Oh noes teh sky is falling! - Page 66 - Blu-ray Forum

Toony · 11-02-2007, 02:40 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rathael

I checked Best buy.com for the HD-A2 unit of the HD-DVD player and checked store availability in 10 states including

New York
California
Florida
Texas
Colorado
Indiana and none of them had any units in stock and i tried few cities from different parts of the state in each.... What exactly is going on?

Sold out?

Rathael · 11-02-2007, 02:41 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Toony

Sold out?

But sale isn't going on yet.

GTsmokeya · 11-02-2007, 02:44 AM

I am pissed at walmart and the hd-dud camp for this but I am still a tru blu. There are alot of dumb people not to mention the attachment rate for those players is low. I for one am going to amazon right now to buy some more blu-rays.

GTsmokeya

You must remain strong in your believes if you question yourself hd-dud wins on both sides.

There I bought:
American Pschyo
Mr. Brooks
Resident Evil

I will also buy cars when that comes out.

jsb_hburg · 11-02-2007, 02:47 AM

So now it is sounding like bait and switch or just a lure.

It might not be a total loss, perhaps some PS3 40GB might find some new homes.

adonischarming · 11-02-2007, 02:54 AM

It's on the down low; however all of these HD-DVD players in all the stores is a sign that they getting rid of their stock before blu-takes over after the holidays. That's why you can fing HD-DVD in Walmart 200.00. K Mart 200.00, and now at Best buy for 99.00. They are selling out so. Expect this format war to be over by the end of this holiday season. Mark it.

nhaase · 11-02-2007, 03:05 AM

Not a bad theory; I think it is more-so a clearence sale to get rid of the last-gen players.

Edit: Also, this comes on the same day that the 40gb PS3 is released.

2nd edit: I saw the commercial Wal-Mart has for the A2, and it doesn't even state a thing about HD DVDs, so the people buying it probably do think it's just an upconverting player, unless a salesman informs them. At least the commercial w/ Imperioli stated that it plays HD DVDs.

coolmilo · 11-02-2007, 03:15 AM

I am not worried at all. I spoke to my HD DVD friend and he basically said this model is a piece of crap. He informed me that Transformers would not play correctly on my XBR4 (something about the player can't do 1080@24 correctly). He would rather recommend an Oppo SD player than the A2.

Anyway, I am not worried because this is nothing more that a marketing ploy to take some steam off the 40 GB PS3 and the plethora of excellent titles coming out starting this week. The fact is there aren't very many of these players to go around. But the publicity that this story has generated is well worth the loss in the few players that will go out for $99. And if we let it get to us, this story will take some of the steam off of the overwhelming good news that is coming out of the Blu-ray camp this quarter. Yes, these Toshiba boys are crafty, but we know we are on the winning side. Notice that Walshiba aren't handing out rain checks.

I bet there will be a few good surprises coming from our side before the holiday season ends. But for now, I am enjoying the crap out of the Spiderman trilogy and looking forward to a Pixar Tuesday.

bazie · 11-02-2007, 03:18 AM

I wonder if this is as a result of poorer then I would have expected amazon sales rank for the trilogy.

Even the rat has been preselling better.

Of course they still have spidey 3 to devide up the sales and amazon sales rankings are alwasy dubious

blu2 · 11-02-2007, 03:39 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bkbluray

This is definitely a desperation move... There's no way they're not losing at least $100 with each player they sell. Plus, like other people said, the people who are cheap enough for HD-DVD players to hit that price point probably aren't going to buy any $30 movies. Toshiba isn't going to have any sales on movies anytime soon because they're losing enough money as it is.

I think you misjudge the potential buyers.

They would not be low income shoppers who can't afford discs, but HD aware people who may have been sitting on the fence and will take a chance on a product that's low risk even if HD DVD fails. Or Blu Ray owners (no one on this site of course) who want a complete selection of films and see this a cheap opportunity to go dual format.

Agree it's a desperation move, but the mantra from HD DVD was $cheap 200 players by the end of the year, and casting allusions to past Black Fridays moving massive numbers of DVD players, so none of this should be a suprise to any of the Blu Ray camp.

