Sales of high definition Blu-ray recorders are increasing rapidly in Japan as consumers take to the new generation of home movie entertainment.
Last month the more expensive Blu-ray recorders topped the old generation recorders in the value of sales for the first time.
The research firm BCN Ltd said that around a third of machines sold now carry the new format.
Shigehiro Tanaka, BCN chief analyst, said: “Full high-definition picture quality has become a main stream for big-screen TVs, and camcorders with higher picture quality are getting popular, too.
“From the input of data to output, high definition is taking root in Japan.”
The country was at the heart of the format war, which pitted the Blu-ray discs championed by Sony Corp against Toshiba Corp’s HD-DVD discs.
Analysts believe sales of Blu-ray players have been held back, first by indecision over the outcome of the format war and then by high prices.
However, the BCN survey showed April sales for Blu-ray in Japan were almost three times the 12.4 per cent share for both formats in January, before HD-DVD’s demise.
The researchers expect sales of the Blu-ray will rapidly expand in coming months as makers such as Matsushita Electric Industrial Co Ltd are likely to cut down prices in a lead-up to the Beijing Olympics.
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