Blockbuster to favour Blu-ray over HD-DVD

Blockbuster is to favour the Blu-ray movie format, rolling out the high-definition discs to all 1700 stores across the US, with only 250 shops stocking the rival HD-DVD format.

After an initial trial period, Blockbuster has found that rentals on Blu-ray have significantly outpaced HD-DVD titles.

"We intend to meet the demands of our customers and based on the trends we are seeing, we're expanding our Blu-ray inventory to ensure our stores reflect the right level of products," commented Matthew Smith, SVP of merchandising at Blockbuster.

Both formats will be on offer from the company's online rental service and the retailer says it is still willing to consider HD-DVD in more stores if customer demand is strong enough.

"While it is still too early to say which high-definition format will become the industry standard, we will continue to closely monitor customer rental patterns both at our stores and online, so we can adjust our inventory mix accordingly and ensure that Blockbuster is offering customers the most convenient access to the movies they want, in the format they want," said Smith.

The Blu-ray format is central to Sony's PlayStation 3 offering, while Microsoft adopted HD-DVD as its standard of choice for the Xbox 360.