Stew4Blu · 11-02-2007, 03:43 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by coolmilo

I am not worried at all. I spoke to my HD DVD friend and he basically said this model is a piece of crap. He informed me that Transformers would not play correctly on my XBR4 (something about the player can't do 1080@24 correctly). He would rather recommend an Oppo SD player than the A2.

Anyway, I am not worried because this is nothing more that a marketing ploy to take some steam off the 40 GB PS3 and the plethora of excellent titles coming out starting this week. The fact is there aren't very many of these players to go around. But the publicity that this story has generated is well worth the loss in the few players that will go out for $99. And if we let it get to us, this story will take some of the steam off of the overwhelming good news that is coming out of the Blu-ray camp this quarter. Yes, these Toshiba boys are crafty, but we know we are on the winning side. Notice that Walshiba aren't handing out rain checks.

I bet there will be a few good surprises coming from our side before the holiday season ends. But for now, I am enjoying the crap out of the Spiderman trilogy and looking forward to a Pixar Tuesday.

LOL, obviously you don't know that WalMart lowered the price to $99, not Toshiba. That was WalMart's call. Do you guys really think that those that buy the 198$ A2 won't buy movies too? Time will tell. All I can say to the BD/Sony is to not rest on their laurels.

coolmilo · 11-02-2007, 04:02 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Stew4Blu

LOL, obviously you don't know that WalMart lowered the price to $99, not Toshiba. That was WalMart's call. Do you guys really think that those that buy the 198$ A2 won't buy movies too? Time will tell. All I can say to the BD/Sony is to not rest on their laurels.

IMO this is a big marketing scam and it won't affect the weekly movie numbers at all. I bet there are less than 1000 total players available for sale. And the Wal-Mart shoppers are going to be very disappointed when they realize that this player is not Disney compatible.

mov9384ie · 11-02-2007, 04:02 AM

i was shocked to learn about the sales that are going to happen:

hd-dvd player for $100
hd-dvd movies for $15

that matches the price for sd-dvd. the toshiba hd-dvd players are upconverting sd-dvd players

upconverting sd-dvd players are $100
sd-dvd movies are $15-$20

no matter how much toshiba is able to cut off of making a hd-dvd player, an sd-dvd player will always be cheaper to make. same for movies, hd-dvd movies take longer to encode requiring more complexity to author, processing power, and compression expertise than sd-dvd.

even when we ignore the unit sales difference between hdm and sd-dvd, if price points match sd-dvd you'd make less money by doing hd-dvd based on costs alone

wasn't the point of studios and manufacturers moving to hd to reverse the eroding sd-dvd profit margins?

it's like when dreamcast hit $99 and fans thought that would turn the tide, install base would explode, EA would be unable to ignore the system, ps2 would die because graphics are about the same but the system is more expensive, etc, etc

tqlla · 11-02-2007, 04:07 AM

I dont think there is any. IMO, Toshiba is happy with DVDs revenue, which is why they wouldnt mind if both died. (though I think they would perfer an HD-DVD win)

mystiksuicide · 11-02-2007, 04:07 AM

To make this short simple and sweet. It's called "DESPERATION"

Stew4Blu · 11-02-2007, 04:10 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by coolmilo

IMO this is a big marketing scam and it won't affect the weekly movie numbers at all. I bet there are less than 1000 total players available for sale. And the Wal-Mart shoppers are going to be very disappointed when they realize that this player is not Disney compatible.

Umm, it will play the Disney films, just not BD. Maybe they want to save $$ and buy the SD, who knows.

Shin-Ra · 11-02-2007, 04:18 AM

If they don't care about HD Blu-ray Disney, why not spend less still and buy a $50 cheapie-DVD player and Disney DVD's?

oldmike · 11-02-2007, 04:27 AM

shin dont wast your time he is one of the many pro Hd-DVD that fake being Blu poster that came over this week to push FUD
all they want to do is scare us into buying these crapy players and to hold off buying more Blu

blu2 · 11-02-2007, 04:39 AM

DVD sales are in decline.

