Big Picture Big Sound

With 10.7 million Blu-ray players (including PlayStation 3, not including BD-enabled computers) shipped though the end of 2008, the Blu-ray Disc Association had lots to celebrate here at the Consumer Electronics Show. It's only been two-and-a-half years since the Blu-ray launch in June of 2006, and by comparison DVD only hit 5.4 million players in its first three years.  Industry analysts and experts converged at a BDA-sponsored press conference earlier this week to share their good news with the world.

Blu-ray hardware sales approximately tripled in 2008 versus 2007, and household penetration reached an historic 7+%. Nearly 1,100 Blu-ray titles are currently available for sale, while The Dark Knight specifically has topped one million units in sales since its release last month.   

In fact, in the last three months of 2008, leading into a closely scrutinized holiday season, software sales grew from 2.3 million units in October to more than three million in November, leading to a whopping eight-million-plus in December. (Looks like Batman really is a hero after all.) That brought 2008's total unit sales to 24.09 million Blu-rays, four times the total for 2007, and over 30 million since the 2006 launch. These figures come despite a 9% decline in overall disc sales, which factors in the challenges faced by a struggling DVD format.

More than 20 BD-Live titles are currently available with many more in development, supported by nine different BD-Live-enabled players. More than 75% of all Blu-ray players sold in 2008 are BD Profile 2.0-capable. Digital Copy has also been a hit with consumers, available on 53 titles so far. As much as five- to six-times increase in disc sales is expected in 2009, as more catalog titles are released on high-def disc and as retail prices continue to drop.