Oh noes teh sky is falling!

[Bluray4Me]

WTF?!!??!?

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage....=1158323325814

[CptGreedle]

I don't think BDA has to lower the price of any BD player to the extreme that Toshiba has with the A2. That is just ridiculous. They are loosing money on every one sold, and at that price, they will have to sell 4 or 5 times the amount of them to make up how much BD manufacturers would make, who are not loosing that kind of money on their players.

[lch]

if bda respond to every action toshiba take, then we will be worrying.
we are fighting a war, not fighting fire.

now toshiba action is what i see as fighting fire to respond to bda from the last bogo.

if they don't sell cheap, how is their next presentation about attached rate and standalone player marketshare going to be

[joeorc]

Originally Posted by BaronVH

I wish there could be more intelligent comments without insults regarding this, but a few points: The $98 is a low-end machine and many will not like it; however, it will sell players that, in turn, will sell discs. This cannot be ignored. Yes, it may be a fire sale. It may cater to the lowest common denominator; nevertheless, lower prices will sell units. The BD group knows or should know that the high cost of Blu-ray stand alone players is one of the limiting factors that it has. I firmly believe that now is the time for Blu-ray to bite the bullet and do a major, major hardware push. I think that after Christmas the impact will be much less. They could put a nail in HD-DVD's coffin, but unless they cut prices substantially, this format war will drag on. With Warner on board that would end it, but just announcing new titles will not do it. Granted, I am willing to get a $1000 Pioneer Elite unit, but each and every one of my friends and neighbors are not. Movies mean a lot to me. Lossless audio means a lot to me. Cutting prices on the PS3 will help, but if retailers announced $300 PS3's the day after Thanksgiving, that would be an event in and of itself.

Look, Apple realized the price of the iphone was a barrier, they bit the bullet and dropped prices. Sony, Pioneer, and all the other manufacturers of stand alone players need to consider this soon. Warner's press release clearly stated that they will look to this quarter for software sales and they are committed the Blu-ray; however, they also stated that lower prices of players is an issue as well. Warner clearly controls the war at this point, and the $98 Toshiba sale plays into exactly what Warner stated. That Paramount deal clearly had contract contingencies built in if the war shifts substantially to BD. Now BD needs to step up to the plate right now and counter it with huge discounts. If they wait too much longer it could be too late.

think about this for a sec:

That may not be for long, Silverberg said. “One thing that may be changing is our strategy,” he said. “When both formats launched and hardware prices were high, we made a decision to support both formats and let the consumer decide. But now that hardware pricing is affordable for both Blu-ray and HD DVD, it appears consumers no longer want to decide — so the notion of staying in two formats for the duration is something we are re-evaluating now that we are in the fourth quarter.”

Silverberg noted that Warner has the top-selling Blu-ray title of all time with 300 and is consistently No. 1 or No. 2 in both Blu-ray sales market share and in number of Blu-ray titles in the market.

“We can definitely talk Blu-ray,” he said. “We are committed to the format.”

look at what i highlighted:

1) “When both formats launched and hardware prices were high, we made a decision to support both formats and let the consumer decide.

2) But now that hardware pricing is affordable for both Blu-ray and HD DVD, it appears consumers no longer want to decide


Silverberg noted that Warner has the top-selling Blu-ray title of all time with 300 and is consistently No. 1 or No. 2 in both Blu-ray sales market share and in number of Blu-ray titles in the market.

“We can definitely talk Blu-ray,” he said. “We are committed to the format.”

[Living Near Shamu]

Isn't it funny how this sale comes out the same week as Spiderman is released on BD, and its on the same the that they 40GB PS3 is allowed to be sold? Do you think Toshiba is scared of the numbers for this week?

[thrlride]

Originally Posted by br85

Yeah but we're not talking about opinions at all here. We're talking about facts, and you tried to make Toshiba sound like it is doing well in the HDTV market using "factual" statistics that are indeed fudging the reality of the way Toshiba TV's are performing in the HDTV market. If it was your opinion about how good Toshi TV's are that was posted, I wouldn't care less.

