Apparently this backfired a bit, with people buying HD-DVD discs thinking their normal DVD player would play them. Every store I've see that carries HD-DVD or Blu-ray has big disclaimers above the area stating you must have a new HD-DVD or Blu-ray player to play the discs now, but most didn't when they first started appearing. What also likely didn't help the confusion was the mix of DVD/HD-DVD hybrids in with the normal HD-DVDs. So some would play on a DVD player, while others wouldn't.

I don't see the name changing anytime soon. The Blu-ray association has spent a ton of money on brand recognition and the associated branding on players, movies, and so on. Imagine trying to change the name of the XBox 360 now, or the iPhone. And both of those have been known about for less time then Blu-ray.