Study shows that Blu-ray sales are killin' in Japan

Although Japan Today doesn't realize that Blu-ray discs aren't DVDs, they do have some interesting stats that shed some light on why Warner might have chose to go BD exclusive. The report is from a study of 2,300 Japanese electronic retailers, and shows that 90-percent of HD movie player recorder sales -- not counting the PS3 -- were owned by Blu-ray. The other interesting thing to note is that although Americans couldn't care less about recording to shiny round discs, the Japanese continue to love it, and HD disc recorder sales were up to 20-percent in November and December from 6.1-percent in October. Leading the way in recorder sales was Sony, followed by Panasonic and Sharp.

[aoeu00 @ Jan 21st 2008 2:05PM]

Just come out with a quality brand name BluRay player in the US for sub-$200 and the consumer will be happy.

[kjb434 @ Jan 21st 2008 2:15PM]

I'm all for that. I have my price point and I'll just have to wait.

[t @ Jan 21st 2008 3:05PM]

this is the most poorly written article I've ever read. Who is the author and is he new to engadget? Please write with better flow.

[boe @ Jan 21st 2008 2:12PM]

While BR is currently winning by a signficant amount, if Toshiba could convince the studios to only release HD DVDs with DTS MA and 1080p - I think the public might say - gee HD DVD is MUCH better. I don't think the public's reluctance to move to a new format is just about the format war - it is the content. So many movies on both are basically not significantly better transfers than the standard DVD copy. Yeah many of us (myself included) made the mistake of double dipping for the DTS version of a movie.
Not again. I'm not buying another fu
You can slap paint on a canvas but that doesn't make it art. You can whip out a shoddy transfer on HDDVD or BR DVD and it doesn't make it a better copy than standard DVD.
Want to see the new formats take off? Try actually making all the transfers top quality the first time. You can still produce standard DVDs for those who dont' want the best quality possible and want to save 2 bucks but if you want HT enthusiasts to make the jump, give us a GOOD reason. DTS MA and Dolby HD is here, 1080p is here - wasn't that the point of the new formats? Why buy the new formats if they aren't better than standard DVD?

Frankly - I hope they both suffer marketing and financial losses until the studios stop doing crap transfers. When the studios stop trying to take advantage of us and try to get us to double dip - then for all I care both formats win - but until then, I hope the studios take a bath on movie releases.

PS I realize a few movies have been released DTS HD - but not a lot have been released DTS MA - they have the space why not just release really good movives. Instead they'll release crap transfers with "useful" extras like what the keygrip, gaffer and bestboy had for breakfast that day. I could care less about any commentary - I just want the BEST video and the BEST audio. Put all the other crap on a second disc or a "film geek version" I don't sit through the credits at the movie theatre - I sure have no interest in listening to some movie extra blab about what they thought of the filming of the movie. I don't begrudge those who do but don't slap it on my disc using up valuable space and try to tell me that is what I want - I want 1080p, I want lossless high quality audio. I'd prefer the theatrical and director's cut (got that on a couple of DVDs - I think that was GREAT). Any other extras are something I'll never bother to look at but I'm sure there were some kids in drama class in highschool who would like that other stuff so as long as it doesn't interfere with the best release go ahead and toss that in.

[Bender Bending Rodriguez @ Jan 21st 2008 2:45PM]

Dude! HD-DVD is dead. We even had the funeral two weeks ago. It was mummified in BetaMax magnetic tape and everything.

[ViagraFiend @ Jan 21st 2008 2:50PM]

*Runs to Xbox 360.
*Disconnects HD DVD drive
*Sticks fork in tray
*Cries

[boe @ Jan 21st 2008 3:29PM]

Bender - I'm not sure HD is dead - but I wouldn't exactly call BR alive either - both formats have been doing wretchedly in sales compared to DVD. When they start making higher definition movies with lossless audio tracks, then I think the war might actually begin - right now it is just DVD movies on a media that requires a new player. When they start releasing great transfers, then there will be something worth buying.

[Galley @ Jan 21st 2008 3:25PM]

Lossless audio and 1080p video on a 30GB disc? Yeah, good luck with that.

[Karan @ Jan 21st 2008 4:14PM]

hands-up who has heard of DTS MA other than the guy above.

Ok now keep your hands up if you have a speaker set up capable of making a difference between DTS HD and DTS MA.

Ok now keep your hands up if your ears can actually tell the difference in a typical movie scene (i.e. not a manufactured-just-for-DTS-MA-tech-demo).

How many hands still up?

[boe @ Jan 21st 2008 4:35PM]

Please exclude yourself from the above poll if you buy your suits out of the discount bin at Kmart. Also please excuse yourself if your primary means of breathing is through your mouth.

[andyo @ Jan 21st 2008 5:17PM]

boe, I think Dolby TrueHD would be a better format to use. It is more compatible. DTS-HD MA still can output the "core" 1.5Mbps, 5.1 channel DTS-compressed audio, but Dolby also has something like that. On the other hand, they should use DSD encoding, how about that, since the blu guys like to change standards as they go along.

