears about). People will see this. And when they walk into their local Blockbuster, here sits Blu Ray and no HD DVD. So when it comes for the general public to start going to HD formats in mass, what do you think they're going to choose?

Had another thought. Most Xbox 360 owners are glad Microsoft didn't force HD DVD on time and gave them the option only through an add-on.

But it would be interesting to think, what if MS had made an HD DVD drive as part of the hardware and not an add-on? I wonder if the HD DVD format would be doing better now?

Xbox 360 still has a very big margin over PS3 (think it's like 10 million to 3 million). If those 10 million all had HD DVD, I think the format would be doing a hell of a lot better. Of course, the 360 would have cost more and maybe wouldn't have those 10 million. Anyhow, just a thought.

Excellent point. The problem is that Microsoft does not have a vested interest in HD-DVD like Sony has with Blu-ray. I'll admit that I would have been a dual format supporter if my 360 came with an HD-DVD drive. I only got into blu-ray due to the fact my ps3 came with it and I was sold after I bought my first movie.

Im going to be mad as hell, if a crappy company like Blockbuster is a death blow to HD. But even if they are exclusive, price still has to play a major factor, and Bluray players just are not there yet.

I wonder how much an effect this will have, but it's certainly not good news for HD-DVD. I suspect that most people into Blu Ray or HD-DVD right now either don't rent from Blockbuster or rent online. And Blockbuster will still offer HD-DVDs online. So there's little change there.

The real problem is with future buyers. If people only see Blu Ray discs in their rental location, odds are they won't buy a HD DVD player in the future (although many consumers seem confused or ignorant, so the influence may not be that strong).

Well, I just hope they show up at my local store. I use Blockbuster.com and their AVAILABILITY for HD/BR is limited. I have a PS3 and a 360 HD-DVD, so I support both I guess...but I really only rent as prices are still too high. I'll just be glad when I can go to Blockbuster and RENT either format.

Hopefully my store gets them.

http://www.highdefdigest.com/news/sh...00+_Stores/707

Blockbuster is dying.

Might as well take BR with them.

Hurray! I hope the Blockbuster near our house is one of the 1450.