Blockbuster to Test Blu-ray, HD DVD Rentals

After a week of rumors, Blockbuster has confirmed it will test Blu-ray and HD DVD rentals at select outlets nationwide starting immediately.

After a leak of the news first appeared in a post at AVS Forum, speculation ran rampant on the web that the struggling rental giant was about to begin testing high-def rentals in about 250 of its high-volume stores, with each stocking about 40 titles to start, then adding about four to six titles monthly. High-def titles would rent at the same rate as standard-def DVDs.

Blockbuster has now confirmed those plans to Video Business. "It's a careful selection process," Blockbuster spokesman Randy Hargrove said of the experiment. "We're looking at DVD adoption rate and hardware penetration. We'll continue to watch the market and monitor to see where additional expansion will be appropriate."

This marks Blockbuster's first foray into storefront high-def rentals, though the chain's online arm has been offering Blu-ray and HD DVD titles for several months.