After a lackluster start marked by a format war, high prices and costly prerecorded media, Blu-ray players are gaining traction among consumers with unit shipments tripling in 2009 to 14 million units, not including Sony PlayStation 3 game consoles, according to market research firm In-Stat.
A new In-Stat report, “Worldwide Blu-ray and DVD Player/Recorder Market,” forecasts that by 2013, Blu-ray player shipments, while still trailing the projected 90 million DVD players to be shipped, will generate revenue four times greater than that from the sale of DVD players.
A decline in the difference between the price of standard DVD and Blu-ray players and the appeal of new features, such as IP/network connectivity, are helping Blu-ray players advance, said In-Stat analyst Michelle Abraham.
In-Stat forecasts:
- Shipments of network-enabled Blu-ray players/recorders will approach 80 million units by 2013.
- Eighteen percent of U.S. survey respondents with at least some interest in purchasing a Blu-ray player cited cost as a barrier.
- Japan dominates the market for Blu-ray recorders, and Europe is the largest revenue market for Blu-ray players.
