High-def adoption 'will roll', albeit slowly, say panelists

via Videobusiness.com

OCT. 10 | UNIVERSAL CITY, Calif.—Supporters of the HD DVD and Blu-ray Disc high-definition formats locked horns at the HDTV DisplaySearch conference here Wednesday, but all participants ultimately agreed they were heartened by the fact that consumers are adopting high-def discs, even slowly.

“The chances are pretty slim” that high-def won’t succeed, said Don Eklund, executive VP of advanced technologies for Sony Pictures Home Entertainment. “There are obstacles in getting consumers to appreciate it, but it’s inevitable it will roll. Satellite and cable do a good job of indoctrinating people to high-def and by extension high-def packaged media.”

Currently, high-def stand-alone players comprise a 5% unit share within the total DVD player market, according to DisplaySearch. Although that is small, that share has significantly improved in recent weeks. Between April 2006 and August 2007, next-gen set-tops totaled just 1.3% of the overall DVD player market.

By year end, there should be about 1 million Blu-ray and HD DVD set-top units sold, the research concern predicts.

On a revenue basis, next-gen players carved out a 27% share of the overall market during the month of August. That marks a rise from next-gen’s 11% share between April 2006 and August 2007.