In case you hadn’t heard, and you probably have, Blu-ray has come out on top over HD-DVD in the new age video consumer marketplace.
I thought that the higher prices for Blu-ray DVD players would work against it, but the superior technology and the always important “look-and-feel” quotient for Blu-ray put the capper on the jug.
Now, what does this all translate to on Wall Street? Let’s take a look.
According to a new research report from Strategy Analytics, “Blu-ray Devices: Forecasting Sales and Ownership”, Blu-ray devices will find their way into 29.4 million homes worldwide by the end of 2008. The report adds that Sony’s PS3 games console will continue to drive the Blu-ray market until 2009, after which stand-alone Blu-ray players will become the dominant segment. By 2012 more than 132 million homes worldwide will own at least one Blu-ray device.
“HD-DVD’s withdrawal leaves the way open for Blu-ray to become a major revenue earner for technology vendors and content owners alike,” says David Mercer, an analyst at Strategy Analytics. “The 265 million homes that will own an HDTV by 2012, and Hollywood’s need for a new growth engine, represent huge incentives for the industry to coordinate marketing activities and demonstrate unified support for the successor to DVD.”
The report predicts that global sales of Blu-ray devices will reach 18.8 million units in 2008, including 4 million stand-alone players, 13 million consoles and nearly 2 million PCs. By 2012, annual sales of all BD devices will reach 57.4 million units. The largest market will be in Europe, with 26.4 million, followed by the US (22.6 million) and Japan (8.4 million).
Already, we’re seeing prices come down for Blu-ray consumer goods, like videos and DVD players. The stock analytical site BloggingonStocks.com says that Amazon.com will begin selling Blu-ray movie titles this month for a discount -- some for as low as $13.95.
“Now that Blu-ray has a huge upper hand against format competitor HD DVD, this recent price cut by Amazon.com may go a long way toward getting Blu-ray into the hands of consumers who were previously afraid of buying either high-definition format while waiting to see which one would become the standard,” says the web site.
If you’re looking for a buy-in mark, to begin investing in companies that manufacture and service Blu-ray discs and devices, Blogging forStocks says that, for DVD’s, $17.99 is the ideal level for consumers to start buying Blu-ray discs in big numbers. For DVD players, prices should come down to the $150 level before we start seeing genuine consumer demand.
Amazon has gotten the Blu-ray ball rolling. Let’s see if other retailers follow suit.
