I think I may understand the strategy.

[alpinewiz]

If I am off please let me know. First and foremost I do not have a financial stake in either format. Having worked at Best Buy in the HT department I saw this first hand. Customers will come in to purchase a system and you ask them if they know about Blu-Ray and HD DVD. After giving them all of the facts, good and bad for both, they decide to purchase one, and yes I was one of the more informed sales people. About 80% of the time the customer purchased the player brand that matched the television. I always told them that it did not matter that they were the same brand but they liked that everything matched. This Christmas you will see a large jump in Blu-Ray player sales just because of this fact. The only way for HD DVD to pull anything like this off is to offer more than just Toshiba players because my top 5 television brands, covering all types of televisions, were Sharp, Samsung, Panasonic, Sony and Toshiba. If the trend continues, and being very generous, Toshiba should only have about 20% of the HDM market at the end of the year beginning of next. What do you guys think?

[T-Town Oil]

i think its breakfast time (whiskey and coffee)

[lokus]

I think that you make a valid point. I would be interested in statistics, if they were available, of how the average consumer shops whether it be online or B&M. If what you are saying is in fact true then that is good to know. I honestly don't care who wins this war, I would like a resolution sooner than later and hopefully this will boost sales. I would love to see stores give free Blu-ray players with the purchase of an HDTV.

[MOONPHASE]

in stores we should have a list of all the companies that support Blu-Ray and all of the ones that support Hd-Dvd because for the people who are trying to decide which one they should buy they would see wow look at all these companies that support Blu-Ray

[alpinewiz]

Originally Posted by T-Town Oil

i think its breakfast time (whiskey and coffee)

In my best Mo voice: WHAAAAAAAA???????

[Existentialist]

Working in retail, I do see the same type of thing. A lot of it is brand loyality. I sell cameras, and dozens of times a day I hear as a deciding factor in a purchase "<insert brand name here> has never done me wrong in the past." Most the time the brand they are refering to is Sony or Samsung. I could try to give them a heck of a deal on a superior Canon camera, but if all there electronics are Sony, they tend to want to stick to what they know is good.

[dialog_gvf]

Originally Posted by alpinewiz

If I am off please let me know. First and foremost I do not have a financial stake in either format. Having worked at Best Buy in the HT department I saw this first hand. Customers will come in to purchase a system and you ask them if they know about Blu-Ray and HD DVD. After giving them all of the facts, good and bad for both, they decide to purchase one, and yes I was one of the more informed sales people. About 80% of the time the customer purchased the player brand that matched the television. I always told them that it did not matter that they were the same brand but they liked that everything matched. This Christmas you will see a large jump in Blu-Ray player sales just because of this fact. The only way for HD DVD to pull anything like this off is to offer more than just Toshiba players because my top 5 television brands, covering all types of televisions, were Sharp, Samsung, Panasonic, Sony and Toshiba. If the trend continues, and being very generous, Toshiba should only have about 20% of the HDM market at the end of the year beginning of next. What do you guys think?

Interesting. And it's probably not a coicidence that the five top TV sales companies are also the five top HDM disc player makers.

I wonder if you can turn the argument around? If a company doesn't offer a matching player, even if the consumer isn't going to buy a player right away, is the set less likely to sell?

It would be an interesting coincidence that the five main TV makers are the five main HDM disc player makers.

Another thought: Would bundle deals (TV + player) be successful? HD DVD and BD players cost about the same to make. But, Toshiba has pushed the retail pricing of HD DVD so low, that the value perception of any bundling is reduced.

Gary

[dobyblue]

Originally Posted by lokus

I think that you make a valid point.

Seconded - the massive influx of players over the next 10 months for Blu-ray is going to be huge.

Pretty soon standalone players SINCE INCEPTION will be another feather in Blu-ray's cap.

[alpinewiz]

Originally Posted by dialog_gvf

Interesting. And it's probably not a coicidence that the five top TV sales companies are also the five top HDM disc player makers.

I wonder if you can turn the argument around? If a company doesn't offer a matching player, even if the consumer isn't going to buy a player right away, is the set less likely to sell?

It would be an interesting coincidence that the five main TV makers are the five main HDM disc player makers.

Another thought: Would bundle deals (TV + player) be successful? HD DVD and BD players cost about the same to make. But, Toshiba has pushed the retail pricing of HD DVD so low, that the value perception of any bundling is reduced.

Gary

Good point!

