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Sales indicate consumers aren't ready for Blu-ray yet

The consumer market was very happy to switch from VHS to DVD, but it appears that the transition to high-definition media isn’t being met with the same enthusiasm.

Any stunted growth of the high-definition generation was previously attributed to the ongoing format war between HD DVD and Blu-ray Disc. But with the format war over and Blu-ray Disc victorious, customers no longer face such a buyer’s barrier.

To the dismay of the Blu-ray Disc industry, acceptance and adoption of the latest in high-definition movie delivery is barely lukewarm. Most expected that the surrender of HD DVD would trigger a surge for Blu-ray Disc, but instead, sales of Blu-ray Disc hardware fell 40 percent from January to February, NPD Group reported.

The lull in sales didn’t improve much at all, rising only 2 percent from February to March. NPD declined to release specific sales numbers “for fear that it would be easy to identify individual retailers,” according to a New York Times blog. Actual figures are to be released later this year.

Cost is likely a top factor in the slow adoption of Blu-ray Disc, as even the cheapest player is hundreds more than an upscaling DVD machine. In other reasons, consumers may not immediately see the benefits of upgrading to Blu-ray Disc, which mainly provides increased quality of picture and sound. Features such as chapter skip, multiple language tracks and lack of rewinding tape are already present on DVD.

“When we surveyed consumers late last year, an overwhelming number of them said they weren't investing in a new next-generation player because their old DVD player worked well and next-generation players were too expensive,” said Ross Rubin, director of industry analysis at NPD. “It's clear from retail sales that those consumer sentiments are still holding true.”

While sales of Blu-ray Disc players may be stagnant, PlayStation 3 consoles are moving at a decent rate. According to the AP, ABI Research estimates that PS3s make up more than 85 percent of Blu-ray players in use this year and that the number of stand-alone players and Blu-ray-equipped PCs won't surpass Sony’s console base until 2013.

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By michal1980 on 5/1/2008 4:06:53 PM , Rating: 5
all the economic messes?




By rudy on 5/1/2008 4:10:13 PM , Rating: 5
Also despite what others feel I think the competition was good. Now that it is gone and Sony has no fear of competitors they are not slashing prices and not advertising nearly as much so there is little incentive or attention now. They are content to ride it out with little investment.


By pomaikai on 5/1/2008 5:01:34 PM , Rating: 4
Now that the format war is over it is no longer on the front pages anymore. Because of the lack of improvements other than image and sound no one really thinks about it as much. Are they still offering 5 free movies with the purchase of a player? That was a big reason they were selling also. The biggest problem with price is that if you want to step up to blu ray you really need to upgrade every DVD player in your house or you will only be able to watch the new blu ray movie you bought on one TV.


By Oakley516 on 5/1/2008 6:52:42 PM , Rating: 5
Not everyone is as wealthy as you, and may not have more than one DVD player in their home.


By SoCalBoomer on 5/2/2008 2:03:00 PM , Rating: 3
Other than that it wasn't relevant to the discussion.

The fact that he has several Blue-Ray devices isn't relevant to why the market isn't taking off.

High cost - yep.
No significant perceived improvement? yep.
Less exposure now that the format-war is over? Yep.

The fact that HE owns 5? Nope.


By JonnyDough on 5/2/2008 10:33:09 PM , Rating: 2
I was auto-rated down as soon as I posted. I'm curious, is "heck" the one that did it? What the heck, we can't say heck? Well, if this gets auto-rated down I guess I'll know. :-P


By SlyNine on 5/4/2008 1:43:33 AM , Rating: 3
Because you replied to a -1 comment


By JonnyDough on 5/5/2008 10:41:32 PM , Rating: 2
Oooh. I didn't know that's how it worked. Is there a like a list of rules and such for this silly system? It sure would be nice...


By JonnyDough on 5/3/2008 8:44:31 PM , Rating: 1
Your point? I think your point was "hey look at me, I'm better than everyone else!" You're not.

As far as me sucking off mom, well....

Wow there guy, you nailed it! Wow, yes! I live in my parent's basement and never had any hardship in life. You know me so well! That's called sarcasm. It's what we give to idiots.

I could elaborate and share my life story, but then that would leave me being you. So you made it in life and you owe it all to yourself. Good job!

Now if only you could also learn some wisdom, a little dignity, and HUMILITY you'd be all set. There's nothing worse than someone pointing out how great they are. Pride before a fall, after all!

Maybe you should quit ASSuming that everyone else is somehow lesser or not as capable as you. Do you know what ASSuming makes you? That's right. A jack-donkey. Quit your braying, nobody cares. We've all overcome things.

No wait, there's more. Apparently, you just don't get it.

You're special, just like everyone else. I'm glad you're proud of yourself Mr. Pious, but please learn to have respect for others. I know plenty of people that were forced to grow up fast and make their own way in life. Who are we, Hiltons? No sir, we've had to work too. Grow up already and start acting your age.