HD-DVD IS really desperate

[cathexist]

http://holiday.ri-walmart.com/?section=secret

There's the older HD-A2 player on there for $98.87...Granted, I guess they're trying to just get rid of older stock...but still, that's gonna get a lot of people INTO the format war, regardless of the format.

I admit, I looked at that price and went "boy, it would be nice to see those movies I've been waiting for on blu from Universal" course...that was a pretty quick thought and it's completely out of my mind now. I'm stickin' to blu...no question.

[SS316SRV]

Has anybody ever put two and two together on these cheap HD DVD players? Why are there so many of them to sell at low prices? Because nobody baught them in the first place. Toshiba is taking HUGE selling these things that low.

[Bullseye]

Unfortunately our faiths in this format war maybe held in the hands of everyday consumers who know little or nothing about 1080i or 1080p or PCM for that matter. All they are seeing is a $99 sign, "Oh cool thats a cheap HD-DVD player everyone has been talking about". I really think the BDA have to counter this with something. It does not have to be equally cheap players but something to get people who have not bought into the format war yet to buy into BD. That is what Toshiba are doing now.

[atomik kinder]

It is their last ditch effort to get as many HD DVD players out there to get their sales up. They can't keep the $200 price point up forever. Sooner or later they are going to have to make some money on these things and if they never do... Then when people find out what they CAN'T get on HD DVD they will be in for a shock.

[Bullseye]

I guess they will try and compensate on disc sales.

[Xerious]

will it blend?

[MOONPHASE]

at this rate you will find the hd-dvd player in the bargin bin but come on not even dvd went down that low in price until just a few years ago

[Hussla]

Is the build quality any good?

[atomik kinder]

Plus, you gotta think, how many people who already own HD DVD players are going to go out and pick one of those up? That does not translate to more disc sales. Then how many of these will get hooked up to SDTVs and people thinking it isn't much better than a regular DVD. They are probably hoping that BD people also cave and buy a player to get more dual format people.

[andyparhelia]

People are going to pick this player up and be delighted with their bargain. Then they're going to want some movies to go with that. They will ask for the latest movies like Spiderman, Transformers, Ratatouille, Cars, Shrek 3, Superbad etc. Sorry chief, only 2 out of the 6 will work on your player.

When they realise they've been conned suddenly $99 will seem like a lot of money.

Toshiba will recoup a few quid and piss off a lot of people in the process.

Blu Ray tries to educate consumers about the format eg. sony advertising, the disney mall tour. Toshiba just wants to con them in order to recoup some of their losses.

[Teramere]

Originally Posted by atomik kinder

It is their last ditch effort to get as many HD DVD players out there to get their sales up. They can't keep the $200 price point up forever. Sooner or later they are going to have to make some money on these things and if they never do... Then when people find out what they CAN'T get on HD DVD they will be in for a shock.

And no one is even *remotely* tempted?

[thrlride]

Originally Posted by Hussla

Is the build quality any good?

I don't own one or have even played with one but I can tell you on jd power Toshiba, Sony and Panasonic average the same. On CNET this player is only .1 lower than competing BD standalones.

[TruBlu2]

Originally Posted by Hussla

Is the build quality any good?

No they are junk, there is nothing to them. That is what I have heard from hddud supporters, not my biased opinion.

The Toshiba hddvd players are for the most part are not made real well. They are selling price and price only!!!!!!!!!!!!!


Lets not worry to much about this inventory sell-off.

Blu is where everyone will be and all those cheap hddvd players will be in closets or on the garage sale table!!!

[Hussla]

I find it funny, HDUD fanbots were saying that the Target going Blu, Blockbuster and several other stores and cahins going blu-exclusive was meaningless yet they are making a fuss about K-Mart going HDDVD exclusive as if its their salvation!

double standards make me laugh

[thrlride]

Originally Posted by Hussla

I find it funny, HDUD fanbots were saying that the Target going Blu, Blockbuster and several other stores and cahins going blu-exclusive was meaningless yet they are making a fuss about K-Mart going HDDVD exclusive as if its their salvation!

double standards make me laugh

Yeah, that is pretty pathetic. I don't get why anyone would pay to have kmart exclusive whereas BDA getting target and blockbuster was a much smarter business move.

