• May 2, 2008

According to The NPD Group, stand-alone Blu-ray player unit sales dropped 40% from January to February in the U.S. and only saw a 2% increase from February to March, according to NPD's Retail Tracking Service. HD DVD player unit sales dropped 13% from January to February. The firm says once production stopped and inventory dried up, sales spiraled down 65% from February to March.

One option consumers are embracing is purchasing up-converting DVD players. According to NPD's Retail Tracking Service, unit sales of up-converting players were up over 5% in the first quarter of 2008 compared to 2007, while sales of DVD players without an up-converting feature declined 39%.

"Consumers continue to see a gap between Blu-ray's premium video quality and features and its premium price," said Ross Rubin, director of industry analysis, NPD. "As content availability improves, this holiday season will be the best opportunity to date for retailers and manufacturers to promote Blu-ray adoption.

--Karl Greenberg