Don’t expect the resolution of the format war for the future of high-def disc players to propel consumers to buy a Blu-ray Disc player anytime soon.
According to the results of a Harris Poll of 2529 U.S. adults released last week, even though 23 percent of respondents said they had been waiting for the rivalry between HD DVD and Blu-ray to playout before buying, as of April — when the poll was taken — they had not acted.
The Harris Poll found just 9 percent of non-Blu-ray owners say they are likely to buy a Blu-ray Disc player within the next year, despite being aware that it’s considered to be the definitive technology for high-definition DVD players going forward.
Other key findings include:
- the percentage of HDTV owners likely to purchase a Blu-ray disc player is 14 percent;
- 87 percent already own a standard DVD player; and
- 10 percent of HDTV owners currently have Blu-ray Disc players.
The survey also revealed consumers aren’t too interested in Blu-ray Disc players with Internet connectivity, due on the market later in the year. The poll found 11 percent of U.S. adults are likely to purchase a Sony PlayStation 3 that plays Blu-ray Discs and has Internet access for $399, and 10 percent are likely to buy an original Blu-ray disc player without connectivity compared to 4 percent who expressed interest in acquiring a Blu-ray Disc player with Internet connectivity for $500 to $650.
For more information, visit http://www.harrisinteractive.com/harris_poll/.
