All of the Blu-ray naysayers should really consider another hobby. While many think that digital distribution will soon crush the physical format, we are happy to report that it's alive and doing quite well, thank you very much.
Earlier this month, the NPD Group said that consumers have been spending more on buying and renting Blu-rays and DVDs than all of the digital options combined. (That's a lot!) The same report says that about 78 percent of a home's video budget is being spent on Blu-ray and DVD, while just 22 percent goes to streaming and download options such as Netflix and Amazon VOD.
While Netflix streaming starts at a mere $7.99 a month, those are still some pretty impressive numbers. More importantly, they are better numbers than this time last year. IHS Screen Digest took a peek at Nielsen's VideoScan data and found that Blu-ray sales in the first quarter of 2011 were actually up 26 percent over last year's first quarter. FutureSource expects that trend to continue, with Blu-ray disc sales exceeding 120 million units in 2011. That will translate to about 35 million more than last year.
Of course, all of those new Blu-rays aren't going to play themselves. People are still buying hardware as well. IHS Screen Digest says that Blu-ray player sales doubled in Q1 2011 over the same time last year, with FutureSource predicting that there will be about 50 million Blu-ray playback devices in U.S. homes by the end of this year.
People are also showing a little more love for Blu-ray 3D this year, and 3D in general. IHS Screen Digest says that spending on Blu-ray 3D discs will jump a whopping 533 percent in the U.S., the UK, Germany and France this year. Of course, consumers will need something to watch those on as well. FutureSource expects 3D TVs to be in 60 percent of U.S. households by 2015, with 75 percent of those same homes having a Blu-ray 3D player by the same date.
Where to Buy:
