"Failure to alter strategy would open up Blu-ray to a possible upset defeat at the hands of HD DVD," says Forrester Research analyst J P Gownder in an interview with Reuters.

While sticking to his company line that Blu-ray would eventually win out over HD DVD, Gownder said the Blu-ray camp needs to cut hardware prices. The prices of HD DVD players have dropped into consumers' preferred price range. Typical owners of high-definition televisions are not willing to pay more than $200 on average for a new HD DVD or Blu-ray player, the analyst is quoted as saying.

"Weakened by these developments, Blu-ray needs to offer a viable hardware model at the $250 price point by Christmas 2007," the analyst states in the latest Forrester report on the industry. "The Blu-ray camp must also stave off further studio defections, and employ more aggressive promotional tactics to counter HD DVD's recent momentum."

According to Forrester, sales of next-generation DVD players are not seen as likely to take off for another 18 months as consumers are still waiting for prices to fall and for the battle over two competing technologies to be resolved.

Story filed 25.09.07