High Def media sales are a chance for studios to add a new revenue stream.

Blu-ray and HD DVD are new royalty streams for the respective backers.

No complaints about low prices from my end... I hope this leads to lower Blu-ray player and media prices. ($40 list for a disc is a bit outrageous)

yakman · 11-02-2007, 04:40 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by coolmilo

IMO this is a big marketing scam and it won't affect the weekly movie numbers at all. I bet there are less than 1000 total players available for sale. And the Wal-Mart shoppers are going to be very disappointed when they realize that this player is not Disney compatible.

Wallyworld's website says minimum of 10 per store that carries them. My local store had 24 of them out on the floor today. There are about 4,500 WM in the US. I tend to think we'll see this sale again on Black Friday. As for Disney how many people that buy a $99 DUD are going to buy Disney titles at $30?

bkbluray · 11-02-2007, 04:44 AM

Competition of many retailers and suppliers will bring Blu prices down and quickly. For example, Best Buy had a lower price on the Spider-man box set, and Amazon lowered their price to counter.

When SD DVD's came out, they were easily $30 a piece. When LaserDiscs were out, some of them cost $100 or more. Trust me. $30 is NOT that much for a new movie when you think about it. Plus, I have 10 Blu-rays, and have only paid a full $30 for one of them. You just gotta know how to locate the good buys (box sets and Amazon).

11-02-2007, 02:44 AM	#1303
GTsmokeya Active Member Member since:Aug 2007	I am pissed at walmart and the hd-dud camp for this but I am still a tru blu. There are alot of dumb people not to mention the attachment rate for those players is low. I for one am going to amazon right now to buy some more blu-rays. GTsmokeya You must remain strong in your believes if you question yourself hd-dud wins on both sides. There I bought: American Pschyo Mr. Brooks Resident Evil I will also buy cars when that comes out. Last edited by GTsmokeya; 11-02-2007 at 03:02 AM.

11-02-2007, 02:54 AM	#1305
adonischarming Member Member since:Feb 2007 Location:Panama City Beach, FL	Blu-Ray to Win the Format-War Faster than we think! It's on the down low; however all of these HD-DVD players in all the stores is a sign that they getting rid of their stock before blu-takes over after the holidays. That's why you can fing HD-DVD in Walmart 200.00. K Mart 200.00, and now at Best buy for 99.00. They are selling out so. Expect this format war to be over by the end of this holiday season. Mark it.

11-02-2007, 03:05 AM	#1306
nhaase Special Member Member since:Mar 2007 Trading Score:2	Not a bad theory; I think it is more-so a clearence sale to get rid of the last-gen players. Edit: Also, this comes on the same day that the 40gb PS3 is released. 2nd edit: I saw the commercial Wal-Mart has for the A2, and it doesn't even state a thing about HD DVDs, so the people buying it probably do think it's just an upconverting player, unless a salesman informs them. At least the commercial w/ Imperioli stated that it plays HD DVDs. Last edited by nhaase; 11-02-2007 at 03:10 AM.

11-02-2007, 04:02 AM	#1312
mov9384ie Member Member since:Nov 2007	what's the business incentive for hd if prices match sd-dvd within 1 year? i was shocked to learn about the sales that are going to happen: hd-dvd player for $100 hd-dvd movies for $15 that matches the price for sd-dvd. the toshiba hd-dvd players are upconverting sd-dvd players upconverting sd-dvd players are $100 sd-dvd movies are $15-$20 no matter how much toshiba is able to cut off of making a hd-dvd player, an sd-dvd player will always be cheaper to make. same for movies, hd-dvd movies take longer to encode requiring more complexity to author, processing power, and compression expertise than sd-dvd. even when we ignore the unit sales difference between hdm and sd-dvd, if price points match sd-dvd you'd make less money by doing hd-dvd based on costs alone wasn't the point of studios and manufacturers moving to hd to reverse the eroding sd-dvd profit margins? it's like when dreamcast hit $99 and fans thought that would turn the tide, install base would explode, EA would be unable to ignore the system, ps2 would die because graphics are about the same but the system is more expensive, etc, etc

