Blu-Ray Wins Battle: Still Losing War

[LarryFlowers]

Reports show Blu-Ray, in spite of winning the format war, is still not selling. Sales were off by 40% in January and Febuary, and showed a slight up tick of 2% in March.

The average price of a Blu-Ray player during the holidays was around $300, in March of this year that had risen to $400.

The problem still remains, no matter who won the format war, consumers do not perceive the value of the Blu-Ray player when compared to a good upconverting DVD player.

I have a good upconverting Samsung DVD Player that cost me $145. I am a hardware geek and an early adopter, but Blu-Ray has failed to entice me. I have seen the picture and no question that it is gorgeous, but not that gorgeous. I also believe that the "gimmicks' of the DVD player are wasted on the consumer. I rent a movie, I watch it. I dont want to hear the directors commentary, I dont want an alternate ending. While I understand that the film student or buff could and probably would be interested in the bells and whistles... Joe consumer wants to watch a movie.

I own over 1100 movies in various formats including Laser Video Disc and CED Video Disc (yes, I still have 2 working CED Video Disc Players) but I am finished acquiring movies in that fashion. I want any and all future film purchases to be downloaded and stored on hard drives, independant of any format or hardware, with some type of Media Center interface providing me with the graphical information.

I doubt we will ever see Blu-Ray penetrate to the level that the DVD holds now, there are too many alternatives on the horizon.

[Michael D'Angelo]

I hope this continues because the price will have to come down some for it to start selling.

The Blu-ray players are a little high but I can work with the price of them.

My problem are the movies. They are just way to high. I am not paying up to $40 for a movie, that is just crazy.

That is why right now the on Blu-ray movies I watch come from Netflix.

[braven]

I hope this continues because the price will have to come down some for it to start selling.

The Blu-ray players are a little high but I can work with the price of them.

My problem are the movies. They are just way to high. I am not paying up to $40 for a movie, that is just crazy.

That is why right now the on Blu-ray movies I watch come from Netflix.


Me too.

[Chris Blount]

I have both formats but my format of choice was HD-DVD since prices were a bit lower.

When the format war ended I find myself buying less titles. The prices on Blu-Ray titles are entirely too high. As long as Sony and the other backers continue to gouge the public, the format will never see large acceptance. Also, by the time format does reach critical mass, it may be too late since other forms of delivery are coming into their own.

[geoallen]

My sentiments exactly. I bought the Toshiba 2AD HD DVD, at Walmart for 93.00 last November. It is an excellent upconverter. Blue Ray players as well as Dvds have to come down in price. I stilll have my Pioneer Laser disk player, with about 50 titles...still going strong.

George

[glennb]

I'm not buying a Blu-Ray until the movie prices are the same as regular DVD movie prices are now.

[Nick]

For those of you who fervently wanted BRD to win the great DVD format battle, you
are now paying the price, literally. Absent the pressure of competition, BR hardware
and software prices have risen and have no reason to drop, unless and until the avg
consumer decides that the improvement in PQ is worth the price of admission.

Of course, there will always be the diehards who feel their $300-400 investment in a
player justifies continuing to shell out 40 bucks per movie.

[Stuart Sweet]

I have not bought one DVD, HD DVD or Blu-Ray Disc in 2008. I agree that the player is too expensive and so are the discs, When a Blu-Ray player is under $200 and the discs are $20-25 commonly I will resume my investment.

Price was a large part of the reason I thought HD DVD would win. I don't think consumers are willing to pay the extra price for the BD player.

EDIT: OK, I just remembered I bought one, but it was deeply discounted. Not the point.

[MIAMI1683]

Reports show Blu-Ray, in spite of winning the format war, is still not selling. Sales were off by 40% in January and Febuary, and showed a slight up tick of 2% in March.

The average price of a Blu-Ray player during the holidays was around $300, in March of this year that had risen to $400.

The problem still remains, no matter who won the format war, consumers do not perceive the value of the Blu-Ray player when compared to a good upconverting DVD player.

