As HD products become increasingly ubiquitous and therefore more affordable to those who were not part of the initial “early adopter” demographics, price points are taking on increasing importance for consumers, according to new research from The Diffusion Group, a marketing analyst. This would appear to spell better news for HD DVD than Blu-Ray disc in the disc wars, although the analyst says it’s too early for determining any specific trends.
The group said nearly a third of non-HD households are interested in becoming HD set homes in the next several months, a development the analyst finds “a very encouraging sign for HDTV manufacturers and, by relation, high-def DVD manufacturers.” The same research concludes that the characteristics of this new wave of HD buyers (known in the study as “HDTV Intenders”) vary quite a bit from early and current HD owners, in that they tend to be single, younger, and more diverse ethnically, and have less spendable income.
But rather than split their preferences rather evenly between both competing next-gen disc formats, the research finds that within its HDTV Intenders category of those wishing to purchase an HD disc player in the next six months, 43 percent prefer HD DVD, 27 percent prefer Blu-ray, and a rather hefty 30 percent are still undecided, said the Dallas-based analyst. It’s not known whether the findings were based solely on price points, or technical quality, or both.
