Why early HD disc adoption rates don't matter

Blu-ray appears to be opening up a lead on its high-definition rival, according to first quarter sales figures gathered by Home Media Magazine. The numbers weigh heavily in Blu-ray's favor: 70 percent of all HD titles purchased by consumers were in that format. For the month of March alone, that figure was closer to 75 percent. Sales of Blu-ray discs also passed the 1 million mark since their launch. But there's a very big reason to take all of these numbers with several grains of salt; more on that later.

The Blu-ray Disc Association trumpeted the first quarter results, saying that the numbers show that Blu-ray sales have "taken off" since the beginning of 2007. "Blu-ray Discs have been outselling HD DVD by more than two to one since the beginning of the year and the gap is steadily widening," said Any Parsons, the Blu-Ray Disc Association's US Promotion Committee chairperson.