Blu-ray Drive Prices Drop to $70

Even though it has been years since the Blu-ray disk and drive was invented, DVDs are still the primary means of enjoying multimedia for mainstream users. The reasons for this are multiple, but one of them is on its way to disappearing now that Blu-ray technology is maturing. Prices of Blu-ray disks and drives have been declining over the past year and, thus, such products are closer to becoming mainstream and replacing DVDs as the foremost media for movies.

There are two main reasons why DVDs are still more popular than BRs. One is, as already mentioned, price. Blu-ray burners have definitely gotten less expensive, to the point where there is no longer a high-enough price gap to dissuade end-users from purchasing one.

Unfortunately, Blu-ray disks themselves are still considerably more expensive than DVDs. The second reason is the actual multimedia capabilities themselves. The fact that Blu-ray quality is significantly superior to that of DVDs is undisputed, but the difference is not exactly relevant for regular home TVs. Full HF video formats make more sense on wall-sized TVs or such display solutions.

Now, however, there has appeared a certain video format that will likely propel Blu-ray quality even on regular-sized screens. Predictably, it is stereoscopic 3D, which will drive the adoption of BR over DVDs, until the latter are deposed by the former as a primary means of marketing and enjoying videos. However, this will never happen as long as the price gap remains large. Digitimes reports that Blu-ray disk drives are now priced between $70 and $80, which is still significantly higher than the $20 price point of DVD drives.

Nevertheless, the general impression is that it is only a matter of time before the industry moves on, especially considering that the Blu-ray format is supported by companies such as Broadcom, NEC and MediaTek.