A poll conducted by a nationally recognized strategic marketing firm suggests consumers might pick the Blu-ray format as their next-generation DVD disc of choice, according to the Blu-ray Disc Association, which commissioned the poll.
The Penn, Schoen and Berland Associates poll showed 58 percent of 1,200 consumers questioned preferred Blu-ray over HD-DVD, with 16 percent preferring HD-DVD and 26 percent undecided.
Those who preferred Blu-ray, according to the PSBA poll, said the format's playability in a wider variety of devices and "backward compatibility" with current DVD media had as much to do with their choice as Blu-ray's ability to store a high volume of high-definition or standard-definition video data.
The PSBA poll showed those who planned to buy the next-generation DVD format picked Blu-ray by 66 percent. Fifteen percent said they would rather buy HD-DVD.
"While we are still in the prelaunch phase for both formats, Blu-ray disc is the early front-runner," said Penn, Schoen and Berland's Mark Penn in a prepared comment. "Consumers perceive Blu-ray as the favorite on technology company support, gaming, storage, and disc versatility."
The results of the Blu-ray Disc Association-commissioned poll were announced more than two weeks after HD-DVD creator Toshiba announced a partnership with Microsoft to co-develop HD-DVD players. That announcement came a month after Toshiba rejected speculation that it might join Blu-ray creator Sony in either a unified next-gen disc format or a disc that could employ both technologies in the same product.
At the same time, Toshiba said it was working on a deeper-storage HD-DVD disc that, in theory, would erase what many believed to be Blu-ray's major advantage. Blu-ray had been seen as the superior technological format, while HD-DVD was seen as the more cost-effective format.
Toshiba also said in June it was ready to mass produce recordable HD-DVD discs. HD-DVD players are expected to hit consumer markets later this year.
