87% of PlayStation 3 owners watching Blu-ray movies? Survey says yes

Buried under predictions that 2012 will bring dominance for Blu-ray over DVD and breaking news that the PS3 just may have had a hand in winning the format war the Entertainment Merchant's Association 2008 Annual Report on the Home Entertainment Industry holds survey results showing 87% of PS3 owners reported they watch Blu-ray movies on their console. That's a stark contrast to last year's NPD survey indicating 60% of owners didn't even know it played them. We don't know what's behind the jump, be it better marketing/consumer education, or something wrong with how one the surveys were conducted. You can mull that one over during the fast money round while also peeping results that say 22% of HDTV owners think they're watching HD programming, but in fact are not -- not like we haven't heard that before.

[Via PS3 Fanboy]

[Zak @ Jul 4th 2008 9:15PM]

I watch Blu-Ray movies on my PS3. I got the "remastered for Blu-Ray" version of The Fifth Element and it's pretty amazing looking. It's clear enough so you can see where they messed up with the makeup on the characters, individual beads of sweat, that sort of thing.

[oGMo @ Jul 4th 2008 9:41PM]

And while Fifth Element looks good, it's far from the best. Other movies that were filmed in HD (or whatnot) look *ridiculously* crisp. Individual raindrops, surface textures, edges all become super crisp. It's not so much that there's more on the screen, it's that everytime you, the viewer, focus on something in the scene, you can see so much more detail. I can't wait to see movies begin to take more advantage of this.

My guess is that more and more people are watching BD/HD simply because once you've seen it, going back to DVD/SD really sucks.

[clak jr. @ Jul 4th 2008 9:50PM]

How dare you engadget.. blu-ray the godfather???

The Godfather!...watch your backs

[Vagrant @ Jul 4th 2008 9:56PM]

When I get back to the U.S., it's the main reason I'm buying a PS3. "Just for Blu-Ray Movies." The game aspect and other features are simply a bonus. In fact the same applies for the PSP I purchased. A portable 1SEG TV costs more than the PSP and the add-on 1SEG TV adapter. I now have a fun little media device with movies/music that work on my iPhone/iPod/PSP. (Plus I won't miss the Sumo tournaments when I'm away from the house.) Still, watching sports in HD on the gf 50" TV is nice and a good reason to be home, instead of goofing around.

To me, it's a win as I wanted the devices for one reason, but got several other "features" in the bargain.

[Echo1 @ Jul 4th 2008 11:46PM]

I gotta see the fifth element in Blu-Ray with the explosion on the floating hotel.

BTW, did you notice the necklace error when Ruby Rod was seducing the flight attendant (the necklace shifted between camera shots of Ruby Rod)

[smcallah @ Jul 5th 2008 12:58AM]

"Other movies that were filmed in HD (or whatnot) look *ridiculously* crisp. "

Movies aren't "filmed in HD." They're filmed on film, which is a much higher "resolution" than 1920x1080. Some movies are now "filmed" on digital cameras, but still at a higher resolution than HD.

When the Star Wars Trilogy was transferred from film stock to digital, they mastered the movies at 4000 lines, while HD is only 1080 lines, and the Star Wars DVD's that were put out are only 480 lines.

The crispness comes from the source material. Did they digital remaster an old film for DVD or HD, or did they already have a digital copy of the movie such as the Star Wars prequels or Pixar movies. It really doesn't have much to do with how it was filmed.

[GatgetMan @ Jul 5th 2008 1:45AM]

It's got to be more than crispness from just the source material... I don't see any difference between Blu-Ray and DVD on my 27" Toshiba 4:3 TV.... I'm just waiting so anxiously for the new super upscaling DVD players to fix that.

[Barion @ Jul 5th 2008 7:26AM]

GatgetMan, you need an HDTV to see the benefits of Blu-ray. To see upscaling DVDs, you have to connect the player to an HDTV capable of 1080p via HDMI. A Toshiba 27" TV won't cut it.

[GatgetMan @ Jul 5th 2008 1:25PM]

You mean I bought a BluRay Player, and an HD-DVD Player for nothing?! I thought my tv WAS High Def.... Isn't that what 4:3 Means? I guess that's why the HDMI cable never fit, I was just using component and an RF adapter

Thank you for giving me a heads up on that!

[sr1329 @ Jul 5th 2008 1:30PM]

Ha ha! RF adapter! I have my PS3 hooked up that way and I use channel 3 instead of channel 4 since it has less interference. Funny you mentioned it, but I was going to say that I couldn't really tell a difference between DVD and Blu-Ray on my PS3 but I was too scared of being ridiculed. Now I see I'm not the only one. Let the truth be known!

