News 

The study, from media research firm Interpret, finds that 60% of US consumers are aware of Blu-ray, "up from zero two years ago, when the format was still in the talking stages," claims Jason Kramer, the Calfronian firm's chief strategy officer.

Making that number even more significant is that the survey of consumers age 18-54 was conducted in mid-January, after Warner Home Video threw its support exclusively behind Blu-ray but before Toshiba officially ended the format war by abandoning its rival HD DVD product.

Since then, the studios and consumer electronics manufacturers supporting Blu-ray Disc have been ratcheting up their own promotional efforts and encouraging retailers to devote more floor and shelf space to the next-generation format.

Among men 18-34, the critical "early adopter" demographic, Blu-ray awareness is at 76%, the Interpret study found.

Yet Kramer claims Blu-ray backers "still have a lot to do. The format war is over, and they've taken Blu-ray from zero to majority awareness, but it doesn't get easier from here, unfortunately."

Kramer

ADVERTISEMENT

sees the biggest impediment to Blu-ray's mass market success the fact that it requires not just only new player but also a new television.

There are now 44.4 million HDTV households in the US, Interpret research shows, or 39% of the 113.9 million TV households. That's a significantly smaller pool than the one DVD faced when it was launched 11 years ago.

"It's an intermediate step DVD didn't have," Kramer says. "But it's also a huge opportunity for studios to work with consumer electronics companies to get consumers to both at the same time."

The 10.3 million US homes with a high-definition disc player represent 9% of all households. DVD penetration, by contrast, is at 91%, which Kramer calls "the saturation point." The 9% figure includes Sony's PlayStation 3, with a built-in Blu-ray drive.

Internationally, Blu-ray has even further to go than it does in the US. Awareness is at 56% in Great Britain, 49% in Germany, 45% in Japan and just 30% in France.

The HDTV household penetration rate is lower in those countries as well. In Great Britain, an estimated 26.2 million households have HDTVs, for a penetration rate of 35%. In Japan, the rate is just 28%, followed by 21% in France and 18% in Germany.

"But we've got the digital switchover taking place, which is a good thing, because the fact that you are replacing your TV means people will be thinking they might as well get an HDTV," Kramer adds.

The high-def player penetration rate in Japan and Great Britain is currently at 9%, on par with the US.

In contrast, 92% of British households have at least one DVD player, a higher percentage than in the US.