14 DAY TRIAL // In tune with making the top 10 CEA Christmas wish list, where they got eighth place, Blu-ray players, along with Blu-ray disks, are expected to see a surge in popularity over the next three years, after the volume sales of BD movie disks rose during this year's first three quarters by 183%, 200% and 180%, respectively, compared to the same periods in 2008. This phenomenon is directly tied to the popularity surge of High-Definition media and home theater PCs.
Taiwanese Blu-ray player manufacturers recently held a forum in Taipei regarding the sales of such products. After they recognized the significant sales surge, the participating companies reached the conclusion that, in tune with the growing demand, prices would drop accordingly until a 25GB Blu-ray ROM disk cost a mere $1.50 per piece, compared to the current price of $5 in the US market. Similar price drops are expected to occur on the European and Japanese markets.
HD media files can only be stored in their true quality on Blu-ray disks, and such drives are also the only ones capable of HD media playback (unless the files are copied on a high-end system). HD quality is also the only one suitable for viewing on home theater personal computers, since normal-quality video will suffer a significant drop in detail when played on large displays. By 2012, rise in High-Definition media availability will increase the demand for not only Blu-ray drives and players, but also the preference for large or multi-display setups, propelling the HD trend to new heights.
European, Japanese and, of course, US markets will see the age of high-definition media perhaps sooner than expected. Consequently, company policies and interests may shift, but it is clear that increasing in advance the availability of Blu-ray and BR-related products will help manufacturers be better prepared for the high-demand that the Taipei forum predicted.