[boe @ Jan 21st 2008 6:20PM]

Andyo - I'm happy with DTS- MA and Dolby HD. Both are excellent but for some reason I think they put more effort into the DTS transfer - just my opinion with nothing to back it up other than the movies I own so I can't say one way or another.

[Barky @ Jan 21st 2008 2:17PM]

So which HD video format will be for people who don't like anime or movies based on PS3 games?

[ethana2 @ Jan 21st 2008 3:41PM]

Streaming dirac over 12Mbit internet.

[rawhead @ Jan 21st 2008 2:25PM]

They're talking about next-generation DVD "recorder" sales, not "player" sales. That's why the PS3 is not included in the survey, cuz it's not a recorder. Also, they consistently use the term "Nex-generation DVD", which is a shorthand for HD-DVD and Blu-ray in Japan. They're not confused.

[Eduardo88 @ Jan 21st 2008 2:55PM]

Actually if you read it, it says player sales.

"...and shows that 90-percent of HD movie player sales..."

[rawhead @ Jan 21st 2008 3:06PM]

What are you reading? I'm talking about the original article, which says:

"Blu-Ray, the format created by Sony Corp, accounted for a crushing 90% of next-generation DVD recorder sales in the three-month period, the study said."


No matter, Endadget was quick to fix the mistake (unlike some other gadget blogs out there ;p )

[Keiichi @ Jan 21st 2008 2:30PM]

While the US likes to talk about the Bleeding Edge, the Japanese are actually on it. They don't care about propaganda, numbers, or industry spin about products and technology. They're loyal to a company/technology until something definitevly better comes along.

[Denver_80203 @ Jan 21st 2008 2:33PM]

they're loyal to japan

[cduran01 @ Jan 21st 2008 3:23PM]

Toshiba is also Japanese, therefore in this case they are going for the best of the 2.

[Keiichi @ Jan 21st 2008 10:13PM]

While the US likes to talk about the Bleeding Edge, the Japanese are actually on it. They don't care about propaganda, numbers, or industry spin about products and technology. They're loyal to a company/technology until something definitevly better comes along.

[Denver_80203 @ Jan 21st 2008 2:32PM]

HD-DVD is dead.. not much of a question there. Sad to see it go.

I gotta ask: Why do we care about Japan? 360 is doing terrible over there but it's a fine, proven system. Used to be a time when Japan was the hip tend setter. I know a lot of people will disagree with me but, I just don't see them as a world leader of tech any longer... I'm not certain ANY country holds that card today. Sure a lot of great tech companies are based there but, I'm not certain I trust all their instincts. They seem more nationalistic than cutting edge.

[Daniel @ Jan 21st 2008 5:14PM]

You mean "proven to break" right?

[Abuzar @ Jan 21st 2008 7:08PM]

No, he means proven to have excellent games.

Go get a life.

[Prey521 @ Jan 21st 2008 2:38PM]

Hmmm, this is not player sales, but RECORDER sales...huge difference and it's obvious that BD would win in that given its higher capacity. Stop spreading FUD please....kthxbye.

[JP23 @ Jan 21st 2008 2:41PM]

You think just because it's recorder sales that it doesn't make a difference? What do you think they are going to play those recordings on HDDVD???

[Prey521 @ Jan 21st 2008 3:02PM]

Play what recordings? I'm talking from a data backup POV.

[Ruben @ Jan 21st 2008 3:18PM]

Well, blu-ray should have no less than 90%. There are absolutely no decent HD-DVD burners out there (i cant find any without having to hunt on e-bay, while blu-ray burners are in abundance, albeit for a price) nor do any stores ive ever been in carry HD-DVD media.

If HD-DVD wanted a fighting chance, this is where they should have staged their fight.

[JP23 @ Jan 21st 2008 3:19PM]

The size difference is only 1gb now isn't it? 51GB for BD and 50GB for HDDVD. I might have my numbers backward but I know I read recently that HD was increasing their storage to around the same as BD.

[JP23 @ Jan 21st 2008 3:27PM]

Sorry my numbers were wrong. BD records at 25GB and HD is going to 32GB DL and staying at 15GB single.
I was thinking of printed versions of BD and HD.

[Pete @ Jan 21st 2008 2:44PM]

$30 a pop at retail for BD movies is way too high. I am starting to like services like On Demand, Apple TV and Xbox Live more and more for renting vs buying discs. I guess it just depends on how much you watch the same movie over and over, but for $30 you could rent a movie 6 times in HD on Apple TV. Tell me how many of those DVDs in your collection you have watched 6 times. You will ultimately save way more money renting vs buying when it comes to HD movies.

[Ruben @ Jan 21st 2008 3:12PM]

First of all, you can rent a physical copy of a BD at Blockbuster or Netflix, or whatever for 5 - 7 bucks and watch it as much as you want for quite a while.

Second of all, a movie on disc has a bitrate of over 25Mbit, while a downloaded version has 4-7Mbit.

