Blu-Ray's First Two Years Outstrip DVD

Whenever the market is in the midst of a format transition, everyone has a lot of questions and the doom and gloom typically runs rampant. But what if we simply compare the last transition to the current one?

DVD owns the market and completely erased VHS from the face of the earth (well, for the most part), as the digital era arrived and gained complete control. Now, the high-definition Blu-Ray format has eliminated its only competition in HD-DVD and seeks to supplant DVD, although some reports would have you believe it's not doing the job. Well, not so. According to statistics compiled by EngadgetHD and Pali Capital's Richard Greenfield, Blu-Ray is coming along at a much faster rate than DVD. After two years, about 1.2 million DVD players had been sold, and in that same time frame, an estimated 2.5 million Blu-Ray players have been sold...and that number certainly doesn't include PlayStation 3 sales. Furthermore, Blu-Ray sales appear to have been unaffected by the economic downturn over the holidays, as it has "doubled its market share of the top 20 titles in the past six months." Remember, it takes some time for an entire market - like home movie viewing - to completely switch formats, but Blu-Ray is actually ahead of schedule.

There's no doubt that Sony used the PS3 as a Trojan Horse for Blu-Ray, and quite clearly, that move seems to have worked. Of course, it would help if more movies like "The Dark Knight" hit store shelves; that thing pretty much exploded and became gigantic for Blu-Ray.

1/6/2009 John Shepard

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Comments (53 posts)

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King James
Tuesday, January 06, 2009 @ 10:26:17 PM
Reply

If my mother wants a Blu-Ray player, then that says a lot. I showed my mother how to run a virus scan and burn a CD (for like the 15th time) last week.

Blu-Ray has the appeal! Maybe even that Wii appeal...

1 up, 0 down

Phoelix
Tuesday, January 06, 2009 @ 10:31:02 PM

That makes for some fascinating moments as you watch your mother get frustrated at a video game just like the rest of us do.

I'll never forget playing LittleBigPlanet with my mom.

1 up, 0 down

King James
Tuesday, January 06, 2009 @ 11:00:08 PM

My mom stopped playing games after they added a 3rd button to the controller.

NES Tetris FTW!!!

1 up, 0 down

somethingrandom
Tuesday, January 06, 2009 @ 11:46:58 PM

My mom still plays PS2 games, but there's no way in hell she could run a virus scan (maybe burn a cd).

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ps92117
Tuesday, January 06, 2009 @ 11:18:42 PM
Reply

have they consider inflation , ohh well i still belive br wins , bring on 400gb br

0 up, 1 down

Troy Powers
Wednesday, January 07, 2009 @ 8:07:57 AM

I think inflation would only come into play if they're talking price, not number of units sold.

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coverton341
Wednesday, January 07, 2009 @ 12:00:41 PM

I agree with Troy on this inflation only makes a difference to prices it doesn't really have anything to do with sales numbers unless you are going out on a limb and talking about inflation of the population and the fact that more people are on the earth that are of consumer age than when DVD was introduced but that is just crazy talk.

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ps92117
Wednesday, January 07, 2009 @ 12:39:59 PM

sorry it is bd , as for inflation well comparing prices which is huge factor in sales number, well does not matter bd wins anyway. ohh wat is vhs/dvd memory ratio , n dvd/bd memory ratio, well lets see how it does from now on it can only grow in sales so yeah n again sry it is bd

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zerostar39
Wednesday, January 07, 2009 @ 12:56:05 AM
Reply

I love blu ray. I mainly watch HD channels on tv now too. SD just looks so outdated to me now.

Blu ray will catch on. Just give it time. Seems people were expecting it to happen all of a sudden. There's so many articles i've read about blu ray is already dead and blah blah blah. 2 years from now I believe we'll see they were wrong.

