With Blu-ray sales still not setting the heather alight much has been made of the high cost of HD players and continued viewer satisfaction with standard-definition DVD.
Paul Erickson, director of DVD and HD Market Research at DisplaySearch, is in no doubt these are big factors contributing to Blu-ray’s slow shift into the living room.
Adding to the picture is the emergence of online content delivery as a viable source of HD programming, something that is seen as posing a real threat to Blu-ray’s long-term survival.
“As online delivery services from Netflix, Microsoft and other players continue to evolve and mature over these next few years, and consumer bandwidth increases, there is considerable pressure for Blu-ray to make its mark on the mainstream,” said Erickson.
“Price-based accessibility has remained a significant constraint. Therefore, the recent introduction of a sub-$300 Blu-ray player (by Wal-Mart) is a step in the right direction.”
But what is also needed, according to Erickson, is for more HD programming to be made.
“Should the collective companies and studios with a stake in Blu-ray Disc engage in price aggression on both hardware and software over 2008 and 2009, it will greatly increase the format’s representation in the eventual mix of video content delivery options being utilized by the consumer of the future.”
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