"Purchase any HDTV, $999 or more, and receive your choise of a Toshiba HD DVD player (retail $299.99) or <insert brand here> Blu-Ray Player (retail $499.99) free."

The consumer sees getting something for $500 free better than $300.

Makes sense.

[SS316SRV]

Originally Posted by T-Town Oil

i think its breakfast time (whiskey and coffee)

mmm...whiskey. I found that tea and Jack Daniel's tastes pretty good as well.


I think it is very indicitive of the quality of technology that only Toshiba is making an HD DVD player. I had a customer return his HD-A2 because it would freeze when playing DVDs. This customer didn't even own an HD DVD disc, he just wanted a really good upconverter (I laughed on the inside). He really wanted the HD DVD technology but was put off by the Toshiba brand name. I told him that was the only option for him, blu-ray was too expensive for him, he was cheap. He asked if he could use the 360 addon for HD DVDs. I said that that player wont play all HD DVD disc. He seemed upsets. I laughed when he left.

[becomingwater]

Originally Posted by SS316SRV

mmm...whiskey. I found that tea and Jack Daniel's tastes pretty good as well.


I think it is very indicitive of the quality of technology that only Toshiba is making an HD DVD player. I had a customer return his HD-A2 because it would freeze when playing DVDs. This customer didn't even own an HD DVD disc, he just wanted a really good upconverter (I laughed on the inside). He really wanted the HD DVD technology but was put off by the Toshiba brand name. I told him that was the only option for him, blu-ray was too expensive for him, he was cheap. He asked if he could use the 360 addon for HD DVDs. I said that that player wont play all HD DVD disc. He seemed upsets. I laughed when he left.

Ha Ha thats great! Maybe now he will consider Blu-ray when he decides to get a player.

[navychop]

Originally Posted by T-Town Oil

i think its breakfast time (whiskey and coffee)

I never could understand how anyone could drink coffee for breakfast.

[alkalinesi]

i think youre right. i know it dosent matter but i too do that. i bought the panasonic blu player for my pana. tv. i just like how it matches haha

[david2189]

lol i must say im the same, when i got my first tv + video + dvd it was all sony . now ive got a samsung tv, ps3, 360, denon amp and kef speakers

[JimSD]

Originally Posted by SS316SRV

He asked if he could use the 360 addon for HD DVDs. I said that that player wont play all HD DVD disc.

Just curious, what HD-DVDs won't the add-on play? Is it random or something specific like combos?

[Luis_A51]

I loved my PS3 so much I bought a 60" Sony tv and a Sony receiver. Granted I thoroughly compared them to similar models by other brands, but keeping it "all sony" might have given them a small edge over the competition in my mind.

[stockstar1138]

Originally Posted by Luis_A51

I loved my PS3 so much I bought a 60" Sony tv and a Sony receiver. Granted I thoroughly compared them to similar models by other brands, but keeping it "all sony" might have given them a small edge over the competition in my mind.

I would have got a Sony TV if I could have afforded one of the same quality or better as my Samsung, but Sony just seems a tad overpriced for my blood. but you do get what you pay for as their tvs are beautiful.

[Luis_A51]

Originally Posted by stockstar1138

I would have got a Sony TV if I could have afforded one of the same quality or better as my Samsung, but Sony just seems a tad overpriced for my blood. but you do get what you pay for as their tvs are beautiful.

I bought the demo model when it was the last one they had so it was actually quite well priced. The receiver was cheaper than the competition, and was definitely better suited to my needs.

[The Guardian]

Future Shop up here has a sale going, buy any 46"+ Samsung TV get the BD-P1200 for free. Buy a 50"+ Pioneer TV get the Pioneer player for free (value $999!)... Buy any 40"+ Sony TV, you only get $100 off the price of the BDP-S300 or -S1. Come on Sony get with it !! hehe.

[Blu-Ray Buckeye]

Originally Posted by lokus

I think that you make a valid point. I would be interested in statistics, if they were available, of how the average consumer shops whether it be online or B&M. If what you are saying is in fact true then that is good to know. I honestly don't care who wins this war, I would like a resolution sooner than later and hopefully this will boost sales. I would love to see stores give free Blu-ray players with the purchase of an HDTV.

Yes. Let's say an HDTV from Sony retails for $2,399. Instead of putting it on sale for $1,999, why not offer the same TV bundled w/ a PS3 (heavily noting that it is a BD player) and coupons for 5 free BDs for $2,500 total. Offer this at a time when there have 2 or 3 years same as cash. Sony doesn't lose much versus the sales price and I think people might feel they are getting a good deal.