Research from the British Video Association (BVA) looking at how best to communicate to consumers what is included in multiformat Blu-ray Disc packages has been published this week.

With some Blu-ray products now also including a DVD and/or digital copy, the BVA asked over 1,500 consumers which packaging best communicated what was in the pack as well as generating purchase interest.

The ‘Double Play’ and ‘Triple Play’ definitions, already being used on some releases, were found to perform best, in terms of both consumer understanding and expressing value for money. Simon Heller, Blu-ray Partners Campaign Director at the British Video Association, said: “The consumer needs to have utmost clarity when making a purchase and the BVA’s findings will help distributors to produce the most effective packaging as part of the marketing mix”.

The BVA aims to promote the Double Play / Triple Play packaging formula as an industry standard over the coming months, so expect to see a lot more of them in 2011.

The survey by GfK demonstrates that awareness of the Blu-ray format has spread beyond technology fans and into the mainstream. In addition, feedback from those who already have a BD player is extremely positive, with 98 per cent either satisfied or very satisfied with the experience. Of this group, 70 per cent want to solely or mainly buy Blu-ray Discs in the future. “The more that consumers know about Blu-ray, the more they cherish it,” said Thilo Röhrig, Chairman of the Blu-ray Group Germany.

To see full details of the research, click here for the press release.

Stats from the Digital Entertainment Group (DEG) show that 38.6 million Blu-ray Discs were shipped, with revenue from sales increasing by 70% and revenue from rentals rising by 48%.

Over the year as a whole, DEG found that total spending on Blu-ray Discs (sales and rentals) reached $1.5 billion.

The Friday following Thanksgiving, known as ‘Black Friday’ in the US, is traditionally one of the biggest shopping days of the year. Retailers across the country open early and often offer great value deals to mark the start of the Christmas shopping season.

This year, Blu-ray has been one of the Black Friday success stories, with media outlets including The Washington Post and PC World reporting a massive surge in sales. According to Home Media Research, revenue from sales of Blu-ray Discs for the week ending November 29 was $69.06 million – a huge increase of 224 percent over the same period in 2008.

With more and more BD players entering the US market priced around the $100 mark, and prices of discs also falling, the future looks bright for the format.

The study of over 2,000 Brits revealed that while seven per cent of households are equipped with the latest consumer technology, including Blu-ray Disc players, almost half still own a VHS player that hasn’t been used in at least six months. In total, Britain is sitting on a huge 130,000 tonnes of redundant technology.

Gadget expert Nikki Moore said: ‚ÄúIt‚Äôs clear that Brits are a nation of hoarders, reluctant to embrace change. We all too often stick to what we know as it’s safe but as a result we end up missing out. On the one hand 11 million homes have high definition TVs yet with nearly half of the nation reluctant to ditch their VHS players people are not getting the most out of their machine and potentially downgrading their movie experience by not having a Blu-ray Disc player. The reality is that new technology has never been easier to use or more affordable. As many families prioritise value in their Christmas shopping this year, gifts like a Blu-ray Disc player, which start at less than ¬£100, are the perfect present for the whole family.‚Äù

Simon Heller from the BVA added: “While we may consider ourselves technophiles, nostalgia and fear of the unknown mean many UK homes resemble shrines to the 1990s. With more and more of us choosing to stay in at the moment, it seems that Brits are compromising their movie experience rather than enhancing it. If you really want to bring the cinema home you need to watch movies on Blu-ray Disc, which gives you an unprecedented High Definition movie experience, with five times great picture clarity and superior sound.”

Further details on the study and its findings can be read here.

With falling prices, increased retail promotion and growing awareness all helping to drive Blu-ray Disc demand across the continent, the report predicts that this figure will continue to rise. It is expected that over 20% of European homes will be BD enabled by the end of 2011.

In line with this growth, sales of BD movie titles are expected to top 31m by the end of 2009 – a more than three-fold increase on the 9m sales recorded in 2008.

European BD movie sales growth

The report also highlights that despite 47% of homes throughout Europe having high-definition resolution screens, only 6% are currently receiving HD quality broadcasts.

Commenting on the report, Niels Leibbrandt, chairman of the BDA EU promotion committee said; “We’re starting to see a seismic shift in uptake of BD, as people become more aware of the benefits of the format. The gap between those homes with high-definition screens and those currently receiving high-definition broadcast quality represents a fantastic opportunity for BD. If people want the image and sound quality of HD now, with no ongoing monthly investment, then a BD player is the best way to immediately bridge this gap.”

Futuresource also highlights that the Christmas sales period will continue to be important, with close to 50% of this year’s annual shipment of BD players expected in the final quarter of the year.

This is the first report of the Futuresource Blu-ray tracker prepared for the Blu-ray Disc Association. It will be issued every quarter over the next 12 months and you will hear about it here first on the official BD European blog.

Niels will be revealing more information and commentary on these findings at IFA 2009. To learn more check out our IFA 2009 page.

You may have noticed an earlier version of this post which had a different figure for the number of BD-enabled homes. This was due to an error in calculating responses and has now been corrected.

Hannah Conduct, Marketing Manager at the BVA, said:

“The continuing success of Blu-ray is testament to the growth of consumer confidence in the high definition format. There are now almost 1500 Blu-ray releases in the market covering a breadth of titles. Seeing is believing with Blu-ray and the figures show that once consumers have experienced the format, they continue to spend their money on the product.”

Statistics released by international market research company GfK reveal that sales of Blu-ray Disc players in the Benelux region since the start of 2009 are five times higher than the same period in 2008. In addition, more than €10.4 million has been spent on Blu-ray Discs since the start of the year as more people choose to stay at home for entertainment rather than go out.

With half of all households in the region owning a HDTV and more than 750,000 having a BD player, the future for high definition entertainment looks bright.