Home Media Magazine - May 25 - 31, 2008 - (Page 16) PRODUCT GUIDE HARDWARE www.homemediamagazine.com New Blu-ray Players Aim to Jumpstart CONSUMER INTEREST By Erik Gruenwedel ext-generation format Blu-ray Disc will get a boost this summer with the launch of several new standalone players that feature Internet connectivity, picturein-picture and enhanced audio, among other options. The studios consider Blu-ray a sequel to the lucrative but mature standard DVD. However, the format has sputtered a bit since Toshiba threw in the towel on rival format HD DVD in February. The Consumer Electronics Association reported 500,000 standalone Blu-ray players (excluding Sony’s PlayStation 3, with a Blu-ray drive) had been sold in the United States by the end of 2007. Bernstein Research analyst Michael Nathanson in a note estimated that about 3.5 million Blu-ray-enabled devices were in U.S. homes — the vast majority PS3s. Shortages of standalone Blu-ray players and N new movies, high prices, as well as educational and economic challenges have contributed to public indifference post-format war, industry observers say. A recent Harris Interactive poll found that only 9% of respondents (87% of whom owned a DVD player) planned on buying a Blu-ray player in the next year. The NPD Group reported that few consumers were dissuaded toward purchasing a Bluray player because of the format war. Rather, a survey found that most were satisfied with their current DVD player and considered nextgeneration devices too expensive. Steve Wilson, principal analyst with ABI Research, said the depressed economy in the United States could lead HDTV and prospective HDTV owners to opt for less-expensive upconverting standard-definition DVD players as they delay buying higher-ticket consumer electronics Continued on Page 20 16 Home Media Magazine May 25–31, 2008 http://www.homemediamagazine.com
Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Home Media Magazine - May 25 - 31, 2008 Home Media Magazine - May 25 - 31, 2008 Contents News Hardware Commentary TV DVD Reviews Pipeline Research Top 20 DVD Sellers Top 20 Rentals and Top 10 Charts Just Announced Home Media Magazine - May 25 - 31, 2008 Home Media Magazine - May 25 - 31, 2008 - Home Media Magazine - May 25 - 31, 2008 (Page Cover1) Home Media Magazine - May 25 - 31, 2008 - Home Media Magazine - May 25 - 31, 2008 (Page Cover2) Home Media Magazine - May 25 - 31, 2008 - Home Media Magazine - May 25 - 31, 2008 (Page 1) Home Media Magazine - May 25 - 31, 2008 - Home Media Magazine - May 25 - 31, 2008 (Page 2) Home Media Magazine - May 25 - 31, 2008 - Home Media Magazine - May 25 - 31, 2008 (Page 3) Home Media Magazine - May 25 - 31, 2008 - Home Media Magazine - May 25 - 31, 2008 (Page 4) Home Media Magazine - May 25 - 31, 2008 - Contents (Page 5) Home Media Magazine - May 25 - 31, 2008 - Contents (Page 6) Home Media Magazine - May 25 - 31, 2008 - Contents (Page 7) Home Media Magazine - May 25 - 31, 2008 - News (Page 8) Home Media Magazine - May 25 - 31, 2008 - News (Page 9) Home Media Magazine - May 25 - 31, 2008 - News (Page 10) Home Media Magazine - May 25 - 31, 2008 - News (Page 11) Home Media Magazine - May 25 - 31, 2008 - News (Page 12) Home Media Magazine - May 25 - 31, 2008 - News (Page 13) Home Media Magazine - May 25 - 31, 2008 - News (Page 14) Home Media Magazine - May 25 - 31, 2008 - News (Page 15) Home Media Magazine - May 25 - 31, 2008 - Hardware (Page 16) Home Media Magazine - May 25 - 31, 2008 - Hardware (Page 17) Home Media Magazine - May 25 - 31, 2008 - Hardware (Page 18) Home Media Magazine - May 25 - 31, 2008 - Hardware (Page 19) Home Media Magazine - May 25 - 31, 2008 - Hardware (Page 20) Home Media Magazine - May 25 - 31, 2008 - Hardware (Page 21) Home Media Magazine - May 25 - 31, 2008 - Hardware (Page 22) Home Media Magazine - May 25 - 31, 2008 - Hardware (Page 23) Home Media Magazine - May 25 - 31, 2008 - Hardware (Page 24) Home Media Magazine - May 25 - 31, 2008 - Hardware (Page 25) Home Media Magazine - May 25 - 31, 2008 - Commentary (Page 26) Home Media Magazine - May 25 - 31, 2008 - Commentary (Page 27) Home Media Magazine - May 25 - 31, 2008 - TV DVD (Page 28) Home Media Magazine - May 25 - 31, 2008 - TV DVD (Page 29) Home Media Magazine - May 25 - 31, 2008 - Reviews (Page 30) Home Media Magazine - May 25 - 31, 2008 - Reviews (Page 31) Home Media Magazine - May 25 - 31, 2008 - Reviews (Page 32) Home Media Magazine - May 25 - 31, 2008 - Reviews (Page 33) Home Media Magazine - May 25 - 31, 2008 - Reviews (Page 34) Home Media Magazine - May 25 - 31, 2008 - Pipeline (Page 35) Home Media Magazine - May 25 - 31, 2008 - Top 20 DVD Sellers (Page 36) Home Media Magazine - May 25 - 31, 2008 - Top 20 Rentals and Top 10 Charts (Page 37) Home Media Magazine - May 25 - 31, 2008 - Just Announced (Page 38) Home Media Magazine - May 25 - 31, 2008 - Just Announced (Page 39) Home Media Magazine - May 25 - 31, 2008 - Just Announced (Page 40) Home Media Magazine - May 25 - 31, 2008 - Just Announced (Page Cover3) Home Media Magazine - May 25 - 31, 2008 - Just Announced (Page Cover4)
For optimal viewing of this digital publication, please enable JavaScript and then refresh the page. If you would like to try to load the digital publication without using Flash Player detection, please click here.