Blu-ray cost in perspective

[jermwhl]

I have seen alot of complaints regarding the high costs associated with BD. Yes, it's expensive.......IT'S NEW!
I remember my first DVD player. I paid $500 for a single disc sony player. Years later I upgraded to a 5 disc changer, again paying close to $500. About a year after that I bought a 5 disc progressive scan sony, but only paid $150! I don't remember how much DVD players were, when they FIRST came out, but i'm sure they were extremely expensive to consumers. Ecspecially figuring in inflation and all that jazz. But now, you can pick up a DVD player for like 30 bucks! BD will fall also, some just aren't as patient as others I guess (most of us on here!)

[doctorsteve]

Ok, so I've got my player that should last me a while... what can we expect to see the disc pricesdrop to? We were promised DVD priced would fall too ... never happened (until the Wal-Mart bargain bin). Am I going to have to wait 5 years to get the BD movies I want at great prices? And most regular (vs. superstore) walmarts don't even have BD, and now even the superstore nearby doesn't have them. Any Target I go to has about 10-15 to chose from (If you're lucky). I had to shell out 30 something bucks for Usual suspects at Best buy, because they were the only ones that had it! Let's get 'em in the stores, and make 'em good! Don't give me this Norbit, White Chicks and GI Jane crap!

*sigh* I'm done...thanks...

[JTK]

Originally Posted by doctorsteve

Ok, so I've got my player that should last me a while... what can we expect to see the disc pricesdrop to? We were promised DVD priced would fall too ... never happened (until the Wal-Mart bargain bin). Am I going to have to wait 5 years to get the BD movies I want at great prices? And most regular (vs. superstore) walmarts don't even have BD, and now even the superstore nearby doesn't have them. Any Target I go to has about 10-15 to chose from (If you're lucky). I had to shell out 30 something bucks for Usual suspects at Best buy, because they were the only ones that had it! Let's get 'em in the stores, and make 'em good! Don't give me this Norbit, White Chicks and GI Jane crap!

*sigh* I'm done...thanks...

You promise?



Honestly, the complaints I see from people tell me one thing right off the bat: They've never early adopted anything before and/or can't remember what the early months and years of DVD, laserdiscs, VHS, etc. were like.

If you don't like it? Don't buy it. End of problem.

[slaizer2000]

Originally Posted by jermwhl

I have seen alot of complaints regarding the high costs associated with BD. Yes, it's expensive.......IT'S NEW!
I remember my first DVD player. I paid $500 for a single disc sony player. Years later I upgraded to a 5 disc changer, again paying close to $500. About a year after that I bought a 5 disc progressive scan sony, but only paid $150! I don't remember how much DVD players were, when they FIRST came out, but i'm sure they were extremely expensive to consumers. Ecspecially figuring in inflation and all that jazz. But now, you can pick up a DVD player for like 30 bucks! BD will fall also, some just aren't as patient as others I guess (most of us on here!)

G I remember when my parents bought our first VCR. IT was close to a grand back in the 80's when they first came out. We kept it for like 10 years and when you compared it to newer models that cost more it was a very very basic machine without alot of frills. 500 or 600 for a ps3 blu-ray player for new tech is alot but when put into perspective really is not that bad. If this had come out in the 80's it might have cost 2-3 grand.

[Esox50]

Originally Posted by JTK

Honestly, the complaints I see from people tell me one thing right off the bat: They've never early adopted anything before and/or can't remember what the early months and years of DVD, laserdiscs, VHS, etc. were like.

If you don't like it? Don't buy it. End of problem.

You hit the nail right on the head. The one unfortunate byproduct of Toshiba's initial price drop is that it drew in people who really had no business as early adopters. That's why we see the complaints about price all over places like AVS. Now these folks are trying to "protect" their "investment", which is why just about every thread at AVS degenerates into fanboyish, video-game forum style arguments. As I've noted, part of the new HD DVD rally cry is trolling the BD forums claiming, "Format neutral is so nice" and "HD DVD ain't going anywhere". It's like they're desperately trying to get BD'ers to buy HD DVD to ensure it's survival. Of course, you and I know that Universal will be coming over to BD and that buying a HD DVD player to get the 10% of releases we're missing is useless.

Whatever, just about the entire industry is behind Blu-Ray. Why people cannot see this is beyond me. If one wants to dabble in next gen optical disc, there's very little risk in buying a PS3 for $599. That's what I've done until a high-end fully featured standalone BD player comes out.

[JTK]

Originally Posted by Esox50

You hit the nail right on the head. The one unfortunate byproduct of Toshiba's initial price drop is that it drew in people who really had no business as early adopters. That's why we see the complaints about price all over places like AVS. Now these folks are trying to "protect" their "investment", which is why just about every thread at AVS degenerates into fanboyish, video-game forum style arguments. As I've noted, part of the new HD DVD rally cry is trolling the BD forums claiming, "Format neutral is so nice" and "HD DVD ain't going anywhere". It's like they're desperately trying to get BD'ers to buy HD DVD to ensure it's survival. Of course, you and I know that Universal will be coming over to BD and that buying a HD DVD player to get the 10% of releases we're missing is useless.

