Los Angeles (CA) – High-definition video saw substantial growth in 2007, but it will take four more years until consumers will spend more money on Blu-ray discs than on DVDs, the Entertainment Merchants Association (EMA) concluded in its 2007 Annual Report. In 2007, high-definition video sales accounted for only 1.6% of all video sales.

According to the EMA, nearly nine million high-definition discs were sold in 2007, for which consumers spent more than $260 million. Total home video generated $15.9 billion in sales and $8.2 billion in rentals during the year.

The number-one DVD seller in 2007 was Happy Feet, The Departed led the rental charts, High School Musical 2 was the best selling TV on DVD title, and 300 was the leading high-definition disc movie, the organization said. There were 12,177 DVDs released in 2007, down from a peak of 13,950 in 2005.

It is still estimated that high-definition has a long way to go until it will replace the DVD as the mainstream movie format.  The EMA said that sales of Blu-ray discs are expected to exceed those of standard DVDs in 2012 and will generate sales of $9.5 billion. By that time, total home video spending will be up to $25.6 billion, the organization believes.

In the rental business, online rental businesses such as Netflix and Blockbuster Total Access captured 25% of the market, while traditional rental stores accounted for 73% of the rentals. Kiosk rentals doubled their market share to 2%.

Most movie studios agree that Blu-ray will see a slower than expected expansion this year. While HD DVD is gone and player prices are beginning to drop, cheap upconverting DVD players are believed to be holding back Blu-ray player sales: It is estimated that about 3.5 million upconverting DVD players were sold in 2007 versus just 500,000 Blu-ray players (excluding Playstation 3). At the recent Home Entertainment Summit, studio representatives said that total Blu-ray sales will be approaching about $1 billion in 2008.

Hard to believer....ever

Jun 27, 2008 11:19     

I still find it hard to believe this will ever happen, sounds like a marketing goal but not reality.
Da Man report abuse vote down vote up Votes: +17

I agree,,,it's hard to believe

Jun 27, 2008 12:00     

They don't have considered that by 2012 it would be more common direct download of contents, even Sony is competing against BR with the new film download capabilities of the PS3
Vicente report abuse vote down vote up Votes: +11

Will never happen.

Jun 27, 2008 12:26     

I seriously doubt Blu-ray will ever take off like DVD did a decade back. Improvement from VHS to DVD is so much easier to see (and hear) than from DVD to an HD format. If the public were so rabid for a superior format, then why hasn't SACD or DVD-audio thrived in the market place?
Ryan report abuse vote down vote up Votes: +11

Problems with that...

Jun 27, 2008 12:29     

I doubt everyone will own an HDTV by 2012. Adding to that there are many who are resistant to the BD adoption. I think mainly to poor consumer education. Many for some reason think it's just a scam to get people to upgrade (which is funny). Other reasons as stated digital distribution is start to gain traction in the movie business. Either way it's adoption will be slower than DVD adoption for sure.

Action Jackson report abuse vote down vote up Votes: +3

What, no writer's opinion?

Jun 27, 2008 12:29     

Typically this is what I would prefer to read (just the facts), but without the opinion this time I feel this report remains clouded. I would hope the writer would agree these numbers are somewhat egregious as the reason the percentage was so low last year was in direct relation to not having a clear winner in the high-def format war. 90% of the people I know either: have a Blu-Ray player (typically PS3) and refuse to buy anything less than Blu-ray or: Have only a DVD player and are holding out on buying anymore DVDs because they can now plan on buying a Blu-ray player with Blu-ray being the victor

Nick B. report abuse vote down vote up Votes: -11

Just laughable nonsense

Jun 27, 2008 14:16     

This is such obvious & pure ridiculous marketing garbage. DVD sells over 750 million units annually. If they can ever bring themselves to release actual sales numbers (bit of a give-away that the BDA rarely do) we'd see that Blu-ray has yet to break 2% of annual DVD sales (even a true 1% is highly questionable). Blu-ray is in deep trouble. The myth of lower pricing is the funniest part yet - a coupon and news of a couple of cheap units supposedly 'coming soon' is no substitute for reality.