I have a good upconverting Samsung DVD Player that cost me $145. I am a hardware geek and an early adopter, but Blu-Ray has failed to entice me. I have seen the picture and no question that it is gorgeous, but not that gorgeous. I also believe that the "gimmicks' of the DVD player are wasted on the consumer. I rent a movie, I watch it. I dont want to hear the directors commentary, I dont want an alternate ending. While I understand that the film student or buff could and probably would be interested in the bells and whistles... Joe consumer wants to watch a movie.

I own over 1100 movies in various formats including Laser Video Disc and CED Video Disc (yes, I still have 2 working CED Video Disc Players) but I am finished acquiring movies in that fashion. I want any and all future film purchases to be downloaded and stored on hard drives, independant of any format or hardware, with some type of Media Center interface providing me with the graphical information.

I doubt we will ever see Blu-Ray penetrate to the level that the DVD holds now, there are too many alternatives on the horizon.



I agree with you completely. I bought a $50 upconvert dvd player recently. Put in my bedroom. It looks great on my LCD in there. It even hooks up HDMI. My XBOX360 baisically upconverts the DVD's for me in the living room. Blu-Ray looks awesome, but its overpriced. I also own more then 400 movies and had the Laser Disc player. I will not be buying a Blu-ray player anyitme soon. I am not sure I want to download a movie either. Just rent it or use ON Demand. IMHO.

[Jason Nipp]

For those of you who fervently wanted BRD to win the great DVD format battle, you
are now paying the price, literally. Absent the pressure of competition, BR hardware
and software prices have risen and have no reason to drop, unless and until the avg
consumer decides that the improvement in PQ is just not worth the price of admission.

Of course, there will always be the diehards who feel their $300-400 investment in a
player justifies continuing to shell out 40 bucks per movie.
But they do have competition in the Hardware side. I can see at least 7 manufacturers of the hardware. I have seen some recent drops in hardware pricing but the media itself has been stuck at the same price point since the beginning. It hasn't increased nor decreased. I preferred it then and I prefer it now. The price of the movies does not scare me, I was paying the same or even more for new releases on DVD, and heck even VHS. The price will eventually come down.

Now back to hardware, this is where I see the most problems. With our economy the way it is, why pay 300 plus for a Blu Ray player? Those 7 manufacturers need to drive each others pricing down to a more reasonable level so volumes pick up all around. I do have to say though I feel Blu Ray is on par with DVD as far as price reductions. 2 years after DVD was released I paid $399 for a non progressive scan player. It still took DVD a good amount of time to drop to today's pricing point.

[pierce3381]

sense the Blu-Ray players are so expensive I wonder how much of that cost was averaged into making the PS3? I'd sure like to have one but I don't think a gaming system is worth $500+ especially sinse I have no plans to buy a $30 movie to watch on it. The only up side to Blu-Ray's release (in my opinion) is DVD's are slightly cheaper now than they use to be!

[BubblePuppy]

I think one reason the average consumer hasn't bought into the BR camp is that it is a luxury. With gas prices the way they are and apparently where the prices are going and food prices going up BR is a luxury the avereage consumer can't afford.
Pay for the basics of life first.

Plus maybe most average consumers don't have HDTVs.

[braven]

sense the Blu-Ray players are so expensive I wonder how much of that cost was averaged into making the PS3? I'd sure like to have one but I don't think a gaming system is worth $500+ especially sinse I have no plans to buy a $30 movie to watch on it. The only up side to Blu-Ray's release (in my opinion) is DVD's are slightly cheaper now than they use to be!



How does $350 sound? Both of my boys have purchased theirs used off Craigslist.

[phat78boy]

While I have the hardware to play new Hi-Def media, I find myself not wanting to purchase the media. I am not one who watches the same movie over and over and on that I believe I am the norm. With the advent of HD PPV and services such as Netflix, I can no longer see the point in purchasing the media only to have stored somewhere.

