BLU-RAY PLAYERS WILL OUTSELL DVD PLAYERS THIS CHRISTMAS, ASDA PREDICTS
· Asda gives state-of-the-art format a boost by dropping Blu-Ray player prices to a market-leading £40
The Blu-Ray player is showing signs of emerging as the dominant digital format five years after its launch. GfK data for Asda shows that the gap between DVD and Blu-Ray player sales is beginning to shrink significantly – and Asda predicts that this Christmas will see Blu-Ray players outsell DVD players.
The Blu-Ray player has not experienced the meteoric rise that DVD players had over their VHS predecessors largely due to the more subtle, though significant, difference in image quality between Blu-Ray and DVD. New TVs with HD screens are now a common feature in UK homes and Blu-Ray is at last poised to fulfill its potential. Blu-Ray players offer substantially better sound quality than DVDs and ‘upscale’ DVD discs to deliver better image quality.
Pricing has also been a factor and this week for the first time Asda is reducing the price of its entry-level ONN Blu-Ray player to a market-beating £40. By contrast, the lowest price Blu-Ray player at Currys is £69.97 and the lowest price Blu-Ray player at Argos is £69.99. The ONN player is available in all larger Asda stores and online at asda.co.uk. It can also be ordered by phone on 0800 952 3003.
Wayne Steenson, vision expert at Asda said: “More and more UK homes are now equipped to enjoy the full benefit of high-definition Blu-Ray discs and we’re pleased to be offering Blu-Ray players at the lowest price in the market.”
Blu-Ray players are backwards compatible, meaning that they can play DVD discs as well as newer Blu-Ray discs.
Blu-Ray’s maximum resolution is 1,920 x 1,080 (1080p), while DVD is limited to 720×576 (480p). Blu-Ray also uses better video-compression methods, resulting in more contrast and richer colors. Blu-Ray is the highest-quality video format available today – better than HD satellite images and better than local cinema.
Asda is also cutting the cost of many Blu-Ray titles, with some recent releases on sale for less than £10.
About Asda
At Asda saving money and keeping costs low is part of our culture. Saving you money every day isn’t a marketing slogan; it’s the single-minded focus of everyone at Asda.
When we’re asked what it is that we do differently from other retailers – what it is that gives us the ability to keep costs low and pass that on to customers in lower prices – we don’t point to a handful of major initiatives. We talk about everything we do – all of the little things that when added together make a big difference.