How is it not factual? I click a link that says "Flat Panel TV Ratings" and toshiba has more stars than panasonic. I click a link that says "Rear Projection 50 to 72" and the toshiba dlp scores better than the sony wega.

Sure me picking and choosing isn't fair, I'm just showing where they have outperformed. I will admit Sony trounces them in other areas.

Point being, to make a blatant statement is as false as what I say.

For all that think I am that much of a fanboy then click the link:

I try to offer opposing views but generally I agree with much that is said here.

[Living Near Shamu]

Sold out online but still available at the 5 BB stores in my city, lol.

[Bluray4Me]

Originally Posted by Living Near Shamu

Isn't it funny how this sale comes out the same week as Spiderman is released on BD, and its on the same the that they 40GB PS3 is allowed to be sold? Do you think Toshiba is scared of the numbers for this week?

Isn't it funny how the Blu-ray BOGO sales were timed to counter Transformers on HD-DVD? Do you think Sony was scared of the numbers for that week?

C'mon man, all companies do this. I support both formats and sales like this benefit people like me so I'm all for it.

[Iceman_II]

Ahh... but they are all sold out... to bad for them!

It is a great marketing tactic though... some one sees that they can get it for 99 at best buy (when they finally get some in) and they DON'T buy them from somewhere else at a reasonable price... if Best buy never gets them in at that price point, no sale is made.

This tactic may well backfire

[Bullseye]

Trolls. Please delete.

[The Don]

Originally Posted by owa

Yeah, that's what I don't get about a few here that post in just about every thread defending Toshiba, defending HD DVD, etc. This isn't a neutral site. Try that on other fan sites and see how long you last (like going to a Washington Redskins' board and constantly talking about the Dallas Cowboys, or going to a Ford site and constantly talking about Chevy, etc.). I'm not sure what they expect.

funny that you bring up the sports analogy...

to me...as an eagles fan, supporting BD and then buying an HD DVD player is like rooting for the Eagles...and the Cowboys...

and for anyone who doesn't follow football in the states...this is like being on god's good side but still saying "the devil isn't such a bad guy"..

[bdrex28]

Originally Posted by BigB88

I think you need a business 101 class, its pointless trying to explain to you how a business is really run. Try doing it yourself and perhaps you will understand better. Thanks.

A business can future plan and focus on that if infrastructure planning is done properly, but ignoring a negative revenue stream for too long can cause problems.

The business owner must have the available cash on hand to accept a short time of negative revenue, if they can absorb that during their future planning then the future will come and they will be prepared to begin a more lucrative growth/expansion plan while inducing positive revenue.

It comes down to front end spending or gradual spending.

[thrlride]

Originally Posted by The Don

funny that you bring up the sports analogy...

to me...as an eagles fan, supporting BD and then buying an HD DVD player is like rooting for the Eagles...and the Cowboys...

and for anyone who doesn't follow football in the states...this is like being on god's good side but still saying "the devil isn't such a bad guy"..

No wonder there is so much aggression here. Only BD fans would throw batteries at Santa. j/k

[br85]

Originally Posted by thrlride

How is it not factual? I click a link that says "Flat Panel TV Ratings" and toshiba has more stars than panasonic. I click a link that says "Rear Projection 50 to 72" and the toshiba dlp scores better than the sony wega.

Sure me picking and choosing isn't fair, I'm just showing where they have outperformed. I will admit Sony trounces them in other areas.

Point being, to make a blatant statement is as false as what I say.

Because you selected the data which fits the mandate you are trying to push, and that is that toshiba is doing something good in the HDTV market. I didn't say that your statement wasn't factual, just that you were "fudging the statistics", and thus infering (without actually saying) a conclusion that is simply untrue. And us blu-biased people can see straight through it. I could also fudge a statistic.

