Oh noes teh sky is falling!

[BigB88]

Originally Posted by raginranger

I'm pretty sure the A-2 is selling at $198, not $98.

It's selling for one day at $98, sorry.

[SamInNorthCakalakey]

I am Blu blooded but I have to tell you, you aren't helping anyone when you talk like this. "Its not even an HD player it only supports 1080i..."!

Come on. Grow up. Say it's an inferior player or that the case feels like a $50 DVD player but to say that 1080i isn't HD is just dumb.

Originally Posted by scook

The A2 is a crappy player and is the reason it didnt sell in the first place. Its not even an HD player it only supports 1080i, it will most likely bust and it only supports a dying format. YOU GET WHAT YOU PAY FOR, the A2 is just HD Duds last cry for help and in my oppinion is just sad and PITIFUL.

[BigB88]

Originally Posted by TauRus

Mods, how many more threads about this do we need. Pay attention, they are always opened by some new forum members, possibly AVS agents

Perhaps we need MORE! Until you and the BDA wake up!

[thrlride]

Originally Posted by JTK

I wonder how many of these panic/doom and gloom threads we're going to see on through the weekend?

Who wants to bet the over or under on that?

The only reality that matters is this: People can buy the cheapest POS all the want but then they're going to be looking for movies to feed it.

They'll be looking at Spideys, Pirates, Pixar, Disney, Die Hards...and therein lies the rub.

Perhaps they will want paramount/dreamworks/universal. Perhaps little johnny really wants transformers and shrek3.

That's where the problem lies, whichever format someone buys there will be disappointment.

[Paladin]

Originally Posted by UltimateFighter

kinda pathetic that all the CE companies the BDA has and not one can best Toshiba in price.

The CE companies are out to make money, and deliver a quality product. Did you know that the cheap Toshiba players lack 1080P support? What is the point in releasing a 1080i Blu Ray player just to say "Hey, we have a cheap player."

Paladin

[radagast]

Originally Posted by blu2

$98.87 this Friday at Walmart. This is what the BDA is up against now. (Sure it's one day, it's a discountinued model, and quantities will be limited, but expect more of this). Also note the HD DVD discs on sale. Time for BDA to step it up.

http://holiday.ri-walmart.com/?secti...ign=holidaygif

$98.87 is about $1000 too high for me to spend on dud.

[bdrex28]

Originally Posted by iceperson

I wouldn't spend more than $150 for a stand-alone player for either of those rooms (1 has a 40" 1080i set and the other has a 32" 1080p set, neither has surrounds setup.) If I could pick up PS3s for $299 I'd buy 2 and throw them in those rooms in a heartbeat!



Here's my options as I see it
1) Do what I'm doing now, buy only must have HD-DVD exclusives on HD-DVD and grow my 40ish blu library.
2) Pick up a couple $98 players for my extra rooms and still lean blu, but at least be able to watch my limited number of HD-DVD titles in the other rooms.
or
3) Pickup a few $98 players and buy only blu-ray exclusives on blu-ray and trade/ebay the neutral titles I have on blu for the same titles on red that I can watch in any room I want.

Paying twice as much for better tech one time was an easy decision when I went blu, but not being able to watch movies because my kids have friends over playing the PS3 on the big screen has been a bit of a sore spot at times (I'd rather have them bring friends to our house, so kicking them out to watch a movie is not an option.)

So you'd pick up a couple of $98 players which of course wont play ANY of your 40ish blu-rays? Which of course means you'd be extremely limited.

I'm sorry but absolutely none of your logic makes sense at all.

For a couple of $98 players you can get a new ps3 or a lower cost player (check the sonystyle.com site for their refurbs) and play all your already owned movies.

It seems your not doing the math.

Here's an example: 2 x $98 for extra rooms. NO MOVIES , so you purchase say 5 movies to use on these two players. 5 x $24 = $120. So you're now up to basically $320 , you only have 5 movies and you are basicall stuck with two libraries that only play in certain rooms of your house.

Or you could just get one new blu-ray and play all your already owned movies.

Hmmmm..

[BaronVH]

Now, please do not get me wrong. I am not wanting to flame bait or insult anybody, but the BD group really is going to have to get its act together with this news. While the $98 player is an inferior player, it will still move units. It is clear that Toshiba has no problem selling units at a loss, and the bottom line is the BD group must cut costs on stand alone players or they will lose this war. The Panasonic 1.1 player for $500 is a big deal, but they need to do better. There needs to be a $300 player out before Christmas. Numerous studies have stated that stand-alone pricing is a problem. The PS3 is great, but there must be movie only units that is cheaper than a gaming system. Many people do not want a gaming console as their player, and the average consumer does not care about or have the capability to have lossless sound. I do care about lossless sound and the best possible picture and sound, and that it why I like Blu-ray, but for me to get all the sound formats, the units are $500 to $1000. Some of the $1000 units are BD 1.0. I hope that Pioneer, Sony, and the other manufacturers are ramping up to get 1.1 players out before Christmas with better pricing. This war is going to be decided in the next three months, in my opinion, and I have seen little movement in new player announcements absent the Panasonic. As far as purchases go, it goes without saying that units released before December 15th will move much, much faster than in January, which, in turn, moves software.

