According to a new study by ABI Research, high-def PC drives will bring in revenues of
about $2 billion by 2012. Of that, about two-thirds will be able to play back both Blu-ray and HD DVD content.
With
consumers confused about which format to buy and a relative paucity of drives available to computer manufacturers, how rapidly will HD
optical drives enter the PC market?
“ABI Research expects high-definition drives to bring in revenues of about $2 billion by
2012,” says principal analyst Steve Wilson. “Of that, about two-thirds will be accounted for by universal drives, which can play either
format. Few universal drives are sold today, partly because of their higher price. But those prices will fall to about the same as
Blu-ray players by 2009, and we forecast universal player sales to exceed Blu-ray the following year.”
The price of
combination Blu-ray/HD DVD drives have already come down considerably. The LG GGW-H20L retails for $399 which is less than what most single format
Blu-ray writers go for. If you'd like to read more, ABI Research's entire press release can be found here.
