Things aren’t looking good for Blu-ray |
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BY Thom Dinsdale November 17th, 2008 |
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Blu-ray may have “won” the “format war” but it still has a long way to go before it wins over America, and things seems to be looking worse for the Sony backed format as each day rolls by. A study conducted by the The Digital Entertainment Group, a consortium of movie studios and electronics manufacturers, has predicted that by the end of the year 10.5 million US households will have the ability to play Blu-ray, sharply lower than Adams Media Research’s June estimate of 14.4 million.
The Associated Press reports that of those 10.5 million households able to play Blu-ray, 8 million will own PlayStation 3’s whilst a meager 2.5 million will have stand-alone players. While Sony remains confident in its forecasts for the year, Kevin Bishop of Sony Pictures Home Entertainment did admit that “The only dark cloud is the economy.”
Though former HD DVD fanboys may think they’ve found somewhere to grind that axe of theirs with this story, it is important to remember that no-one, not Sony, not Microsoft, not anyone could have predicted just how big a kick between the legs the current economic woes would become. With developed nations across the world slipping into recession one by one (Japan today becoming the latest) it is no real surprise that the adoption of something as frivolous as high definition technology may get sidelined.
November 17th, 2008
at 11:48 am
First, I had no idea that Japan was #2… I’m not sure who I would expect it to be (perhaps an EU nation), but I didn’t expect Japan.
Second, I wouldn’t say that Blu-ray is doomed or anything. It’s going to stick around for another 10 years or so. Digital downloads will make their way into our living rooms more and more but the infrastructure just isn’t there yet. The good thing is that BD players are 200$ (profile 1.1) and will likely sell pretty well this holiday despite the downturn. If media prices were lower (say only 5$ more than DVD) then I think uptake would be significantly higher. I hate paying 30-40$ for a single movie even with the price of a theatre ticket as high as it is (10$+).
November 17th, 2008
at 12:07 pm
Agrred bhive… With players at 200-300 and more people getting HD TV’s Bluray will be fine. There isn’t any other choice (if you want it on dics) and digital downloads are just not here yet.
November 17th, 2008
at 1:37 pm
I agree - it will be around for ages yet. It took a while before DVDs really took off anyway, and it’s only been in the last 2/3 years that many players and films have become dirt cheap. Buying Blu-Ray is very expensive and I only own one. At the moment I’m subscribed to lovefilm and rent my hi-def films. Much better value for the time being.