Who thinks.....?

[DealsR4theDevil]

Who thinks Blu-ray NEEDS a cheap $200 player? At $200, I have found myself tempted to buy an HD DVD player just because of some movies like Serenity and Casino. Don't get me wrong I love Blu-ray and want it to win, but if somone like me is tempted to get the HD DVD player, I can only imagine what your average consumer will do. DVDs did not catch on till the prices dropped and Blu-ray will probably not catch on till the prices drop either. HD DVD is already producing cheap players and I do see them gaining momentum.
It seems to me that Blu-ray NEEDS a cheap player ASAP. Maybe im just not seeing the big picture in Blu-ray's battle plan but it seems like all it would take is Warner going HD DVD exclusive (and dont say it cant happen cuz Paramount's move was completely unexpected) for HD DVD to start kicking our butts. I think price is going to be the ultimate deciding factor and i was expecting Blu-ray to respond with their own cheap player soon.
What do you guys think?

[glenn22]

Originally Posted by BAND-AID

Who thinks Blu-ray NEEDS a cheap $200 player? At $200, I have found myself tempted to buy an HD DVD player just because of some movies like Serenity and Casino. Don't get me wrong I love Blu-ray and want it to win, but if somone like me is tempted to get the HD DVD player, I can only imagine what your average consumer will do. DVDs did not catch on till the prices dropped and Blu-ray will probably not catch on till the prices drop either. HD DVD is already producing cheap players and I do see them gaining momentum.
It seems to me that Blu-ray NEEDS a cheap player ASAP. Maybe im just not seeing the big picture in Blu-ray's battle plan but it seems like all it would take is Warner going HD DVD exclusive (and dont say it cant happen cuz Paramount's move was completely unexpected) for HD DVD to start kicking our butts. I think price is going to be the ultimate deciding factor and i was expecting Blu-ray to respond with their own cheap player soon.
What do you guys think?

I'm on the fence about this... in a way it would be good because it would attract a lot of HD-DVD fence sitters to the Blu-ray camp and of course attract the low end consumer base... but on the other hand... is that what we want? this would negatively affect the sales of players already on the market (or coming shortly) and would kind of lower the standard of quality we've seen from the Blu-ray market until now. It also doesn't seem like they are having a hard time selling Blu-ray players at current prices.

[oldmike]

cheep player has max 1080i
blu-ray is all about the BEST so you will NEVER see less then a 1080p
my idea for a cheep blu-ray is $300 so you can say
why go for the hd-dvd if the Blu-ray is $100 more and is 1080p

[tron3]

Originally Posted by oldmike

cheep player has max 1080i
blu-ray is all about the BEST so you will NEVER see less then a 1080p
my idea for a cheep blu-ray is $300 so you can say
why go for the hd-dvd if the Blu-ray is $100 more and is 1080p

Absolutely do NOT take away the 1080p/24p aspect from the player. That is the big selling point. I have to live with 1080i/60 and it looks great, but not as great as the 24p I see demoed in the stores.

[crackinhedz]

obviously everyone would like a cheap player...it will happen sooner or later.

As for a cheap HD-DVD player...no way in hell id pay $200 for 1080i. Their $300 1080p player is nothing compared to a $350 PS3.


not too mention, why would I want to pay that much for Lossy audio codecs.


Nah, no chance in switching for me. I completely understand those who will stick to DVD...but why jump on board a sinking ship? (I got off that boat in Feb.)

[BluBerry]

Originally Posted by BAND-AID

Who thinks Blu-ray NEEDS a cheap $200 player? At $200, I have found myself tempted to buy an HD DVD player just because of some movies like Serenity and Casino. Don't get me wrong I love Blu-ray and want it to win, but if somone like me is tempted to get the HD DVD player, I can only imagine what your average consumer will do. DVDs did not catch on till the prices dropped and Blu-ray will probably not catch on till the prices drop either. HD DVD is already producing cheap players and I do see them gaining momentum.
It seems to me that Blu-ray NEEDS a cheap player ASAP. Maybe im just not seeing the big picture in Blu-ray's battle plan but it seems like all it would take is Warner going HD DVD exclusive (and dont say it cant happen cuz Paramount's move was completely unexpected) for HD DVD to start kicking our butts. I think price is going to be the ultimate deciding factor and i was expecting Blu-ray to respond with their own cheap player soon.
What do you guys think?

