Singulus says Blu-ray take-up faster than DVD

FRANKFURT (Reuters) - Singulus received orders for 21 Blu-ray dual-layer machines in the first quarter and said on Monday the figure showed the new technology was being adopted faster than its predecessor, DVD, 11 years ago.

"This means that the orders for Blu-ray in the first year of the dual layer technology already by far exceeded the volume at the start of the DVD eleven years ago with 17 machines," Chief Financial Officer Stefan Baustert said.

The German optical disc equipment maker added in a statement that it had received additional orders for Blu-ray dual-layer machines this quarter and said a key U.S. customer had accepted one of the machines for the first time.

The adoption of Blu-ray was for years held up by a format war with rival technology HD-DVD, but a decision by Hollywood studio Warner Bros. early this year to support Blu-ray exclusively effectively decided the issue.

(Reporting by Georgina Prodhan)