DaveBG report abuse vote down vote up Votes: +12

do we all see the bias here?

Jun 27, 2008 14:58     

Honestly I don't know much about the EMA, but do you think they have a vested interest in digital downloads? In other words, if digital downloads take off, will it be the traditional members of the EMA who are getting this volume, or will it be online retailers who may not care about the EMA? My guess is that the established EMA members are more interested in continuing to push tangible media, which plays to their strengths (ie., the infrastructure they have invested in). This is a long winded way of saying that this particular industry segment hopes that Bluray is adopted at this rate, but it does not seem to take into account other industry segments that will be competing against Bluray on a mutually exclusive basis. Come on, DaveBG, everyone knows that you can promise "coming soon", hopefully reap a bump in sales, but never have to actually deliver.... ;)

dan report abuse vote down vote up Votes: +2

yeah right

Jun 27, 2008 22:33     

why would i want to watch juno or blades of glory or atonement on BD? even for action films, I'd rather pay 15 bucks for a dvd than 30 when it comes out. BD will not surpass dvd by that date. and i don't attribute it to digital downloads. it's simply just price. i mean departed on BD is still 20 bucks when you can buy it for 8 on dvd.
jonas report abuse vote down vote up Votes: +6

Nice to find people who haven't drank the Cool-Aid.

Jun 28, 2008 09:10     

Anyone actually paying attention knows Blu-Ray is not selling. A Sony Pictures Spokesperson admitted as much.
DCBronco report abuse vote down vote up Votes: +5

maybe

Jun 28, 2008 11:07     

I only buy blu-rays when they are as cheap as what I am used to paying when I buy DVDs: 10-15 bucks, depending on title etc... needless to say my collection remains small so far.
anon report abuse vote down vote up Votes: +2

Possibly

Jun 29, 2008 04:57     

Alot of you are saying the exact same thing when DVD came out to replace the VHS. I love DVDs and I love Blu-ray. The uncompressed audio is unspeakable you wouldn't imagine. The DVD can go only to 480p and even though upscaling solves half the problem, it makes its own faults. Blu-ray on 40 inches and higher is superb. Lower and upscaling will be the way to shop
Zaki Hughes report abuse vote down vote up Votes: -4

Until Drive Prices Drop, Sales Will Remain Stale

Jun 29, 2008 07:21     

Until the price of Blu-Ray drives drop to below $100, for both PC and home players, sales will not increase. Currently, prices for computer Blu-Ray drives are $200 and more. Also, Blu-Ray is really for people who have 30 inch screens and above. I doubt you'll notice much difference if your TV screens are smaller.
Cypherdude report abuse vote down vote up Votes: +6

DVD/BR timelines

Jun 29, 2008 17:59     

Blu-ray had better get its act together. A new option in internet movies/tv seems available almost monthly. Youtube, Hulu, Surfthechannel, Netflix, Itunes....there are dozens of options, both legal and illegal that are besting blu-ray at the moment. I don't see a snowballs chance in hell of Blu-ray ever seeing the same success DVD has seen. The times are changing, and big companies will scrap to keep their outdated products selling.

Thunderdome report abuse vote down vote up Votes: +2

Should happen, but only if

Jul 01, 2008 04:27     

That would only happen if blu-ray becomes exactly what DVD's are today: cheap, good, compatible. I would only consider blu-ray like others say if they were under $15 for the best movies and under $10 por the crappy ones. Players at around $100. Recorders for computers at about $75. When that happens, if it ever does, then I'll take a deep breath and start switching over all my DVD stuff to blu-ray. Meanwhile, I'm in no hurry. At all.

justmeee report abuse vote down vote up Votes: +2