Archive notice: This article was originally published on July 30, 2007. Links and embedded videos are preserved as part of the historical record.
This considerably delays the breakthrough of high-resolution DVDs and leads many customers to play it safe and stick with the familiar DVD. Inadequate customer information also often leads to picture quality at home failing to live up to what it promised in the shop, as the Swiss newspaper Sonntagszeitung reports.
Many buyers of the expensive devices do not realize that an HD television does not automatically deliver pictures in HD quality. If one wants to see the normal television programme in high definition, the picture must first be prepared for playback on the large screen. To watch television in high-definition quality, one therefore needs not only an HD television, but also an HD player that can play HD films. Only the combination of these components actually produces a picture that can keep up with cinema quality. An HD player connected to an old television also does not deliver optimal pictures. The new purchase of these devices can, however, become costly overall, and so many film lovers are still waiting to upgrade their home cinema to HD. Because it has not yet been decided which HD disc format will prevail.
Sony is trying to become market leader with its Blu-Ray format, while Toshiba is relying on its HD-DVDs. Supporters from the film and video-game industry are gathering around both companies – who will ultimately prevail is not yet clear. This uncertainty and the high price of an upgrade are slowing sales figures. According to market researcher iSuppli, 2.6 million HD playback devices will be shipped in the USA this year, which is vanishingly small compared with 124 million DVD players manufactured. The same picture presents itself in Europe. In Switzerland, for example, according to IHA-GfK only 1,000 HD players were sold between January and June 2007, but 54,000 DVD players.
