Consumers Slow To Adopt Blu-Ray June 4, 2008

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More news on the home cinema front today as a recent survey conducted in the US suggests that high-definition format Blu-ray isn’t proving nearly as popular as once thought.

The demise of HD-DVD hasn’t done a lot for Blu-ray’s cause, and although 45% of HD TV owners are now aware of the format (up from 35% this time last year), few are eager to get involved.

The NPD Group, a leading market research company, conducted the survey and discovered that just 9% of HD TV users plan on buying a compatible player in the next six months.

Most people seem to be arguing that the cost of both the hardware and movies is prohibitive, and that standard definition DVDs are “good enough”.

Those who have got involved seem a bit more dedicated though, with current users expecting 80% of their future purchase to be high-definition discs.

Russ Crupnick, entertainment industry analyst for NPD says that “It will take a concerted effort by manufacturers and retailers to ratchet awareness even further and convince all of those potential buyers of the superiority of Blu-ray Disc versus standard DVD.”

‘Ratcheting awareness’ doesn’t seem to be the problem though, and unless prices fall we can see many consumers being happy with upscaling DVDs or devices from companies like Toshiba. - Paul Lester

[NPD Group]

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