11-02-2007, 04:39 AM	#1318
blu2 Special Member Member since:Oct 2007	DVD sales are in decline. High Def media sales are a chance for studios to add a new revenue stream. Blu-ray and HD DVD are new royalty streams for the respective backers. No complaints about low prices from my end... I hope this leads to lower Blu-ray player and media prices. ($40 list for a disc is a bit outrageous) Last edited by Deciazulado; 11-02-2007 at 11:41 AM. Reason: learn how to spell Blu-ray blu-er

11-02-2007, 02:47 AM	#1304
jsb_hburg Active Member Member since:Dec 2006 Location:Camp Hill, PA	So now it is sounding like bait and switch or just a lure. It might not be a total loss, perhaps some PS3 40GB might find some new homes.

11-02-2007, 03:15 AM	#1307
coolmilo Blu-ray Guru Member since:Jan 2007 Location:Silicon Valley Home Theater Gallery:16 Blu-ray reviews:2 Trading Score:2	I am not worried at all. I spoke to my HD DVD friend and he basically said this model is a piece of crap. He informed me that Transformers would not play correctly on my XBR4 (something about the player can't do 1080@24 correctly). He would rather recommend an Oppo SD player than the A2. Anyway, I am not worried because this is nothing more that a marketing ploy to take some steam off the 40 GB PS3 and the plethora of excellent titles coming out starting this week. The fact is there aren't very many of these players to go around. But the publicity that this story has generated is well worth the loss in the few players that will go out for $99. And if we let it get to us, this story will take some of the steam off of the overwhelming good news that is coming out of the Blu-ray camp this quarter. Yes, these Toshiba boys are crafty, but we know we are on the winning side. Notice that Walshiba aren't handing out rain checks. I bet there will be a few good surprises coming from our side before the holiday season ends. But for now, I am enjoying the crap out of the Spiderman trilogy and looking forward to a Pixar Tuesday.

11-02-2007, 03:18 AM	#1308
bazie Active Member Member since:Oct 2007	I wonder if this is as a result of poorer then I would have expected amazon sales rank for the trilogy. Even the rat has been preselling better. Of course they still have spidey 3 to devide up the sales and amazon sales rankings are alwasy dubious

11-02-2007, 04:07 AM	#1313
tqlla Active Member Member since:Sep 2007	I dont think there is any. IMO, Toshiba is happy with DVDs revenue, which is why they wouldnt mind if both died. (though I think they would perfer an HD-DVD win)

11-02-2007, 04:07 AM	#1314
mystiksuicide Blu-ray Guru Member since:Sep 2007 Location:Miami Blu-ray collection:305 Blu-ray reviews:27	To make this short simple and sweet. It's called "DESPERATION"

11-02-2007, 04:18 AM	#1316
Shin-Ra Super Moderator Top contributor Member since:Feb 2007 Blu-ray collection:5 Trading Score:1	If they don't care about HD Blu-ray Disney, why not spend less still and buy a $50 cheapie-DVD player and Disney DVD's?

11-02-2007, 04:27 AM	#1317
oldmike Senior Member Member since:Aug 2007	shin dont wast your time he is one of the many pro Hd-DVD that fake being Blu poster that came over this week to push FUD all they want to do is scare us into buying these crapy players and to hold off buying more Blu

11-02-2007, 04:44 AM	#1320
bkbluray Blu-ray Guru Member since:Jun 2007 Location:MN Home Theater Gallery:57 Blu-ray collection:185 Blu-ray reviews:25	Competition of many retailers and suppliers will bring Blu prices down and quickly. For example, Best Buy had a lower price on the Spider-man box set, and Amazon lowered their price to counter. When SD DVD's came out, they were easily $30 a piece. When LaserDiscs were out, some of them cost $100 or more. Trust me. $30 is NOT that much for a new movie when you think about it. Plus, I have 10 Blu-rays, and have only paid a full $30 for one of them. You just gotta know how to locate the good buys (box sets and Amazon).

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