Uncertain Future for Blu-ray

IT may have soundly beaten HD DVD to become the high definition disc of choice but Blu-ray has taken a number of years to put up a fight against DVD.

Recent figures show that film fans are starting to choose Blu-ray over DVD but the transition is far from smooth as many consumers eschew discs altogether.

Projected Figures

Projected figures released by Japan Recording - Media Industries Association (JRIA) show the global demand for Blu-ray discs will rise to 310 million by 2012.

Further signs of customers opting for Blu-ray are that CD-R and DVD-R sale are in decline with CD-R sales dropping from 5,131 million units in 2009 to 4,416 this year.

Further projections estimate that sales will drop to 3,125 million in 2012.

DVD sales haven't fared much better either with sales in 2009 reaching 5,271 million in 2009 dropping to 4,961 million this year with projected figures estimating sales of around 4,372 million in 2012.

In sum, the statistics suggest that Blu-ray films are starting to become commercially viable in comparison with DVD - as the technology matures Blu-ray players and discs have dropped in price and will undoubtedly continue to do so over the next few years - but sales of discs in general are still waning.

Indeed, this seems to have already been at least partly recognised by the market: Sony's higher capacity 128GB discs (most Blu-ray holds 50GB) are better designed for recording and playing back HD content rather than adding extra bulk to your DVD rental envelope.

Humphrey Bogart in HD anyone?

As long as projected Blu-ray sales keep looking good, though, studios stay willing to re-release their classic movies onto the HD format.

This week alone Universal have announced a HD re-release of the Back to the Future trilogy and Warner Bros are doing the same thing with a clutch of Humphrey Bogart films.

The Back to the Future trilogy will come with a host of added extras including a six-part retrospective documentary plus 16 deleted scenes and a story boarded alternative ending which sees Marty McFly head to a nuclear test facility.

Unfortunately, any McFly fans hoping to rent the box set from Lovefilm or OutNow may be disappointed come the release in October: the two are still entangled in a dispute with universal that leave users without any new releases from the studio.

The Bogart collection - also released in October - will feature 24 films spread over 12 Blu-ray discs.

The retail edition of the box set will also include added extras such a photo book and photo cards plus archived studio correspondence.

Blu-ray has received a massive boost in the last week and there is little doubt that if the studios continue to convert their classics to Blu-ray then more and more will look to invest in some HD home cinema action.

However, price remains a major sticking point for Blu-ray and, of course, it's still much cheaper to rent it online than to buy.

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