In the past few days, there have been several reports about the high-definition Blu-ray discs, which might soon be available at a significantly lower price, stepping down almost to the DVD’s level.

Apparently, even though sales picked up since the release of the Blu-ray disc, most consumers do not see the point in paying more for a movie, when the quality difference is undetectable without a HDTV, and even then some say that the upgrade might not be worth it. Blu-ray’s maker Sony appeared to be on the right track a few months ago, when the release of the blockbuster Batman sequel The Dark Knight reached unprecedented sales (more than 1 million units in the United States alone), but from that point on, the results have been way below the expectations.

The signs for an upcoming overall lower price are there, with Amazon selling some of its Blu-ray titles for prices between $10 and $20. For example, action movie Iron Man starring Robert Downy Jr. is available for $19 and the comedy The 40-Year-Old Virgin starring Steve Carrell is selling for $15. The titles offered for $10 include Paul Verhoeven’s Total Recall, Kurt Russell’s sci-fi epic Stargate and the first three Rambo movies.

At this point, in the United States, there are almost 11 million Blu-ray players, according to the estimates of the Digital Entertainment Group. This means that there is still a lot of room to grow, and with the lower Blu-ray disc prices combined with the Blu-ray players’ lower prices, the format might finally reach the popularity that Sony was counting on at its release.