Blu-ray device owners to hit 30 million in 2008
Now that Blu-ray has won the format war over rival HD DVD, a lot of people are saying that it is indeed the next generation optical disc standard. That may be true, as long as a better format does not come out in the next few months or years.
Strategy Analytics Connected Home Devices recently sent out a report that 30 million Blu-ray devices would be found in homes before the year 2008 ends, although not all devices will be used for movie playback. Global sales of Blu-ray players are expected to hit 18.8 million units this year. With thirteen million of those being consoles, four million stand-alone players and two million found in computers. After four years, the number is also expected to increase to 57.4 million units. I don’t know if this is just a guess or an estimate but the report says the market will be largest in Europe, then US, and Japan coming in at third.
Keep reading for a summary of the report:
Blu-ray Disc has now been confirmed as the de facto next generation optical disc standard. Our forecasts for BD players, games consoles and PCs indicate that total annual device sales will reach 57.4 million units annually by 2012. We estimate that nearly 30 million households worldwide will own at least one BD device by the end of 2008, and predict 132 million BD-owning households by 2012. This forecast datatable presents Strategy Analytics’ latest projections for global sales and ownership of Blu-ray Disc devices. It presents 5-year market forecasts for the US, Europe and Japan. Segmentation includes standalone Blu-ray Disc players, BD games consoles, and BD-enabled home PCs.
Now I ask myself; Is it still the right time to make the Blu-ray commitment?
Read [Strategy Analytics] Via [DVD Town]
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Now is not the time to buy a Blu-Ray player; prices have gone back up since the end of the war (and I would never spend $30 on a movie- HD or not…) and most players will not be able to support the ‘final’ Blu-Ray 2.0 standard.
I say wait until the holidays; Black Friday is sure to have a few good Blu-Ray deals and they will be a ‘hot item’ for Christmas.
If you must get a Blu-Ray player, then consider a PS3; it is the only Blu-Ray player (that I am aware of) that supports the upcoming Blu-Ray 2.0 standard (aka Blu-Ray live). It also plays games and allows you to stream videos from Windows Media Player 11 PCs (and other DNLA systems) on your network (and stream this to a PSP over the internet!); not bad for the same price as a set-top box.
Most current players are not capable of supporting 2.0 upgrades as they lack the necessary hardware (an Ethernet port being one primary part). This is not a major concern for most, but you will be putting a limit on your ‘Blu-Ray experience’ by missing extra features.
on March 31, 2008 at 08:23 AM - LINK