The HD DVD Promotion Group is guilty of manipulating independent research data in order to mislead the HD-buying public. That's according to the chairman of the Blu-ray Disc Association who put in a call to Tech.co.uk this afternoon.
Yesterday the HD DVD Promotion Group said that the attach rate for HD movies on the HD DVD format was far greater than on Blu-ray. The claim was that HD DVD owners buy, on average, 3.8 HD movies each, compared to just 0.6 movies sold per Blu ray player.
Blu-ray rejects HD DVD claims
But Frank Simonis responded by saying this is a "gross misrepresentation of data" and that the GfK research has been manipulated by the HD DVD camp in order to appear more in favour of the HD DVD format.
"The figures have been severely massaged and that is something you should just not do," he said. "The HD DVD Group have manipulated the GfK data and you can see this because they did not even supply access to the original source of their numbers.
"Honest to God, the Blu-ray Disc Association would never do this. We've seen so much rubbish come from the HD DVD Group it's unbelievable. When we supply numbers like this, we will always provide access to our source data so that reporters are able to double check the numbers.
"It's our policy to always be open and honest with our figures, but then we are confronted by this grossly manipulated data from the other side. As an organisation, we make a point of staying away from this kind of gossip."
PS3 now included as BD player
Simonis said that the HD DVD Promotion Group's decision to include the PlayStation 3 in its figures had raised a few eyebrows in the Blu-ray camp.
"Until now, they have refused to accept that the PS3 is a Blu-ray player because it made their numbers look better. But now it suits them they have included the PS3, which is funny in a way."
Simonis did, however, welcome the HD DVD camp's decision to include the PS3 as a BD player, and said he hoped that they would continue to do so in the future. He also said that despite the HD DVD Promotion Group's claims, the Blu-ray Disc format is, in actual fact, consistently outselling HD DVD.
Blu-ray sales speak volumes
"Before the PS3 launched worldwide, BD movies were outselling HD DVD ones by 2-to-1 and now the PS3 is around, BD outsells HD DVD by 3-to1."
The HD DVD camp's decision to include PS3 sales in its figures also raised a few eyebrows in the Tech.co.uk office yesterday morning. In the past, by not including the PS3 in its figures, hardware sales looked more impressive for the HD DVD supporters.
But now, with the PS3 included when calculating the attach rate per player, the BD numbers are thus diluted. This is what the Blu-ray Disc Association chairman meant when he said the HD DVD camp had "manipulated" the data.