Now, if I want to watch a particular movie, I first search the DVR to see if I can record it anywhere. If not, I add it to the top of my Netflix queue. I strongly believe that buying media is working its way out of our culture. CD's going to digital files was just the start.

[Cholly]

Amazon typically discounts Blu-ray discs 30%. All the same, player costs continue to be a deterrent. If Sony sells the PS3 for $399, then BR standalone new generation players should be in the sub $300 price range. So far, that hasn't happened.

[Jason Nipp]

Amazon typically discounts Blu-ray discs 30%. All the same, player costs continue to be a deterrent. If Sony sells the PS3 for $399, then BR standalone new generation players should be in the sub $300 price range. So far, that hasn't happened.
Completely agree Charlie.

[ebaltz]

Not everyone can afford a Mercedes, its not a right, its a privilege. Same goes for Blu-ray. Those of us who can, enjoy it greatly. If you can't then DVD is just fine for you.

[durl]

I'm researching the process of building a DVD server and I plan to include a blu-ray drive so that I can rip those discs to the hard drive. Since the server will be built anyway I figured adding the drive will be cheaper than buying a player outright.

[BlueSnake]

I have both formats but my format of choice was HD-DVD since prices were a bit lower.

When the format war ended I find myself buying less titles. The prices on Blu-Ray titles are entirely too high. As long as Sony and the other backers continue to gouge the public, the format will never see large acceptance. Also, by the time format does reach critical mass, it may be too late since other forms of delivery are coming into their own.

I'm with you on this Chris. I bought loads of HD DVD discs during various sales,, but I only buy Blu-ray when I can find a real deal, like on ebay or a good sale elsewhere. I'm not paying over $15 for a movie and then not even that often.

[Nick]

"Price, Functionality Will Restrain Blu-ray Sales"

TVWeek:

Although many are celebrating the emergence of Sony’s Blu-ray as the winner in the next-generation DVD player format war, count ABI Research among the naysayers.

Within the past two weeks, the Oyster Bay, N.Y.-based research firm has twice questioned whether Blu-ray sales will match the optimistic projections of analysts and movie studio executives, who have said next-generation disc revenue in the U.S. will triple to about $1 billion this year.

This week, ABI said Blu-ray’s high prices—promotions dropped some player prices to about $300 during the last holiday season before prices rose slightly after Toshiba discontinued its HD DVD format—will prevent significant adoption of Blu-ray for another 12 to 18 months. Last week, the firm said consumer ambivalence and the willingness for customers to “upconvert” standard players will stem the flow of dollars toward Blu-ray players and discs.

“I don’t think the top brand names are going to reach the magic $199 point for this holiday season,” said Steven Wilson, principal analyst at ABI Research. With so few companies making integrated circuits for Blu-ray players and a general supply shortage of the machines, “There’s nothing driving their prices down.” ...
More @ TVWeek.com (http://www.tvweek.com/news/2008/05/price_functionality_will_restr.php)

[Stewart Vernon]

Not everyone can afford a Mercedes, its not a right, its a privilege. Same goes for Blu-ray. Those of us who can, enjoy it greatly. If you can't then DVD is just fine for you.


This is actually a perfectly fine marketing plan, IF Blu-ray is to remain a niche "only for the rich" product. I suspect that the companies involved, however, would like a bigger share of the market than that... in which case lower prices will be demanded before that can happen.

There are lots of companies happy to sell high-priced items only to select customers... but that is their marketing plan.

[DCSholtis]

I have both formats but my format of choice was HD-DVD since prices were a bit lower.

When the format war ended I find myself buying less titles. The prices on Blu-Ray titles are entirely too high. As long as Sony and the other backers continue to gouge the public, the format will never see large acceptance. Also, by the time format does reach critical mass, it may be too late since other forms of delivery are coming into their own.

