PSound
09-16-09, 01:06 AM
It’s finally going to be Blu-ray’s year, said Bill Mandel, VP of broadband technology for Universal Pictures, who expects Blu-ray Disc to finally achieve widespread consumer adoption this holiday season.
“I think it will be this Christmas,” he said, speaking at the Entertainment Merchants Association’s (EMA) inaugural Digital Media Pipeline event Sept. 15. “We think we can make a really compelling, Internet-connected product.”
With cheaper hardware prices, new Internet-connected features on the software, and research firms reporting significant drops in the retail price for discs, Mandel was echoing the hopes of many in the industry that Blu-ray will keep physical disc alive for years to come, even in the face of more and more electronic delivery options.
EMA’s event centered on the business of electronic delivery, however, early panels mentioned Blu-ray more than once, because if Blu-ray’s life eventually runs out, it may be the last hurrah for disc.
“Blu-ray is the final, mass market packaged media opportunity,” said Jim Bottoms, managing director of corporate development for Futuresource Consulting, adding that 3D will help extend Blu-ray’s existence.
And unlike the early days of DVD, “early adopters are buying six or seven [Blu-ray] discs,” instead of twice that number in the early days of DVD, said Russ Crupnick, VP and senior industry analyst for NPD Group.
Accepting that consumer consumption of entertainment has changed and continues to change is key, Bottoms said.
“People get so hung up on if it’s physical or digital,” he said. “The harsh reality is the consumer wants different types of content on different platforms. This one-size-fits-all thing is a thing of the past.”
According to Futuresource Consulting data, 53% of a 2009 American research group said they had never paid for an online, new release film movie. But the firm sees changes ahead, with content owners making it easier and more affordable to buy content, instead of stealing it, and with more consumers connected enough to buy it. While the electronic delivery business will be estimated at $880 million in 2009, more content and consumers will drive it up to a $3.28 billion business in 2013. Futuresource estimates that 83% of TVs in America will be Internet-connected by 2013.
http://www.homemediamagazine.com/conference-news/ema-conference-panelists-talk-blu-ray-electronic-delivery-17055
“I think it will be this Christmas,” he said, speaking at the Entertainment Merchants Association’s (EMA) inaugural Digital Media Pipeline event Sept. 15. “We think we can make a really compelling, Internet-connected product.”
With cheaper hardware prices, new Internet-connected features on the software, and research firms reporting significant drops in the retail price for discs, Mandel was echoing the hopes of many in the industry that Blu-ray will keep physical disc alive for years to come, even in the face of more and more electronic delivery options.
EMA’s event centered on the business of electronic delivery, however, early panels mentioned Blu-ray more than once, because if Blu-ray’s life eventually runs out, it may be the last hurrah for disc.
“Blu-ray is the final, mass market packaged media opportunity,” said Jim Bottoms, managing director of corporate development for Futuresource Consulting, adding that 3D will help extend Blu-ray’s existence.
And unlike the early days of DVD, “early adopters are buying six or seven [Blu-ray] discs,” instead of twice that number in the early days of DVD, said Russ Crupnick, VP and senior industry analyst for NPD Group.
Accepting that consumer consumption of entertainment has changed and continues to change is key, Bottoms said.
“People get so hung up on if it’s physical or digital,” he said. “The harsh reality is the consumer wants different types of content on different platforms. This one-size-fits-all thing is a thing of the past.”
According to Futuresource Consulting data, 53% of a 2009 American research group said they had never paid for an online, new release film movie. But the firm sees changes ahead, with content owners making it easier and more affordable to buy content, instead of stealing it, and with more consumers connected enough to buy it. While the electronic delivery business will be estimated at $880 million in 2009, more content and consumers will drive it up to a $3.28 billion business in 2013. Futuresource estimates that 83% of TVs in America will be Internet-connected by 2013.
http://www.homemediamagazine.com/conference-news/ema-conference-panelists-talk-blu-ray-electronic-delivery-17055