Tag: dvd

  • Downloading Will Be The Death of Blu-Ray













    Predicting the demise of Blu-ray is a popular sport – and it has just gained another fan.

    Consumer review specialist Reevoo has come out with a report saying that the high-def format is fighting a losing battle against HD download services and hard drives.

    It suggest consumers continue to favor DVD players – despite the price of Blu-ray players falling significantly in the past few months.

    But the Reevoo report says that when customers have to upgrade, they are happy to skip Blu-ray altogether and go straight to a combination of downloads and hard drives.






    According to its data and reviews, consumes favor the "convenience" of digital downloads and digital hard drive recorders.

    Whether Blu-ray’s demise will be quite as swift as Reevoo are suggesting remains to be seen.

    There’s no doubt, though, that the format really needs to start making waves soon.






    Reevoo summarises the three main factors it identifies as impeding the uptake of Blu-ray as:






    – Improved DVD players – DVD players are still outselling Blu-ray players by a factor of 10:1 according to Reevoo data. Newer high-end DVD players capable of ‘upscaling’ a standard definition image to near-HD, the gap between DVD and Blu-ray has shrunk to the point that shoppers see no reason to upgrade
     


    – Blu-ray pricing and inflated disc prices




    – Households are downloading – The window for Blu-ray to become the leading video format is closing rapidly. The format is also competing with downloads through services such as Apple’s iTunes store which offers HD content for rental or purchase at a lower price than Blu-ray discs.Hard-drive based personal video recorders (PVRs) sold twice as many units as Blu-ray in the UK over Christmas according to Reevoo data








  • SSDs and Video Capture Are Fastest Growing NAND Flash Applications


    NAND flash revenue in two key applications – Solid State Drives (SSDs) and Video Capture from Digital Video Cameras (DVCs) – will see compound annual growth rates (CAGR) of over 100 per cent through 2012, according to In-Stat.

    The analysts said this will overcome some of the weaknesses in other segments of the NAND flash market and drive overall growth to 30 per cent CAGR.

    Jim McGregor, In-Stat analyst, said the top four applications for NAND flash will remain MP3 players and PMPs, mobile handsets, after-market cards, and USB Flash Drives.

    He said they will command a combined market share of over 80 per cent over the next couple of years.

    "This percentage will drop to about 70 per cent by 2012, as solid state drives (SSDs) and video capture from digital video cameras (DVCs), grow in mportance," he said.

    Among the NAND Flash market share leaders, including Samsung, Toshiba and Hynix, all lost market share in 2007.

    Smaller share competitors, Micron and Intel, each gained share.

    The In-Stat report forecasts that worldwide NAND flash revenues are likely to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 29.7 per cent from 2007-2012 to reach USD $61 billion.

    Worldwide NOR flash revenues will increase at a 6 per cent CAGR from 2007 through 2012.

  • Testing Times For Technology Tradeshows


    This year’s Home Media Expo has been cancelled after a 27-year run as a result of the current economic conditions.

    With the financial situation worsening, the technology event is unlikely to be the only casualty among industry tradeshows.

    The Entertainment Merchants Association said it was planning on holding the Home Media Expo in 2010, according to VideoBusiness.

    It said the organizers felt that they had to temporarily pull the plug to meet the new recession-time realities for studios and retailers.

    While the DVD business suffered its steepest year-to-year declines in 2008 the EMA said the cancellation was not a reflection on the performance of DVD and Blu-ray.

    The economy has already impacted on the first major exhibition of 2009 – the International Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas – which saw visitor numbers drop from 140,000 in 2008 to 110,000 this year.

    Companies are also reconsidering their participation in trade shows, including influential players such as Apple and Nokia.

    Apple announced that this month’s Macworld Conference & Expo was the last at which it would exhibit, preferring instead to reach people in ways other than trade shows.

    Apple has been steadily scaling back on trade shows in recent years, including NAB, Macworld New York, Macworld Tokyo and Apple Expo in Paris.

    Nokia Siemens Networks is also changing its approach to trade shows by scaling back on exhibits.

  • Blu-ray Growth Bolsters Dipping DVD Sales


    US consumer spending on packaged home entertainment – rental and sales of DVD and high-def disc formats – fell by 5.5 per cent in 2008, to USD $22.4 billion, according to the Digital Entertainment Group.

    Spending on DVD purchases fell more dramatically than the total, declining by 9 per cent, to about USD $14.5 billion, and the shipment of DVD units was down almost 15 per cent in 2008 to 1.4 Billion

    That contrasts with expenditure on high-def discs, primarily Blu-ray Disc, which almost tripled during the year to reach USD $750 million.

    The figures, compliled by DEG with input from all the major studios, which while still dwarfed by those for DVD show that Blu-ray software shipments grew 250 per cent, to 63.2 million units in 2008, from 18 million units in 2007.