[John B @ Jul 5th 2008 3:32PM]

I'm not religious, but I'm praying to God that GatgetMan merely forgot his {/SARCASM} tags.

[Ridgecity @ Jul 5th 2008 3:38PM]

If you are buying Blurays already, you deserve the sticker shock.

[Isaac @ Jul 4th 2008 9:22PM]

I'm not really surprized... it is one of the prime reasons to have a PS3

[The Angry Intern @ Jul 4th 2008 9:53PM]

same here

[muddyh2o @ Jul 5th 2008 9:13AM]

i was pretty pissed off when HDDVD failed. Once again, the consumers lost out. But I bought a PS3 only for BluRay. Once rape becomes inevitable, just lie back and enjoy it, right?

they're cheaper than a dedicated BR player, so why not get one, right?

although the lack of IR remote capability really pisses off my harmony...

[BigD145 @ Jul 5th 2008 1:50PM]

PC gaming isn't dead. Console gaming is. More people want to watch movies and be passively entertained than be actively entertained. Why else would games become more and more 'realistic' to the point that opening scenes are little more than filmed action and you'll be waiting hours to push any buttons?

[kal326 @ Jul 5th 2008 3:47PM]

The better survey would be, what percentage of PS3 owners have used it to play games.

[Mr_Fizzlepop @ Jul 5th 2008 5:56PM]

Console Gaming is growing BigD145, not dead.

PC gaming is the one that is shrinking.


http://www.itfacts.biz/category/consoles

[BigD145 @ Jul 5th 2008 8:03PM]

No, consoles have become PC's and VCR's. They have the PC patching issues and are used to watch movies. The only thing they tend not share with PC's is mouse and keyboard support.

[Eric @ Jul 4th 2008 9:29PM]

I figure by next Christmas (2009), I'll have a Blu-ray player. Unless the standalone players come down drastically in price, I'll probably buy a PlayStation 3.

For the handful of games I may want to play on it, it's worth the extra $100. Plus, if I can get one with backwards compatibility, that's a plus, since I never had a PlayStation 2.

[Garst @ Jul 4th 2008 11:21PM]

Get ready to fork over money on eBay, because the only current PS3 that has backwards compatiblity is the 80GB model. And that is severly limited.

[John @ Jul 5th 2008 10:11AM]

Limited my ass, douchebag. RE4, Shadow of the Colossus, DMC3, Baldur's Gate Dark Alliance I and II, Prince of Persia... every game I've tried on my PS3 works perfectly except for one graphics flaw in the item selection screen for Dark Alliance II, which for all I know could have been fixed in the past 7 months since I last played it.

[Kax02 @ Jul 5th 2008 10:49AM]

@ John

Awesome man, because it works so well for you it must for everyone else too or they're just lying and hate sony and blah blah blah right?

My original God of War still has audio problems, Soul Calibur II has gameplay issues and my Gran Turismo 4 is still bugged.

I guess I should just forget that I own these titles and just instead get God of War II ignoring the fact that I enjoy the original, I should get Soul Calibur IV when it comes out and GT5 as well since people trying to find an excuse to buggy software would often simply say something to the effect of "stop living in the past" sorry, I have my own tastes and I don't feel like dumping over $100 just to eventually get some form of gameplay back.

The 80GB is far from perfect using Software compatibility, Sony knows this and they still perform limited updates to the system hoping to address some things. FMV often bites on the system but the slow playback in game for SCII and SCIII is a bit much for me. Fortunately I'm not running an 80 at home, given previous feedback about the software emulation I wasn't going to risk it. I kept walking on and got one of the 60's that they were starting to move out of stock to make way for the new SKU.

[EMoShunz @ Jul 4th 2008 9:31PM]

my buddy has a ps3 and a 480i tv, and he watches blu-ray...kind of pointless, but he's just not wasting money buying dvd's any more when he knows he'll get a 1080p soon enough.

[tekdroid @ Jul 6th 2008 5:26AM]

...or he might just be wasting money differently ;)

[cpt @ Jul 4th 2008 9:34PM]

I guess you really don't know what you are saying. Or maybe to you the recent Sonic rehashes are less rubbish?

[Eh @ Jul 4th 2008 9:35PM]

While I think this study is giving people too much credit the NPD study seemed impossible. The PS3 has been giving away free bluray stuff for a very long time, if a significant amount of people didnt know about all those promotions or the free Spider Man 3 bluray IN THE DAMN BOX then humanity is officially doomed.

