Blu-ray Evolution in SA

Blu-ray Disc is proving to be the most popular and fastest establishing platform ever in the history of the US entertainment industry. This was one of the main messages presented by the Blu-ray Disc Association (BDA) at a packed press conference on the 8th of January 2009 at the 2009 International Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. Since Blu-ray Disc’s inception in June 2006, some 10.7 million Blu-ray capable players have been shipped in the US (source: DisplaySearch). By comparison, 5.4 million DVD players had been shipped three years into the product’s launch (source: CEA Market Research).

Says Nelmari Claassens, Sony Pictures Marketing Manager at SterKinekor Entertainment: “Sony has enjoyed much success with the Blu-ray format. To date, over eight million Sony Blu-ray players, drives, VAIO PCs, recorders and PS3s have been sold in the US, alone. Sony Blu-ray players have held the number one position in the US market since July of 2007, accounting for half of all Blu-ray players sold.”

“Blu-ray software has also had tremendous success in the market. More than 22 million Blu-ray movies were sold last year, a 280% increase over 2007, with blockbuster Blu-ray titles like Sony Pictures’ “Hancock” and Warner Bros’ “The Dark Knight” driving the format to new heights.”

“Already, in just our third year, Blu-ray has achieved more than seven percent market penetration here in the US,” says Andy Parsons, Chairman of the BDA US Promotions Committee. “This compares with just over four percent for DVD, less than two percent for CD and less than one percent for colour television itself at comparable stages of their evolution. These are really significant figures and illustrate the ability Blu-ray possesses to revolutionise the home entertainment industry.”

This exponential growth in hardware sales is supported by very strong sales results in the software sector. Parsons announced at the news conference that nearly 1,100 Blu-ray movie titles are now available. With the release of Dark Knight by Warner Home Video the BD format has its first title to surpass one million sales. In the US, the first two-million-disc sales month was achieved last October. This was immediately followed by more than three million BD movie sales in November and more than eight million sales in December. Since Blu-ray’s inception more than 30 million Blu-ray movie discs have been sold. In 2008, 24.09 million discs were sold (source: The Redhill Group) representing a more than fourfold increase on the previous year.

Adds Claassens: “On the local front, South Africa has proved to be a successful market for Sony Pictures Home Entertainment with close to 18 000 units sold in 2008.   Further reinforcing its success, the studio has close to 40% of BD market share locally and exceeded PS3 console sales for 2 months in a row! These are milestones as the interest in South Africa is just as buoyant as international markets, further driving more titles for South Africa.”

Parsons pointed out to the audience of journalists that whilst these figures are impressive, they represent just the start of a revolution that will transform living rooms across the US, and indeed the world. He highlighted the potential impact of BD-Live – a sophisticated Blu-ray interactivity platform that transforms the entertainment experience from passive viewing to totally immersive interactivity.

There are currently more than 75 BD-Live movie titles available in the US and many more are in the pipeline. There are nine BD-Live capable player models on the market today and a further five new players have been announced at CES. This means that when PlayStation 3 is taken into account more than 75 percent of all Blu-ray players sold in the US are BD-Live capable. Blu-ray Disc is a format that is in the early days of its evolution and numerous companies and organisations are working with the technology to enhance the consumer entertainment experience.

Says Claassens: “Sony has enjoyed much success with its latest iteration of PlayStation 3 (PS3) and has achieved significant growth in 2008, further contributing to the adoption of Blu-ray technology.  In addition, a bumper year is predicted for 2009.”