Yes, this really is yet another research firm chiming in on the pace at which Blu-ray is being adopted. This go 'round, we've got Futuresource digging into the numbers, though it is looking exclusively at western Europe. According to Jim Bottoms, managing director of corporate development at the outfit, the "early indications are that Blu-ray player sales are running way ahead of DVD after the same time period." He continued on to say that his firm expects some 10 million Blu-ray players (Sony's PlayStation 3 included) to be in use before 2009 dawns, whereas just 1.5 million DVD players were installed after its third year on the market. Notably, the importance of the PS3 in all of this wasn't understated, but the data didn't mention how many of those 10 million were expected to be consoles.

[Via MarketNewsGadgetTalk]

Not too much to say beyond the title, but everyone's favorite high-def lister has now begun to integrate video-on-demand offerings into the lineups. It should be noted that VOD listings aren't totally implemented just yet, so if you see a few holes in your own carrier's list, rest assured that plugs are on the way.

Your favorite HD locator has been updated yet again, barely a week after colored genres and printouts appeared. This time, the refresh brings in HD-ready channels, which are networks that do not currently produce any bona fide HD content, yet are apt to make the switch in short order. For example, here in the frigid town of Barrow, Alaska, we see that 5 StarMAX and Independent Film Channel HD are both being included for the 99723 zip code as HD-ready. On a related note, a listing of HD News is now available for those fervently checking their listings on a daily basis.

It's no surprise to see that the LCD sector is doing quite well; plasmas, on the other hand, have certainly been on the downward trend. According to new data from Displaybank, shipments of PDP modules managed to slide 15-percent during Q1 2008 compared to the always high Q4 of last year (you know, those holidays tend to do that), but the intriguing stat is the year-over-year: it's up 56-percent. For what it's worth, pricing for plasma panels is on the skids as well, and while the 40-inch segment accounted for just over half of all shipments, the 50-inchers claimed another 25-percent. In case you haven't noticed, quite a bit of shaking up has gone on in the plasma industry here recently, and while LG Electronics took back over the lead in Q1, anything is fair game from here on out.

Yeah, we're still not thrilled that Where is HD? lists TBS HD, TNT HD and other stretch-o-vision networks as broadcasting 100-percent high-def material, but aside from a few minor gripes, it's still a fairly useful service. Recently, the HD locator tool has added in colors to differentiate between genres (locals, sports and movies currently), and just in case you feel like printing your listing out and posting it up for grandma to peek when she house-sits, there's an option for that as well. Now, if only we actually had a domicile in 96740...

Despite the fact that consumer spending on the whole has dipped of late here in the US, it seems that the home video sector has been able to withstand major setbacks. Reportedly, American consumers spent some $5.6 billion on rentals and purchases through the first three months of 2008, which is just a 0.3-percent drop from the same quarter a year ago. It was noted that Q1's figures were boosted by 400- to 500-percent growth in high-definition disc sales, which amounted to around $150 million. Lastly, it's said that Blu-ray sales accounted for somewhere between 5- and 8-percent of all home entertainment sales for Q1 2008, and of course, demand for Sony's now entirely-more-relevant PlayStation 3 continues to head upwards. Thirsty for even more stats? Check 'em out in the read link below.

[Image courtesy of DevotedDVD]

It's almost comical how quickly the Blu-ray Disc Association gets its thoughts and feelings out to the world after crossing any milestone, and yet again we see the BDA rushing to pat itself on the back after moving some 2.37 million BD titles in Europe. According to recent sales figures, 79-percent of all high-definition movies purchased across the pond year-to-date have been of the Blu variety, and as expected, Sony's PlayStation 3 is given quite a bit of credit for the results. According to David Bishop, president of Sony Pictures Home Entertainment, passing the 2 million mark in Europe will allow supporters to "focus less on winning a format war and more on addressing the needs of the consumer in adopting the Blu-ray format." Confident, are we?

[Image courtesy of Messe-Berlin]
[Via Tech.co.uk, thanks L. R.]

