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News
Blu-ray Chief: The Disc Will Still Rule
High-def association head says downloads have a way to go.
By Swanni
Washington, D.C. (September 5, 2008)
--
Andy Parsons, chairman of the Blu-ray Disc Association, says the
high-def disc is in no danger from digital downloads and Video
on Demand.
“I’m fond of recalling the old
visions of the past that the paperless office would completely
obliterate the need for paper,” Parsons said yesterday at a
CEDIA Expo luncheon, according to Home Media Magazine. “It
seemed like a very reasonable, logical prediction decades ago
that turned out to be completely wrong.”
Since Blu-ray's victory over HD DVD, some tech enthusiasts have
suggested the high-def disc will have a short life span and will
be replaced by Net-enabled download services. In fact, one
UK-based Samsung executive said this year that he believes that
Blu-ray will last about five years, "certainly not 10."
But Parsons, who also serves as Pioneer's senior vice president,
noted yesterday that about 15 million Blu-ray discs have already
been sold.
“We always use content sales as a great barometer for how we’re
doing,” Parsons said, according to Home Media. “It’s a very pure
number. It’s something real we can look at, and there’s no
spinning it.”
David Bishop, president of Sony Pictures Home Entertainment,
said there's room for both the high-def disc and downloads,
which are delivered to home via the Net.
“The two can
coexist,” said Bishop. (But) in terms of ease of use, it’s still
skewed toward physical media.”
Several other studios executives at the luncheon predicted a
huge fourth quarter for Blu-ray sales.
“There are no
obstacles, no mixed messages for consumers. It’s all Blu," said
Steve Feldstein, senior vice president of marketing
communications for 20th Century Fox.
“You’re going to see
a landslide of great content now in the fourth quarter,” added
Bob Chapek, president of Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment.
It’s now about penetration, proving that Blu-ray is the complete
DVD replacement.”
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Phillip Swann is president and publisher of TVPredictions.com. He has been quoted in dozens of publications and broadcast outlets, including CNN, Fox News, Inside Edition, The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Chicago Tribune, The Financial Times, The Associated Press and The Hollywood Reporter. He can be reached at swann@tvpredictions.com
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