Blu-Ray: Is the War over already?
June 22, 2009 by Derek
Reading the comments to this report on Engadget HD got us thinking: Is the war already over, and Blu-Ray lost? It seems like there has to be something to take over for DVD on HD TVs, but maybe Blu-Ray isn’t it. It is struggling to get over 10% adoption rate, even among HDTV owners, so maybe the war is already lost.
Many feel that Sony won due to side deals and studio collusion, not real consumer choice. I can (sorta) buy that, but the fact is: if people really wanted HD DVD and felt it had a huge advantage over Blu-Ray, it would still be around, in one form or the other. They didn’t and its gone.
One thing that has to happen: The retail prices of BR movies have to come down for it to have any real chance in the mass marketplace to be truly embraced. The $25-$30 mark, even for older movies, is just too high. Especially these days with double-digit unemployment and a struggling economy all over the world.
Not to mention streaming/downloadable media is starting to inflence people’s decision making process in regards to physical discs. That may serve to hurt BR more in the long run than anything else.