1 up, 0 down

AceTatsujin
Wednesday, January 07, 2009 @ 1:16:58 AM
Reply

I saw The Dark Knight on Blu-ray and it was so damn good. I'm not going back to DVD. I want the newest technology, the best, at a reasonable price.

2 up, 0 down

coverton341
Wednesday, January 07, 2009 @ 12:01:50 PM

??

People had VHS players before DVD entered the market so I don't exactly follow your train of thought there

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soupdawg
Thursday, January 08, 2009 @ 12:20:48 PM

We're talking within the first two years of the each products release. Not just these past two years for both.

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BigT_1980
Wednesday, January 07, 2009 @ 1:58:23 AM
Reply

Blu Ray will catch on faster mainly because more and more people are buying HDTV's and they want to take advantage of capabilities their new TV's. And the icing of the cake is that people don't immediately have to replace their DVD collection because the Blu Ray players will play there DVD's and it will also upconvert them to high definition as well. And thanks to smart engineering with the Blu Ray player the transition from DVD to Blu Ray is going to be a much smoother transition than the transition from VHS to DVD transition was.

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Wage SLAVES
Wednesday, January 07, 2009 @ 2:27:03 AM
Reply

Once you get accustomed to watching HD programs and Blu Ray movies you can't possibly go back. It's tech-Heroine!

1 up, 0 down

rell
Wednesday, January 07, 2009 @ 9:48:47 AM

Im so in love with my hdtv, and ps3 alman its awesome, I feel like one of those rich folks who are millionaires, lol.

1 up, 0 down

Crono
Wednesday, January 07, 2009 @ 2:29:49 AM
Reply

Blu-ray will catch on when HDTV's catch on; which will happen naturally in a few years anyway when everyone's CRTs die out and they replace them. Even in the current market, anyone and everyone would buy into HDTV but it will become cheaper & cheaper in a year or two.

1 up, 0 down

noshownogo
Wednesday, January 07, 2009 @ 6:16:35 AM
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Dark Knight on Blu ray was fantastic, haven't watched 300 or Transformers just yet but they should be equally impressive for visuals. Nothing beats viewing movies in 1080i and 5.1 THX certified audio.

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Troy Powers
Wednesday, January 07, 2009 @ 8:09:35 AM

300 is sick, sick, SICK!!!

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rell
Wednesday, January 07, 2009 @ 9:52:16 AM

man I got too get a 1080p 42 inch

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Aftab
Wednesday, January 07, 2009 @ 10:10:23 AM

How about 1080p with Dolby 7.1?

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Renck
Wednesday, January 07, 2009 @ 10:33:19 AM

What about watching it in a 7.1 THX certified audio......he, he!

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www
Wednesday, January 07, 2009 @ 6:33:52 AM
Reply

Everything about blu-ray is attractive,the name,logo,mirror-like surface,i luv bu-ray.
No way HD-DVD was gonna win,heck i had problems mentioning that name,it's toooo damn looong,HDVD,HVDDD,HDVD,HDDDDV,HD-DVD...*sigh*...got it ryte at last.

2 up, 0 down

Jordahn
Wednesday, January 07, 2009 @ 8:24:18 AM

"ryte"??? ;)

0 up, 1 down

Jordahn
Wednesday, January 07, 2009 @ 8:25:31 AM
Reply

This might not seem a lot to some of you guys, but we are up to 22 Blu-ray's. Blu is so Tru...

1 up, 0 down

zerostar39
Wednesday, January 07, 2009 @ 8:49:24 AM

22 is a lot more than most people i know. 3 of my friends have a ps3 and only have like 2 or 3 blu rays. I a bit more obsessed...im up to 62, and with pineapple express just coming out soon it'l be 63

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coverton341
Wednesday, January 07, 2009 @ 12:06:17 PM

Since I bought my PS3 I have not bought a DVD. It has been BD all the way because my fiancé bought me the PS3 and I bought a 47" 1080p HDTV. She saw the difference between DVD and BD and refuses to buy DVD as well. Now the next thing to buy is the surround sound and we will be done for a few years. WOOHOO! Go Blu-Ray

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GuernicaReborn
Wednesday, January 07, 2009 @ 8:40:56 AM
Reply

The thing I like best about about PS3 and Blu-ray is how we always get the most up to date Blu-ray software. I've read that some early adopters of Blu-ray who got a stand-alone player don't have BD-Live and can't upgrade their software on the BD player. I probably won't even use it, just nice to know I have it.

