Streaming Movies May Threaten to Kill Blu-Ray Discs

If you’re like many other TV owners, you may already have your TV connected to your high speed Internet connection or maybe you’re considering a new HDTV with built-in networking so you can make the connection. Streaming movies from services like Netflix, Amazon, Blockbuster and others are becoming popular ways to watch movies on your “connected” HDTV without having to deal with the trouble of returning discs to the rental service. Most streaming services don’t offer 1080p video, and many don’t have the very latest movies. But one wonders if the growing popularity of steaming services might be affecting consumers’ interest in purchasing Blu-ray players.So Many Connected TVsA high number of respondents say their TVs are already connected to the Internet. Over 22% said they had a connection. Another 25% said their TVs weren’t connected, but they would like them to be. With such a large number of potential movie “streamers”, it’s tempting to think many would prefer to stream over Blu-ray.Strong Interest in StreamingOver 50% or respondents said they either stream movies now or would like to stream movies. Does this signal the decline of Blu-ray?Interest Also Strong for Blu-ray PlayersGood news for the Blu-ray industry: it doesn’t look like Blu-ray has anything to worry about, just yet, as far as steaming movies are concerned. The study found a tiny percentage of respondents who said they were going to stream movies instead of buying a Blu-ray player while almost 50% of respondents said they were planning on buying a Blu-ray player or were considering buying one this year.Is 3D Hurting Blu-ray Sales?It doesn’t look like 3D will hurt Blu-ray sales. In fact, it looks like 3D could be a good thing for Blu-ray, with 10% of respondents saying they were planning on buying a 3D Blu-ray player, while only 12% said they were waiting for 3D before buying a Blu-ray player.