Originally Posted by bruceames

WB obviously won't drop BD, but they are concerned about the effect BD will have on DVD sales. BD must do well enough to at least offset the negative DVD sales due to BD's existence. Consumer's will increasingly stop buying DVDs because they know BD renders them obsolete. It's possible more people will stop buying DVDs because of Blu-ray then those who do buy Blu-ray, and that's what they don't want. The problem is, Blu-ray is being introduced less than 10 years after DVD, and consumers will be wary of investing so heavily in a format with such a short life span (ie, before another format that's better comes along). When I first starting buying DVDs, I had no idea that they would be coming out with improved transfers of the same movie in a few years, much less have a new format come along so soon. It really makes one think twice about buying rather than renting. If burned consumers revert to a renting mentality they once had with VHS, then that will not bode well for the format. And renting has never been easier and will only get more convenient as time goes on...