The war between HD DVD and Blu-ray Disc is over. But the winner seems to be little hesitant in increasing its demand. After all the companies including Toshiba dropped its HD DVD format, it was expected that standalone Blu-ray disc players will reach heights in their sales figures. But the latest study from NPD Group has got a totally opposite situation to indicate.
In the US market, the sales of the Blu-ray players noticed a huge downfall by 40 percent from January to February. At that time, the HD DVD dismay was in the midst. In March, the sale raised by a mere two percent. This thoroughly indicates that the price of Blu-ray players and media are not low to match up the mainstream economy class.
Ross Rubin, director of industry analysis, elaborated, “When we surveyed consumers late last year, an overwhelming number of them said they weren’t investing in a new next-generation player because their old DVD player worked well and next-generation players were too expensive. It’s clear from retail sales that those consumer sentiments are still holding true.”
According to NPD’s Retail Tracking Service, consumers plan to up-convert DVD players to enhance their DVD viewing, eliminating the need to buy the Blu-ray box.
It is true that Blu-ray offers premium video quality and features, however, for some consumers price does matter and that is why the masses are cautious of purchasing the player.
Let’s see how the retailers and manufacturers work to increase Blu-ray adoption in this holiday season.
