The Channel Wire

March 19, 2008

Now that the format wars between HD DVD players is over and Sony can claim victory for its Blu-ray format, consumer electronics retailer Best Buy is offering a consolation prize to owners of Toshiba's vanquished HD DVD technology in the form of a $50 gift card to Best Buy stores.

Best Buy president and CEO Brian J. Dunn said he understood and shared customer frustration with the dueling formats. "Now that the format war is over, we hope these gift cards will reassure our customers that we will help them make a smooth transition into the right technology for their needs," Dunn said in a prepared statement.

Customers who purchased an HD DVD player before February 23, 2008 are eligible for the gift card. Best Buy said the total cost of the gift card distribution would top $10 million. Customers will automatically begin receiving their cards in the mail by May 1, the release stated.

"The beauty of this offer is that it doesn't require our customers to give up their HD-DVD player," said Best Buy's chief marketing officer Barry Judge. "We're telling our customers they can keep their players to play these movies as well as their older DVDs and use the $50 to treat themselves to anything else in our stores."

The deal comes nearly two weeks after Best Buy competitor Circuit City offered a full refund for customers who returned purchased HD DVD players.

Toshiba declared on February 19 that it would no longer manufacture or market HD DVD players. Support for the format had been steadily eroding as major film studios like Warner Bros. announced they had chosen the Blu-ray format to release its films in high definition.