Blu-ray will never trump DVD in the PC market

Blu-ray movies will be around for a few years yet, but the format will never better DVD as the primary drive for computers
Blu-ray movies will be around for a few years yet, but the format will never better DVD as the primary drive for computers

According to the latest iSuppli reports, Blu-ray will never trump DVD as the primary drive for PCs, with the continuing shift towards media downloads and cheap, portable solid state storage working against BR-adoption in the computing market.

PCs with Blu-ray drives made up a total of 3.6 per cent of PCs sold this year. Which, in anybody's books, is hardly a significant market share. (Well, perhaps in Apple's books, but that's a different issue...).

"When Will Blu-ray become the Primary Drive in PCs?" asks iSuppli.

Never. Is the answer it gives itself.

Blu in the face

"Blu-ray will be blue in the face, but it won't be replacing DVDs as the primary drive in PC systems," continues that report.

"Although Blu-ray drives (BD) will find eventual success, its potential is limited in the PC segment," the report adds.

iSuppli calculates that by 2013, 16.3% of PCs sold will contain Blu-ray drives, with a continuing tendency amongst OEMs to drop optical drives on laptop and netbook PCs altogether.

So while Blu-ray has a good few years left in it yet as a format within the dedicated home cinema market, the continuing shift in the home computing market towards cheaper (or free) media downloads and cheap, portable solid state storage solutions (compared with costlier optical discs) seems to be the general direction the industry is headed.

Even Sony Computer Entertainment seems to think so, dropping physical disc-based media for its new PSP Go handheld console that releases later this very year.

In recent news, former HD DVD backer Toshiba has recently adopted the Blu-ray format, joining the Blu-ray Disc Association.

Via iSuppli

Adam Hartley
Latest in Windows PCs
Dell XPS 13 and Alienware M16 laptops on purple background with big savings text overlay
Dell's site-wide Tech Days sale is live: see the 6 best laptop and gaming laptop deals from just $299
Microsoft presenting Surface Laptop and Surface Pro devices.
Microsoft has pulled a miracle: its Surface Copilot PCs are now the most repairable in the market
asian woman using laptop at business table
Finally, some good Copilot news: Microsoft could be making 16GB RAM a standard for AI PCs
The Acer Predator Orion 3000 gaming PC on a blue and pink background with the text 'TechRadar Cyber Monday PC deals'.
Cyber Monday PC deals 2023 – the best extended deals still live
The Microsoft Outlook logo on a laptop screen
Two unloved Windows 11 apps are getting canned - but will their replacement be any better?
Business man holding a tablet
The PCs protecting workers on the move
Latest in News
cheap Nintendo Switch game deals sales
Nintendo didn't anticipate that Mario Kart 8 Deluxe was 'going to be the juggernaut' for the Nintendo Switch when it was ported to the console, according to former employees
Three angles of the Apple MacBook Air 15-inch M4 laptop above a desk
Apple MacBook Air 15-inch (M4) review roundup – should you buy Apple's new lightweight laptop?
Witchbrook
Witchbrook, the life-sim I've been waiting years for, finally has a release window and it's sooner than you think
Amazon Echo Smart Speaker
Amazon is experimenting with renaming Echo speakers to Alexa speakers, and it's about time
Shigeru Miyamoto presents Nintendo Today app
Nintendo Today smartphone app is out now on iOS and Android devices – and here's what it does
iPhone 13 mini
The iPhone mini won't be returning, according to rumors – and you think that's a mistake