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UK Blu-ray sales up 231% over last year

by Richard Lawler posted Jul 3rd 2009 at 4:12PM


The British Video Association is back with some more happy stats on how well Blu-ray is doing, claiming 3.1 million discs sold since the start of 2009. Still, even with a claimed 231% jump over last year's YTD figures, that hasn't offset a 9.5% drop in sales of DVDs. that should move the needle well past last year's figures, where only 1.5 million were reportedly moved by October, but we doubt that's much comfort to employees of the nearly 900 retailers that have closed this year. Even with consumers "continuing to spend money on the product" once they've experienced it, according to BVA director general Lavinia Carey, expect a greater focus on downloads to offer an alternative to piracy, though no word on when that can be expected.

Where Is HD? integrates VOD into listings

by Darren Murph posted May 13th 2008 at 4:52AM


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.

Where Is HD? adds HD-ready channels to listings

by Darren Murph posted May 4th 2008 at 4:38PM


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.

Q1 2008 plasma shipments up 56% from a year ago

by Darren Murph posted May 2nd 2008 at 9:00AM


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.

Where Is HD? adds colored genres, printable listings

by Darren Murph posted Apr 24th 2008 at 3:22AM


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...

Spending on home video nearly even with last year

by Darren Murph posted Apr 22nd 2008 at 8:23PM


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]

Shocker: Amazon's Blu-ray BOGO boosts BD rankings

by Darren Murph posted Jan 2nd 2008 at 6:17PM


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]

Half of US households own a digital television

by Darren Murph posted Dec 29th 2007 at 11:09AM

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.

Every HD DVD statistic you could ever crave

by Darren Murph posted Jul 24th 2007 at 8:22AM


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.




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