Blu-ray sales increase 101% in Germany

The German home entertainment market has reached a new high due to Blu-ray Disc sales doubling during the first half of 2010, a new research report indicates.

Through the first six months of 2010, the German home video market saw an overall sales increase of 10 percent -- raising the figure up to 52 million units. Blu-ray sales specifically saw a whopping 101 percent increase.  During Q1 and Q2, more than 5 million Blu-ray units were sold, which was a 3 million unit increase year-over-year.

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A Screen Digest report released in June indicated Blu-ray hardware and movie sales were a disappointment outside of the United States.  Each European consumer who owns a Blu-ray player owns just 1.5 movies, according to research, which is an obviously disappointing sales figure.

The release of Avatar helped increase the home media market in Germany, with the popular James Cameron movie leading Blu-ray and DVD charts.  A slump in DVD and Blu-ray rentals also helped drive sales in Germany, but online rentals and sales increased -- German viewers spent time outside in nicer weather, and spent time watching the World Cup.

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Although Blu-ray was able to eliminate HD DVD and is trying to replace standard DVD altogether, many consumers are still weary of upgrading to the higher priced high-definition format.  Also on their minds, there has been an increase in the use of streaming content, such as Netflix and Hulu available through PCs, set-top boxes, and game consoles.

In the United States, Best Buy, Target, and other retailers have started to launch frequent Blu-ray movie sales, in a continued effort to get consumers to embrace the HD technology instead of DVD.

To help capitalize on this trend outside of Germany, Blu-ray supporters must now look to increase consumer awareness alongside lowering prices further.  If a similar rental market slump hits other European markets, it's possible Blu-ray sales could also increase further.

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