Best Buy true story...(good read) - Blu-ray Forum

BTBuck1 · 09-22-2006, 06:17 AM

So today I'm at work (Best Buy) i'm standing at my answer center pretending to look up numbers or inventory screens (in reality i'm trolling the boards, lol) and I can hear a conversation going on over my right shoulder it went something like this....

Customer- So, My tv is 1080p, my HDDVD player only outputs 1080i so how do i get 1080p? is there a differance? Is it noticeable? etc. etc. etc.

Then I hear my coworker start backpeddling not knowing how to answer:

Employee- Uhh...let me ask Brian "He might know the answer to this question better"

I then spun around and introduced myself, began asking the customer what equipment he had (DLP 60" 1080p & Tosh HD-A1) I explained to him how the source material is encoded at 1080p and that his TV is 1080p and that although the player doesn't output 1080p that he wasn't losing any detail...after going over it with him 3 or four times he finally understood and was settled in.

This is where things got bad...

He then asks how I know so much about the HD-A1 and such, I explained that I owned the player and we talked a little bit about firmware etc and I reccomended he upgrade (he said his disc was in the mail on its way)

He then asks me, as if looking for re-assurance on HDDVD "so whats the scoop on Blu Ray?" I go into the benefits of the Blu Disc format, only really touching on Studio support from Everyone but Universal and I could see the gears turning in his head and before you knew it the obvious question came out of his mouth "so what do you think is better?" I said quite honestly I think right now they are pretty much tied...theres some better software on HDDVD but it did have a near 3 month headstart to retail and Blu Disc is gaining fast and has 90% studio support and all the major CE companies backing it. I explained that I enjoyed both technologies. He then asked..."who I thought would win" I turned and said...based on what I told you, what do you think? He said..."it doesn't look good for HDDVD"

When he answered me, he said it in a tone like I told him I ran over his dog with my car. He had this dissapointed look on his face like he was gonna cry almost and I had to reassure him that his purchase of the HD-A1 was gonna be okay!

what was even worse was that provenflipper was kinda standing around eves dropping and chimed in that his HDDVD player will provide him with hours of enjoyment and no matter what format wins, it wasn't as if his player & movies would evaporate.
He seemed disturbed with his purchase at that point and almost entirely ready to wipe his hands of the HDDVD format and jump aboard blu disc. He asked what to do and I reccomended enjoying what he had for a few more months (do netflix etc) and then come back after the holidays to re-evaluate things.

My whole point of this thread is to show you that the overwhelming support BD has over HDDVD is going to be a major hurdle for HDDVD to overcome. When the average consumer is faced with the choice of 50% or 90% support, and then the same kinda of percentages of players available to choose from, it's going to be a tough journey ahead for HDDVD. He seemed to rest his faith in the future of the format based on the percentages...and honestly, who wouldn't?

HDDVD has had a pretty good following so far with the informed AVS crowd adopting it and staying loyal...but mass adoption is going to require more than codecs (avg customers wont know or care about this) and more than Toshiba backing it's cause & more than Uni/WB & Paramount. And a heck of alot more than the internet blogs wild with HDDVD fanboism!

Giving up Sony pictures, Buenavista, Lionsgate and Fox which combined make up for like what 10 or more studios? I don't think the avg consumer is going to do that if the information is available to them.

Anyways...this is my thoughts I thought it interesting to see his face go from happy about HDDVD (bought it based on the name i think) to (Damn is this item returnable?) in less than 3 minutes of chatting.

hmurchison · 09-22-2006, 06:32 AM

Brian he has to seek his own reconciliation. You gave him an honest assessment and one based on experience with both platforms. He got a lot of sage advice now it's his turn to do what he feels is best. Format wars suck and the consumers end up "casualties of war" and get Sean Penned

I'm just the type of wannabe gear slut that doesn't care but other folks don't have the same passion.

Dave · 09-22-2006, 07:07 AM

At least i know that if i get a Blu-Ray drive i wont make a mistake.
Geting a Toshiba player is like gambleing.

ProvenFlipper · 09-22-2006, 07:30 AM

Dude was funny... But I felt bad for him. He was genuinely confused as to what to do. I feel that he was thinking we were trying to get kim to keep his HD-DVD player as to avoid a return. I will not be surprised at all if I see him back in the store to return his player.

Blue · 09-22-2006, 09:07 AM

This is exactly what concerns me. Anyone on this forum can not be in for any suprise if or when one format disappears, so as far as I'm concerned if you want to buy one or the other (or both) go for it and ENJOY, as you all know what you are doing and the potential consiquences.

However how many people are going to be in for a nasty suprise once they discover what's going on.

I don't see the biggest problem is with the hardware as no matter what brand you buy of the first generation players you will be replacing it in a few years. The expense is going to be in the media. Maybe studios that supplied the loosing format should be prepared to swap the title at cost for the winning format - ain't going to happen though. "Buyer Be Ware" I think is the caviet.

The prospect of dual format players I think is slim and unless there is BIG catalog of the loosing format's titles out there I can't see it ever happening. So that's not going to be a solution. Who is going to pay dual royalties for a few titles? Yeah I know most on this forum, alas it will take many more 10's of thousands more.

hmurchison · 09-22-2006, 03:34 PM

Consumers can take a passive role in this battle or agressive. When I have both players I'll be sending Universal emails asking them to support Blu-Ray and sending the BD studios the same message. Let the consumers decide the nextgen format.

