Apparently we will buy high-definition DVD, eventually

Angus Kidman
Sunday, 07 January 2007 04:51

Your IT - Home IT

Format wars and consumer apathy haven't stopped the Consumer Electronics Association from maintaining bullish predictions for sales of high-definition DVD equipment -- but even it admits sales won't really take off until 2008.

"We do expect this category to do great things for the industry," said Sean Wargo, director of industry analysis for the CEA, speaking at the opening press event for CES 2007 in Las Vegas.

Last year's CES saw the rollout of the first Blu-ray and HD DVD players, but neither pretender to the hi-def DVD throne has achieved mass sales, with many consumers apparently put off by high prices and fears of backing the wrong horse in a Beta/VHS-style showdown.

That apathy is reflected in the CEA's own sales figures for 2006, which estimate that just 300,000 players were sold in the US. In 2007, that number will rise slightly to 1 million, it predicts.

Real activity won't kick off until 2008, when 4.2 million units are projected, while 11.6 million will hit the channel in 2009. The CEA assembled those projections before the recent announcement of hybrid players, but many industry watchers are skeptical that these will make much difference to buyer intentions.

Consumer electronics retailers could certainly do with a new DVD category to help boost profits. The two categories which saw the greatest price drops in 2006 were in-car and home DVD players, according to CEA figures.