DIGISTOR's Blu-ray & DVD Industry Trends

This Industry Trends section is a compilation of latest optical storage and optical media industry trends and developments compiled by DIGISTOR for the benefit of partners and consumers alike.

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• » June 2010 Industry Trends

  • ›BDA Begins Licensing Of BDXL 128GB Blu-ray Disc Format

    • The Blu-ray Disc Association (BDA) has released the specifications for BDXL (High Capacity Recordable and Rewritable discs), which provides write-once options on 100GB and 128GB capacity Blu-ray discs and rewritable capability on 100GB discs. The BDA released the Version.3.0 of BD-R and Version.4.0 of BD-RE specifications, both available for licensing. The BD-R v.3.0 includes 100GB and 128GB discs for 2x/4x recording using the UDF 2.5/2.6 file system (BDAV). The BD-RW v.4.0 covers 100 GB BD-RE discs for 2x recording, using the UDF 2.5 file system (BDAV). All the new BD-R and BD-RE discs will not be available in a cartridge. Read more of Licensing Of BDXL 128GB Blu-ray Disc Format.

• » May 2010 Industry Trends

  • ›Blu-ray Disc Sales To Increase in 2010

    • Despite global declines, DVD and Blu-ray sales were either flat or even increased in 2009, with the Blu-ray sales to be expected to further increase in 2010. These were among the key findings of a new report released by Media Control GfK, the world's largest provider of international media & entertainment performance metrics. "Despite global declines in DVD sales, the local economies of the international markets were not all down in 2009," said Brad Hackley, President of Media Control GfK USA. Read Blu-ray Disc Sales To Increase in 2010 .

  • › Latest Nvidia Graphics Drivers Suppport Blu-ray 3D

    • NVIDIA is promoting its NVIDIA 3D Vision technology that brings support for 3D Blu-ray playback on the PC with the release of the first beta graphics driver. The company today announced the first driver release from the new Release 256 family of drivers. Version 257.15 beta for GeForce and ION GPUs is already available for download, while a WHQL-certified version is planned for early June. This driver release comes just six weeks after the GTX 400 launch driver. Nvidia says that it has already achieved some performance optimizations. This driver is also available for notebook PCs, including those with NVIDIA Optimus technology. 3D movies are making their way to Blu-ray disc thanks to NVIDIA 3D Vision technology. NVIDIA is the first to enable Blu-ray 3D acceleration for the PC. With this release, Nvidia is offering new settings in the NVIDIA Control Panel for 3-way SLI customers that enable 48x SLI Antialiasing (96x for 3-way GTX 400 series PCs). The company also added a new higher quality ambient occlusion setting in the NVIDIA Control Panel for more realistic scene shading. Read more Latest Nvidia Graphics Drivers Suppport Blu-ray 3D.

  • ›Blu-ray Disc Drives Return to Growth

    • Strong Blu-ray Disc sales continued during the first quarter of 2010, topping 151.4 million Euros, according to the latest report issued by the Digital Entertainment Group Europe (DEGE). Combined with DVD sales, the home entertainment market saw an increase of 2.3 percent in sales, a total of 1.5 Billion Euros and a unit increase of 3.8 percent, DEGE said. In 2009, sales of Blu-ray Discs grew 109 percent and the sales figures for Q1 2010 - more than 8.4 million discs sold between January and March 2010 - suggest Blu-ray Disc sales will continue to match this level in 2010. Read more Blu-ray Disc Drives Return to Growth

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• » April 2010 Industry Trends

  • › Blu-ray Disc Association Announces Additional Format Enhancements

    • The Blu-ray Disc Association (BDA) today announced two new media specifications that use Blu-ray Disc technology to provide targeted functionality for commercial and consumer applications. The specifications for BDXL™ (High Capacity Recordable and Rewritable discs) and IH-BD (Intra-Hybrid discs) are expected in the next few months. The BDXL specification will incorporate three to four recordable layers and provide customers with write-once options on 100GB and 128GB capacity discs and rewritable capability on 100GB discs. The Intra-Hybrid Blu-ray Disc (IH-BD) incorporates a single BD-ROM layer and a single BD-RE layer so as to enable the user to view, but not overwrite, critical published data while providing the flexibility to include relevant personal data on the same physical disc. This allows for consumer specific applications where combining published content with related user data on a convenient, single volume is desirable. Both the ROM and the RE layers on IH-BD discs provide 25GB of capacity. Read Blu-ray Disc Association Announces Additional Blu-ray Format Enhancements, BDXL and IH-BD.
• » March 2010 Industry Trends

  • › Demand for Recordable Blu-Ray Discs to Double in 2011

    • Global demand for recordable Blu-ray discs is expected to expand sevenfold from fiscal 2009 to 310 million discs in fiscal 2012, according data released on Wednesday by Japan Recording-Media Industries Association (JRIA). JRIA said that the global demand for recordable Blu-ray discs reached 44 million pieces in 2009, a 244% increase compared to 2008. JRIA estimates that the demand will reach 98 million piecies this year and the 310 million piecies by 2012. In Japan alone, demand for Blu-ray discs for recording television programs and other data is projected to reach 210 million discs in fiscal 2012 to March 2013, said the Japan Recording-Media Industries Association. JRIA also expects an increased demand for BD-R/RE discs in Europe by 2012, as the Japanese hardware makers are expanding their sales channels for BD recorders in the territory. Read Demand for Recordable Blu-Ray Discs to Double in 2011.