Third, you can get lossless 7.1 audio on disc, or even a much higher bit-rate audio. You cant with download or on-demand.

Fourth, you lose all the extras available, if you like that kind of stuff.

Fifth, the movies on disc are actually 1920x1080, and not 720 like most (if not all) of the on demand or download services.

Sixth, ...

Well, you get my point.

[zunq @ Jan 21st 2008 2:49PM]

Who needs an optical based recorder when all you need is h.264/DivX compression and a 1 terabyte hard drive.

[Prey521 @ Jan 21st 2008 3:03PM]

MKV > Divx

[Ruben @ Jan 21st 2008 3:11PM]

BD > all.

7Mbit

[Ruben @ Jan 21st 2008 3:12PM]

7Mbit and lossy audio < 25 - 30Mbit and lossless audio.

[Karan @ Jan 21st 2008 4:08PM]

What's your source of content?

[Tim @ Jan 21st 2008 3:36PM]

Wasn't Laserdisc big in Japan, too?

[Keiichi @ Jan 21st 2008 4:37PM]

Yep and it's also been alive here till DVD took over and killed it. Not bad for something from the 70s.

[Ian @ Jan 21st 2008 3:47PM]

WTF? Can't anyone at Engadget write? "...they do have some interesting stats that shed some light on why Warner might have chose to go BD exclusive..."

Jeez, that should be CHOSEN, and EXCLUSIVELY! I'm not being picky here. This example is probably the least of the egregious grammatical errors to have appeared on Engadget in recent weeks.

I may be criticizing some of the Engadget writers, but I am definitely not slamming Engadget. Engadget is still my go-to source for consumer tech news, and I count on it very much!

Thank you, Engadget!

[Karan @ Jan 21st 2008 4:11PM]

get it right 'chosen to go BD-exclusively' doesn't work - only if it was 'exclusively BD'.

'chose to go BD-exclusive' is, on the other hand, entirely valid english.

[Russell @ Jan 21st 2008 5:35PM]

Lets see you write for engadget if you don't like there writing.

[Daniel @ Jan 21st 2008 5:15PM]

Apply for a job for Engadget if you're so fucking hot.

[Verbatim9 @ Jan 22nd 2008 11:30PM]

@Karan

The problem has nothing to do with the portion of the sentence you quoted...when the helping verb "have" is used, "chose" changes to "chosen". "Have chose" is incorrect in standard English.

[Nathaniel Meyer @ Jan 21st 2008 5:57PM]

All fanboy-ism and format wars aside, a Sony product doing well in Japan? Sort of a no-brainer...

[Masaka @ Jan 21st 2008 6:52PM]

On the argument of why people here in Japan are interested in buying Blu-ray recorders: pretty basic - it's the only way for you to keep your HD-recordings after you run out of HD space. Mind you, Toshiba sells a similar HDD/HD-DVD recorder, but given they are up against Sony, Panasonic and Sharp selling HDD/Blu-ray recorders they are outnumbered in hardware variety.

Adding to this, the new Sony and Panasonic recorders can do real-time transcoding of MPEG-2 broadcasts to H.264 to save diskspace, in addition to persistently burning subtitles into the stream if you so chose. Either variety can be burned to Blu-ray of course. Coupled with DLNA server functions and 1080p upscaling, they are selling like crazy.

Of course, in the US, most people would not even consider Sony's top of the line X90 at $1800 for a 500 Gb unit, but here they've been in short supply every since the launch before Christmas.

Now we just need the media prices to go down, BD-R, BD-R DL, BD-RE and BD-RE DL are all readily available (including HD-DVD media), but pricing has a way to go. A 10-pack BD-R will still run you around $80, and don't even think about the 50 Gb DL versions yet...

[onedisgruntledmartian @ Jan 21st 2008 8:23PM]

I just wish somebody would sell an HDD/hddvd (or Blu-Ray) recorder here.
I don't want to pay tivo or comcast for recording tv. Not interested in using a HTPC.

Spoiled by my Panasonic HDD/DVD recorder.

[ZeroCorpse @ Jan 21st 2008 11:20PM]

Oh, big surprise here. Everybody knows that Japan would eat the sh*t out of Sony's @$$hole if asked to do so. Sony can put out ANYTHING in Japan, and it will be a top seller. So when Sony backs a media format, the Japanese jump on it like it's the best thing ever. Japanese brand loyalty is legendary.

This is no big shock.

However, as a former HD-DVD supporter, I have to say that it is all over for HD-DVD. I wish they'd just concede and accept it. A media player is only useful to me, as a consumer, if there's actual MEDIA available for it. Since 75% of the movie industry is now supporting Blu-Ray, I see no reason why I should be an HD-DVD owner. There's no advantage for me, unless I like only getting movies from a couple studios and not getting the others at all.

I never bought a stand-alone player. I was waiting to see what would happen, and now I think it's time to declare a loser in this fight, and to wait for the next good price on a Blu-Ray player so I can start buying HD movies again.