My frustration

[Elandyll]

Originally Posted by HABS#1

You both make some very valid points the PS3 has certainly helped but I do not think it has helped yet in the numbers the BDA would have liked it to the other CE's I am guessing will only put up with the price cutting of the players for so long before getting PO'd at Sony as every time Sony slashes the price of the PS3 it kills the standalone market for the other CE's producing a set top player for BR. How long will Panasonic and Pioneer stand for Sony taking them out at the knees every time they drop the price on the PS3 thus killing the standalone market for the rest even more. None of the others produce a game system that contains BR I personally would not own a console as my disk player I prefer stand alones for my playback a game system is just that a game system and in my house that is all they get used for. As for his comments about the average Joe he is sort of correct but the biggest thing is the price Joe 6pack looks at price before features for the most part I mean if they didn't would Wally World sell so many damn 30-50 dollar DVD players. That is the true feature many look at in this fiasco that is a format way the price I know literally 300 people from work that are sitting on the fence waiting for THEIR magic number in the price point before they buy into either one they did the same for HDTV once the TV hit below the 1000 dollar mark they jumped in they are now waiting for the magic 150 or below mark for a player. They have no desire for one or the other they just want the cheapest price.

We can all argue till we turn purple but people waiting on this thing to shape up are pretty much all waiting for price points they are comfortable with and nothing more from my experience anyhow. Look at what happened with DVD once it hit the price point people were comfortable with it really took off. That and the media is still quite expensive for most consumers when you can buy the same title in their eyes for 10-12 dollars less.

You forget that price battle always happen, and that is their fault if those hardware makers are unwilling to make a cheap entry level player.
Beyond the BDA members competition, they need to realize that if the format loses (don't see how this would happen at this point, but who knows) they will ALL have lost enormous amounts of investments and patents.

So in fact, I doubt they are mad at Sony for making a cheap PS3, because actually right now Sony is the only one willing to eat a bullet (losing large amounts of money on PS3s, most probably) to promote the format. On top of that, the PS3, to the larger public, is still viewed as a console, thus games, thus kids (I am talking mass market here).

What Blu needs right now is a Samsung or LG to release a cheap 1080i only with basic digital audio out standalone player, to create an entry level cheap ($299 or so) player, to start the mass market adoption level for HD.

This being said, about the name argument, this was a point made by the HD DVD camp a loooong time aggo, that they have since discounted.
HD in itself appears so complex to most people (1080i/p, 720p, HDMI, etc.) that HD DVD or Blu Ray are both getting name recognition through ads.
Even with the "soprano"commercial about HD DVD, Blu still has a lead and most of my colleagues (not video savy) when asked about HD can mention both HD DVD and Blu Ray.

In any case, if the name is any problem still, it won't be for much longer, with people getting more educated and articles being written about HD more and more often.