  • › Hard Drive Market to Continue Growth in 2010

    • Hard disk drive (HDD) manufacturers repositioned themselves in this Great Recession, managing to show growth in 2009, according to the report "The Hard Disk Drive Industry: Market Analysis and Processing Trends", recently published by The Information Network. The market grew nearly 11% on a unit basis in 2009 and is slated to grow another 11% in 2010 according to our analysis. Desktop PC sales were stronger than many industry executives and analysts had expected. What happened in Q4 2009 was a big rush to desktop PCs. There was strength in China -- full-size desktop PCs are a status symbol in that nation, as compared with smaller notebooks or netbooks. Read more Hard Drive Market to Continue Growth in 2010.

  • › New BD players Will Drive 3D Forward

    • The BDA's announcement in December last year on the finalisation of the 'Blu-ray 3D' specification has been cemented by Sony's release of a standalone 3D-Ready Blu-ray player, fixing the industry’s crosshairs on a 3D future. Within four years, 50% of US homes will own a 3D-Ready display, and the uptake of 3D-Ready Blu-ray players won't be far behind, with one out of every three US homes owning one. This is according to Futuresource Consulting, with new research unveiled at their webinar, '3D: How Big, How Soon?', which took place on Thursday 25 February. "Our research shows an imminent upsurge in the adoption of 3D-capable High Definition and Blu-ray hardware, now strengthened by a clearly defined 3D roadmap," says Jim Bottoms, Director at Futuresource. "We expect that a high percentage of BD players will ship with 3D capability next year, and within a few years it will be difficult to buy a player without 3D." Read more New BD players Will Drive 3D Forward

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• » February 2010 Industry Trends

  • › Blu-ray Disc Sales Increased In Europe

    • Worth nearly £400 million in 2009, sales for the new high-definition Blu-ray format partially offset last year's nine per cent decline in DVD sales (two per cent by volume). Overall, the home entertainment market across Europe was worth £5.5 billion in the last 12 months. However, this represented a seven per cent reduction on the 2008 figure. DEGE chairman Yves Caillaud, speaking at the annual general meeting in London, said: "Blu-ray is gaining further momentum in Europe thanks to a concerted cross- industry promotional effort, near universal penetration of high-definition TVs, increased consumer awareness and greater player affordability." Read more Blu-ray Disc Sales Increased In Europe.

  • › Blu-ray Chips Overtake Standard DVD Chips in 2009

    • The transition from DVD to Blu-ray players and recorders is creating a substantial opportunity for Blu-ray semiconductor companies, reports In-Stat. Blu-ray player semiconductor content overtook DVD player semi content for the first time in 2009, and is projected to account for nearly three quarters of the combined Blu-ray/DVD player semiconductor revenues by 2013, according to an In-Stat report. "Semiconductors for DVD equipment continue to lead in unit volume," says Michelle Abraham, In-Stat analyst. "However, the higher priced semiconductors in Blu-ray equipment propelled Blu-Ray semiconductor revenue ahead of DVD for the first time in 2009." Read Blu-ray chips overtake Standard DVD chips in 2009. Read more Blu-ray Chips Overtake Standard DVD Chips in 2009

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• » January 2010 Industry Trends

  • › Panasonic and Sony develop technology to increase Blu-ray disc capacity

    • It finally looks like the per-layer storage capacity of Blu-ray Discs will really be increased, from 25 GB to 33.4 GB, thanks to the appearance of a new method of evaluating Blu-ray Disc media quality even at the higher capacity. The new method is likely to accelerate development of discs offering even more storage space. Read and write at 33.4 GB per layer would be implemented thanks to the use of partial response maximum likelihood (PRML) signal processing. The new method can continue to use the existing Blu-ray optics: a blue-violet laser diode with a 405 nm wavelength, and an object lens with a numeric aperture (NA) of 0.85. Read more Read more Panasonic and Sony develop technology to increase Blu-ray disc capacity.

  • › Blu-ray 3D Logo Unveiled at CES 2010

    • The Blu-ray Disc Association (BDA) announced the finalization and release of the "Blu-ray 3D" specification last December. Blu-ray 3D is expected to reach consumers in 2010. Here is the logo as it was unveiled by the BDA at the CES show. The "Blu-ray 3D" specification allows every Blu-ray 3D player and movie to deliver Full HD 1080p resolution to each eye, thereby maintaining the industry leading image quality to which Blu-ray Disc viewers are accustomed. Moreover, the specification is display agnostic, meaning that Blu-ray 3D products will deliver the 3D image to any compatible 3D display, regardless of whether that display uses LCD, Plasma or other technology and regardless of what 3D technology the display uses to deliver the image to the viewer's eyes. Read more Blu-ray 3D Logo Unveiled at CES/a>

  • › Record number of Consumer Electronics (CE) products at CES 2010 bodes well for Global Economy

    • More than 2,500 technology companies introduced more than 20,000 new products this week at the 2010 International CES, according to data released by the Consumer Electronics Association (CEA). With a record 330 new exhibitors, major technology trends unveiled on the 2010 CES show floor included 3D TV, mobile DTV, connected TV, green technologies, tablets and apps. Owned and produced by the Consumer Electronics Association (CEA), the 2010 International CES, the world’s largest tradeshow for consumer technology, concluded today in Las Vegas. "This show exceeded expectations with its innovation, optimism and excitement. What a great way to kick off the new decade." "The innovations unveiled this week at the 2010 International CES brought new optimism and opportunity to our industry and the global economy," said Gary Shapiro, president and CEO, CEA. "This show exceeded expectations with its innovation, optimism and excitement. What a great way to kick off the new decade." Read Record number of Consumer Electronics (CE) products at CES 2010 bodes well for Global Economy.

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2008 Industry Trends News Archives