At the HDTV 2008 conference, DisplaySearch projected that consumers will buy 2.38 million Blu-ray players this year, up from about 700,000 in 2007. They also stated that with prices continuing to fall and the rapid adoption of HDTVs, unit sales of standalone Blu-ray players will double to 5.31 million next year.
Global unit sales of standalone Blu-ray players will triple this year and will double next year as prices fall, more titles are released and a larger percentage of the population own high-definition TVs, researchers for NPD Group unit DisplaySearch said at its HDTV 2008 conference at the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel here.
Worldwide consumers will buy 2.38 million Blu-ray set-top players this year and 5.31 million next year, up from about 700,000 in 2007, said Paul Gagnon, DisplaySearch director of North America TV research, at the conference. With such a surge in standalone players, Sony's PlayStation 3 consoles, which include Blu-ray players, will no longer be the biggest selling Blu-ray hardware source by 2010, Gagnon said.