Microsoft Downplays Blu-Ray Demand Increases

Representatives from German optical disc factory equipment manufacturer Singulus claim that orders for Blu-ray dual-layer mastering/creation machines have reached a total of twenty-one in the first quarter of this year, outpacing adoption of the DVD format at the same time eleven years ago. The company has also received additional orders for Blu-ray dual-layer manufacturing equipment in the second quarter, including a key customer in the U.S. Singulus, now the only Blu-ray manufacturer in Europe, also forecasts a further significant increase in sales during the second half of the year. The company predicts that the selling price for Blu-ray hardware will substantially decrease in the future, with chief financial officer Stefan Baustert commenting, “Orders for Blu-ray in the first year of the dual layer technology already by far exceeded the volume at the start of the DVD eleven years ago with seventeen machines”. Sony’s inclusion of a Blu-ray drive in the PlayStation 3 has seen an increase in significance once the format overcame competition from the competing HD-DVD disc format. However, rivals Microsoft have kept their distance from the format, with Xbox president Robbie Bach recently downplaying the success of the Blu-ray player market. Speaking to the San Francisco Chronicle, he commented: “You have to look at how fundamentally compelling the difference is between a progressive scan DVD player and the picture that it can produce and what you get on a high-definition player. The reality is there is some difference, but most people look at it and say, ‘I am not going to pay extra for that’." When asked whether a next generation Xbox console would feature a Blu-ray drive Bach replied: “No. There is nothing to even talk about right now with regard to the next generation. That is so far out that there isn't anything to talk about.”