June 18, 2007 (Reuters) — Blockbuster Inc. today put its weight behind Sony Corp.'s Blu-ray DVD format, as the No. 1 video rental chain said it would boost the number of stores carrying the high-definition discs to 1,700 by mid-July.

Blockbuster said Blu-ray has proven to be more popular among its customers than HD DVD, the competing high-definition format. The company has carried both Blu-ray and HD DVD products in 250 of its 8,000 stores since November 2006, and Blu-ray rentals have "significantly [outpaced] HD DVD rentals" in those stores, according to a company statement. Blockbuster will continue to offer both Blu-ray and HD-DVD titles in those 250 stores and through its online rental service.

Blockbuster rivals such as Movie Gallery Inc. and online rental company Netflix Inc. also offer both Blu-ray and HD DVD formats.

Blu-ray's high-definition digital technology, which is backed by Sony Corp., offers crisper pictures and more room for special features than current DVDs. The format competes with HD-DVD, which is backed by Toshiba Corp. HD-DVD offers somewhat less storage capacity than Blu-ray, but HD-DVD players, burners and discs are cheaper to produce than their Blu-ray counterparts

Measured in the number of players, Blu-ray is already well ahead of HD DVD because Sony's PlayStation 3 video game console comes with a built-in Blu-ray player.

Hollywood and electronics manufacturers hope new high-definition DVDs, with better picture quality and more capacity, will rejuvenate the slowing $24 billion home DVD market.

But the war between HD DVD and Blu-ray — which is also supported by companies such as Samsung Electronics, Philips Electronics NV, Matsushita, Apple Inc. and Dell Inc. — has curbed adoption of the new formats, since some consumers are concerned that they will end up with obsolete players.