PS3 drives 17% Blu-ray adoption in US


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Arguably the most significant differentiating factor for Sony's PlayStation 3 is its built-in Blu-ray player, which provides both increased storage space for games and high-definition video playback. Earlier this year, a study by The Nielsen Company indicated that the console's Blu-ray playback capability was the number one motivating factor behind potential PS3 purchases, but a new study indicates that consumers are increasingly turning to devices dedicated to the format.

As reported by Home Media Magazine, a new study by Centris indicates that while the PS3 remains the dominant Blu-ray media player at 47 percent, dedicated Blu-ray players are a close second at 45 percent. According to Centris' research, the PS3 enjoyed a two-to-one advantage over Blu-ray players up until six months ago, when dedicated devices began quickly gaining ground.

Those large gains in Blu-ray player growth are indicative of explosive adoption of the media format among US households within the past few years. Centris' research indicates that 17 percent of all US households have at least one Blu-ray Disc player, a figure that has doubled since 2008. Further, about 1.7 million US households own both a PS3 and Blu-ray player.

By comparison, DVD player adoption reportedly stands at 95 percent, and mail-order movie rental service Netflix has penetrated 15 percent of US households. Centris' research also cites figures from The NPD Group indicating that Apple-based computers have found their way into 12 percent of US homes through the end of 2009, while adoption of Microsoft's Windows-based PCs stood at 85 percent.

As for the practical application of Centris' findings, the report noted that Blu-ray Disc growth requires that the format move beyond its heavy reliance on the PS3.

Source: http://uk.gamespot.com/news/6280194.html

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Blu-ray is hella sweet.

Especially IMAX ports. 16:9 HD is so nice on my 55" 120 Hz TV. :devil:

Avatar is all 16:9, and parts of the Dark Knight are 16:9.

I hope it catches on more. I understand all-digital distribution may be the next big thing, but I'm hoping Blu-ray sticks around a bit longer. It would make a good end-all physical format. Netflix HD is great, but I'd still like physical HD movies to hold on to.

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I'm glad it did. I love my Bluray player and I hope the format sticks around a while.

Can't discount movie ads from driving Bluray though either. Many movie ads as of late end with "Own it on Bluray today", omitting DVD entirely (even though they're obviously selling DVD copies as well).

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I wouldn't be surprised if their numbers were off, and the percentage was actually higher. Everyone I know who has a ps3, got it because of the bluray player mainly, and secondly that it could do games if one wanted lol.

Exactly why I got mine too lol - for me the built-in wifi was just icing on the cake; an out-of-the-box, connected, blu-ray player that plays decent games and much more.

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Some people read this as "PS3 positive influence on Blu-ray" or what ever. For some reason I read this as "blu-ray sales still not very high."

Given that HDTV adoption stands at just above 50%, and was far far less when Bluray was launched, I'd say that being at 17% by now is fairly impressive. HDTV really has only been catching on mainstream in the last year or two.

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I think the high prices of the movies at retail chains (in the US anyway) really hurt the format. Target and Walmart have a ton of crap movies @ $14.99 but any new releasse is @ $29.99 or even $34.99 - people arent going to pick up a bluray player if they think they are going to have to pay double for the movies. Amazon has seem to come to their senses with lowering prices on a good amount of blurays.

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I love Blu-ray, but I hardly use my Blu-ray players anymore. All the limits imposed on Netflix are infuriating, the instant streaming library is finally getting expanded, and I don't have to sit through any crappy unskippable ads.

The quality is certainly better on Blu-ray, but the convenience factor of online streaming is so much better.

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I love Blu-ray, but I hardly use my Blu-ray players anymore. All the limits imposed on Netflix are infuriating, the instant streaming library is finally getting expanded, and I don't have to sit through any crappy unskippable ads.

The quality is certainly better on Blu-ray, but the convenience factor of online streaming is so much better.

I too have moved away from Blu-ray. The "streaming" HD isn't BD quality, but the full download 1080p versions are right up there, without the 7.1 surround.

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This is the only reason I got a PS3, because it was cheaper or the same price as a BluRay player, but PS3 can also play games and act as a media client.

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I'll be relying on Blu-ray and Sky HD for the foreseeable future - my internet connection probably won't be good enough to handle HD streams for quite a few years, given my exchange/line quality issues. And even when it's possible, it might not be affordable for me.

And this is true of a lot of the UK population.

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