Blu-ray disc drive costs falling, now just $70

Sources report that Blu-ray disk drives are now priced between $70 and $80, which is still significantly higher than the $20 price point of DVD drives. Nevertheless, the general impression is that it is only a matter of time before the industry moves on, especially considering that the Blu-ray format is supported by companies such as Broadcom, NEC and MediaTek.

There are two main reasons why DVDs are still more popular than BRs. One is, as already mentioned, price. Blu-ray burners have definitely gotten less expensive, to the point where there is no longer a high-enough price gap to dissuade end-users from purchasing one.

Unfortunately, Blu-ray disks themselves are still considerably more expensive than DVDs. The second reason is the actual multimedia capabilities themselves. The fact that Blu-ray quality is significantly superior to that of DVDs is undisputed, but the difference is not exactly relevant for regular home TVs. Full HD video formats make more sense on wall-sized TVs or such display solutions.