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Naga
Wednesday, January 07, 2009 @ 9:36:27 AM
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I'm getting sick of this I need a HD-TV!!!

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rell
Wednesday, January 07, 2009 @ 9:57:31 AM

legendarytales let me tell u that when u get a hdtv u will feel like u are on top of the world. lol

1 up, 0 down

soupdawg
Thursday, January 08, 2009 @ 12:24:21 PM

Use this next stimulus package. That's what I did.

0 up, 0 down

Deleted User
Wednesday, January 07, 2009 @ 10:06:10 AM
Reply

The only blu-ray movies I have seen are Casino Royale, The Godfather Part I and Part II.

I'll be seeing Mad Max 2 soon.

Honestly, I don't see the big deal about blu-ray when watching on a 32" tv.

0 up, 2 down

Aftab
Wednesday, January 07, 2009 @ 10:26:52 AM

I notice a difference even on a 22" monitor. Big difference (2.25x) between 480p and 1080p. So, I would wonder if your tv is 1080p capable. If it's not, then your film could be being backscaled to 480p. Then, I would wonder if your ps3 and tv is set to upscaling your dvd's, while this shouldn't make a huge difference.

Last edited by Aftab on 1/7/2009 10:28:19 AM

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Frenchy17
Wednesday, January 07, 2009 @ 10:23:30 AM
Reply

Of course you dont!

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Deleted User
Wednesday, January 07, 2009 @ 10:26:59 AM

Have you seen those movies on blu-ray?

The TV is only 1080i, admittedly. I have the PS3 set to Full Upscale. I found some friends of mine that owned a PS3 talking about how big the jump was even though they didn't have the upscale section changed. It looked like they saw something that wasn't there.

Last edited by n/a on 1/7/2009 10:29:19 AM

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Crono
Thursday, January 08, 2009 @ 11:14:23 AM

Er, why would you want to upscale a BD film? It's native resolution is 1920 by 1080..

What are you actually comparing a BD to? A DVD? If you genuinely can't see the difference between high & standard-definition content (on anything 20" and over), your eyes aren't functioning like they should.

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Frenchy17
Wednesday, January 07, 2009 @ 11:05:33 AM
Reply

I have about 40 blu rays that I watch on a 42" 1080p plasma and a 37" 1080p lcd which is also my computer monitor. And yes the difference is plain as day. Even a caveman could see it! I thought you did'nt have a PS3?

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Deleted User
Wednesday, January 07, 2009 @ 11:17:16 AM

Me? No. My brother and friends yes. I get to play as much PS3 as I could want. Which is to say I played MGS4. I intend to play Uncharted, would have bought it but after hearing how short the game actually is I was put off.

Was bored last night and was thinking of starting to go through Resistance and Resistance 2 to see how good they are. Will get around to them. And other games that are must wants for PS3 owners. Though the only ones other than MGS4 I honestly care about will be Heavy Rain and L.A Noire which I would get on 360 if it actually is released on that.

While I am vocal on what annoys me about Sony, I am the same way about the other two.

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WorldEndsWithMe
Wednesday, January 07, 2009 @ 12:22:13 PM

I think Heavy Rain is exclusive.

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Deleted User
Wednesday, January 07, 2009 @ 2:28:28 PM

Yep, Heavy Rain most assuredly is. Its L.A Noire I believe to not be.

