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Forums - Sony - PS3 is only 'bright spot' for Blu-ray, says report

NJ5 on 06 August 2008
akuma587 said:
It really doesn't matter at this point that Blu-Ray isn't taking off faster than DVD because all the movie studios, retailers, and major electronic manufacturers (including the Chinese) have jumped on board.

I guarantee that many people who say they will "never" buy Blu-Ray will buy it once it reaches price equity with DVD, or when studios start pulling the plug on DVD (through the same means they did with VHS, timed release advantages for Blu-Ray, extra features, etc.).

I'm not terribly knowledgeable about the media market, but I think it's naive to say it doesn't matter that Blu-Ray has slower adoption. Cost reductions in both players and discs rely partly on mass manufacturing, something which can not happen as well with a slow adoption curve.

Take this with a grain of salt, though...

@MikeB: In terms of brand power, that's true for the mainstream market, I'm just not so sure it's true nowadays for the tech-savvy market.

 



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MikeB on 06 August 2008

@ NJ5

I think especially tech-savvy people recognize the benefits of the Blu-Ray format. They understand the benefits of Blu-Ray vs the RIP HD DVD technology. (scratch resistance, far more storage capacity, higher bitrate, etc) IMO mainly the more technology ignorant writers were hyping up the potential of HD DVD, the same people who after Toshiba/Microsoft's defeat are still posting critical articles regarding the Blu-Ray format.

The more tech-savvy people were rooting for Betamax, for example.



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tombi123 on 06 August 2008

Of course stand alone Blu Ray players are underperforming. The majority of people who want a Blu Ray player now, are buying a PS3 because it is roughly the same price as a stand alone and doubles up as a game machine.



akuma587 on 06 August 2008
NJ5 said:
akuma587 said:
It really doesn't matter at this point that Blu-Ray isn't taking off faster than DVD because all the movie studios, retailers, and major electronic manufacturers (including the Chinese) have jumped on board.

I guarantee that many people who say they will "never" buy Blu-Ray will buy it once it reaches price equity with DVD, or when studios start pulling the plug on DVD (through the same means they did with VHS, timed release advantages for Blu-Ray, extra features, etc.).

I'm not terribly knowledgeable about the media market, but I think it's naive to say it doesn't matter that Blu-Ray has slower adoption. Cost reductions in both players and discs rely partly on mass manufacturing, something which can not happen as well with a slow adoption curve.

Take this with a grain of salt, though...

@MikeB: In terms of brand power, that's true for the mainstream market, I'm just not so sure it's true nowadays for the tech-savvy market.

 

I am just saying Blu-Ray is no longer facing the obstacles that were holding it back in the past, partial studio support, much more floor space in major retailers (the difference in Wal-Mart for instance is like night and day compared to last year), and electronic manufacturers making all kinds of players and computer drives (compared to HD-DVD, which had only one real backer, Toshiba).

Blu-Ray sales are up 300% this year, so obviously its got something good going for it.

http://www.electronichouse.com/article/blu_ray_sales_up_300/

 



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libellule on 06 August 2008

well, so basically adoption rate is not that bad if u take in count the big best amazing Br player : PS3.

Then it is ok.



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Kleppemeister on 06 August 2008
NJ5 said:

Blu-Ray is still very much for PS3 owners and videophiles.

Even on this site, where many people are tech-savvy, there's no enthusiasm for Blu-Ray. A good upconverting DVD player gives a great image for a much smaller price. Quite ironically, the tech-savvy crowd is the one most likely to be biased against Sony due to their DRM rootkits and some other of Sony's media-related misadventures. They're also the ones most likely to be downloading movies (either legally or illegally).

Until prices go down significantly, Blu-Ray will remain a niche format, especially given the current economic environment. People care more about convenience and price than media quality, this is very obvious when you look at the boom in music downloads.

 

 

Kinda important not to forget the fact that both DVD and BluRay will have to fight the internet as well. Impossible fight for BluRay to win in the end.



Leetgeek on 06 August 2008

"Most of those polled also declared they would not upgrade simply because they do not have an HDTV and do not plan to buy one."

Thats the key statement right there. On a normal TV, no it does not matter. On an HD TV Blu Ray makes DVD look like a Youtube video. Mmmmm it looks so good on my 52 inch 1080p Samsung. I get my blurays from Netflix at no Extra charge.

As HDTV use goes up so will bluray. In fact it's up 500% from last year.

360 fans please stop trying to hate on bluray just because the box don't got it.



HappySqurriel on 06 August 2008

So this report basically says what I have been saying for a long time?

Until 2010 or 2011 less than 50% of households in North America will have a HDTV, and quite a few of these households will not see value in upgrading their existing hardware and movie library to Blu-Ray. Even those that do see value are probably going to hold off on buying a Blu-Ray player until the prices come down to a more reasonable level ($100 or less), Blu-Ray is heavily stocked at your local video store, and movie prices are more reasonable ($20 or less, with budget movie racks making movies cheaper).

On top of that the economic downturn we're currently seeing is having a major impact on how consumers see and use credit (as I predicted) and will have a massive impact on how many people go out and make big ticket purchases (like HDTVs and Blu-Ray players) over the next 12 to 24 months. It is very likely that people who are interested in HDTVs and Blu-Ray players but are waiting for 2009 to buy one are trying to outwait the currnet downturn; it is possible that people could continue to feel the crunch for (many) years as home prices remain low (eliminating the imaginary equity many purchases were based upon) and credit standards will remain very high (to prevent a similar crisis in the future) which means that they may never feel as comfortable making as big of purchases again.



Diomedes1976 on 06 August 2008

Actual numbers say otherwise to this article.The introduction of BR in Asia is quite fast and in Europe its 6 times faster that what DVD was.



Cypher1980 on 06 August 2008
MikeB said:

@ NJ5

I think there's much enthusiasm for Blu-Ray, according to another research a vast majority of PS3 owners watch Blu-Ray movies.

Of course entry pricing plays a critical role like was the case with regard to the mass adoption of VHS and DVD, I don't think there's anything surprising there.

Compared to VHS and DVD, Blu-Ray without the PS3 probably would have had a harder struggle for adoption as the migration of SDTV to HDTV is still taking place on a massive scale, HDTV penetration is critical for Blu-Ray penetration.

With regard to Sony's media-related "misadventures", I think that the more educated consumer recognizes that Sony's success stories far outweigh any past failures (PS1, PS1, 3.5 inch diskettes, Compact Disc (CD), collaboration for DVD with Toshiba/Philips, etc, etc.

In general Sony has an outstanding reputation for their high quality consumer electronics, no doubt about that. I think in general they are very much at the forefront in terms of general reputation and achievements, ahead of other leading edge companies like Philips, Sam Sung, Panasonic, etc.

 

Yeah right. I've three friends who are PS3 owners. All bought at launch, and all were given a free copy of Casino Royale on Blu Ray

All three copies are still in the shrink proof wrapper.

Not exactly a roaring success even if these copies are counted as sales.