February 11, 2008 3:31 PM EST

MINNEAPOLIS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--

Best Buy Co., Inc. (NYSE: BBY) is taking a step forward in addressing consumer confusion about high-definition formats. Beginning in early March, the leading consumer electronics retailer will prominently showcase Blu-ray hardware and software products in its Best Buy retail and online channels in the United States.

"Consumers have told us that they want us to help lead the way. We've listened to our customers, and we are responding. Best Buy will recommend Blu-ray as the preferred format," said Brian Dunn, Best Buy's president and chief operating officer. "Our decision to shine a spotlight on Blu-ray Disc players and other Blu-ray products is a strong signal to our customers that we believe Blu-ray is the right format choice for them."

Dunn continued, "Best Buy has always believed that the customer will benefit from a widely-accepted single format that would offer advantages such as product compatibility and expanded content choices. Because we believe that Blu-ray is fast emerging as that single format, we have decided to focus on Blu-ray products."

"With the explosion of HDTVs, customers are hungry for quality, high definition content. We believe our move to feature Blu-ray should help consumers feel confident in their hi-def content choices," said Mike Vitelli, Best Buy's senior vice president, Home Solutions. "Best Buy is excited by the next generation of digital products and we know our customers are too. We are excited about helping customers find the right mix of products and services to make the next generation of high definition entertainment technology come alive for them. We believe that Blu-ray is the right solution for consumers."

Best Buy currently carries a wide array of Blu-ray hardware and software products. The company noted that it will continue to carry an assortment of HD-DVD products for customers who desire to purchase these products.

About Best Buy Co., Inc.

Best Buy Co., Inc. (NYSE: BBY) operates a global portfolio of brands with a commitment to growth and innovation. Our employees strive to provide customers around the world with superior experiences by responding to their unique needs and aspirations. We sell consumer electronics, home-office products, entertainment software, appliances and related services through nearly 1,300 retail stores across the United States, throughout Canada and in China. Our multi-channel operations include: Best Buy (BestBuy.com, BestBuy.ca and BestBuy.com.cn), Future Shop (FutureShop.ca), Geek Squad (GeekSquad.com and GeekSquad.ca), Pacific Sales Kitchen and Bath Centers (PacificSales.com), Magnolia Audio Video (Magnoliaav.com), Jiangsu Five Star Appliance Co. (Five-Star.cn) and Speakeasy (Speakeasy.net). Best Buy supports the communities in which its employees work and live through volunteerism and grants that benefit children and education.

Source: Best Buy Co., Inc.

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LOL

Attack of the fanboy!

not much to add here, as the stuff says it all, but as a best buy employee who got the internal memo... i can obviously state this is no cowpie... and with my long standing experience with the company I would say that the significance of this announcement will translate into a noticeable differance in stores, particularly with the merchandising and promotions.

Lack of product compatibility is Samsung's fault, nto the BDAs.  All the other brands work fine.

No problems what-so-ever using a PS3 to watch Blu-Ray.

Quoting Vega:

Quote:
Quoting Dr. Killpatient:

Quote:
No problems what-so-ever using a PS3 to watch Blu-Ray.

Of course not, the PS3 is the most powerful Blu-ray player out there and routinely gets firmware updates so Sony ensures it's always working.  It can also be upgraded to profile 2.0, so I would definitely recommend it over any other Blu-ray player out there.  Though, it can be a bit loud compared to the standalone players, but it's still the best player on the market (and probably will be for quite a while).

What a load of CRAP. Routine updates? BULL. We get updates maybe every 4-6 months. If that. I've had my PS3 for a year now, 2 updates. Maybe 3. The other players get more updates.

Edit: That also assumes that Sony has copies of movies 6 months in advance to make sure thye work with the PS3. As far as I know, lall the CE's test the movies at the same time. The PS3 is just an awesome BR player, sans f/w updates.

Quoting pplchamp:

Quote:
What a load of CRAP. Routine updates? BULL. We get updates maybe every 4-6 months. If that. I've had my PS3 for a year now, 2 updates. Maybe 3. The other players get more updates.

Edit: That also assumes that Sony has copies of movies 6 months in advance to make sure thye work with the PS3. As far as I know, lall the CE's test the movies at the same time. The PS3 is just an awesome BR player, sans f/w updates.

I admit I didn't go checking before saying that..    I did check just now and there were 5 firmware updates in 2007, the last one being in December (and only 2 of them specifically mention making fixes/additions regarding Blu-ray).  But my main point, which it seems we both agree on, is that the PS3 is the best BR player out there as far as compatibility and future proofing.

The only thing I can guess at for it not having the compatibility issues the standalone players are having is due to it's raw processing power and Sony ensuring it can handle any java thrown at it.  Maybe Sony should have provided Cell processors to all the Blu-ray manfacturers... 

Quoting pplchamp:

Quote:
What a load of CRAP. Routine updates? BULL. We get updates maybe every 4-6 months. If that. I've had my PS3 for a year now, 2 updates. Maybe 3. The other players get more updates.

Edit: That also assumes that Sony has copies of movies 6 months in advance to make sure thye work with the PS3. As far as I know, lall the CE's test the movies at the same time. The PS3 is just an awesome BR player, sans f/w updates.

That reminds me a bit of an old joke:

"The elevator company has a very good service team! They are here every week..."

I mean, I have always read that the PS3 is a good player. Apparently there have been a few updates, one of them  doing the upgrade to Profile 1.1. I mean, as long as the necessary updates are coming, everything should be fine...? I'd be more concerned if the updates would be coming in weekly...