[MOONPHASE]

Originally Posted by Hussla

I find it funny, HDUD fanbots were saying that the Target going Blu, Blockbuster and several other stores and cahins going blu-exclusive was meaningless yet they are making a fuss about K-Mart going HDDVD exclusive as if its their salvation!

double standards make me laugh

K-Mart doesnt even sell any Blu-Ray or Hd-Dvd movies at all because i have been into a few locations and couldnt find any for either format and if they think K-mart is going to help them they are sadly mistaken

[GregBlu5]

More than two decades ago, it was the same thing in the battle between RCA Videodisk and Pioneer laserdisc. I didn't know squat, so I see this RCA CED player, and you also got a couple of free disks with your purchase, and--of course--the price of the CED player had just *conveeeniently* dropped to that magical under $300 (or was it under $200?) price range. So I bit.

Unfortunately, one of my first disk purchases was defective (Star Trek: The Wrath of Kahn); and I also realized that CED/Videodisk meant: fancy record player--at the very time that CDs were just starting to replace vinyl records. Not too long after that, I stumbled upon laserdisc and quickly switched. I was content for a number of years until DVD came onto the scene.

Of course, too, I had those 40 or so CED Videodisks that I lugged around, along with the player, for any number of years because those titles weren't available on laserdisc. As I mentioned elsewhere, about a decade ago, I finally set the RCA player and the leftover disks by a dumpster and someone picked them up--there's always a demand, it seems, for trash.

I refuse, after all these years, to again get suckered into buying an inferior product just because a few titles are only (for now) available in a dying format. (DUD owners are just going to have to face the fact that, eventually, and likely sooner than later, they will face the time when they will have to place those $98 marvels, and their remaining DUD disks by some dumpster somewhere and move over to Blu.)

(I believe the only moribund format that I never bought into over the decades--besides DUD--was 4-track tapes back in the 60's--but I sure had 8-track tapes.)

-Greg

[SS316SRV]

Originally Posted by andyparhelia

Toshiba will recoup a few quid and piss off a lot of people in the process.

Toshiba is not recouping anything. They are losing a whole bunch of money. Do you really think that is costs less that $98 dollars to build these machines, pay the employees making them, and ship them? All this fire sale is doing is getting these pieces of crap off of Toshiba's books.

[dogger114]

Originally Posted by Teramere

And no one is even *remotely* tempted?

It is tempting but I don't want to start buying different movie formats and then I would need to buy 2 for both of my TV's to take advantageof this. Plus I would feel like I am taking a step back with 1080i and overall it is just like buying a regular DVD player. At Least my upscalling dvd player does 1080p.. I wan't to move forward and get the best possible player out there for the right price.

[thrlride]

Originally Posted by GregBlu5

More than two decades ago, it was the same thing in the battle between RCA Videodisk and Pioneer laserdisc. I didn't know squat, so I see this RCA CED player, and you also got a couple of free disks with your purchase, and--of course--the price of the CED player had just *conveeeniently* dropped to that magical under $300 (or was it under $200?) price range. So I bit.

Unfortunately, one of my first disk purchases was defective (Star Trek: The Wrath of Kahn); and I also realized that CED/Videodisk meant: fancy record player--at the very time that CDs were just starting to replace vinyl records. Not too long after that, I stumbled upon laserdisc and quickly switched. I was content for a number of years until DVD came onto the scene.

Of course, too, I had those 40 or so CED Videodisks that I lugged around, along with the player, for any number of years because those titles weren't available on laserdisc. As I mentioned elsewhere, about a decade ago, I finally set the RCA player and the leftover disks by a dumpster and someone picked them up--there's always a demand, it seems, for trash.

I refuse, after all these years, to again get suckered into buying an inferior product just because a few titles are only (for now) available in a dying format. (DUD owners are just going to have to face the fact that, eventually, and likely sooner than later, they will face the time when they will have to place those $98 marvels, and their remaining DUD disks by some dumpster somewhere and move over to Blu.)

(I believe the only moribund format that I never bought into over the decades--besides DUD--was 4-track tapes back in the 60's--but I sure had 8-track tapes.)

-Greg

Hopefully the same outcome doesn't happen here with people not caring about either.