Movie rental chain Blockbuster is to exclusively stock Blu-ray format DVDs in 1,450 of its stores in the US.
The move could be telling in the battle between Sony-supported Blu-ray and HD DVD, backed by Toshiba, to become the dominant high definition DVD format.
In an announcement today Blockbuster said it would continue to stock both formats in 250 of its stores, while its online rental service will also continue to offer Blu-ray and HD DVD films.
The company's marketing senior vice president, Matthew Smith, explained the decision was based on rental sales of Blu-ray discs "significantly outpacing" HD DVDs.
"We intend to meet the demands of our customers and based on the trends we're seeing, we're expanding our Blu-ray inventory to ensure our stores reflect the right level of products," he said.
But he insisted that Blockbuster's decision did not represent the death knell for HD DVD.
"While it is still too early to say which high-definition format will become the industry standard, we will continue to closely monitor customer rental patterns both at our stores and online, so we can adjust our inventory mix accordingly and ensure that Blockbuster is offering customers the most convenient access to the movies they want, in the format they want," Mr Smith added.
All but one of the major film distributors use the Blu-ray DVD format, while only Warner Bros and Paramount release high definition movies on both.
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