Blu-Ray Not A Priority For Most, Says ABI Research

Could indiscriminate users be seriously affecting Blu-ray sales?  That's one of the suggestions from ABI Research's latest report, that cites customers seeing only middling improvements in picture quality over DVD.  It adds up to users reluctant to pay for upgrades – both to Blu-ray players and the HDTVs necessary to make the most of them.

"While half of the respondents to our survey rated Blu-ray's quality as 'much better' than standard DVD, another 40-percent termed it only 'somewhat better,' and most are very satisfied with the performance of their current DVD players" Steve Wilson, ABI Research

In a survey of 1,000, more than half of the respondents told ABI that they have no intention of buying a Blu-ray player, claiming they had "other priorities".  23-percent stated an intent to purchase, but not until 2009. 

"Consumers were happy to embrace standard DVD when that format arrived because the improvement in quality over VHS videotapes was dramatic. Standard DVD didn't require the purchase of a new TV either" Steve Wilson, ABI Research

Wilson expects entry-level Blu-ray players to remain at the $300 price point, with retailers using bundled discs as a lure for new buyers.  However he points to the PS3 as a success story in the high-definition market, with the company's findings suggesting that gamers with a PS3 bought just as many Blu-ray discs as other owners of suitable players did.