Network now...NEWS
Outside of PS3, Blu-ray Uptake Struggles
Consumer uptake of Blu-ray players is lagging with the exception of PlayStation 3, according to ABI Research.
An abstract for the research brief "Blu-ray: Consumer Survey Results" called the PS3 "a bright spot" in the Blu-ray picture.
“While you might think gamers purchase fewer movie discs than others, we didn’t see any significant evidence of that in our results,” said ABI principle analyst Steve Wilson. “PS3 console shipments will go a long way to help bring down manufacturing costs and drive down Blu-ray player prices.”
Outside of PS3, however, consumer adoption of Blu-ray players is slower than the industry would like, ABI said.
A survey of 1,000 found that over half of the respondents have no plans to purchase a Blu-ray player. Twenty-three percent said they are likely to buy a player, but not until 2009.
Most consumers are apparently happy with their standard DVD players, as they don't require the purchase of a high-def TV. Half of those polled rated Blu-ray quality as "much better" than DVD, but 40 percent found it only "somewhat better."
Wilson added, “We expect that [Blu-ray] player prices will remain above $300 for Tier One models for the remainder of this year."
Blu-ray's biggest challenges are two-fold: one of pricepoint -that can change....but the other is 'tangible benefit' - and that's somewhat trickier. While I'm sure there are plenty of people who see an 'incredible difference' with BluRay resolutions - perhaps they may not have noticed the 'dramatic difference' with upscaling DVD players on HD televisions. Having looked at both side-by-side, I must admit that it is not always an easy sell for BluRay. Sure, there are some films and documentaries than really shine in 1080p - but there's a far greater percentage that look only *somewhat* better. So is the quality worth it? Answer: when it's cheap enough, maybe... Problem is this: You still end up with a big, clunky, scratch-prone disc. BluRay may be the future of home media - but how long can that really last? Solid state media - either through card-based storage or digital distribution are threatening BluRay's long-term outlook.
Blu-ray was not ready for prime time and only won because of Sony's deep pockets and connections in the media industry. HD-DVD was far more feature complete and would have resulted in lower prices by now, since it was fabricated in easily retrofitted DVD plants versus Blu-Ray, which requires significant investment in brand new facilities. Have any of the die-hard Blu-Ray supporters even noticed how the price drops ended once HD-DVD was out of the picture providing competition?
Blu-Ray won the hard media format war, but the irony will be that it was a Pyhrric victory, since downloads will be the real winner as the next format consumers adopt (and already are adopting at far higher rates than Blu-Ray sales).
When Blu-Ray gets its own range of "bargain deals" and the like, it will start to sell better. Also, at the moment, in the attempt of creating a large catalog, lots of "older" movies are getting released. In my opinion, the quality of some of these movies does not justify getting it for 28 euro or more on a Blu-Ray disc while you can get it for half or less on an upscalable DVD. Right now, companies surely can't risk releasing Blu-Ray exclusive titles - this, however, would help to sell the concept better as well.
Its not really surprising that the main uptake of Blu-Ray has been with PS3s. Its probably a factor that the PS3 was, and still is, one of the best Blu-Ray players you can buy. Prices on regular stand-alone players are dropping, but they have to drop more to beat the overall value of the PS3, even if you use it only as a Blu-Ray player.
Im 22 yrs old i own a 32 in sony bravia sony surround sound sytem and a ps3 i beleive its gonna take another couple of yrs for the average joe to catch up w hd tvs but its def gonna happen i mean look at walmart and there tv selection all it is now is hd thats why sony has the whole 10 yr plan when hd television takes off ps3s will take off also and sony plans to be around when this happens when both of those things take off bluray will be in the spotlight as the best thing out there its a win win win like sony said they plan to drive bluray to sucess just like they did dvd and there bankin on ppl picking up hds then wanting a good bluray player to watch movies on Sony has already won the war with there stadegy all its gonna take is time and thats what there counting on they have 8 yrs when hds have taken over the tv market now.
Oh save it. MS threw a LOT more money at the studios trying frantically to keep HD-DVD alive, and failed. Get over it. And your HD-DVD player is only $50 because you threw in with the RROD crowd, and got burned. I'd buy that spare player now, because it won't be on the shelves much longer.
So...Blu-ray won the format war, huh? Good job guys. HD-DVD was superior to BR in it's functionality, easy of manufacturing as well as cost. But hey, you guys paid out Warner Brothers and now we're all stuck with Sony's format. I still have my HD-DVD player and my handful of movies that I will enjoy until it fails. I can go into Best Buy and pick up a spare player for $50.
I'm not surprised the PS3 is the main Blu-ray seller...that's the numbers they were using to support the idea that their format was winning. PS3 is for playing games...movies are secondary. Stand alone systems for BR are way too expensive because in the age of You Tube, people don't really care about HD or high quality video. They're used to seeing grain and distortion and artifacting. -- I care. I love my 42" plasma and 5.1 surround. I love seeing Gears of War and Bioshock and COD4 in HD. But the masses don't.
Just remember, "The Great Format War" was not won...it was BOUGHT.
