Home Theater Specialists of America (HTSA), the $500 million buying group for A/V specialty dealers and installers, has formally confirmed that it is backing Blu-ray Disc technology based on sales trends among its 62 members.

The group announced during the recent CEDIA Expo that it will make Blu-ray its exclusive format choice for high-definition disc players. According to the results of an internal study released today, 92 percent of category sales by HTSA members were in Blu-ray players, with the balance comprised mostly of dual-format players that combine BD and HD-DVD playback capability.

The key questions here: If 92 percent of HD disc players sold by speciality dealers were for Blu-ray, does that mean that HD DVD players were actually ever offered as an option by a significant number of these speciality shops? And if so, were HD DVD players found to be seriously lacking in some important way?

Richard Glikes, executive director of the HSTA doesn't address this directly, at least based on the comments relayed by TWICE. He says the decision was made on the basis of Blu-ray's greater storage capacity, better resolution (huh?), larger manufacturer support and better software availability.

But really, the "endorsement" is just a pretty new bow on a decision that didn't actually involve any deciding. Based on the sales numbers provided by HSTA, it's clear that high-end retailers have embraced Blu-Ray from the very start. And I think the reason for this is both logical and defensible.

Speciality dealers don't stand to make much profit by selling lower-priced HD DVD players at MSRP, when more and more consumers know they can get the same thing on the Internet at a 20% discount (or more). The fact that Blu-ray players sell at a respectable premium to HD DVD, and that there's a somewhat broader range of manufacturers selling them seems like a very good thing for speciality dealers. The fact that Blu-ray provides better profitability and greater differentiation is a legitimate selling point for the format.

So, why isn't the HTSA saying that?

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