Consumers Putting Off Blu-ray Players?

ABI Research finds consumers are putting off buying Blu-ray players, in part because they're happy enough with standard DVDs.

ABI Research has released the results of a new survey looking at consumers’ plans to buy Blu-ray players—and finds many consumers don’t yet have a lot of enthusiasm for the technology. Of 1,000 respondents, over half said they had no plans to purchase a Blu-ray player, while another 23 percent say the aren’t likely to get into the Blu-ray market until sometime in 2009.

ABI Research details the findings in its research brief “Blu-ray: Consumer Survey Results.”

“Consumers were happy to embrace standard DVD when that format arrived because the improvement in quality over VHS videotapes was dramatic,” noted ABI Research analyst Steve Wilson, in a statement. “Standard DVD didn’t require the purchase of a new TV, either.”

Half the survey’s respondents rated Blu-ray’s quality as “much better” than standard DVD, but another 40 percent only termed it “somewhat better.” Most respondents also indicated they were satisfied with their current DVD players.

ABI Research found one exception to consumers’ ho-hum response to Blu-ray: the PlayStation 3. ABI Research reports serious gamers are embracing the PS3, which makes the installed base of Blu-ray players continue to rise. ABI Research reports that gamers purchase about the same number of movie discs as other consumers.