According to the Digital Entertainment Group (DEG), US, sales
of Blu-ray discs in the US grew substantially by 58 % in the
3rd quarter 2011 compared with the same quarter one year ago.
The number of households equipped with Blu-ray players
increased by another 52 % year-over-year to 33.5 million
households. For the first time since 2008 also total sales in
the home entertainment segment rose by 5 %, DEG found.
It is expected that the "Black Friday" and the upcoming
Christmas activities will result in an additional boost in
sales. During this year?s Black Friday on November 25 Blu-ray
players will already be offered below US$ 40, while most of
them are available for $100, incuding some that can also be
connected for Internet streaming.
Several special offers for blockbusters on Blu-ray disc and
new releases in the coming months suggest a further rise in
demand. The new releases of successful box office hits of
diverse genres such as "Lion King", "Titanic" and "Star Wars:
Episode I" in 3D are only the beginning. In addition to
numerous new movies, which will be released on Blu-ray, "Lord
of the Rings" and the announced sequel of "Avatar" will
further increase the demand for physical storage media in the
next couple of years.
One of the hottest gifts this holiday season won't be easy to wrap and will definitely have trouble fitting under any tree. DEG said that 60"-plus high-definition TVs are shaping up as one of the strongest retail sellers this holiday season. According to the Digital Entertainment Group, consumers are
either upgrading to big, 60"-plus HDTVs or accelerating their
conversion from cathode-ray tube televisions.
By December 31st, some 1.3 million 60"-plus HDTV sets are
expected to have been sold for all of 2011, up 50% from a
year ago, with a substantial number of those sold in the
final quarter during this holiday season.