STUDY: Brits are bored of Blu-ray because it's too expensive

blu-ray-disc.jpegBlu-ray discs first became available to the public back in the summer of 2006 and since then they’ve smugly looked down on us from shop shelves across the country, making us feel poor, inadequate and sad about the fact we just have regular DVD players.

Well it seems we’re not the only ones who’ve had enough of the Blu-ray hype, with the majority of Brits admitting they never buy the discs because they’re over-priced and some suggesting they’ve never even been able to tell the difference between a regular DVD and a Blu-ray one anyway. Ooo BURN.

The study, commissioned by MyVoucherCodes.co.uk, polled 1,348 people who have all watched a Blu-ray movie at some point over the past few years. But despite the fact they’ve watched a Blu-ray disc before, 81% said they don’t own one and the ones that do only have an average of three, which is crazily low in comparison to the 70 to 100 regular DVDs the majority of them have.

They were then asked the reasons why they decided not to purchase Blu-ray discs and 53% said that they were too expensive, 39% said that they didn’t see any difference at all between Blu-ray and standard DVDs and 62% said they’ve never been able to afford a device that would allow them to play the discs in the first place.

There’s no doubt that Blu-ray discs do trump regular DVD’s when it comes to the nitty gritty specifications, especially if you’re a fan of HD quality movies and action scenes, but when the prices are so high it’s no surprise consumers are willing to settle for the humble little DVD in order to save a few pennies.

[Image via Sean McEntee’s Fickr]
Becca Caddy

5 comments

  • I recently bought a HDMI DVD Upscaler and “most” of my 1000 DVDs look just as good as my DirecTV HD Satellite. Only about 15 were no good due to not being anamorphic, eg; True Lies.

    Upscaling players have come a long way since Toshiba introduced them after losing the HD format war. You can get a a good one for $30 for a sharp, clear picture on your Wide screen TV. Just make sure your DVDs are anamorphic or “enhanced for 16×9 TVs”. And make sure you set the player up for 720p or 1080i/p.

    Incidentally, after almost 9 years, DVDs still outsell Blu-ray 3:1. Why would you want Blu-ray anyway, it's extremely anti-consumer with it's strict DRM and required Internet for Firmware updates just to play a movie. Don't forget those slow loading times, no doubt due to the draconian DRM. And with the world switching to Linux now because of the Microsoft/NSA thing, Blu-ray is a format incompatible with the Free Software movement.

  • I like the DVD. I own probably 3 Blu-Ray Movies, and I do not see much difference. It is hard to tell. But on a 32″ flatscreen TV, DVD is the cheapest. I remember in the 90s, DVDs where like $20! I could spend $30 on $5 DVDs @ Walmart! So yeah, why waste a lot of money for the same freaking movie? DVDs will be around forever

  • but when the prices are so high it's no surprise consumers are willing to settle for the humble little DVD in order to save a few pennies

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