I would guess a more realistic number is like 70% of people have watched a bluray movie on their PS3, with or without an HDTV, since they have only recently stopped giving away free bluray movies with every PS3 purchase. A majority of PS3 owners must have bought their PS3 during those promotions.

[Mr_Fizzlepop @ Jul 5th 2008 6:04PM]

By your comment I can only assume you somehow think 87% is less than 70%

87% ARE watching Blu-rays on their PS3s, that is what the article says.

The 60% number is from last year, again, as stated in the article.

[Artr @ Jul 4th 2008 9:39PM]

My dad bought a PS3 just as a blu-ray player, mainly because at the time it was cheaper than other blu-ray players, and it had the hard disc, and internet access. Having bluetooth as a remote interface rather than infra-red is nice as well,
however something we forgot when buying it, is that the PS3 is not region free. Considering it's legal to have region-free players in Australia, it means that we still have to use our other DVD player for alot of our DVD's which we got as gifts from friends.

[Danny @ Jul 4th 2008 10:47PM]

"gifts from friends" - Yeah, sure buddy =P

[LJKelley @ Jul 5th 2008 1:30AM]

Your not my buddy, guy.

But seriously, if you have done any world traveling you probably have multiple regions. Sometimes i'll find an old independant DVD that is only published in say Australia region 4 and I have to import it. Or, yes I do have family and friends all over the world from Australia to China (my Dad) to Norway, UK etc and I don't see why DVDs are not fair gifts and why different regions are so many times looked upon as stealing or illegal.

[luzzio @ Jul 5th 2008 4:51AM]

He's your guy-friend tho.

[voteearlyvoteoften.us @ Jul 4th 2008 9:47PM]

I bought a PS3 simply because it had a blu-ray player, and it looks excellent on my widescreen monitor when I get tired of using it for web development stuff. The fact that I enjoy some of the games too is simply gravy.

Sony is hurting themselves by keeping so much of the platform closed and being so slow to come out with downloadable video content. Heads should roll over the lack of effort there.

[rockermin @ Jul 4th 2008 9:56PM]

how about me things?

[Jon @ Jul 4th 2008 9:58PM]

I say to this Study/Article ... DUH !

[theefman @ Jul 4th 2008 10:02PM]

Hmm, why hasnt there been an 87% increase in sales as well then?!

[Deluxe @ Jul 4th 2008 10:05PM]

Because you're retarded and don't know how numbers work.

[Christy McGrory @ Jul 4th 2008 11:18PM]

That is the stupidest thing I've heard all year. Duh owners already OWN a PS3 so why would they need to go and buy another one? ...really... fucking idiots.

[GatgetMan @ Jul 5th 2008 1:18PM]

If you learn even 1 thing from this thread then you'll no doubt gain an 87% increase in intelligence...

[Wwhat @ Jul 5th 2008 4:04PM]

Perhaps he means increase in sales of media?

[Christian @ Jul 4th 2008 10:04PM]

hahaha, this was the only reason why I got mine! well now I've been purchasing games but originally it was the reason as I still play with my 360, Wii and my PC. now I play them all equally.

[digitallysick @ Jul 4th 2008 10:12PM]

yeah thats why i bought it, why buy a stand alone blu ray player that cost almost the same price as the ps3 which also plays games and has more media options to offer?

[zwillhill @ Jul 4th 2008 10:17PM]

good or nogood

[Guilherme @ Jul 4th 2008 10:21PM]

I say the study is lying, 100% for sure !!
If wasn't for the blue-ray capability the PS3 would be dead!!
Peace!!!

[cpt @ Jul 4th 2008 10:29PM]

so.....do you mean we all need to go buy a Wii Fit?

[Saad Rabia @ Jul 4th 2008 10:30PM]

If by "Watching" they mean "Downloading and Playing", then they are absolutely right; or by "Movies" they mean "Media", this also can be true... Otherwise, 83% is the percentage of bullshit they bring up with these statics.

[Steve @ Jul 4th 2008 10:37PM]

BD was one of the primary reasons I purchased a PS3, that and the video playback ability.


Then I discovered call of duty, crack.

[Brian @ Jul 4th 2008 10:58PM]

Even if I had a PS3, I wouldn't spend $30 on a movie.

I'm waiting for a 1080p / ~$15 digital download service before I start forking money over for movies. We are so freaking close!

[benny boy @ Jul 5th 2008 8:49AM]

You're being ripped off if you're paying $30 for blu-ray.

[The Sound @ Jul 4th 2008 11:02PM]

I can see this being true. I got a PS3 for Christmas and a couple of Blu-ray movies (haven't bought any since) and have seen all of them.

I wouldn't be surprised if people bought one or two to see how well it is when they first bought the PS3.