Whatever, just about the entire industry is behind Blu-Ray. Why people cannot see this is beyond me. If one wants to dabble in next gen optical disc, there's very little risk in buying a PS3 for $599. That's what I've done until a high-end fully featured standalone BD player comes out.

Exactly right.

I loved a post I saw from you yesterday that talked about the HD-DVD mantra of:

I think the new HD DVD motto/spin is, "Look, we're not getting our @sses kicked THAT bad"

[gerard786]

If this too expensive.......don't buy it.....it is after all....a free country. As a consumer, we can exercise the right to protest and not purchase the item if its too expensive....the lack of demand will make these companies re-think their pricing strategy and drop the prices....

The only problem is we don't have patience....i know i don't. Now I have to work over-time for the next 6 years to buy that "latest and greatest" Blu Ray player....

Any chance of them making a Blu Ray VCR player for 30 bucks?

[cawgijoe]

My first VCR was an RCA at $1,000.

My first DVD player was a Sony at $400......the first ones that came out were $1,000 and up.

This makes the $599 PS3 seem like a real bargain to me being that Blu-Ray and hidef discs are in their infancy.

[nhaase]

Originally Posted by cawgijoe

My first VCR was an RCA at $1,000.

My first DVD player was a Sony at $400......the first ones that came out were $1,000 and up.

This makes the $599 PS3 seem like a real bargain to me being that Blu-Ray and hidef discs are in their infancy.

That's exactly it. People complain about higher prices for BD, but that's just start-up costs, which are associated w/ any new technology, not just video formats. It comes w/ the territory.

[Brent]

This complaint is pretty tiresome. There is always (hopefully) going to be incremental improvements in, for example, consumer electronics. The people who buy the current increment today are always going to pay more (e.g., higher $ price, less features, infant techology issues, limited support) than the people who wait until later to purchase today's current technology. A related complaint is that if you wait until tomorrow, you can purchase tomorrow's incremental improvement... I guess if you feel life is so bad, then the best thing is to just never purchase anything during your entire life.

[baccusboy]

But the reason it comes up here is because this format war may be decided by who offers the cheaper players first.

I haven't been very impressed by the list of movies BR has been offering-up lately, despite having so many studios supposedly backing them. Not that HDDVD has been offering much, either.

[WriteSimply]

Originally Posted by baccusboy

But the reason it comes up here is because this format war may be decided by who offers the cheaper players first.

If that's the case, HD-DVD has won the war many times over and is still winning the war with US$299 players and free FOUR HD-DVDs!


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[chrisshea]

i wouldnt care if hd-dvd and blu-ray had exactly same specs id buy the most expensive 1

liek i wouldnt go buy a 26$ dvd player
u get what u pay for

[pbnbcr]

The good thing about waiting until prices drop (I always hear people say they'll buy a PS3 or BluRay player when they get to $200) is that you save money. Okay... at least I get to enjoy mine a lot longer...

[BOSS10L]

The problem is, J6P has gotten used to paying bargain pricing for "high electronics". My in-laws bought our sons a DVD player for Christmas from Wal-Mart, I think they paid $40 for it.

I agree though, anytime you get into the early adopting game, be prepared to pay through the nose.

[cawgijoe]

Here is how I put things into perspective.

I bought a Sony 34XBR800 a little over four years ago for $2,200 shipped. Great price at the time....they were selling for $2,600 or so. The same version of this set is now being sold at the local Big Box Stores for $799. Nobody wants them now of course becasue they are CRTs, but at the time I bought, they had the best picture, hands down.

Should I have waited? Maybe, but I have enjoyed over four years of HD programming in that time frame and loved every minute of it.

Prices and technology change constantly. You have to decide on your own when to jump in based on your own comfort and financial situation.

I was happy and comfortable buying that set when I did.

Life is short folks.

[jermwhl]

Originally Posted by cawgijoe

Here is how I put things into perspective.

I bought a Sony 34XBR800 a little over four years ago for $2,200 shipped. Great price at the time....they were selling for $2,600 or so. The same version of this set is now being sold at the local Big Box Stores for $799. Nobody wants them now of course becasue they are CRTs, but at the time I bought, they had the best picture, hands down.

Should I have waited? Maybe, but I have enjoyed over four years of HD programming in that time frame and loved every minute of it.

Prices and technology change constantly. You have to decide on your own when to jump in based on your own comfort and financial situation.

I was happy and comfortable buying that set when I did.

Life is short folks.

I think you hit the nail square on the head! You can wait for prices to drop, but you may wait a year, and who knows, maybe within that year there will be something with a few extra features or just a little better for a little more money. So are you going to wait again for that one's price to drop. You'll be waiting forever. There will always be something better coming out. You just gotta make the leap and buy when you feel comfortable.

[Ascended_Saiyan]

Originally Posted by baccusboy

But the reason it comes up here is because this format war may be decided by who offers the cheaper players first.

The funny thing is if someone buys into HD DVD for cost reasons, they will probably end up paying more than that difference back in combo disc purchases. It kind of makes you sit back and laugh a little...ok, a lot!

[WriteSimply]

"Life is short. Get Blu-ray Discs."


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