Struggles will continue for Blu-Ray, analyst claims

Analyst firm Strategy Analytics has stated that although the

battle has been won

, the war is far from over for Sony’s hi-def disc format Blu-Ray.

Though Blu-Ray now has a clear run in the hi-def battleground, convincing consumers who already boast extensive DVD collections to switch to a new format is a separate challenge altogether.

Blu-Ray disc has passed its first real test by beating HD-DVD,” principal analyst at Strategy Analytics David Mercer stated. But a much bigger challenge now lies ahead if Blu-Ray is to become as successful as DVD, and content owners, retailers and manufacturers must now demonstrate that they can work together to promote Blu-Ray effectively.”

However, recently Blu-Ray sales passed the two million barrier in Europe – and faster than DVD managed it, too. And let’s not forget the emergence of downloadable content, which is already starting to rival disc media.

Strategy Analytics now predicts that cumulative sales of stand-alone Blu-Ray players, excluding games consoles, PCs and other devices, will reach more that 100 million units worldwide by 2012.