Blu-ray players will be in 29.4 million homes worldwide by the end of 2008, according to a new research by UK-based Strategy Analytics. Sony’s PS3 games console will continue to drive the Blu-ray market until 2009, after which stand-alone Blu-ray players will become the dominant segment.

The company added that 132 million homes worldwide will have at least one Blu-ray device by 2012.

“HD DVD’s withdrawal leaves the way open for Blu-ray to become a major revenue earner for technology vendors and content owners alike,” says David Mercer, Strategy Analytics' principal analyst. “The 265 million homes that will own an HDTV by 2012, and Hollywood’s need for a new growth engine, represent huge incentives for the industry to coordinate marketing activities and demonstrate unified support for the successor to DVD.”

The research firm said 18.8 million Blu-ray devices will be sold worldwide this year, including four million standalone players, 13 million game consoles and nearly two million PCs.

By 2012, the analysts estimate that 57.4 million Blu-ray devices will be sold annually, with 26.4 million sold in Europe and 22.6 million in the United States.

Story filed 29.03.08