The Blu-ray disc player — the heir apparent to the standard DVD player, until the appearance of OTT content delivery — will reach an installed base worldwide of more than 100 million units, says Strategy Analytics.
The projection, part of Strategy Analytics’ “Blu-ray Disc Player Forecast by Country” report, also concludes that by the end of the year, more than 27 percent of consumers in North America will own at least a single standalone Blu-ray Disc player.
“The TV industry will gradually move to 4K Ultra HD in the next couple of years, and if the Internet bandwidth cannot catch up for high-quality video streaming, it is likely that they will opt for a stable high-quality entertainment experience,” said Jia Wu, Director of Strategy Analytics’ Connected Home Devices service.
While streaming content poses a serious threat to physical media, said Wu, demand for better and more stable quality of video content and the lack of sufficient Internet bandwidth in some regions are driving the growth of Blu-ray Disc players.
“Blu-ray disc players are the forgotten technology of the digital age, but have the potential to play a key role in delivering smart TV services and apps,” said David Mercer, VP and principal analyst at Strategy Analytics.
“In fact Blu-ray was one of the first mass market consumer platforms to support Internet-delivered video services. Blu-ray vendors could do a better job of emphasizing these benefits alongside the obvious superiority of the Blu-ray format in delivering 1080p video quality.”