Poll: Consumers not embracing Blu-ray yet

LOS ANGELES, May 19 (UPI) -- A Harris Poll suggests relatively few U.S. adults intend to buy a Blu-ray high-definition disc player within the next year.

Sales of Blu-ray disc players were expected to increase when Toshiba decided to drop out of the high-definition HD DVD market in February.

However, a Harris Poll suggests the recently resolved high-definition format war is not motivating consumers to purchase the advanced DVD players any time soon.

The online survey of 2,529 U.S. adults, conducted April 7-15 by Harris Interactive, found 87 percent own standard DVD players, while only 4 percent reported owning Blu-ray disc players, 5 percent said they had Sony PlayStation 3 systems and 6 percent said they had HD DVD players.

Only 9 percent of non-Blu-ray player owners report being likely to purchase a Blu-ray disc player within the next year, the pollsters said.

"Since Blu-ray disc player pricing averages more than $300, which is well above the cost for the latest generation of standard DVD players with up-converters, Blu-ray disc players may be encountering price sensitivity despite the advanced technology," Harris Interactive's Joan Barten Kline said in a statement.