This opinion is quite common among consumers who suffer from "upgraditus." Once they've seen high def footage, it's tough for them to turn down the temptations of going neutral. Blu-Ray players are getting cheaper, but I certainly don't think BD needs a cheap $200 player right now. HD-DVD is producing cheap players, but again they aren't making money, and they're not enticing hardware manufacturers to produce cheap players of their own. The current price range is just fine for the time being.

[docjan_uk]

The average consumer couldn't give a crap about 1080i vs p, and frankly none of the content goes through the entire work flow at 1080p anyway.

Who knows what they're up to, I'd love to be a fly on the wall, truth is that a cheap player would be very useful in the grand scheme. Right now it's an issue of doing as well as possible despite the lack of a low end.

[BaeDaTruth]

well i think the strategy behind that is, offer a 200$ HD player, which is easy to afford for the time being, collect a few HD dvd's, then later on when the collection is built, finally get a nice HD player..either way, they sell units along the way...this whole transformers thing is really driving me crazy, if you've seen it, the last half hour of it will just be dazzling eye candy on an HD screen, the special effects are like spider man and the matrix combined..i have a 40" samsung lcd, and the whole time at the theaters was wondering how crazy it'd look on my set..f*cking paramount..HD is now playing hardball

[Proteus]

Profile 1.0 players should be around 200-250 and compete directly with low end HDDVD. All other profiles need to stay up a bit to ensure a profitability model that manufacturers can support.

This is the key issue with HDDVD and why manufacturers won't support it right now... It's marketed itself not as 'inexpensive' but as 'cheap'. As such, no one sees 'value' in the product so getting people to ante up for a higher end rig isn't very likely on a large market scale which means no profitability for top CE manufacturers (china will always undersell them on price and that caters to exactly the model HDDVD has put forth).

Many people are starting to realize that they are getting an inferior 'cheap' product with HDDVD right now based on these 'cheap' players that are only 1080i (not even HD) and low on features. For me, it's personal, I can't believe they can get away with calling it 'HD' when, in fact, it is not as HD is measured only in progressive lines. I suppose if you can select 720p on the player it can be HD, but... why bother with it then?

HDDVD made a _huge_ mistake using the term 'cheap' and branding their format with it. Using 'inexpensive' would have been better; however, the ship has sailed and right now Blu-ray is looking more and more like the only prestige format (which is what HD is right now, a prestige product).

[Luis_A51]

I feel that profile 1.0 players should get a $100-150 price drop soon, and that profile 1.1 players should be about $50 minimum less than current players.

That being said, i clearly do not expect any $200 bluray players for a long time. Blu ray CE companies want to make money, and thats why so many support bluray. None of them will be willing to take the significant loss in profits need to sell at sub-$300.

Besides, as you can see in other threads the price differential hasnt gotten Toshiba a standalone market share they can be proud of. All its really gotten them is a huge financial loss, whereas BR companies have been happily making money and keeping good market share.

They will drop (or atleast should) drop prices, but definitely not to that level.

[ESUNintel]

I have not been tempted to buy a cheaper HD-DVD player, cause really, they are terrible, when compared to any Blu-ray player. I do agree, a lot of people look at price over quality, which is why the $200 HD-DVD player is appealing, and then you have people that think 720P is enough.

What I have been tempted to buy is an HD-DVD drive, cause they are so much cheaper than BD drives. They aren't as good though, cause they're not made by good companies and can't even burn stuff.

I really hope prices start coming down.

