Will streaming video sink Blu-ray? No

It’s unlikely streaming-video services will kill off Blu-ray. But there is indisputable evidence that companies like Netflix, iTunes and Hulu — who all provide online-viewing services — can hinder Blu-ray sales.

According to Bloomberg:  “Online movie viewing in the U.S. will exceed digital video disc and Blu-ray use for the first time this year, according to researcher IHS Screen Digest. Legal online viewings of films will more than double to 3.4 billion this year from 1.4 billion in 2011, IHS said … in a statement. Physical viewings of DVDs and Blu-ray discs will shrink to 2.4 billion from 2.6 billion, according to the forecast.”

Bloomberg makes a credible case for a declining Blu-ray market, but certainly not the total annihilation of the medium. So, more consumers are streaming TV and video. OK. But are fewer consumers buying Blu-ray currently? Not necessarily.

USA TODAY reported earlier this year that “the number of U.S. homes with Blu-ray players grew to 40 million, 38 percent higher than in 2010.”

“Consumers want to consume different movies in different places,” says Craig Kornblau, president of Universal Studios Home Entertainment and DEG vice president. “There are consumers who are more interested in (only) having movies in the cloud. They can actually start that collection today. That doesn’t mean physical discs will go away completely.”

With conflicting statistics that can easily be manipulated to support either viewpoint, what’s the takeaway? Well, VHS didn’t destroy movie theaters. TV didn’t eliminate radio. And Internet news has not (yet) killed hard-copy news.

There will always be consumers who desire to own something tangible: a record, a Blu-ray, a newspaper. So while a shift in consumer statistics may indicate that the way we consume media may be changing, it is not indicative of a complete elimination of large demographics of buyers.

According to CNET, here are the top 40 movies that should be viewed on Blu-ray:  Click Here

Source:  http://smarthouse.com.au/Gaming/Industry/G6U7U2T3