Futuresource: Hi-def disc market doing well

More big titles are being released on Blu-ray at the same time as to DVD.

According to a recent report by Futuresource, a consulting company that did a survey on how many of us copy DVDs a while ago, the high-definition disc markets in both the U.S. and Europe continue to perform very well, thanks to the fact that the world shifted to one format--Blu-ray--at the beginning of the year.

Currently, taking only big titles into account, the share of total sales being taken by Blu-ray has already hit 5 percent to 6 percent. By the end of the year, this share is estimated to be more than 10 percent. With many hot title releases planned, it is expected that by the end of this year, consumers will purchased to up 45 million Blu-ray Discs in the U.S. alone (a 400 percent increase from last year).

In Europe, on the other hand, awareness and uptake are still lower overall, although in the key markets the retailers and the studios are reacting to an uplift in interest this year and are gearing up for a good end to 2008.

The latest analysis from Futuresource suggests that by 2012, between 40 percent and 50 percent of consumer spending on video discs will be allocated to Blu-ray thanks to the fact that Blu-ray players are getting more popular and more affordable.