09-22-2006, 06:17 AM	#1
BTBuck1 Blu-ray Samurai Member since:Jun 2006 Location:Oceanside, CA. Blu-ray collection:507 DVD collection:1	Best Buy true story...(good read) So today I'm at work (Best Buy) i'm standing at my answer center pretending to look up numbers or inventory screens (in reality i'm trolling the boards, lol) and I can hear a conversation going on over my right shoulder it went something like this.... Customer- So, My tv is 1080p, my HDDVD player only outputs 1080i so how do i get 1080p? is there a differance? Is it noticeable? etc. etc. etc. Then I hear my coworker start backpeddling not knowing how to answer: Employee- Uhh...let me ask Brian "He might know the answer to this question better" I then spun around and introduced myself, began asking the customer what equipment he had (DLP 60" 1080p & Tosh HD-A1) I explained to him how the source material is encoded at 1080p and that his TV is 1080p and that although the player doesn't output 1080p that he wasn't losing any detail...after going over it with him 3 or four times he finally understood and was settled in. This is where things got bad... He then asks how I know so much about the HD-A1 and such, I explained that I owned the player and we talked a little bit about firmware etc and I reccomended he upgrade (he said his disc was in the mail on its way) He then asks me, as if looking for re-assurance on HDDVD "so whats the scoop on Blu Ray?" I go into the benefits of the Blu Disc format, only really touching on Studio support from Everyone but Universal and I could see the gears turning in his head and before you knew it the obvious question came out of his mouth "so what do you think is better?" I said quite honestly I think right now they are pretty much tied...theres some better software on HDDVD but it did have a near 3 month headstart to retail and Blu Disc is gaining fast and has 90% studio support and all the major CE companies backing it. I explained that I enjoyed both technologies. He then asked..."who I thought would win" I turned and said...based on what I told you, what do you think? He said..."it doesn't look good for HDDVD" When he answered me, he said it in a tone like I told him I ran over his dog with my car. He had this dissapointed look on his face like he was gonna cry almost and I had to reassure him that his purchase of the HD-A1 was gonna be okay! what was even worse was that provenflipper was kinda standing around eves dropping and chimed in that his HDDVD player will provide him with hours of enjoyment and no matter what format wins, it wasn't as if his player & movies would evaporate. He seemed disturbed with his purchase at that point and almost entirely ready to wipe his hands of the HDDVD format and jump aboard blu disc. He asked what to do and I reccomended enjoying what he had for a few more months (do netflix etc) and then come back after the holidays to re-evaluate things. My whole point of this thread is to show you that the overwhelming support BD has over HDDVD is going to be a major hurdle for HDDVD to overcome. When the average consumer is faced with the choice of 50% or 90% support, and then the same kinda of percentages of players available to choose from, it's going to be a tough journey ahead for HDDVD. He seemed to rest his faith in the future of the format based on the percentages...and honestly, who wouldn't? HDDVD has had a pretty good following so far with the informed AVS crowd adopting it and staying loyal...but mass adoption is going to require more than codecs (avg customers wont know or care about this) and more than Toshiba backing it's cause & more than Uni/WB & Paramount. And a heck of alot more than the internet blogs wild with HDDVD fanboism! Giving up Sony pictures, Buenavista, Lionsgate and Fox which combined make up for like what 10 or more studios? I don't think the avg consumer is going to do that if the information is available to them. Anyways...this is my thoughts I thought it interesting to see his face go from happy about HDDVD (bought it based on the name i think) to (Damn is this item returnable?) in less than 3 minutes of chatting.

09-22-2006, 09:07 AM	#5
Blue Super Moderator Top contributor Member since:Jan 2005 Location:Melbourne Australia Blu-ray collection:206	This is exactly what concerns me. Anyone on this forum can not be in for any suprise if or when one format disappears, so as far as I'm concerned if you want to buy one or the other (or both) go for it and ENJOY, as you all know what you are doing and the potential consiquences. However how many people are going to be in for a nasty suprise once they discover what's going on. I don't see the biggest problem is with the hardware as no matter what brand you buy of the first generation players you will be replacing it in a few years. The expense is going to be in the media. Maybe studios that supplied the loosing format should be prepared to swap the title at cost for the winning format - ain't going to happen though. "Buyer Be Ware" I think is the caviet. The prospect of dual format players I think is slim and unless there is BIG catalog of the loosing format's titles out there I can't see it ever happening. So that's not going to be a solution. Who is going to pay dual royalties for a few titles? Yeah I know most on this forum, alas it will take many more 10's of thousands more. Last edited by Blue; 09-22-2006 at 09:12 AM.

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09-22-2006, 06:32 AM	#2
hmurchison Banned Member since:Aug 2004 Location:Seaattle	Brian he has to seek his own reconciliation. You gave him an honest assessment and one based on experience with both platforms. He got a lot of sage advice now it's his turn to do what he feels is best. Format wars suck and the consumers end up "casualties of war" and get Sean Penned I'm just the type of wannabe gear slut that doesn't care but other folks don't have the same passion.

09-22-2006, 07:07 AM	#3
Dave Expert Member Member since:Jun 2006 Location:Somewhere	At least i know that if i get a Blu-Ray drive i wont make a mistake. Geting a Toshiba player is like gambleing.

09-22-2006, 07:30 AM	#4
ProvenFlipper Special Member Member since:Jun 2006 Home Theater Gallery:4 4K collection:334 Blu-ray collection:900 Trading Score:1	Dude was funny... But I felt bad for him. He was genuinely confused as to what to do. I feel that he was thinking we were trying to get kim to keep his HD-DVD player as to avoid a return. I will not be surprised at all if I see him back in the store to return his player.

09-22-2006, 03:34 PM	#6
hmurchison Banned Member since:Aug 2004 Location:Seaattle	Consumers can take a passive role in this battle or agressive. When I have both players I'll be sending Universal emails asking them to support Blu-Ray and sending the BD studios the same message. Let the consumers decide the nextgen format.

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