Releasing HD versions ahead of DVD version might also help increase adoption. I think for most block buster movies one month would be sufficient, two would be great, three month would be ideal. Yet, I don't see it happen since missing the sweet spot for DVDs might cost the studio sales.
What does HD DVD need to stay in the game, and when do they need it by?
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I was under the impression that all new BD players must be at least 1.1 compliant. So if Samsung is selling 1.0 unit at a reduced price wouldn't that only be to clear out the remaining inventory? iow Firesale?
It appears that HD DVD had its second week in a row at 39% (B-r 61%), which is more impressive than the previous week actually, and would be a nice trend if they could stay around there. Next week's numbers should be interesting, as presumably folks with new Xmas toys will be looking for content to play on them.
It will never happen, unless sony or toshiba want to subsidize the cost at retail of doing that. I think they'd be better off subsidizing player costs at that point.
I have Blockbuster Total Access, it's great.
Quite possibly. /shrug. As I said, it was anecdotal.
Aren't they already? http://www.reghardware.co.uk/2006/06/23/toshiba_hddvd_player_subsidy/
This is 2006 but the player back then was also at $499 so they are likely still are subsidizing the costs. That is, if the manufacturing cost of the player in 2006 was actually $674 - $699, I doubt they managed to reduce the costs by approximately $600 in just over a year.
As long as a single strong exclusive and a BOGO can have an impact such as this, I say the market is way to immature for anyone to pack up and go home any time soon (regardless of current sales ratios).
Amazon.com sales rank of top 25 products:
Well, it is a daily chart. . . for my money even the weeklies are a bit short. Interesting to see, but drawing trend lines thru them over time is the real value.
I wouldn't think that what went on then in terms of costs even closely resembles what is going on now. Bear in mind that first gen hardware was basically a PC with embedded Linux (Intel CPU and chipset etc.), they are now down to dedicated hardware removing huge quantities of the BOM cost. Considering the prices of the LG PC dual format ROMs (with DVD burning capabilities as well) its clear that disc tranport and diode costs have come down significantly as well - given that many of the components for HD DVD disc reading are similar to Blu-ray, but with lower loterances, you may find that increased production of Blu-ray drive equipment for PS3 volumes has helped HD DVD as it may be able to soak up elements that don't match Blu-ray's yeilds.
The $99 specials are certainly being subsidized (though report indicate that these are being done by the retailers) but I'm not sure if there is much evidence to suggest that, say, the manufacturer selling price of an HD-A3 is heavily subsidized.
The quoted one is a weekly 'snapshot'. And, it's a non-linear one with the higher positions indicating successively larger gaps in sale.
Now, it's certainly not representative for the market as a whole, but that was kinda' my point: Apparently it doesn't take all that much to cause a major sales boost. Which just goes to show that these aren't mature products (in terms of pricing and market presence).
People need to stop dragging up those old BOM estimates when discussing current gear. The HD-A1 (basically a P4 computer) and the HD-A3 are completely different beasts even though they may serve the same purpose.
Have a look at the innards of the A3. Apart from the two main NEC ICs (an EMMA SoC and an additional VR5701C MIPS processor) it's basically nickel and dime stuff in there. Considering their shared history of HD DVD development, I hardly think Toshiba is paying exuberant prices for the main ICs either.
The Venturer which is exactly the same hardware sells for $180 (I'd guess that Alco is the ODM manufacturer for Toshiba and are allowed to use the design for their own brand) and you can bet Toshiba aren't subsidizing those...
Fair enough.
If there is a better/more accurate one, please share. Heck, maybe you can break it down yourself.
Never heard of that brand here in the US.
Edit - came across it by chance.
http://www.engadget.com/2007/12/29/venturer-shd7001-goes-on-sale-in-uk-for-170-pounds/
A3's go on sale here for $150 US, which is a far cry from 170 pounds sterling (article says $338 US). My guess is that you're right, Toshiba ISN'T subsidizing those but could still very well be doing so here in the US. What do A3's go for over there?
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It should be blindingly obvious that first gen and current gen HD DVD players are not comparable.
Wal Mart. The point was that the same hardware as the latest Toshiba HD-A3 sell for ~$180-$190 and that you'd be hard pressed to accuse Toshiba of subsidizing those. Thus, costs have gone down by at least $500.
While that may sound like too much, looking at the A3 innards it doesn't seem all that unreasonable to me. As I said: The HD-A1 was basically a P4 computer in a set top box with the current HD-A3 being a completely different beast.
Too bad in a way the P4 computer would surely be far more flexible 
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Anyway Ty I am with you actually. I am not buying DVD, BR, or HD DVD at the moment. I am just waiting till something wins out, or until I have wads of cash to blow on the deal. As was said though with the BOGO they are fairly inexpensive.
.Anyway Ty I am with you actually. I am not buying DVD, BR, or HD DVD at the moment. I am just waiting till something wins out, or until I have wads of cash to blow on the deal. As was said though with the BOGO they are fairly inexpensive.
Wasn't it blindingly obvious that I asked you a different question? I.e. that we've moved BEYOND that previous point?
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Too bad in a way the P4 computer would surely be far more flexible
Anyway Ty I am with you actually. I am not buying DVD, BR, or HD DVD at the moment. I am just waiting till something wins out, or until I have wads of cash to blow on the deal. As was said though with the BOGO they are fairly inexpensive.
DVD has already won out. Neither BR or HD-DVD will come close to matching DVD for atleast the next decade. People just have to many cheap DVD players including portable players in the car/minivan. The winner of the HDM war is just winning a niche market. The average person does not have enough HD tvs or cares enough about PQ/SQ to pay 10x more for a player and 2x as much for a movie.
I see buying a next gen format as a can't lose. What is the worst that can happen you choose the loosing side? Big deal you can pick up library of HD media dirt cheap. All you have to do is keep an extra player in the entertainment center. If warner stays neutral the war will last long enough for dual format players to get sub 500 dollars making being on the losing side painless. All you do by waiting is paying more for movies because once there is a winner say good bye to bogos and other steller deals and say hello to 30 dollar new releases.
You might lose out on the current bogo deals but that doesn't mean you'll wind up paying more for the media in the long run. I've bought a lot of DVDs for $5 or less, if one of these HD media formats are going to be around as long as DVD there is reason to expect that we'll eventually see much of the media that is available now on HD in that bargain bin (maybe not for $5 but still cheaper than $15).
Keeping an extra player in the entertainment center sounds easy, until the one you have fails (can you point me to where i can buy a new betamax player for $25?) or if you want to watch the movie in another room (I own several dvd players).
I don't really see any evidence that either format is going to fail in the short term I believe betamax hung around until the advantage was 10:1.
I do not think it will be that bad though, optical media should be easier to accommodate.
What? Your edit? Didn't see that when I hit reply.
The A3 isn't properly released in Europe yet. They're still selling the HD-E1 (HD-A2) and the HD-EP10 (HD-A20) - slotting into the price held by the outgoing E1 - for the lower end with the recent addition of the HD-EP30 (HD-A30) and the HD-EP35 (HD-A35). Only the HD-EP10 has been close to reasonable street prices (compared to the US) as far as I have seen.
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