You could almost see this one coming -- a Super Bowl with one team attempting to do what no other team in league history has done? Yeah, that'll draw folks in. A game decided in the final minutes of the fourth quarter helps too, and according to research doled out by Nielsen, Sunday's tilt between the Giants and Patriots was indeed the most watched Super Bowl ever. Reportedly, some 97.5 million viewers tuned in on average, with 105.7 million fixing their eyes on the game between 9:30PM and 10:00PM EST. More interesting, however, was TiVo's research data, which showed that more folks (in its sample, at least) were interested in watching / rewinding commercials than actually pausing to gaze into Brady's eyes. Oh, and for those curious, E-Trade's "Baby" spot snatched the number one rank this year in term's of ad popularity (sorry, Toshiba). Hit up the read links below for oodles more data about the game.

[Image courtesy of Getty Images / WNBC]
Read - Nielsen's research data
Read - TiVo's research data

We know, it's tough to believe, but Amazon's recent Buy 1 Get 1 free offer on Blu-ray titles has skyrocketed a number of BD films to the top of its curiously named DVD rankings. Granted, we saw the exact same thing happen to the red camp just days ago, but just in case the dead horse needed one more thumping, it's pretty safe to say that lowering disc prices will net a hefty gain in sales. At one point earlier today, the entire top ten list consisted of Blu-ray films, and currently, a majority of those positions are still being claimed by BD titles. So before you jump all down the other camp's throat about sales figures, you may want to give the lion's share of credit to lower prices, plain and simple.

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

We already learned that some 28-percent of US households were rocking at least one HDTV back in March, but now the Consumer Electronics Association has come forward with new figures showing that over half of American abodes are home to a digital television. According to revamped CEA projections, around 32 million DTV units will ship out next year, with 79-percent of those being HD sets. 'Course, the downside of this is that a good chunk of America still isn't prepared for the DTV cutover in 2009, but thanks to all the advertising that will likely be taking place over the next year and change, we'd say they've got plenty of time to get on board.

For the statistics freaks out there, you're sure to love this one. After DisplaySearch churned out a plethora of data surrounding Black Friday sales in the HD realm, Video Business took the liberty of breaking it all down for easier digestion. Interestingly, some 600,000 DVD players were moved while only 57,000 high-definition players were sold during the week ending November 24th, but less shockingly, (cheaper) HD DVD players made up 62-percent of that 57K. Nevertheless, Blu-ray hardware grabbed 52-percent of the revenue, even though it sold substantially less units than HD DVD. On the software side, BD titles made up 72.6-percent of all high-definition movie purchases, while HD DVD claimed the other 27.4-percent. We know, numbers only say so much, but it doesn't really look like any recent trends shifted over the US' biggest shopping holiday of the year.

[Image courtesy of SmackShopping]

Break out the party hats and streamers folks, as according to the well-compiled statistics over at HD DVD Stats.com, Universal has cranked out 104 high-definition titles to date. Of course, the number in and of itself is essentially meaningless, but when you consider just how critical the studio is to the HD DVD camp, one could easily envision the format war shifting should the firm eventually decide to support Blu-ray. Unfortunately, it still seems that we're quite a ways from seeing that come to fruition.

Just as we all wished, now that oh-so-informative Blu-ray statistics site that was unearthed earlier this month has an HD DVD counterpart. Interestingly, the layout between the two appears nearly identical, so we wouldn't put it past the creator of the BD site to have conjured up this gem. You know what to do, give the read link a visit and start chewing on some data.

Alright, so these "charts" and "sales figures" that make their way out every so often are decent indicators of which format is on top at any given moment, but if you've ever wanted to delve deeper into the statistics behind Blu-ray, your wish has come true. While we can't imagine how much effort went into creating it, a new website has been launched that details nearly every aspect of Blu-ray imaginable, right down to how much each film grossed at the box office and what percentage of discs sport lossless audio tracks. 'Course, as great as this site is, only one obvious question remains unanswered: who's up for creating an HD DVD counterpart?