BDA..Sony..Anybody - Lower your prices

[corduroygt]

I'd rather have them keep the player prices around $400 where they can make a decent profit and give us high quality hardware, and then just reduce HDM prices to maybe 2-3$ above DVD. J6P will buy the more expensive hardware if he's getting a quality product, and if the movies cost pretty much the same.

[BigB88]

Originally Posted by jon s

People have to realize that Blu-Ray is a more expensive device to manufacture over HD-DVD. It's like saying that I want a V12 car for $10,000. Why can't it be done? Economies of scale. Blu-Ray prices are not going to drop drastically until either

a) Volume increases to reduce production costs
b) manufacturing costs get cheaper

The current numbers of high def players and movie sales are miniscule compared to standard DVD.

If Sony and the other BR player manufacturers could reduce prices to match HD-DVD player prices or beat them, would they have not done so by now? That would have killed HD-DVD right off the bat. I cannot see why everyone is screaming that BR shud drop their prices to match HD. If they can they will, if not they won't. No one in their right mind will sell products at a loss unless they have a major investment in the product and that product needs to gain market presence. And the only one who does is Sony. They are selling the PS3 at a loss just to increase their market share over the X-Box 360 and the hot Wii. That cost them SEVERAL HUNDRED MILLION dollars on their bottom line. If not for their TV sales compensating for the losses, Sony could not and would not maintain these cuts as early as they have.

Look on the bright side, if Sony is losing all this money... how much do you think Toshiba must be bleeding with their HD-DVD player sales? They are the ONLY company making HD-DVD players right now. All the other HD-DVD players coming out in the future are Toshiba OEM units.

BR and HD is a battle for future supremacy for the high def market. Both companies are battling it out to the end and betting the farm on their respective formats, and the loser may not fully recover for a long time if at all. We are just going to have to see which company cries "uncle" first.

Your whole post is inconsistent? First you say "No one in their right mind will sell products at a loss unless they have a major investment in the product and that product needs to gain market presence", then later you say "BR and HD is a battle for future supremacy for the high def market. Both companies are battling it out to the end and betting the farm on their respective formats". If their "betting the farm", this means they have a lot to lose, which in turn means they may initially sell at a lose to gain market share. In addition, you said "I cannot see why everyone is screaming that BR shud drop their prices to match HD", well I'm not "screaming" they need to match, I'm saying they need to "be competitive", which to date, the BDA seems to shy away from.

[BigB88]

Originally Posted by mdm1699

Their strategy is not to follow GM, Ford, Chrysler. Japanese. Think long-term. Consumers will always pay a small premium for a superior product. If you are thinking that this is America, well yeah!

Huh? The Japanese?? Gee, I thought a lot of these Blu companies were Japanese? Guess I'm wrong. No, consumers are expecting lower prices when company's are trying to grow markert share. It may be lower player prices or lower media prices or something else to try and promote the new market. The BDA has done some of this, but in my view, it hasn't been enough to offset SD DVD or the cheaper HD-DVD player movement. They need to lower their player prices, period. If it's just $50, this would at least help sales. The BD players are overpriced compared to consumer expectations and market expectations.

[mdm1699]

Originally Posted by BigB88

Your whole post is inconsistent? First you say "No one in their right mind will sell products at a loss unless they have a major investment in the product and that product needs to gain market presence", then later you say "BR and HD is a battle for future supremacy for the high def market. Both companies are battling it out to the end and betting the farm on their respective formats". If their betting the farm, this means they have a lot to lose, which in turn means they may initially seel at a lose to gain market share. In addition, you said "I cannot see why everyone is screaming that BR shud drop their prices to match HD", well I'm not saying they need to match, I'm saying they need to "be competitive", which to date, the BDA seems to shy away from.

Your problem is that you think that Walmart represents the pulse of America. We are not talking about Eggs and Milk here. We are not talking about clothes either. Stores stock these loss-leaders in order to get J6P to buy OTHER stuff. J6P will pay a premium because he considers that the product will have an intermediate to long-term VALUE. It has always been that way. You are too short-sighted. I entered the HDM market a few months ago. The very nature of this discussion is crazy. Some people pay more for DSL even though it costs more than dial-up. Most pay more for Cable even though it costs more than DSL.

