CES 2006 News & Announcements

[avaya]

It may have to do with market research. If Blu-ray drives are seen as being a better value to the consumer then the consumer may be willing to pay more to be an early adopter. Likewise, given HD-DVD's lack of studio backing, they may need to give financial incentive to lure in buyers.

Regardless, I doubt either HD-DVD or Blu-ray manufacturers are taking a loss.

.Sis

Yeah, I'd be inclined to agree with this since the announcements so far are pointing towards it.

I would bet there are a couple curve balls to come though.

CES is turning out to be very unpredictable!

 

[wco81]

The Thomson player may be the same OEM version as the Toshiba.

Blue-laser diode is an expensive component and in fact, for write applications, HD-DVD needs a higher-output blue-laser than Blu-Ray because of the thicker cover layer on the disc.

So I'm still suspicious.

Either that or the Blu-Ray companies are trying to gouge.

 

[Titanio]

The Thomson player may be the same OEM version as the Toshiba.

Blue-laser diode is an expensive component and in fact, for write applications, HD-DVD needs a higher-output blue-laser than Blu-Ray because of the thicker cover layer on the disc.

So I'm still suspicious.

Either that or the Blu-Ray companies are trying to gouge.

It's probably a bit of both, maybe a little more of the latter. We know a cheap BD player is coming though, of course

 

[Hardknock]

Weird. Pioneer has announced a single-layer Blu-ray recorder for $995. One has to guess it also plays back movies. I guess the $1800 model is something rather special.

http://www.tgdaily.com/2006/01/04/pioneer_unveils_blu-ray_players/

edit - this is their PC burner, apparently.

Jesus H. Christ those prices are insane. And PC drives are usually cheaper than standalone players.

 

[mckmas8808]

Jesus H. Christ those prices are insane. And PC drives are usually cheaper than standalone players.

The PC drive is cheaper than the standalone player.

 

[Hardknock]

The PC drive is cheaper than the standalone player.

Uhh, my point is don't expect to see any standalone players cheaper than that anytime soon.

 

[mckmas8808]

Uhh, my point is don't expect to see any standalone players cheaper than that anytime soon.

That's okay the PS3 is good enough for me.

 

[Titanio]

Blu-ray title pricing won't be forthcoming at CES, but in the next couple of weeks:

Sony did not disclose the discs' retail price, which Feingold says will be announced in the next couple of weeks. He says that the discs will be priced at a premium over existing DVDs, but that they won't be a lot more expensive.

"I think people will be happy," he says of the pricing.

http://www.pcworld.com/news/article/0,aid,124194,00.asp

 

[PG2G]

Well, for what its worth, the PC drive is a recorder right?

 

[Titanio]

Well, for what its worth, the PC drive is a recorder right?

Yes. It plays back BD-Rom as well, of course.

Philips has announced a combo Blu-ray drive for PC and a standalone player for the second half of 2006. No more details yet.

Panasonic is in the process of announcing blu-ray product, I believe (their conference is still ongoing).

 

[dukmahsik]

billy gates keynote speech:

http://www.microsoft.com/events/executives/billgates.mspx

 

[Hardknock]

Here are the answers from Sony's Blu-ray to Toshiba HD DVD announcements.

Samsung announces that their BD-1000 Blu-ray player will ship early spring. Samsung says that the BD-1000 will be the first available Blu-ray player in the United States. Which indirectly tells us that the Sony PS3 is not launching in Spring in the United States.

The Samsung BD-1000 has an MSRP of approximately $1,000. That is twice the price Toshiba wants for their HD DVD entry model HD-A1.

I'm curious of how many people still think PS3 will launch in the Spring?

 

[BlueTsunami]

I'm curious of how many people still think PS3 will launch in the Spring?

In the US or Japan?

 

[mckmas8808]

I'm curious of how many people still think PS3 will launch in the Spring?

Samsung announces that their BD-1000 Blu-ray player will ship early spring.
The PS3 could still launch in the spring too. Just not as early spring as the samsung model.

 

[Qroach]

The PS3 could still launch in the spring too.

This isn't any indicator of when PS3 will launch. Don't count on a spring PS3 launch.

 

[Ginko]

This isn't any indicator of when PS3 will launch. Don't count on a spring PS3 launch.

As of this morning, January 3rd, 2006, Sony again informed GameSHOUT that the Sony PS3 will be released in May 2006, and that the recent reports of a delay are pure "myths".

http://www.gameshout.com/news/012006/article2274.htm

I don't know how reliable gameshout is but there it is. It would fall in with the whole Spring 2006 plan.

 

[dantruon]

For anyone who think ps3 wont be there, well think again

From
http://www.sony.com/ces/booth_floorplan.shtml

Edit- thanks to "The House" from PS3 forum.

 

[one]

http://www.sony.com/ces/playstation.shtml

 

[mckmas8808]

MS says screw Blu-ray we have a winner!

Building on Xbox 360 leadership in high-definition experiences, the company announced plans to deliver a new Xbox 360 external HD DVD drive in 2006. The new drive will offer millions of Xbox 360 owners the ability to easily enjoy HD DVD movies and will provide consumers with even more choices for experiencing high-definition content, in either physical or digital form.

Yep MS has made their choice.

 

[one]

As expected, PSP is the main focus at CES just like the last CES.

http://www.joystiq.com/2006/01/04/ces-sony-keynote-fails-to-get-us-higher/

CES: Sony keynote fails to get us highER

Following a brief digital camcorder spiel, Sony launched into its PlayStation segment. There were a few minutes of gloating, culminating in a claim that the PS2 is on track for a 10-year life cycle, and then Sony got into the heart of its gaming presentation... the PSP. The focus tonight was on the PSP's remote-viewer feature for LocationFree TV (released in v2.60 firmware), as a Sony rep proudly showed off a live television feed from his New York home here in Las Vegas—elsewhere, another rep logged-in to his Tokyo base station. In addition, Sony announced that the Connect Video download service will launch in March, allowing users to download feature length videos onto the PSP's memory stick. Overall, the lack of news was a disappointment.

Also on display at the booth are three new PSP titles: Syphon Filter: Dark Mirror, Daxter, and MLB, along with the new (and improved) version of Pursuit Force. We'll bring you more coverage in the following days.

Alas, as expected, not a word about the PlayStation 3... (just those darn teasers)