    Sales of Blu-ray players, including videogame consoles, meanwhile, grew to almost 10 million units since the format’s launch.
    The trade group said that in the fourth quarter alone, 3 million devices were sold.

    The DEG figures coincide with a SNL Kagan report that says Blu-ray discs will soon rescue the industry.

    Kagan suggests the growth of Blu-ray will eventually make up for losses in the standard-def category.

    "Retail revenue should start to grow again in 2010. Sales should start a short period of growth as high-definition player prices drop below $200 in 2011 and Blu-ray really begins to penetrate the mass market," Kagan says in its report.

    Blu-ray players in the US dipped under USD $200 at the end of 2008 and Vizio is to launch a USD $199 Blu-ray player in April.

    Kagan said Blu-ray sales represented less than three percent of home video revenue in 2008. But the research firm projects that it will grow to around 19 percent by 2011.

  • LG Broadband HDTVs To Stream Netflix Movies


    LG Electronics has announced the first broadband-enabled HDTVs with Netflix streaming software embedded directly in the set.

    The new LCD and plasma “broadband HDTVs” will be able to show Netflix’s library of movies, TV episodes and HD content directly on the set without needing an external device.

    The HDTVs will join the Korean companies LG BD300 Network Blu-ray Disc Player, the first high-def format player to stream movies instantly from Netflix.

    LG is also preparing five new models of Blu-ray Disc players and home theater systems for 2009.

    Netflix members pay from USD $8.99 per month for unlimited instant streaming and unlimited DVDs from a catalog of more than 100,000 DVD titles in more than 200 genres.

    LG Electronics and Netflix will demonstrate the broadband HDTVs this week at the CES in Las Vegas.

  • Hybrid Disc Plays On Blu-ray and DVD


    Japan-based Infinity Storage Media has launched the first Blu-ray / DVD hybrid disc.

    The disc sports a single-layer of Blu-ray (25GB) on one side and a conventional dual-layer DVD (8.5GB) on the other.

    Essentially it works by having different permeable layers for DVD and Blu-ray and different thicknesses between them.

    Since the lasers penetrate to different depths, it allows either the DVD or Blu-ray to be read depending on what player the disc is on.

    Obviously, the main benefit of the hybrid is that it’s backward compatibility.

    This means that users can switch it between their Blu-ray and DVD players without the need to have two different copies.

    The Japanese market is to be the first to benefit with the release of locally-made drama Code Blue.

  • HDTV Owners Prefer Blu-ray….They're Just Not Buying Them


    The latest survey from SmithGeiger shows that HDTV owners would rather watch movies on Blu-ray Disc than stream content directly to their TV.

    Well, hardly any surprise there. There’s never been any doubt about the phenomenal quality of Blu-ray images – but that still doesn’t seem to be translating into sales.

    Even with price drops in the US of between USD $200 and $300, the HD players aren’t rushing off the shelves.

    Texas superstore Bjorn’s and Pennsylvania-based Gerhard Appliances reported no sales change after Sony and Samsung cut USD $100 off their respective BDP-S350 and BD-P1500 models to USD $299 at the end of September.

    US consumer electronics retailers are hoping the fast approaching Black Friday – the day after Thanksgiving Day and traditionally one of the busiest shopping days of the year – will prove to be a sales bonanza even with the current economic troubles.

    Yet, while SmithGeiger’s survey of 1,600 HDTV owners revealed a 10-to-1 preference for Blu-ray over streaming content it underlines Blu-ray’s problem.

    Too many consumers seem happy with their DVD players and appear unwilling to fork out for another machine – even if Blu-ray prices are now dropping rapidly.

    This reluctance is a barrier that the consortium of companies behind the HD technology have so far been unable to overcome.

    So perhaps the news that the movie studios and consumer electronic makers are going to begin a USD $25 million advertising promotion for Blu-ray is a step towards addressing what could be a fatal flaw.

    Especially since more set-top boxes are focussing on offering streaming digital content, with the cost of the services decreasing.

    A monthly subscription fee to Netflix is seen by many as a cheaper alternative to purchasing a Blu-ray player and discs, not least if you already own the movie on DVD.

    Streaming content is going to continue to expand and will become more lucrative, especially as a wider library of TV episodes and movies becomes available.

    Blu-ray beware – time is running out.

  • Service Offers Camcorder Storage Solution


    The Photo Archival Company has launched a new archiving service that stores digital camcorder footage to Blu-ray Disc or DVD.

    Charles Laughlin, president and founder of The Photo Archival Company, said it would unlock millions of hours of video trapped inside today’s generation of no-tape camcorders that record to internal hard drive, external USB hard drive or flash memory.

