Study: Blu-ray not threatened by Full HD broadcasting
Posted by Dennis Sellers 
Aug 27, 2008 at 7:15am
There’s been talk that Apple hasn’t introduced Blu-ray on Macs, though it’s one of the technology’s official supporters, because of its desire to push video content on the iTunes Store. (I personally think it’s because the format hasn’t really taken off yet, but that’s another story). However, a new study says that the arrival of Full HD television service is unlikely to affect sales of Blu-ray discs or players.
The Strategy Analytics research firm says that satellite companies DirecTV and Dish Network in the US, as well as cable operator Numericable in France, have recently introduced Full HD programming in the 1080p format. The Blu-ray Disc Association—of which Apple is a member—has objected to claims that these services deliver high definition picture and sound equal to that delivered by Blu-ray Disc, and suggests that these comparisons are irresponsible and misleading to consumers.
Strategy Analytics believes that satellite providers are competing primarily with cable and IPTV companies, and not with the Blu-ray Disc format itself. “1080p, or Full HD, is the video quality benchmark set by the Blu-ray Disc format,” notes David Mercer, Principal Analyst at Strategy Analytics. “It was inevitable that television service providers would seek to emulate this standard, but their aim is primarily to increase the pressure on rival services, rather than compete with Blu-ray itself.”
According to Strategy Analytics research, many consumers are confused by HDTV services. In the company’s most recent survey, 15 percent of European consumers believed that they are receiving HDTV service, whereas in reality the figure is only two percent.
With all that in mind, however, I still don’t think we’ll see Macs with Blu-ray players as standards anytime in the near future. As an option, maybe. A default configuration, no.
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Contributor
Dennis Sellers
Dennis has been a newspaper editor/reporter (seven years) and teacher (seven years). He has over 4,000 magazine, newspaper and online articles to his credit. He has also covered the Mac and tech industries for over a decade for such online publications as MacCentral, MacMinute and now MacsimumNews.
