The truly price sensitive will wait until blu-ray players are <$100 and media is near parity.
The console losses discussion thread (or 'how companies blow billions on products')*
- Thread starter AntShaw
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The truly price sensitive will wait until blu-ray players are <$100 and media is near parity.
rofl, my mother owns an HDTV, I doubt she knows it, but its 720p. Many people care more about the size of the actual box than they do about what it displays.
ya it does, you're suggesting people only buy HDTV's to watch HD media. Many people just buy them because they can get a bigger picture while taking up less of their living space. You have to look pretty hard to purchase something over 26" now that isn't HD and finding a panel that isn't is almost impossible.
Wanting a flatscreen panel != wanting HD.
Huh ? I said...
(i) People who are only willing to buy Blu-ray movies at current DVD prices are laggards and mainstream buyers. They are not BDA's target audience.
(ii) Most of these people do not own HD TV.
I did not say "Wanting a flatscreen panel != wanting HD". That's your thought train, not mine.
Without HD TV, you may not get Blu-ray's full benefit. So why pay high ? (It's the other direction of your logic).
Even if you have a HD TV and are only willing to pay DVD price for Blu-ray movies, you're still considered a laggard or mainstream buyer from BDA's perspective. For some people, they may be fine with renting Blu-ray though.
Back that comment up with some facts then. Because I'm saying, its bullshit. There are probably 10 HDTVs out there right now for every blu-ray player maybe even more.
<edit> I don't know anyone who doesn't own an HDTV (in person), but I know lots of people who don't own a blu-ray player.
<edit2> I forgot about my friend that owns no TV at all.
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If you have a HDTV here then you're either a HD-DVD fan or Blu-ray, or you've got a console and have the spare cash for such a luxury. Or you are just like the mainstream and just have a TV.
Where I live I'm privileged to be able to afford these. I know lot's of people who don't have HDTV's.
Re: B-r retail pricing:
I buy most of my movies on-sale @Best Buy for $15-$25 per disk. I would like to see all B-r movies priced equivalently to DVD eventually, but that's probably 3+ Years off.
I buy most of my movies on-sale @Best Buy for $15-$25 per disk. I would like to see all B-r movies priced equivalently to DVD eventually, but that's probably 3+ Years off.
An HDTV is just a TV, go into walmart or someplace and look at their selection, you either buy 20" or smaller CRT for ~$100 or you buy an HDTV. It's not like an HDTV costs $3000 dollars anymore, you don't need to buy a 60" kuro, you can buy a 32" HDTV for ~$500. That's less that you would have paid for a 32" crt less than 10 years ago. Plenty of people just want to watch their TV shows without their TV taking up half the room.
Anyone who isn't poor should have no problem affording an HDTV if they need/want a new set, you're looking at maybe $30 a month for 2 year. They are even in gift range now.
I will admit that my circle of friends certainly aren't poor, and being more towards middle aged they mostly just buy things they want when they want. But a student with a part time job can afford an HDTV now, and its certainly more convenient than a CRT.
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You should be able to google for HD TV penetration figure. Here's the first one from my search result: http://parksassociates.blogspot.com/2008/02/hdtv-penetration-and-sales-figures.html (because it has a later date).
If you want to use anecdotal evidents, then I can tell you most of the people I know do not own a HD TV.
http://www.reghardware.co.uk/2008/06/03/us_blind_to_blu_ray/
I was never trying to suggest that everyone had an HDTV, but they are much more common than blu-ray. By the end of this year more than 50% of households will probably have an HDTV in the US.
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Doesn't contradict my statement. Most do not own a HD TV (yet).
Also, Blu-ray is still in early adopter phase. Movie price is high but we will see some coming down this year (Warner movies).
I did not suggest that Blu-ray is more common than HD TV too.
It does not matter if HDTV hit 50% of households by end of the year... because I am talking about now (current Blu-ray performance).
If the situation improves (i.e., most people own a HDTV), the strategy can change too (e.g., targeting mainstream by end of the year).
Also, Blu-ray is still in early adopter phase. Movie price is high but we will see some coming down this year (Warner movies).
I did not suggest that Blu-ray is more common than HD TV too.
It does not matter if HDTV hit 50% of households by end of the year... because I am talking about now (current Blu-ray performance).
If the situation improves (i.e., most people own a HDTV), the strategy can change too (e.g., targeting mainstream by end of the year).
I'm sure the strategy can change, but if you read the article (and some of the comments to the article) most people just don't care enough about the quality to pay more for it. Certainly not having an HDTV is going to make you less likely to buy blu-ray (about 50% less likely by NPDs figuring), but owning an HDTV doesn't make you likely to buy it either (9% likely?).
Sure... we can always wait until then to witness the result. Surveys like this simply help the manufacturers to tailor their strategies better. They do not necessarily indicate the final outcome. Prices and bundling would have changed by then, new features and movies would have been released too, etc.
I actually find it more interesting that Blu-ray PC/laptop will grow faster than Blu-ray CE devices in 2008 (according to Matsushita in the China Blu-ray event).
I don't think Blu-ray's mainstream marketing will be an overnight success, but I don't think the current picture tells all too.
I actually find it more interesting that Blu-ray PC/laptop will grow faster than Blu-ray CE devices in 2008 (according to Matsushita in the China Blu-ray event).
I don't think Blu-ray's mainstream marketing will be an overnight success, but I don't think the current picture tells all too.
It's certainly being pushed in the prebuilt market (dell studio etc). If they can get the burner price down a bit and the media down a lot (nearly same price for 1 BD-RE as it is for a 25 pack of DVD-rw ) the PC market will pick up pretty quick. But for storage Blu-ray is a clear 5x better than DVD.
Yes, that market is cut throat. If it's picking up Blu-ray drives, it implies that the cost of Blu-ray reader or burner will tank sufficiently/significantly. I read somewhere recently that a manufacturer decided to swap to a Blu-ray combo drive because the cost is going to drop by $100. Can't find that article anymore (I wanted the original words to understand what exactly it's saying).
I am hoping the 400Gb Blu-ray work is finalized soon too. I could use one to backup my hard drives. I am sick of copying data to another bigger hard drive that is filling up fast too. I am totally willing to leave my laptop alone for a weekend for the writing to complete (It might need more time though >_< ) Plus I like Durabis.
I am hoping the 400Gb Blu-ray work is finalized soon too. I could use one to backup my hard drives. I am sick of copying data to another bigger hard drive that is filling up fast too. I am totally willing to leave my laptop alone for a weekend for the writing to complete (It might need more time though >_< ) Plus I like Durabis.
They will do. That's where the PS3 situation is confused - corporation wide, how much will PS3 generate for Sony, and was it worth it? And this long thread (and others) has discussed as much. This is, AFAIK, the first time the CEO has opened up about it.
Another confusing comment is that they are selling PS3's faster than they are making them. Prior to launch they were talking about a million a month. If they've reigned that back in to match demand, and now demand has increased, why not just increase prodution capacity again...
Another confusing comment is that they are selling PS3's faster than they are making them. Prior to launch they were talking about a million a month. If they've reigned that back in to match demand, and now demand has increased, why not just increase prodution capacity again...