    He said video footage could be preserved to produce long-lasting DVDs or Blu-ray Discs.

    "The recurring theme from a typical customer is that it is impractical for them to archive their digital footage first hand," he said.

    "For the average household, it can be a daunting task to spend the necessary time to tend to the successful creation of several DVDs or Blu-ray Discs just to continue filming."

  • Will Iron Man and Dark Knight, Finally, Ignite Blu-ray?


    Iron Man is quickly becoming the highest selling Blu-ray disc yet, with an estimated 20 per cent of all discs of the super-hero movie sold last week being on the high-def format.

    Sales of Blu-ray versions of the blockbuster reportedly represented as much as 50 per cent of total Iron Man disc sales for some online stores.

    Although Paramount Home Entertainment has made no official statement on the sales figures, the movie is expected to exceed one million units sold.

    Until now, Blu-ray versions of popular movies, including I Am Legend, represented about 9 per cent of sales in the format.

    Iron Man’s success undoubtedly owes something to its appeal to comic book, special effects and videogame fans, all who are more likely to have PlayStation 3 consoles, which play back Blu-ray discs.

    But, after what can only be described as a sluggish start, could it also suggest that the format is finally reaching a level of acceptance that will tip it over into the mainstream?

    With the release of the Dark Knight – including a BD-Live version – still to come, the year the format war was decided may actually end on a high note for Blu-ray.

  • Blu-ray is an unstoppable train

    Europeans told to learn from US retailers in order to convert consumers to Blu-ray and drive it into the mainstream

    Why upgrade to Blu-ray when the old DVD player still manages to churn out a pretty good picture?

    That appears to be a question many people have been asking themselves, especially when prices for Blu-ray players and discs remain high.

    Not for much longer, however, according to various speakers at the Blu-ray Disc Association’s (BDA) press shindig at the IFA electronics trade show in Berlin.

    They were keen to dispel any concerns that the format will never quite make it into the mainstream – though it was conceded that more work is necessary before Blu-ray finally puts DVD to the sword.

    Jim Bottoms, managing director of Futuresource Consulting, told the IFA conference that DVD’s market penetration had reached a point in the 1990s when it could be described as an “unstoppable train”.

    He said that was now the case for Blu-ray in the US and within 6-12 months it would also be true for Europe.
    “At this stage it’s too early to make that call for Europe but we are only six months away from it,” he said.

    “In the US, that call can be made now. It will be pretty much impossible to stop Blu-ray becoming a mass market product in the US.”

    He added: “We are moving forward to a situation where Blu-ray really is growing with its own momentum to become a train that is unstoppable.”

    Work remains to be done in Europe

    Things aren’t hurtling along quite so forcefully in Europe, though, where BD sales will reach 12 million discs this year, according to Bottom.

    This only accounts for around 2 per cent of total video sales, although he expects the share to climb to 5-6 per cent next year – and keep rising swiftly.

    However, by 2012 DVD will still lead in the UK, 56 per cent to 44 per cent. BD will do better in Germany – it’ll take 46 per cent of the market – but less well in Spain and Italy – 43 per cent and 39 per cent, respectively.

    To encourage the market along, Bottoms said Europe had to learn from the US, particularly from retailers there who have got behind Blu-ray by promoting it in stores and demonstrating the format’s superior quality.

    He said there was evidence that some consumers had been “turned off” HD based on only viewing broadcast HD programmes.

    They hadn’t found the quality sufficiently superior to judge it worthwhile paying to upgrade from their existing DVD players.

    Demonstrating Blu-ray at point of sales areas had been shown to be very effective in persuading people about the format’s quality.

    Initiatives such as improved retail support would ultimately help close what Bottom described as the HD content gap in Europe.

    He said this situation had arisen because currently around a third of households had HD screens but only 2 per cent could get high def content.

    This was compared to the US, where 50-60 per cent of households had HD screens and around a third could access high def content.

    Frank Simonis, chairman of the Blu-ray Disc Association’s European Promotions committee, not surprisingly agreed that Blu-ray had reached the point of going mass market.

    He said the European market would start to accelerate in the autumn, adding: “You will see a lot of good things this fall. European consumers are hungry for high def.”

    Simonis defended the lag in the release of European movies compared to the US and the higher price of European Blu-ray discs – a huge sore point with many consumers.

    He said Europe, despite being a similar sized market to the US, had 15 different languages and individual markets in each country – making it a very different proposition to the US.

    “We have to work on an individual country basis for each launch plan,” he said. “So it’s one year behind the US. It’s not something we like but something that’s due to the nature of the European continent.

    “So we are not doing that badly – in fact, if you put Europe on the same timeline as the US, Europe is faster.”

    How would you describe the Blu-ray Express – hurtling unstoppably or trundling along? Please let us know your comments.