Sony in Blu-ray push for Xmas

[dhilipkumar]

THE Blu-ray computer disc format will receive a hefty boost in Australia as a number of multinationals promote their high-definition players in the pre-Christmas period.

Chief among them is Sony Australia, which last week launched a television campaign exclusively on the Ten network featuring former Neighbours star Craig McLachlan. In the ad McLachlan bemoans "what a waste" it is to watch standard-definition content on an HDTV set.

Consumer research shows a major gap in the penetration of HDTVs and Blu-ray devices that can play HD movies in Australian homes. The most recent Sony High-Definition Benchmark study, released quarterly by GfK, estimates, based on Australian Bureau of Statistics figures, that 25 per cent of homes in Australia have an HD LCD set and 9.3 per cent have an HD plasma set.

Blu-ray player penetration is negligible by comparison and the Blu-ray disc is yet to win mass acceptance.

In the second quarter of 2008, 207,841 HD movies were sold, up 7.2 per cent on the first quarter but still only 1.35 per cent of the total DVD movie market, which represented $283.6 million in total sales for the quarter. Until now, the Blu-ray high-definition player market has been dominated by Sony's PlayStation 3 videogame console, at $699.

Sony hopes it will break through a major price threshold this month with the launch of two stand-alone Blu-ray players, one of which, the BDP-S350, retails for about $449 but is already being offered at less than $350. That price is expected to speed consumer moves to the high-definition player in the Christmas season, which is traditionally strong for home entertainment purchases.

HD represents 99.9 per cent of all value sales in the LCD TV category, so consumers are certainly embracing high-definition when choosing their flatpanel televisions, Sony Australia strategy and brand development head Toby Barbour says. However, many consumers are watching standard-definition movies through their DVD player on their HDTV, which doesn't deliver the best image and sound quality.

The Sony push coincides with a major campaign by Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment Australia, which is about to undertake an old-fashioned shopping mall roadshow displaying the attributes of the high-definition DVD format. Disney is partnering with Panasonic for the three-state tour, which will highlight Disney's animated Blu-ray product, including the new Sleeping Beauty Platinum edition, and emphasise Disney's move to include a three-disc Blu-ray version that includes a standard DVD as well, for use in Blu-ray devices.