[Blu-ray San]

I think they should bring out a Blu-ray player and have it retail as cheaply as possible without sacrificing the 1080p/24

[Pilam69]

Originally Posted by docjan_uk

The average consumer couldn't give a crap about 1080i vs p, and frankly none of the content goes through the entire work flow at 1080p anyway.

Who knows what they're up to, I'd love to be a fly on the wall, truth is that a cheap player would be very useful in the grand scheme. Right now it's an issue of doing as well as possible despite the lack of a low end.

1080p from a Blu-Ray disc on a 1080p TV is 1080p. What is the workflow that isn't 1080p?

Until HDTVs are in more households and people are actually willing to embrace a new format and not consider DVD "good enough" then there won't be a reason to upgrade for most folks. Do you really think that those people who won't buy a Blu-Ray player at $400 are going to buy one at $200 when the discs cost double or even triple what a DVD costs? They lose their savings in no time. Until there is either a compelling reason to upgrade for most folks OR the disc prices come down the player prices really don't mean that much. My parents paid $350 for their first VHS recorder/player. I paid $400 for my first DVD player. I am 100% convinced that price of the player will not solve the problem when the media is more expensive. If a person is going to be price concious they are not going to ignore the cost of the discs when they look at what to purchase. You think I'm not still a bit ticked off when DVD prices continue to drop and I pay triple to have Blu-Ray? I am. But I also want to watch the best picture with the best sound and I have spend enough on my setup to justify that cost. Never forget that people here are a distinct (but awesome) minority in the overall scheme of things.

[docjan_uk]

You realise that it doesn't stay 1080P from camera/transfer of film through to finished product right?

1080P is somewhat of a red herring, great for gaming though.

[gvortex7]

I think that the low price point Blu-ray manufacturers should aim for is around $350. That would be a fairly attractive price for people that are still undecided about the format. Let's face it, it has been said numerous times before that anyone who can afford an hdtv should easily be able to afford a Blu-ray player to accompany it. If you don't have an hdtv then there is no point in getting a player anyway. In that case stick with dvd's.

[spam.curitiba]

Originally Posted by glenn22

I'm on the fence about this... in a way it would be good because it would attract a lot of HD-DVD fence sitters to the Blu-ray camp and of course attract the low end consumer base... but on the other hand... is that what we want? this would negatively affect the sales of players already on the market (or coming shortly) and would kind of lower the standard of quality we've seen from the Blu-ray market until now. It also doesn't seem like they are having a hard time selling Blu-ray players at current prices.

der.....but honestly I would rather have a good quality blu-ray player that is a little more expensive than a piece of shit that hd dvd is throwing out

[LynxFX]

Originally Posted by docjan_uk

You realise that it doesn't stay 1080P from camera/transfer of film through to finished product right?

Yeah it is actually higher at 2k and 4k.

Anyway, I think the cheap players are a smoke screen right now. The people that will only buy a cheap player are the same people that won't spend over $10 on a DVD. $30 BD's or HD DVD's are not what they will spend money on.

I believe that as long as they keep putting out more players that are below $500, keep the features up, and put more effort in reduces media cost the format will really blossom.

[Deciazulado]

2k is 1080p

[newtype311]

I think they still need to appeal more to the average consumer though, I mean if you ask most of your coworkers I'll bet the have no idea what the difference is between 720 and 1080 much less i vs. p. just walk into your local best buy, all the TV's in the front, and in most of the store for that matter are 720p they only have a few really expensive 1080p sonys and panasonics. the average person looking to buy a new TV is probably gonna get a $750 special that only does 720p and then they could care less about 1080p versus a 200 dollar player that only does 1080i

[jctash]

DOn't care how cheap HD-DVD gets, I'm not getting one!!!!! I see your point though about getting people to buy players cause they are cheap. More importantly a cheap player would shut down the theory of "HD_DVD being more affordable would be out the window. Remember that at IFA ,HDVD as well as paramount hung their hat on price as a major selling point