Yeah, YouTube is great for watching a 3 minute clip of a dog doing back flips, but I can't imagine people would want to watch a full length feature film with pixelated visuals, shoddy sound, grain and artifacting.. Oh hang one remind me how huge the pirate DVD market is again... those people don't mind watching poor quality films... maybe it's to do with the fact that Blu Rays are harder to pirate that standard DVDs. Maybe when all computers have a Blu Ray burner on board and a pirating scene develops maybe, the adoption of players will pick up. Watched Be Kind Rewind last night on Blu Ray. Not a brilliant film but the quality and colours were amazing. People really don't know what they're missing out on with Blu Ray. Get yourself a PS3 and a 1080p TV an prepare to be wowed! (get a 5.1 surround kit too and then you'll really be wowed).
It's been stated before that they no one actually paid Warner, unlike Toshiba paying off Universal, while you want to throw out claims. Sony's money went into marketing; commercials, store front property, etc. Yes, they even used the PS3 to get a foot hold by technically having a larger audience that that of HD-DVD.
Also, let's be straight here, Blu-Ray is NOT a Sony only format. Just like the DVD consortium, which Sony resides on, there is a list of manufacturers, and founders for the Blu-Ray format. I can see how you and many may believe this is a Sony only format due to their very strong marketing regarding the technology.
It is also commonly believed that HD-DVD was cheaper to manufacture. Technically it was BUT the price point of manufacturing was the same when HD-DVD movies had to use dual layer discs due to the max 15gb capacity for single layer discs.
Not to mention Blu Ray is technologically superior both in terms of storage space and in the bit rate it allows. It ticked me off that we had yet another format war, though as long as we had it I'm glad the better format won. Honestly I don't understand why they bothered to launch HD-DVD, as it was pretty much a forgone conclusion Blu Ray was going to win...all it did was set the industry back a couple of years in terms of adoption (and THAT'S why Warner, and Best Buy, and Blockbuster, etc. all decided to start doing what they could to push Blu Ray).
If most consumers currently have little interest in HD, at least Blu-ray will have built up a formidable library by the time they get up to speed. Toshiba's fatal error last year was to prematurely throw the kitchen sink at the mass market when nobody was listening. The BDA still appears to be holding back a full assault for when the right moment comes along, which I expect to be this Christmas. Of course, PS3 will remain a valuable asset and the console is now building up a full head of steam. Blu-ray cannot realistically hope to mimic DVD's success in this digital age, but with upcoming AAA blockbusters such as Wall-E and The Dark Knight, as well as Criterion releasing its first batch of titles, the BDA is now entering a period where that message can be spread to everyone.
I guess most people aren't ready for HD movies yet. I mean for gods sake some people still have B&W TVs! I've saved and spent £1100 on my set up to take advantage of HD films/gaming. This is more or less the cheapest, quality kit I could find (all Sony I add), this is just not a mass market price. Give it a few years and it'll really pick up.. unless some other fancy pants storage medium comes out before then... I've got a PS3, a 40" 1080p TV and as of yesterday a surround sound kit. I've only ever watched one Blu Ray on it. It was 300 and I fell asleep half way through... The picture quality is astounding and now the sound will be cinema perfect too. I'm pretty underwhelmed by the selection of Blu Ray movies at my local Blockbuster so that's probably why I haven't watched any others. Waiting for some killer films to show up. Think I might have to watch a Blu Ray on Sunday night now. Looking forward to giving the surround sound a rinsing!
When the price of the players and media discs come down then it will start to take better. Of course you have those who don't see a difference between SD and BR. Example: A friend just purchased a PS3 but his wife isn't satisfied because she can't tell the difference between the showcase BR movies and her SD tv shows. To many, that would be a declaration of legally blind.
The consumer needs to be taught and shown what HD is. Many consumers aren't informed about their purchases. Many purchase HD tv's, and then hook them up with composite cables and say "Eh, all this hype for *this* picture". I recommend a full video training course before the purchase of any electronic equipment so people are more informed of what they are getting into and how the equipment should be set up.
"I recommend a full video training course before the purchase of any electronic equipment"
Mmhm. It seems fairly obvious to me that if your hugely expensive consumer technology doesn't speak for itself by virtue of its quality - or, worse yet, if you need to educate the intended userbase in the manner suggested - then your technology is by definition failing. It's a massmarket consumer product; to succeed it therefore needs to be obviously worth the investment and reasonably simple to get working properly. If it doesn't check those boxes then it's not the consumer's fault that sales aren't taking off.
Although on a second reading, perhaps you're just asking for a better set-up guide to go with that new TV? :D
Anyhow, I think the digital download service that Sony are launching will end up being far more popular than the blu-ray functionality. It's the hard drive size rather than the media that will end up being the key determinant of success when it comes to playing film/TV content. Unfortunately for Sony, that would mean that the component making PS3 more expensive than the 360 isn't really giving it much of an advantage...
Definitely, most consumers are clueless. I know a fair bit about technology and follow it on a daily basis, yet I'm still confused when it comes to certain things. If I am then average Joe certainly will be! Consumers are intimidated by technology in most cases and I agree there needs to be a certain amount of education before mass adoption kicks in. I do enjoy being an early adopter though...