The final nail in the HD DVD Coffin

[DaemonSeid]

Originally Posted by texas*princess

The original CE Blu-Ray backers will have absolutely no problem getting the studios to produce titles in BD format.

Most all of the major studios already have several big titles on BD including Disney flicks.

I think I know what you mean about consumers adopting... but I would go out on a limb and say with every passing month more and more people are upgrading their old TV sets for better picture quality. Not everyone is going to make the switch, but a big chunk of consumers will. It won't happen overnight, but it will happen just as it gradually has over the last two years. NPD data doesn't lie.

When I first got my shiny new flat panel, I'm not going to lie. I loved it mainly because it just looked cool... even when it was turned off, but the more and more I watched TV, the more I realized I shouldn't cheat myself with mediocre cable and a regular DVD player so I upgraded. The difference truly is amazing. At least on my set it was.

Regarding the prices -- yea, in the end, the CE companies are sales companies... all sales companies test the price elasticity, but they won't make major changes. The prices for movies are not ruled by the makers of the players - those prices are made by the studios.

HD-DVD players could be bought from anywhere between $99-$299. Most Blu Ray players started at $299. Toshiba continually dropped the prices, and while Blu Ray prices did drop a *teensy* bit, their entry level pieces still weren't anywhere near the prices of HD-DVD players. Most people still bought Blu Ray players because since the very beginning they had the most support and the better techonolgy.

Just because they don't have a "rival" anymore does not mean they are going to jack up the prices because their prices hardly moved when they did have a rival. The CE companies want the masses to drink the Blu Kool-Aid.... why would they price it so high that normal people couldn't afford it?

TP....I have to correct you because I have been paying attention since they first came out. It was also part of the agonizing decision that i made when I went HD DVD. Blu ray players are still FAR from the $299 price point, used ones may have been priced around that point during Christmas, but Blu rays at their cheapest normally hovered close to the 4, 5 and 600 dollar mark which is why a lot of people are trying to figure out whether or not to get a stand alone or for teh sam eprice a PS3.

As far as TVs are concerned, a lot fo people are still waiting for the prices to drop further before investing...altho I do recall many being sold during the holiday season...many are still holding out for more affordale and larger models and I think within one to 2 years, they will get their wish.

[texas*princess]

Originally Posted by DaemonSeid

TP....I have to correct you because I have been paying attention since they first came out. It was also part of the agonizing decision that i made when I went HD DVD. Blu ray players are still FAR from the $299 price point, used ones may have been priced around that point during Christmas, but Blu rays at their cheapest normally hovered close to the 4, 5 and 600 dollar mark which is why a lot of people are trying to figure out whether or not to get a stand alone or for teh sam eprice a PS3.

As far as TVs are concerned, a lot fo people are still waiting for the prices to drop further before investing...altho I do recall many being sold during the holiday season...many are still holding out for more affordale and larger models and I think within one to 2 years, they will get their wish.

You're right, during the holidays prices for Blu Ray players def. were lower. Most start out at around $399 now and go as high as $1K+. But even after Toshiba kept slashing their prices, Blu Ray (for the most part) stayed the same. The prices did go down some, but not much, and in the end, the price of the hardware wasn't the determining factor.

Average selling prices for LCDs have gone down dramatically in the last year - due to the field I'm in, I do get regular data on all that stuff

LCDs have taken off with consumers in a big way in the last few years but there will always be stragglers who wait around to get better pricing, and usually by that time, the "next big thing" comes out... or they will blow their money on a plasma because a lot of consumers think it's the same thing and they can get a 50' for the price of a 37' LCD.


It might be that I see this topic in a different light because I'm on the "other side" and see regular market numbers? I don't know.

But people are transistioning and will continue to do so.