[stockstar1138]

b/c they wern't selling at $198

Seriously, why would wal-mart loss a hundred dollars on each player they sold if they could sell them at 198. They wouldn't. I think its pretty obvious the players werrn't selling well at 198, so corporate said, we gotta move them, mark them down to 98! This is giong to kill HD DVD, because utimitaly the people who pick these things up are simply going to use them as a dvd player, they won't buy any hd dvds, they'll simply watch dvds. after all toshiba has gone out and bragged to consumers numerous times about how "it makes your dvds look better too!" i think most consumers get confused and don't even realize thers hd discs out there.

[mdm1699]

Originally Posted by BigB88

Perhaps we need MORE! Until you and the BDA wake up!

Why can't you guys just be happy and enjoy your HD-A2s? Silly me! Lack of titles. My bad! You would think that we are the ones who are unhappy about our blu-ray players.

[elwaylite]

I dunno, but my waiting until Christmas will be shotdown if I can pick up an A2 for $100. Ill be buying tomorrow.

[JTK]

Originally Posted by thrlride

Perhaps they will want paramount/dreamworks/universal. Perhaps little johnny really wants transformers and shrek3.

That's where the problem lies, whichever format someone buys there will be disappointment.

Well, that's true.

Of course we can boil it right down to the real essential which is: The format war happening in the first place was the biggest disappointment to begin with.

At least for me.

[BigB88]

Originally Posted by sj001

I really think to cut down on all this FUD that posters under 20, or maybe even 100 posts cannot start new threads. That way there isn't a "Walmart is selling $98 pieces o' garbage, Blu-ray is dead" threads every time I refresh the site.

Another paniked BD forum user chimes in. Don't you realize if the BDA had a strategy to counteract this garbage, you wouldn't have these threds being opened? The problem is you and the BDA have no clue and no strategy.. That's the real issue here.

[radagast]

Originally Posted by stockstar1138

b/c they wern't selling at $198

Seriously, why would wal-mart loss a hundred dollars on each player they sold if they could sell them at 198. They wouldn't. I think its pretty obvious the players werrn't selling well at 198, so corporate said, we gotta move them, mark them down to 98! This is giong to kill HD DVD, because utimitaly the people who pick these things up are simply going to use them as a dvd player, they won't buy any hd dvds, they'll simply watch dvds. after all toshiba has gone out and bragged to consumers numerous times about how "it makes your dvds look better too!" i think most consumers get confused and don't even realize thers hd discs out there.

Wait until the people who buy these things find out how many studios DON'T make dud discs for them.

[catterwall]

Originally Posted by frank_t

I'm curious: what was the turning point which led to the dominance of DVD?

Was it the promise of widescreen? Anamorphic video? Surround sound? Better picture? Did it have anything to do with price?

Going to be a very interesting couple months on the hardware side of things.

I believe the PS3 will continue to dominate in terms of HD media players and will be the savior of BluRay as it is now. Sony gambled in that respect and it appears to be paying off, at the expense of their gaming division.

Even if PS3 ends up being nothing more than a blu-ray player and fails as a game machine, Sony still has a win on their hands.

you doubt the PS3 as a gaming machine!? Blasphemy...

[sj001]

Originally Posted by BigB88

Another paniked BD forum user chimes in. Don't you realize if the BDA had a strategy to counteract this garbage, you wouldn't have these threds being opened? The problem is you and the BDA have no clue and no strategy.. That's the real issue here.

??? Say what ???
I think I was just making a suggestion, I would hardly say that I am panicked. I think the BDA has plenty of strategy, the only strategy HD-DVD has is FUD, and firesales, but has that helped their software numbers? Nope.
I have no strategy, where the hell does that come from?

[bdrex28]

Originally Posted by BigB88

Another paniked BD forum user chimes in. Don't you realize if the BDA had a strategy to counteract this garbage, you wouldn't have these threds being opened? The problem is you and the BDA have no clue and no strategy.. That's the real issue here.

Wow, if I only had no strategy and it still led me to leading in sales and offerings.

That's pretty amazing really and should give you confidence. If the company you think has no "strategy" can do all that then imagine what they can do if they try.

[MacDaddyOJack]

Why do people keep starting these threads??? The player is a piece of junk, it's only 1080i!!!!!

[BigB88]

Originally Posted by reellis

Sounds like someone needs to wait a few years to invest in NEW, STATE OF THE ART, HIGH DEFINITION, technology. The best of the best shouldn't be cheap. This is like me telling my bmw dealer that kia is having a sale for 99 dollars a month and there is no way they are going to survive unless they match that price. You do get what you pay for.

Here we go again with the worthless car analogies.

[JTK]

Low demand inventory clearance.