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Where Are the Cheap Blu-ray Players in Europe?
November 26, 2008

Blu-ray hardware shortages should hit the European market at the worst time possible, this Christmas, according to Screen Digest research.
Screen Digest recently lowered its end of year Blu-ray forecasts because of this problem, in which the majority of the inexpensive players seem to be flowing to the U.S. and Japan markets. With the economic downtown a global phenomenon, U.K. consumers are most likely going to delay adoption since it will be hard to find these cheap entry level Blu-ray players.
As Screen Digest analyst Richard Cooper puts it, "A shortage of cheaper Blu-ray players means that he sub-$300 machines that are already appearing on U.S. shelves are unlikely to materialize in Europe this Christmas. Combined with the recession, this means the format is unlikely to move much beyond the early adopter market this year."
Still, this region will eventually come around to Blu-ray, notes Screen Digest. By 2012, 85% of Western European homes will have at least one HDTV set. At that point, nearly 50% should own a Blu-ray player (combining Playstation 3s and Blu-ray set-tops.)
Although Screen Digest puts a positive spin on this news, I don't understand why manufacturers can't rev things up to service the U.K. as well with entry level models.  Between the loads of manufacturers now making these things, you'd think someone would go out of their way to fill this void in Europe.  Rather than duking it out with dominant set-top brands Sony or Samsung on increasingly crowded U.S. shelves, maybe Panasonic or Funai (spanning Insignia, Sylvania and Magnavox brands) could become the dominant player in Europe? That would have to be positive for business.

Posted by Susanne Ault on November 26, 2008 | Comments (0)