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tlpn99
Wednesday, January 07, 2009 @ 12:10:28 PM
Reply

Total amount of Blu-ray films bought = 0
Total amount of dvd films bought = tons lol

I am still to get a blu ray dvd yet but not while they are still fairly expensive I refuse to spend money. I waited before buying dvd's so I shall do so again with blu-ray and wait till they come down in price, everything does eventually ie PS3/360 etc I waited bided my time and eventually got them.

Some things you can wait longer for, consoles I held out as long as I could then had to get them. Blu-ray for me is not for a while yet.

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Deleted User
Wednesday, January 07, 2009 @ 12:17:30 PM

Yeah, I am still buying lots of DVDs. They are so cheap now that I am happy to. Felt obligated to get Dark Knight on blu-ray though. And The Godfather trilogy I saw for a low price.

Actually, I picked up Gotham Knight and Pan's Labyrinth blu-ray 2 for 40 euros. Still haven't gotten around to watching them yet. Will do that tonight.

Last edited by n/a on 1/7/2009 12:18:06 PM

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WorldEndsWithMe
Wednesday, January 07, 2009 @ 12:23:35 PM
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Stupid blu ray players have trouble playing the movies I burn to DVD, other than that I always get the blu ray when I rent movies.

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Frenchy17
Wednesday, January 07, 2009 @ 12:39:00 PM
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Including your PS3 World? I have never had a problem playing anything on it. I had some problems streaming stuff on the PS3 from my media server but I figured that out finally.

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WorldEndsWithMe
Wednesday, January 07, 2009 @ 1:37:45 PM

Nah my PS3 doesn't have any problems, but it's in my room and I like to watch movies on the big screen.

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Frenchy17
Wednesday, January 07, 2009 @ 12:42:05 PM
Reply

Pushtrak I do suggest playing Uncharted, its short but if you actually explore the game looking for treasures and the like, it ends up being worth it. I found all the treasures and I think it took me around 12-13 hours or so. Not too much quantity, but it was definitely quality.

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Deleted User
Wednesday, January 07, 2009 @ 1:01:00 PM

Yeah, I think I will. Number of reasons will justify it. Biggest two, other than I hear being a quality game are I would find it cheap now. And, it has a sequel on its way.

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Frenchy17
Wednesday, January 07, 2009 @ 3:25:30 PM
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You know there are Uncharted Bundles now right? :)

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Deleted User
Wednesday, January 07, 2009 @ 3:30:49 PM

I already have access to a PS3 as wand when I need it. Besides, the 60GB was the good model. Getting rid of backwards compatibility would be made meaningless if they actually brought good PS1 games to the PSN. I actually just checked it earlier today, and the closest I would come to downloading something was a street fighter alpha one.

Considering the amount of titles they could put up, its a wasted opportunity.

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Aftab
Thursday, January 08, 2009 @ 2:22:59 PM

All ps3's play ps1 games. The b/c that was removed supported ps2 games.

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Ultimadesires
Wednesday, January 07, 2009 @ 3:30:58 PM
Reply

I'm sticking my guns about keeping to DVD until they stop manifatcuring new releases which hopefully wont be for a while, I DID BY 2001: A Space Odyssey in Blu-ray the other day because it was half price and if theres any film to see in HD its that! but other than Stanley Kubrick titles DVD it is.

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zerostar39
Wednesday, January 07, 2009 @ 10:22:10 PM

2001: A Space Odyssey was my first Blu Ray. Its amazing how it looks so clean and new for a film made in 1968.

1 up, 0 down

Deleted User
Friday, January 09, 2009 @ 11:19:12 AM
Reply

I can now add Pan's Labyrinth to Casino Royale, The Godfather Part I and II.

Pan's Labyrinth blu-ray is a lot better than what I had seen before, I have to admit. Wouldn't mind seeing it on DVD for comparisons sake though.

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NetheRealm
Friday, January 16, 2009 @ 3:27:59 PM
Reply

too bad most PS3 games aren't 1080p

0 up, 0 down

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