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.
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RSSWhy pay for a $30 blu-ray dvd, when I can buy the same movie and have a satisfying experience for only $20? Why pay $300-500 for a Blu-ray player, when I can have a new DVD player with upscale functionality for only $75-100?
When the prices come down, you'll see an increase in consumer response... otherwise, the current trend will continue. Consumers are smart people, for the most part, and most don't care about the "image" that a blu-ray player will give them.
If the manufactures want to sell more, they will have to develop some form of marketing campaign to the wider market. TV advertising, Newspapers etc to create consumer awareness. I work in sales (in Australia) and consumer awareness is very very low. Consumers here are still trying to get their head around SD and HD, and are quite confused between the differences in the panel technology, that another new technology on the plate is just too much, so they won't worry about it.
Also, the wider market just aren't prepared to pay the premium of Blu-ray over DVD at this stage. Blu-ray will just have drop in price and become more affordable to Joe Bloggs who isn't an enthusiast in the latest and greatest tech.
Morne