North America accounted for 38% of global Blu-ray player shipments in 2010, according to new data from In-Stat.

Shipment of Blu-ray Disc players is set to replace DVD players during the next five years, reaching 105 million units shipped by 2015, according to new research by In-Stat.

The Scottsdale, Ariz.-based research firm owned by The NPD Group also found that during the next three years, DVD recorders would essentially be phased out completely, save for limited shipments to Japan, according to its Global Blu-ray and DVD Players and Recorders report. Indeed, Blu-ray players connected to the Internet wirelessly continue to represent a major component of consumer electronics devices linking the television to the Web for entertainment distribution.

“Blu-ray recorders will replace DVD recorders and many consumers of recorders will even drop the physical disk media option altogether and instead opt for a player with a large hard drive or digital media storage in which to store [digital video content],” said Norm Bogen, VP digital entertainment with In-Stat.

Other data indicated Japan accounts for the majority of Blu-ray recorders and Europe is the main market for DVD recorders. The Chinese market for Blu-ray has apparently waned, impacted by lower prices offered by the local Chinese CBHD optical disc high-definition standard.

Meanwhile, more than 15% of Netflix subscribers opted for Blu-ray rentals at the end of 2010, underscoring the recent backlash by that service’s subscribers regarding price increases and perceived indifference toward packaged media compared with streaming.

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