[mdm1699]

Originally Posted by BigB88

Huh? The Japanese?? Gee, I thought a lot of these Blu companies were Japanese? Guess I'm wrong. No, consumers are expecting lower prices when company's are trying to grow markert share. It may be lower player prices or lower media prices or something else to try and promote the new market. The BDA has done some of this, but in my view, it hasn't been enough to offset SD DVD or the cheaper HD-DVD player movement. They need to lower their player prices, period. If it's just $50, this would at least help sales. The BD players are overpriced compared to consumer expectations and market expectations.

You are misinterpreting the posts. Go watch Spiderman Blu-Ray. Clear your mind.

[thrlride]

Originally Posted by mdm1699

Your problem is that you think that Walmart represents the pulse of America. We are not talking about Eggs and Milk here. We are not talking about clothes either. Stores stock these loss-leaders in order to get J6P to buy OTHER stuff. J6P will pay a premium because he considers that the product will have an intermediate to long-term VALUE. It has always been that way. You are too short-sighted. I entered the HDM market a few months ago. The very nature of this discussion is crazy. Some people pay more for DSL even though it costs more than dial-up. Most pay more for Cable even though it costs more than DSL.

I don't think you have a grasp on the buying public.

How many Vizio's are sold vs pioneer elite plasmas?
How many Honda Civics are sold vs BMW 5 series?
How many Dell's are sold vs Alienware?

[rpneuss]

Originally Posted by thrlride

I don't think you have a grasp on the buying public.

How many Vizio's are sold vs pioneer elite plasmas?
How many Honda Civics are sold vs BMW 5 series?
How many Dell's are sold vs Alienware?

Survey says.......ding ding!!!! Exactly, this isn't rocket science. J6P doesn't know the integral complicated differences between these 2 formats, he just wants to watch high definition movies. He also doesn't give a rats butt about 1080i vs 1080p. Hell most of the engineers that I work with don't even know the difference, they just want to watch HD movies. If you guys think that the average person looks at all the little details like most of us posting on this board you are crazy. I will say that content is king. I, for one, when I realized that I couldn't buy spiderman or any Disney movie probably ever, took my HDdvd player back(bought cuz it was cheaper) and paid an extra $100 dollars for my blu-ray player. I haven't regretted it at all, probably the best move I made concerning this format war. Still, I think BDA could knock about 75 bucks off of thier players, and who knows, it could probably happen tomorrow.

[MotionBlurr]

http://bigtech.blogs.fortune.cnn.com...dvd-price-war/
Did you guys see this on money.com?

[mdm1699]

Originally Posted by thrlride

I don't think you have a grasp on the buying public.

How many Vizio's are sold vs pioneer elite plasmas?
How many Honda Civics are sold vs BMW 5 series?
How many Dell's are sold vs Alienware?

It's Vizio vs Panasonic/Sharp
It's Kia Spectra vs Honda Civic/Toyota Corolla
It's Whatever asian vs Dell/HP

Genius! Blu-Ray as a format is not expensive. It just represents a small premium over HD-DVD players with inferior specs. Make that ONE/SINGLE/UNO/SOLO/SOLITARY HD-DVD player.

[rpneuss]

Originally Posted by MotionBlurr

http://bigtech.blogs.fortune.cnn.com...dvd-price-war/
Did you guys see this on money.com?

I thought price didn't matter?

[thrlride]

Originally Posted by mdm1699

It's Vizio vs Panasonic/Sharp
It's Kia Spectra vs Honda Civic/Toyota Corolla
It's Whatever asian vs Dell/HP

Genius! Blu-Ray as a format is not expensive. It just represents a small premium over HD-DVD players with inferior specs. Make that ONE/SINGLE/UNO/SOLO/SOLITARY HD-DVD player.

I included items that were twice the price of each other, which is accurate to the one player, yes.

Whatever floats your boat, if you want your media to be compared to a Corolla instead of a BMW.