Agreed and to be honest I'm still buying up all the HD DVDs while I can at great prices. I'll already have all the Paramount/Universal titles I want before they go Blu but at much better prices. Far as the players go they are too high indeed however I went ahead and purchased a combo player that can be made to be the mythical "2.0 compliant" with a software upgrade. Plays any format I hit with it great. Highly recommended if there is anyone that has HD DVDs and wanting to get into Blu Ray. As far as BD discs prices you'll always have them high. The days of the low cost HD disc ended with the death of HD DVD unfortunately. The BD mafia has the consumers by the cajones I'm afraid.

[spartanstew]

I own over 1100 movies ........... but I am finished acquiring movies in that fashion.

I currently have 825 DVD's and I agree with you. I'm pretty much done purchasing movies in any format.



That is why right now the on Blu-ray movies I watch come from Netflix.

I don't have one yet, but when I do go Blu, this is how I'll watch them.



How does $350 sound? Both of my boys have purchased theirs used off Craigslist.

You can get a brand new unit (40g) for $299 if you get the Sony Card (which comes with a $100 credit if you purchase a PS3).



It amazes me that even the newly announced Blu-Ray players are almost all above the $500 mark. I just don't understand that. Maybe the BD player that Oppo has in development will be reasonably priced.

I don't do any gaming, but I'll probably get a PS3 here pretty soon, just because it's fully functional and the cheapest available. I just wish it had a better form factor.

[edmo]

The NPD Group released some of its retail sales tracking data Wednesday that showed sales of Blu-ray standalone players (not a PlayStation 3, combo player, or PC with Blu-ray drive) had mostly decreased since the beginning of the year.

The PS3 is a huge piece if the Blu-ray pie. Excluding it will definitely cause the sales numbers to look poor.

[bobukcat]

The NPD Group released some of its retail sales tracking data Wednesday that showed sales of Blu-ray standalone players (not a PlayStation 3, combo player, or PC with Blu-ray drive) had mostly decreased since the beginning of the year.

The PS3 is a huge piece if the Blu-ray pie. Excluding it will definitely cause the sales numbers to look poor.

Not only that but is anyone really surprised that player sales are falling in the spring and early summer months when everyone finally gets out of the house again and takes their kids to sports, mows the yard, stands outside and talks to the neighbors and drink beer, etc, etc?? Seems to me that the market for home theater would be at it's lowest during these months no matter what market was doing in general.

[rcoleman111]

It will take time for prices of both the players and the discs to come down. It isn't realistic to expect that player prices would drop in half as soon as the format war ended. And as others have pointed out, the $399 cost of a PS3 isn't out of line with what standard DVD players cost at a similar point in their product cycle.

Prices of Blu-ray discs are definitely too high, but will likely come down as manufacturing costs come down and as the studios realize that most people won't pay more than about $20 for a movie. I've bought a few titles since I got my PS3, but I haven't paid substantially more than a standard DVD would cost. I paid $23.95 for "300" and I've bought several titles for under $20 (I got Terminator 2 and Total Recall for $7.99 each). Check Amazon and you'll find quite a few titles that are reasonably priced. "No Country for Old Men" is a good example - it's been out only a few weeks and it's priced at $21.95. The ones that are more than that I rent from Netflix. In fact, there are only a few movies I'll consider buying. Why buy a movie unless you intend to watch it more than once?

As to upscaling DVD players, the quality just doesn't compare to Blu-ray. Anyone who has watched movies on Blu-ray knows the difference.

[phat78boy]

To me its not the price of the hardware. Hardware is not what Blu-Ray backers are concerned with. Its all about the the media. Selling Blu-Ray movies is the real concern and that is what the current generation of viewers isn't doing. We've realized as a society we don't want to purchase the movie, we just want to rent it.

When DVD was released, you couldn't get a picture quality as good or comparable anywhere else. There wasn't 25 movie channels to subscribe to and there was no subscription rental stores, with exception of some mom and pop shops. Now you have all those options and many in HD that look very close to the actual media.

