Panasonic: Blu-ray Close to Victory

[coolmilo]

http://www.tvpredictions.com/panasonicblu100207.htm

Hey, didn't the P-man allude to some sort of price cut on something a couple of days ago??? I wonder if this could be what he was referring to

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Washington, D.C. (October 2, 2007) -- A top Panasonic executive today said Blu-ray could defeat high-def disc rival HD DVD by the end of the year.

That's according to an article at CNET.com.

Kazuhiro Tsuga, who runs Matsushita's home electronics unit, says Blu-ray manufacturers will soon sharply cut player prices and launch a major promotional effort for the format. (Matsushita is the parent of Panasonic.)

The two actions will give Blu-ray a wide lead over HD DVD by the end of the holiday season or by the end of the first quarter, he said, according to CNET.

Apparently, according to Tsuga, HD DVD backers, led by Toshiba, would then be forced to either drop out of the battle and/or negotiate an agreement with the Blu-ray forces for a single format.

"The BD (Blu-ray disc) companies will try to do our best to promote Blu-ray," he said. "The studios want us to put money in to promote it...By the end of the year, you will see good products with very good promotion."

The lowest-priced Blu-ray player (Sony) is now $499 -- $200 more than Toshiba's entry-level $299 HD DVD. Consequently, HD DVD leads in overall standalone player sales.

However, thanks to the PlayStation 3, which has a Blu-ray player inside, Blu-ray has enjoyed a 2-1 advantage in disc sales.

Many industry analysts have said Blu-ray could pull away if Blu-ray manufacturers dropped their player prices to under $300.

However, despite those predictions, others say the war is destined to last at least another year because of Paramount's decision in August to endorse HD DVD exclusively. The studio joined Universal as studios that back HD DVD exclusively while four major studios support Blu-ray exclusively.

Tsuga, however, downplayed Paramount's commitment, suggesting the studio was paid off to back HD DVD.

[Blu-dock Saint]

Here's an article from gamespot as well: http://www.gamespot.com/news/6180227...stnews;title;0

[w_tanoto]

been posted...
that is almost impossible, but i wish it came true. if it is, bd is the only format left.

[SS316SRV]

Third time that this topic has been used to start a thread.

[GasCat]

Yup it is reported. People are fast around here!!
https://forum.blu-ray.com/showthread...ight=panasonic

[excised comment]

Here is the original story.
http://crave.cnet.com/8301-1_105-978...tml?tag=blog.1

[Luis_A51]

Im tired of hearing how "industry analysts" keep talking about how bluray needs a player at or below HDDVD prices. Its simply not the case. Dont get me wring, BD players should drop their prices, but they dont need to match even the Toshiba HDDVD prices.

Toshiba currently has a very small lead in standalone sales, and its shrinking every day. And thats with the cheapest BD player a good $200 more. A $100-$150 price drop is all they need. Then they boost sales and keep good margins.

Besides the PS3 will win the war anyways, standalones are just a bonus at this point.

And no the venturer wont matter, can you think of a single retailer that will stoop to that level? (besides maybe Zellers in canada)

[blu-rayfan101]

yah yah we would win if we had a 300 dollar player, but come on we will still win with out one!

[MrVorhees]

Originally Posted by coolmilo

Many industry analysts have said Blu-ray could pull away if Blu-ray manufacturers dropped their player prices to under $300.

i agree with that, bd is even outpassing hd dvd in software sales with high priced players against low priced hd dvd players, imagine what happen if 300$ bd players enter the market.

result = over for hd dvd

[gvortex7]

I just don't think that $300 players will happen this year. If you follow the pattern of decreasing Blu-ray player prices over the last year and 4 months, you'll notice that these decreases are gradual and not huge or sudden.

By following the pattern I believe that the $300 price point will be achieved sometime in the Spring or early Summer of next year. And still, this rate of decrease is very impressive considering it took about three and a half years for DVD to go below the $300 barrier.

[Woody]

I am so sick of hearing these guys say the war will be over.

Get me Warner, then Uni, and then we can talk.

Well, get me Warner and Uni will come.

[MrVorhees]

Originally Posted by Woody

I am so sick of hearing these guys say the war will be over.

Get me Warner, then Uni, and then we can talk.

Well, get me Warner and Uni will come.

+1

[Papi4baby]

Warner is with us, now Uni would be nice, hopefully with good encodes too, none of their garbage that has been plaguing HDDVD as i have been reading. I have no experience with their HD encodes whatsoever.

[Blu Titan]

Blu-ray is really getting a lot of momentum in the beginning of Q4. Warner sales on Blu-ray are going to growth exponentially. By Q1 I am looking foward to Warner announcing exclusivity for Blu-ray.

[Luis_A51]

Bluray has a 2:1 lead in disk sales and is equal in standalone sales, and that is very impressive considering players cost $200+ more and that marketing by the BDA has been mediocre at best.

If what the guy at Matsushita/Panasonic says, then Bluray will have a very nice ace up their sleeve come the holiday season. Seems like they're using the old "save your best for last" strategy, and by last i mean the holiday season.

[Blu-Light]

Blu will go in for the kill this fourth quarter.

DUD is already a DUD man walking.

[GTP]

This shows the Fuddie Duddies that BD is a lot more than just Sony.

[jcdDigix]

Originally Posted by GTP

This shows the Fuddie Duddies that BD is a lot more than just Sony.

The list of Blu hardware manufactures are not limited just to a couple like the HDDuDs.

I never bought into anything people said otherwise (from the DuDs camp).

Let the World feel the Blu!