The Christmas rush will decide the future of the Blu-ray format. So far, Blu-ray is struggling to catch on and is in danger of being skipped over by consumers.

Take for example, Australia. Sony says there are about 2.3 million HDTVs in Australian households, but only 400,000 Blu-ray players have been sold, including the PlayStation 3 games console. Blu-ray sales make up just 1.9 per cent of the total movie market, too.

In the U.S. the figure is five percent, while in Britain and France Blu-ray penetration is under two percent. However, with prices now dropping on players to almost affordable levels, Sony is saying that Christmas will be the turn around period. However, there is also the idea of digital downloads looming on the horizon.

If Blu-ray is not established before that technology hits the shops then the whole lot could go belly up. If that happens, then I will have bought a big lemon of a player.