As
much as technophiles and home theatre addicts preach the wonders of
high-definition movies on the latest LCD and plasma displays, nearly the entire
mass market is still squarely focused on standard DVD movies. That, however,
could begin changing this year.
According
to Home
Media Magazine, sales of Blu-ray Disc have finally begun to carve out a
noticeable groove from DVD sales. Nielsen Videoscan numbers say that 9.8
percent of No Country for Old Men home video sales were from Blu-ray
Disc, and an even more impressive 12.6 percent of Hitman sales were on
the high-definition format. Transformers,
currently available in high-definition only on HD DVD, sold 4 percent in the
high-end format.
The
two recent Blu-ray Disc releases fared considerably better than even the top
movies of 2007, which saw 2 or 3 percent share on the format. For example, on
Blu-ray Disc the Simpsons Movie captured just 2.8 percent, and Pirates
of the Caribbean: At World’s End accounted for 3.7 percent of total sales.
Analysts
resort point to the end of the high-definition format war as the root of the
increase in consumer confidence. “Before, there was a tendency to play it safe
and stick with the standard DVD,” said Tom Adams, of Adams Media Research, to Home
Media Magazine. “But now there’s no longer anything to worry about.”
Also
key in the recent growth of Blu-ray Disc is the simultaneous rise of the
PlayStation 3 – the market’s best-selling high-definition movie player. Console
sales for the first two months of 2008 show Sony’s latest console outpacing
the Xbox 360.
“The
promotion to PlayStation 3 homes hasn’t really kicked in yet,” added Adams.
“And assuming that works, when you’re talking 5 million homes, getting them to
buy just one more movie a year can make a significant difference in a small
market like this.”