In fact, Blu-ray disc sales in the U.S. soared 58 percent in the third quarter of 2011 compared to the same period last year, according to DEG's newly released .
The home entertainment business also appears to be rising out of its Great Recession slump, albeit slowly.
Consumer spending on home entertainment in Q3 rose nearly 5 percent compared to a year earlier, the first increase since the first quarter of 2008 when the recession got underway, the DEG study says.
Bye-Bye Blockbuster
is evident in the DEG data as well. Brick-and-mortar disc rentals in Q3 plummeted nearly 29 percent year over year.
Kiosk rentals, meanwhile, showed a dramatic 23 percent rise in Q3 year over year, a strong indication that disc rental machines from and other providers are a big hit with consumers.
The number of U.S. homes with Blu-ray players, including Sony PS3s, home theater-in-a-box systems (HTiBs), and BD set-tops, now stands at 33.5 million--a year-over-year increase of 52 percent. of Blu-ray players, which now sell for under $100, played a role here, no doubt.
Overall, the DEG report shows impressive gains for Blu-ray, which nevertheless will lose the format war to streaming services over time. For now, however, there's some life left in the business of delivering video entertainment on shiny discs.
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