Blu-ray Disc (BD) News

Over 100 million Freeview-capable devices sold in UK
May 12, 2015 – Freeview in the UK has passed the 100 million mark for the number of DTT TVs and boxes sold since its launch in 2002. The figure includes all televisions, set-top boxes and DVD and Blu-ray devices with an inbuilt Freeview DVB-T SD or HD tuner.
News categories: Freeview, Guy North, Blu-ray, Digital TV, DVD, Market Research, Set Top Box, Smart TV, Terrestrial, UK

Connected TVs surpass connected Blu-ray Disc players in the U.S.
Mar 2, 2015 – According to The NPD Group, ownership of Internet connected TVs is now more common than Internet connected Blu-ray Disc players, of which U.S. consumers own 20 million. Video game consoles and streaming media players, however, are still the most used TV app platforms.
News categories: Connected Intelligence, NPD Group, John Buffone, Blu-ray, Digital TV, Gaming, Market Research, Set Top Box, Smart TV, Streaming, USA

Panasonic shows next generation Blu-ray disc player prototype at CES 2015
Jan 5, 2015 – Panasonic has announced that it has developed the world's first Blu-ray Disc™ player supporting technologies such as 4K and High Dynamic Range, which are expected to be adopted in the next generation Blu-ray Disc standard (ULTRA HD BLU-RAY™).
News categories: Panasonic, Blu-ray, CES2025, Digital TV, Japan, Worldwide

1.9 connected TV devices per broadband household in USA
Dec 10, 2014 – Ownership of Connected TV Devices (including smart TVs, smart blu-ray players, IP-enabled game consoles and digital media streamers) in the U.S. grew 5 percent quarter-on-quarter in Q3 2014 and 28 percent year-on-year to reach 168 million units.
News categories: Strategy Analytics, David Watkins, Eric Smith, Blu-ray, Digital TV, Gaming, Set Top Box, Smart TV, Streaming, USA

Walmart makes customers' DVDs available on VUDU
Oct 14, 2014 – VUDU and Walmart have launched InstaWatch. Instawatch gives customers a digital copy on VUDU of every eligible DVD or Blu-ray that a customer buys at Walmart, either in store or online.
News categories: VUDU, Walmart, Apps, Blu-ray, Digital TV, Mobile, Streaming, USA

Global connected TV device installed base hits half a billion units in Q2 2014
Oct 2, 2014 – Worldwide ownership of Connected TV Devices (including smart TVs, smart blu-ray players, IP-enabled game consoles and digital media streamers) grew 7 percent quarter-on-quarter in Q2 2014 to reach 500 million units according to Strategy Analytics.
News categories: Strategy Analytics, David Watkins, Eric Smith, Blu-ray, Digital TV, Gaming, Market Research, Set Top Box, Smart TV, Streaming, Worldwide

Digital now revenue backbone of home entertainment
Oct 1, 2014 – Growth in digital subscriptions, rentals and purchases will hold total consumer revenue from traditional home entertainment sources steady, according to new analysis released at the PEVE Entertainment Business conference, held by IHS.
News categories: IHS Inc, Dan Cryan, Blu-ray, Digital TV, Market Research, Streaming, Worldwide

MPEG LA offers HEVC patent portfolio license
Sep 29, 2014 – MPEG LA has announced the availability of the HEVC Patent Portfolio License. The joint license includes patents that are essential to the High Efficiency Video Coding standard (HEVC, also known as H.265 and MPEG-H Part 2).
News categories: MPEG LA, Larry Horn, Bill Geary, Blu-ray, Digital TV, Gaming, Licensing, Patent, Set Top Box, Smart TV, Worldwide

Netflix viewing on digital media players surges in U.S.
Sep 26, 2014 – A growing number of US households are relying on dedicated set-top/plug-in devices (a.k.a., digital media players) to watch Netflix on a TV set, according to a GfK study, Over-the-Top TV 2014.
News categories: GfK, David Tice, Blu-ray, Digital TV, Gaming, Market Research, Set Top Box, Smart TV, Streaming, USA