[mdm1699]

Originally Posted by rpneuss

Survey says.......ding ding!!!! Exactly, this isn't rocket science. J6P doesn't know the integral complicated differences between these 2 formats, he just wants to watch high definition movies. He also doesn't give a rats butt about 1080i vs 1080p. Hell most of the engineers that I work with don't even know the difference, they just want to watch HD movies. If you guys think that the average person looks at all the little details like most of us posting on this board you are crazy. I will say that content is king. I, for one, when I realized that I couldn't buy spiderman or any Disney movie probably ever, took my HDdvd player back(bought cuz it was cheaper) and paid an extra $100 dollars for my blu-ray player. I haven't regretted it at all, probably the best move I made concerning this format war. Still, I think BDA could knock about 75 bucks off of thier players, and who knows, it could probably happen tomorrow.

Your incessant need to see J6P as an uneducated and stupid consumer is a self-inflating crutch. Chances are that he is far more saavy than you and I are.

[MacHaggis]

I read somebody's post a few days ago about bundling a Blu-ray player with the purchase of HDTV sets. This is where you have many CE companies against Toshiba, and just the sheer numbers of sales can increase the market adoption for Blu-ray.

The other point, that I've mentioned in the past, is to offer a rebate towards the trade-in of a SD-DVD and HD DVD player towards the purchase of a new BD player. Remove the other formats from the equation!

[mdm1699]

Originally Posted by thrlride

I included items that were twice the price of each other, which is accurate to the one player, yes.

Whatever floats your boat, if you want your media to be compared to a Corolla instead of a BMW.

Blu-Ray is not a luxury item. Cripes! You could argue the same with the A20, A30, XA2 whatever.

[rpneuss]

Originally Posted by mdm1699

Your incessant need to see J6P as an uneducated and stupid consumer is a self-inflating crutch. Chances are that he is far more saavy than you and I are.

ROFLMAO!!!! You have got to be kidding me. You and I are in a small minority that loves this new high tech stuff and keeps up with it daily by reading articles on the internet about new media etc. Do you really think that J6P does this? Seriously?

[rpneuss]

Originally Posted by MacHaggis

I read somebody's post a few days ago about bundling a Blu-ray player with the purchase of HDTV sets. This is where you have many CE companies against Toshiba, and just the sheer numbers of sales can increase the market adoption for Blu-ray.

The other point, that I've mentioned in the past, is to offer a rebate towards the trade-in of a SD-DVD and HD DVD player towards the purchase of a new BD player. Remove the other formats from the equation!

That would be a good idea if you ask me, even if you just knock 10 to 20% off it would be an incentive none the less.

[thrlride]

Originally Posted by mdm1699

Blu-Ray is not a luxury item. Cripes! You could argue the same with the A20, A30, XA2 whatever.

HD media is not a luxury? You're kidding, right? Will I die without it? No. Will a much cheaper SD player suffice? Yes. It must be a luxury item.

[rpneuss]

Originally Posted by thrlride

HD media is not a luxury? You're kidding, right? Will I die without it? No. Will a much cheaper SD player suffice? Yes. It must be a luxury item.

Forget about it thrl, anybody who says J6P is more savy than us when it comes to HD media is clearly just trying to argue for the sake of arguing. Blu-Ray and HD-DVD are clearly a luxury at this point in time. First off, you need an HDTV to truly enjoy them, duh! How many people even have on yet? Most of my friends are just starting to get them.

[Luis_A51]

J6P doesnt have an HDTV either.

You guys need to get real. The amount of people "on the fence" really isnt that big.

Cheaper player prices will help, dont get me wrong, but theres no way Bluray players will ever match HDDVD players in price. Player makers want to make money that being said a small decreases in price could/should be expected, especially on 1.0 players (they should definitely put all of those on clearance) but unfortunately I get the feeling that they wont until all companies have their 1.1s out (I get a big sense of collusion from the BDA CE companies)

Oh and giving away BD players with tvs is a great idea, and ive seen it done already. Free samsung BD player with any samsung larger than 46" was going on a while ago. Also ive seen sony bundles (HDTV, PS3, HTIB, free movies and free games) for between 500-1000 off the retail price in-store. If they keep that up (and if panasonic and pioneer jump in too) that will make a huge difference.

[WriteSimply]

1) Stop fighting amongst other users in this forum.

2) Don't go into panic mode just because Toshiba is on a firesale of their 2nd gen hardware.



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