The format war: What's in a name?
By Ben Drawbaugh 
posted Apr 25th 2007 10:47AM
posted Apr 25th 2007 10:47AM
The two formats that are trying to be the next DVD are very similar in many ways, but their name isn't one of them. Both sides have made their mistakes, -- the biggest being that there are two formats in the first place -- but it seems that one of Blu-ray's biggest mistakes might be its name. They claim they wanted to be as far away from the name DVD as possible in order to distinguish themselves, but some say they choose blu instead of blue so they could copyright the name. Either way, there is no doubt that the name Blu-ray is causing consumers to be confused; you see it misspelled all over the Internet and even in our comments. In the age of the Internet where you want your product to be easily found online, you have to question the spelling of the name. One of the metrics that is used to gauge the format war is Google trends and HD DVD is clearly ranked considerably higher, but if you add the common misspellings of both formats the chart looks different and it is clear to see that many people misspell Blu-ray as Blue-ray.
Google Trends chart only counting the correct spelling.
The correct HD DVD spelling is clearly more popular.
The incorrect spelling of Blu-ray is often more popular than the correct spelling.
Any statistics on the common mis-spelling of the word "gauge." Just kidding. :)
Good catch, I fixed it, thanks.
Turns out, "blu ray" and "bluray" are other common spellings:
http://www.google.com/trends?q=Blu-ray%2C+blueray%2C+%22blue+ray%22%2C+%22blu+ray%22%2C+bluray&ctab=0&geo=US&date=2006
With these two new spellings added, Blu-ray comes out on top:
http://www.google.com/trends?q=Blu-ray+%7C+blueray+%7C+%22blue+ray%22+%7C+%22blu+ray%22+%7C+bluray+%7C+blue-ray%2C+hddvd%7C%22hd+dvd%22%7C%22hd-dvd%22&ctab=0&geo=US&date=2006
Branding isn't easy, but if you can't spell it from hearing it, you've generally made a bad decision (outside of hip hop, I guess).
It probably comes out on top because people have to try more search queries to find what they're looking for in the first place ;-)
And why isn't it blue-ray?
The laser is blue, right? Not some new color blu nor a ray product made by the 'blu' company.
It is sad to see language slide downhill because of "texting", character substitution, abbreviations, etc.
Actually the laser is closest to violet in the visible light spectrum. But blu is easier to market.
Well, "HD-DVD" or "HD DVD" or "HDDVD" will also confuse search engines...
People write "disk" when talking about DVDs and CDs too; the objects are discs as far as I know. Shrug.
I think you might have problems copyrighting Blue-ray because, blue is a color and I would think that you could not copyright something like that. Anyway what the hell do I know since I'm not a copyright lawyer. There may be other reasons behind the decision as well.
From www.blu-raydisc.com:
"The name Blu-ray came from the fact that the laser beam which reads the data from the new discs is blue instead of red which is used for current DVDs and CDs. This new blue laser is at the heart of Blu-ray Disc technology (i.e. blue ray of light)."
The term "Blue Ray" couldn't be used because it isn't a copywritable phrase.
Funnily enough, the confusion around the name hasn't hurt sales. I guess as long as they keep it in a Blue case, it'll be easy enough to find at your local Best Buy...
Erm, so basically what you're saying is that the reason Bluray is now on a downward spiral is because people are stupid.
Look. I know the whole Wal-Mart business as gotten you agitated. How do you think the reticent studios feel? Talk about having to change gears in a hurry. Perhaps one day you will awaken and realize that in the end, at least Bluray's presence in a competitive market maybe helped drive high definition prices down a little bit. So it's not like their existence never served any purpose.
Bleu-Ray
Blu-ray is on a downward spiral? That's news to everyone considering Blu-ray is still outselling HD DVD by nearly 3:1.
Most average schmucks know what HD is and know what a DVD is. HD DVD is obviously a better name for the next generation of dvd. The dvd part is of utmost importance, and the HD is what sets it apart. Great name.
Bloo-ray...not so much.
David said "Branding isn't easy, but if you can't spell it from hearing it, you've generally made a bad decision (outside of hip hop, I guess)."
Too right!! I heard a radio advert for a product I was interested in the other month; only a web address given at the end. Could I find it online? Nope, even with several attempts at spelling... That was a wasted campaign for the company I am sure..