So the question is, Why buy? Wouldn't you rather use that 30 dollars for the media to pay for a few months of Netflix in which you can rent all the movies you want? Or pay for all the movie channels in HD?

If media sells drop or stay the same, HD media sells have been poor so far, it would seem only a matter of time before support dries up or actually becomes a niche product.

[Tom Robertson]

I'm a buyer, not a renter. :)

I remember when the first LDs came out at $30 and considered that a HUGE bargain as VHS tapes were $90! :)

Yup, I do avoid full price BDs, but I'm finding several good buys thru amazon for $15-20 if I keep looking.

I'm still convinced BD will win both the battle and the war. Then the next war will come. :)

Cheers,
Tom

[Slip Jigs]

Let's not overlook the obvious - upgrading to BD also means upgrading to a HD panel as well.

Comparing the the DVD revolution again, then, anyone who owned a TV was already part of the DVD player market. Now, it's not everyone, just those of us who own a HD panel - and I don't know what percent of the total that would be.

I paid $400 for my first DVD player. At that time, my local Blockbuster was just starting to stock DVD's alongside the many VHS's. I was the only one renting them, and when all the VHS new releeases were snatched up, the DVD's remained just for me!

That changed drastically right about the time DVD players broke the $100 mark.

So the conversion to BD will happen just the same, it's just a little slower. Eventually, more people will own HD panels, BluRay players and discs will gradually come down, etc.

[ajc68]

Blu-ray is awesome! The movies look even better than they do on HD movie channels (some better than others, of course). If you're a thrifty shopper you can get really good deals on movie titles. Amazon is a great place to start. They've got several titles for $14.99 or less. You can also rent the movies online from both Blockbuster and NetFlix. I rent more than I buy right now, because it's only a matter of time before the prices break.

One of the big advantages of having a Blu-ray player sooner than later is no double-dipping on new purchases. Also, most of the movies have lossless audio, which means you're hearing it as it is from the source, no compression. Even HD-DVD didn't have this advantage because their discs could only hold 30G as opposed to Blu-rays 50G. And you can upconvert your DVD's and they look pretty darn good in most cases (although, still not HD quality).

The reason the players cost more now than they did during the holidays is because everything does, and we're headed into a recession to boot. Everybody has super sales during the holidays, and the first quarter is always a slow period. There haven't been many new releases burning up the charts in any format this year. But now that all the studios are on board, you will start noticing all new releases advertising available in both DVD and Blu-ray. That will be a first, and that will start happening in August. Look for great price breaks on players and movies to start this upcoming holiday season.

To the person that said they won't buy Blu-ray until the prices are the same as DVD. Remember, you're buying a superior technology that cost more to produce and is better to watch and listen to. And prices will come down as production of the equipment goes up. I bought my first DVD player in 1996 for $400. I remember paying over $25 for some of those non-anamorphic, bare-bones releases back then. It's only a matter of time before Blu-ray prices are moe on-par with DVD prices, and that's a good thing.

[rcoleman111]

To the person that said they won't buy Blu-ray until the prices are the same as DVD. Remember, you're buying a superior technology that cost more to produce and is better to watch and listen to. And prices will come down as production of the equipment goes up. I bought my first DVD player in 1996 for $400. I remember paying over $25 for some of those non-anamorphic, bare-bones releases back then. It's only a matter of time before Blu-ray prices are moe on-par with DVD prices, and that's a good thing.

I remember paying $800 for my first VCR in 1978. I could have waited a few years until the prices came down, but I wouldn't have had the enjoyment of using it during that time. There really isn't much doubt that prices will come down, it's just a question of how quickly. The $400 I paid for my PS3 is high compared to what a standard DVD player costs today, but it really isn't bad at this early stage of the product's lifecycle. And as you've pointed out, the disc prices are already coming down as well.

