In the battle for the next-gen HD format it appears that the Blu Ray camp is gaining a slight lead in front of its HD DVD rival, despite the fact that most customers are quite unaware of the fierce battle for supremacy.

"We are starting to see the pendulum swing slowly in [Blu-ray's] direction," says analyst Chris Roden, from Parks Associates. "Recent retail developments, support from major Hollywood studios, and inclusion of the format in the PlayStation 3 puts the Blu-ray format in the lead."

Both Blockbuster and Target have both recently declared their support for Blu-ray. Blockbuster will exclusively offer Blu-ray rentals at 85% of its stores, while Target will only sell Blu-ray players at least through the holiday shopping season. Blockbuster motivated its decision by citing customers’ overwhelming demand for Blu Ray.

In addition, more Hollywood studios are behind Sony's HD format. With exception to Universal Studios which is currently the sole promoter of HD DVD, all of the other five major film studios either exclusively back Blu-ray or release movies on both formats.

Lastly, the recent PS3 price drop of $100 wasn't just for gamers, it was partly an effort to help boost Blu-ray adoption against the Microsoft backed HD DVD. The difference, however, is that PS3 comes standard with Blu-ray, whereas Xbox 360 owners must additionally purchase the HD DVD drive should they choose to also enjoy HD movies. This is a significant advantage for Sony as every PS3 owner is also a Blu-ray owner. Microsoft on the other hand proposed a $50 price cut for the external HD DVD drive, starting August 1.

But just because Blu-ray is slowly gaining traction, it doesn't mean consumers have chosen a side. According to one report, less than 10 % of U.S. consumers are even familiar with either HD DVD or Blu-ray.

Widespread confusion and general apathy aren't good for either format.

The cited report estimates that, with set-top box models and game consoles combined, more than 32 million Blu-ray and HD DVD players will be sold in United States by 2011, an 85% increase from the 4.9 million units estimated to be sold in 2007.