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Dubai: The Blu-ray DVD format is poised to win consumers in the UAE.
Sales of Blu-ray discs in the UAE will increase by five per cent this year and 20 per cent in 2009, industry experts predict.
According to retailer Jacky's Electronics, there will be an increase in demand for Blu-ray discs and players in the UAE as major studios and leading retailers in the US such as Warner Bros., Wal-Mart and Best Buy increasingly switch to the new format.
"We are expecting a surge in sales of Blu-ray products in the coming months, especially now that most brands including Sony, Samsung and Panasonic have indicated their intention to introduce new Blu-ray players this year," said Ashish Panjabi, chief operating officer of Jacky's Electronics.
He said by next year they expect to see "mass acceptance" of the Blu-ray format as the successor to the present DVD format and many manufacturers have expressed plans to include Blu-Ray drives in their laptops.
Blu-ray is the next-generation format that uses high-frequency blue-violet laser technology.
It has an advantage over the present format because it has vastly greater storage capacity and allows high definition image resolution.
Analysts have long predicted a shift in consumer preference toward Blu-ray, and in Europe sales of movies in the Blu-ray format have hit 2.4 million.
Last month, Toshiba abandoned its competing HD-DVD format after major studios and leading US retailers came out solidly behind Blu-ray as the standard next-generation DVD format.
"With this latest development, a sales boost of the already popular Sony Play-Station 3, a Blu-ray device, is likely to occur in the UAE," said Panjabi. "There will also be increased demand for high definition LCD and plasma televisions along with a drop in prices for Blu-ray products."
We are expecting a surge insales of Blu-ray products in the coming months."
Ashish Panjabi
Chief operating officer of Jacky's Electronics
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