After a strong end to 2008 and a promising outlook for the rest of 2009, the Blu-ray reporter spoke to Victor Matsuda, the recently re-elected Chairman of the Blu-ray Disc Association (BDA) Global Promotions Committee.
In spite of the severe economic downturn, Blu-ray Disc hardware and software had a very robust end to 2008, which put an emphatic exclamation point on overall proliferation of the format last year commented Victor Matsuda. The format’s core consumer benefits are really being recognized and appreciated. At the same time, we are also seeing increased efforts with the format’s more “enhanced” features, such as BD-Live and Digital Copy.
Despite a strong showing at CES, the BDA still sees a number of challenges ahead before the format is fully integrated within the mainstream. It’s definitely not job done! states Victor Matsuda. While we had a break-out year in ’08, we definitely have to continue all efforts aimed at the continued proliferation of the format, especially during this economic environment.
So, where are the bear traps for Blu-ray? When faced with this question, Victor Matsuda was candid. The biggest question mark is the overall economy, but I am expecting another huge year for Blu-ray, he explained. As we saw at CES, we will continue to see more and more new products, and we will also see the ramped-up efforts for some of the more enhanced features of the format.
