However Browning, who is one of the most experienced CE retail marketing executives in Australia, disagrees. He believes that both formats will survive and that content will be the driving factor. He should know, as JB HiFi is one of the biggest sellers of music and movie content in Australia.
Said Browning, "The fact that movie houses like Paramount are behind the HD DVD format along with the likes of Universal and DreamWorks is key. I believe that more content providers will get behind the format and that the likes of Microsoft which is a big supporter of the HD DVD format will bring out an Xbox with a built in HD DVD player. This is a given."
"Toshiba is a great company and next year we look forward to working with them across computing, HD DVD and their LCD TV offerings," he concluded.
Talking to Appliance Retailer web site Current JB Hi-Fi chief executive officer Richard Uechtritz said today the move was not a back flip but a studied response to changing industry trends.
"You make a decision one day and you change it the next as different information and facts come to life," he said. "We feel there is a market for high definition and it's as simple as that."
Uechtritz said that while Blu-ray was still the market-leading format for DVD players in Australia, HD DVD has taken the lead in Europe and the US.
"In our minds it is somewhat inevitable for the medium term that there will be two formats," he said. "JB customers will want it and we rather they buy it from JB than elsewhere."