[rcoleman111]

I'm a buyer, not a renter. :)

I remember when the first LDs came out at $30 and considered that a HUGE bargain as VHS tapes were $90! :)

Yup, I do avoid full price BDs, but I'm finding several good buys thru amazon for $15-20 if I keep looking.


I'm both a buyer and a renter. I've rented a number of Blu-ray movies since I bought my PS3, and I've bought about 8 movies as well, in addition to the free Spiderman 3. I've probably spent about $14-15 per movie on average.

[Tom Robertson]

I remember paying $800 for my first VCR in 1978. I could have waited a few years until the prices came down, but I wouldn't have had the enjoyment of using it during that time. There really isn't much doubt that prices will come down, it's just a question of how quickly. The $400 I paid for my PS3 is high compared to what a standard DVD player costs today, but it really isn't bad at this early stage of the product's lifecycle. And as you've pointed out, the disc prices are already coming down as well.
Lets see if I can remember:
First hi-fi VCR was about $1000 (if I recall) in '83
First CD player was $800 in '84?
First LD player was $500 in '97
Don't remember first DVD player
PS3 $400 in '08

Cheers,
Tom

[Stewart Vernon]

I remember paying $800 for my first VCR in 1978. I could have waited a few years until the prices came down, but I wouldn't have had the enjoyment of using it during that time. There really isn't much doubt that prices will come down, it's just a question of how quickly. The $400 I paid for my PS3 is high compared to what a standard DVD player costs today, but it really isn't bad at this early stage of the product's lifecycle. And as you've pointed out, the disc prices are already coming down as well.

The problem here isn't so much the price as it is the price vs other options.

Back when we got our first VHS VCR in the late 1970s, it was either pay $800 OR not have a VCR at all. We decided it was worth the money compared to not having anything.

We then waited quite a while before jumping on DVD. I think we paid around $250 or so at Best Buy for our first DVD player and also got 5 free movies with it at that time. It was still several years after that before jumping into major movie purchasing.

But the choice now isn't Blu-ray or nothing... it is Blu-ray expensive vs inexpensive DVD... IF HD quality is an issue, then the choice is Blu-ray vs Cable/Satellite and a DVR... and since most folks who would be in the market for Blu-ray are already cable/satellite subscribers... it is easier to go that route than spring for more money for a player and expensive movies.

IF the choice was Blu-ray or nothing... then Blu-ray wins hands down... but when economic factors come into play and economies of scale... a lot of people are still making the decision that DVDs are "good enough" vs the additional expense of Blu-ray.

Ultimately for Blu-ray to force that change, prices will have to come down since they are not competing in a vaccum.

[phat78boy]

The problem here isn't so much the price as it is the price vs other options.

Back when we got our first VHS VCR in the late 1970s, it was either pay $800 OR not have a VCR at all. We decided it was worth the money compared to not having anything.

We then waited quite a while before jumping on DVD. I think we paid around $250 or so at Best Buy for our first DVD player and also got 5 free movies with it at that time. It was still several years after that before jumping into major movie purchasing.

But the choice now isn't Blu-ray or nothing... it is Blu-ray expensive vs inexpensive DVD... IF HD quality is an issue, then the choice is Blu-ray vs Cable/Satellite and a DVR... and since most folks who would be in the market for Blu-ray are already cable/satellite subscribers... it is easier to go that route than spring for more money for a player and expensive movies.

IF the choice was Blu-ray or nothing... then Blu-ray wins hands down... but when economic factors come into play and economies of scale... a lot of people are still making the decision that DVDs are "good enough" vs the additional expense of Blu-ray.

Ultimately for Blu-ray to force that change, prices will have to come down since they are not competing in a vaccum.

Thats my take on the situation as well. While Blu-Ray is the best video possible for consumers, its not that much better then a HD PPV. Going from VHS to DVD was night and day. There was nothing for the consumer that compared in ease of use and quality after VHS and DVD won their "wars". It was that or a couple movie channels. They had the market cornered.