"100% of hardcore blu-ray supporters don't back HD DVD. The ratio of blu:red in that market is infinity:1" - true statistic

[Bullseye]

Originally Posted by Bluray4Me

Agreed. 1080i is not junk. Most people here couldn't tell the difference between 1080i and 1080p if both were in front of them.

You strike me as a typical HD Fanboy. Why do you bother hanging out here.

[SNAP]

1080i......The A20 is 1080p....the avg. consumer will care about the $99 price not the difference between 1080i & 1080p which I doubt they would notice anyway. I'll venture to guess that very few of them has a TV that even goes to 1080i.

Originally Posted by MacDaddyOJack

Is the A2 1080p or 1080i??? Not that it matters for me, I will never go neutral, but I am just curious as to what kind of a player they are getting for $99.

[Bluray4Me]

Originally Posted by Bullseye

You strike me as a typical HD Fanboy. Why do you bother hanging out here.

I'm honestly not. I have a PS3 and the HD-DVD add-on for the 360. I try to walk the line between supporting the strengths and weaknesses of both formats. I will buy the Blu-ray version of a movie if it comes out on both and has PCM on the Blu-ray version though.

[Living Near Shamu]

Must... resist.... HD-DVD... Sale...

Blu-ray all the way!!!

Although I am a huge fan of the Bourne series...

[Sleuth255]

Originally Posted by lch

if bda respond to every action toshiba take, then we will be worrying.
we are fighting a war, not fighting fire.

now toshiba action is what i see as fighting fire to respond to bda from the last bogo.

if they don't sell cheap, how is their next presentation about attached rate and standalone player marketshare going to be

This is the last trump card in Toshiba's hand for sure. Lure the untold millions of "consumer lemmings" with low prices. This card may very well win them the hand. I'm not worried about this.

What I'm upset about is that winning the hand prolongs the war. Prolonging the war keeps disk prices high, manufacturing lines low and HD transfers scarce.

Consequently, I believe that if BDA can win this hand by countering with a sub 200 player for this critical Christmas season, then they may very well win the war sooner.

[BigB88]

Originally Posted by joeorc

think about this for a sec:

That may not be for long, Silverberg said. “One thing that may be changing is our strategy,” he said. “When both formats launched and hardware prices were high, we made a decision to support both formats and let the consumer decide. But now that hardware pricing is affordable for both Blu-ray and HD DVD, it appears consumers no longer want to decide — so the notion of staying in two formats for the duration is something we are re-evaluating now that we are in the fourth quarter.”

Silverberg noted that Warner has the top-selling Blu-ray title of all time with 300 and is consistently No. 1 or No. 2 in both Blu-ray sales market share and in number of Blu-ray titles in the market.

“We can definitely talk Blu-ray,” he said. “We are committed to the format.”

look at what i highlighted:

1) “When both formats launched and hardware prices were high, we made a decision to support both formats and let the consumer decide.

2) But now that hardware pricing is affordable for both Blu-ray and HD DVD, it appears consumers no longer want to decide


Silverberg noted that Warner has the top-selling Blu-ray title of all time with 300 and is consistently No. 1 or No. 2 in both Blu-ray sales market share and in number of Blu-ray titles in the market.

“We can definitely talk Blu-ray,” he said. “We are committed to the format.”

Warner isn't committed to anything but cash, just like the rest of the studios. Fortunately, right now, in Hollywood there are more important things happening that will overshadow the HD wars for a while and that's the pending writers strike, and guess what, there one big sticking point in the negotiations is DVD REVENUE.. hahahaha Anyway, back to the points being made about Silverberg's comments. These comments had two objectives; 1.) We are looking at HD-DVD low player price sales in the 4th QTR, if they sell well, which all indications are, that they will, we will stay neutral. If they don't do well, then we will side with Blu-ray (exclusively) and 2.) Put pressure on the HD-DVD camp to pony up some more and get your sales up or we will drop you. Hence you see the Toshiba/M$/HD-DVD camp doing everything they can to raise their sales in fear of losing WB and perhaps the war itself. On the other side, the BDA seems to be content with the status quo I really don't know what they are doing or what their strategy is