In the latest statement coming from the Digital Entertainment Group (DEG) Europe, it was noted that the United Kingdom is leading the way in the HD revolution. The group says that tech-savvy Brits have been buying more next-gen media than any other people on Earth.

DEG Europe says that the UK's tracked media numbers show that it has the most rapid switching patterns in the world. Growth of standard definition content has slowed down to 4.2 percent in 2007, while HD media consumption has grown by 85 times from 2006 to 2007.

The rest of Europe isn't far behind, the DEG says. In 2007 alone, 2.5 million HD materials were sold in the region. Hardware sales has also been on the rise even though SD players cost significantly less than their HD counterparts.

"In 2007, we saw over 2.5 million units of high definition DVD’s sold within Europe," comments Warner Home Video vice=president Yves Caillaud. "To put this in context, when compared to the transfer from VHS to DVD in 1998, only 1,480,000 DVDs were sold in the first year. This clearly demonstrates the rapid consumer adoption of HD technologies.”

With the format war between Toshiba's HD-DVD and Sony's Blu-ray officially over, consumers are likely to pick up the spending pace even more. A single format means you can enjoy content from all major sources with just one type of player, giving consumers more value for their money.

Thanks to Karolin Kroeg for the tip!