Now we have DVR's that will hold many movies in HD and upconverting DVD players that actually look damn good. While Blu-Ray won the HD media war, it has a very large uphill battle for HD viewing preference.

[Stewart Vernon]

Going from VHS to DVD was night and day. There was nothing for the consumer that compared in ease of use and quality after VHS and DVD won their "wars".

Another thing of note... One major negative for early DVD adoption at the time was people had become used to recording on their VCR... and you couldn't do that with DVD. It was quite a while before DVD recorders became commonplace, and that actually happened after DVD adoption really had began to take hold already. Even folks who bought DVD (like me) kept a VCR in the home for recording purposes.

One major positive for DVD adoption was NO REWINDING! Instant freeze-frame also came with a more stable picture than pause on VCRs... and frankly, these were major reasons why I finally adopted DVD when I did. I tired of having to rewind videotapes after watching and also tired of having to fast-forward to a favorite scene... with DVD I could jump to where I wanted and when done just had to pop it out of the player.

Technically speaking, all Blu ray is really offering is better picture and sound. The better sound doesn't take place unless you spend even more money for a good sound system. Folks hooking up just to their tvs really don't get all the extra goodness in audio. Better picture is an easier sell, but you only get the better picture if you buy an HDTV set... and the simple fact is that for many people their DVDs now look a whole lot better on their new HDTV than on their old set... so while Blu ray is way better than that, some folks new to HDTV are busy re-enjoying all their old DVDs again.

[HIPAR]

Am I the only one who has lost interest in HD disks after having chosen poorly during the format war?

I just bought Jurassic Park on old fashion widescreen DVD at Best Buy for $4.99. Playing it with my Samsung upconvert player into my Sharp 37 inch 768 line LCD, it looks just fine watching from about 10 feet distant.

My nephew has a new Sony 1080p set above his fireplace. He asked me about Blu-ray and I told him he cannot watch close enough with his viewing onfiguration to see much advantage to it. I told him to hold off on Blu-ray and go to Best Buy for a Toshiba 1080p player for about $70. He couldn't be happier with that player.

Curiously, I connected my HD-A3 to his set and played excerpts from a few HD DVD titles. I really need to look hypercritically to justify the delta in costs.

I'll eventually buy a Blu-ray but it will be an impulse purchase when one goes on sale for $159.95. I'm in no hurry and neither are the mainstream buyers.

--- CHAS

[rcoleman111]

IF the choice was Blu-ray or nothing... then Blu-ray wins hands down... but when economic factors come into play and economies of scale... a lot of people are still making the decision that DVDs are "good enough" vs the additional expense of Blu-ray.

Ultimately for Blu-ray to force that change, prices will have to come down since they are not competing in a vaccum.

There's no question about it - prices will have to come down in order for Blu-ray to catch on and compete with the alternatives that are available. I like watching movies in 1080p, but I can easily settle for 1080i on satellite or even upconverted DVDs.

[photostudent]

Another factor is that Nintendo's WII is trouncing the PS3 in sales, (three to one in March). The cash cow there of course is the game title sales. Never the less I would agree that lack of demand for BD at current prices is the major issue.

[elaclair]

Am I the only one who has lost interest in HD disks after having chosen poorly during the format war?


--- CHAS

I don't think it's because you "chose poorly". The market in general has become rather "soft". There are a lot of factors involved, and I'm sure if you ask 20 economists, you'll get 20 different answers. Basically as a lot of people on this board have stated, HD software is a bit of a luxury, with a cost, and money is getting tight.....

So what're you gonna spend you're money on? The new Blu-Ray Golden Compass disc..or half a tank of gas??

[Chris Blount]

Am I the only one who has lost interest in HD disks after having chosen poorly during the format war?
I know what you mean. It's not so much that I've lost interest. It's more that my interest has declined the point of not caring. I personally think the format war was a good thing is some ways. If fueled users to support their format of choice. I still think Blu-Ray and HD-DVD could have co-existed. Now I find myself actually spending less money on "next generation" discs.