Sony says $200 Blu-ray players are still a year away

[REFLEX]

http://www.betanews.com/article/Sony...way/1204752383




Kind of crappy if you ask me. Its pretty obvious that since there is no format competition and not much media out there on disc yet, that they can still get away with charging a bit too high of prices for the next year or so. Lame if you ask me. If this is so important to them why don't they pump some cheaper models out...... stupid.

After all.... they have a collective monopoly in the market.

[oneJ]

is that $200 sony BR players though?

if a company wanted to enough im sure they could release a $200 unit. doesnt have to be sony i guess?

[MEMEROOT]

One of the main objectives with BR was to make the DVD market profitable once more.

DVD players are loss making largely because of the involvement of chinese manurfacturers who cut costs to below the bone. as such the japanese dvd manurfactures were largely forced out of the market.

similarly for media costs, due to pressures of piracy and the release of low valued intelectual property dvd media costs have fallen dramaticaly, 9 euro for a recent release and 5 euro or less for others is not uncommon. As such the profit margin from dvd has fallen from the prefered 19euro mark.

The solution was to bring out a new format, more difficult to pirate and where production of players could again be protected from the chinese manurfactures

these formats were BR and HD-DVD.

In summary the driver for these formats was not to offer dazzling new tech to the consumer but rather to protect or rebuild profits from a declining product sector.

[Tyrien]

http://www.betanews.com/article/Sony...way/1204752383




Kind of crappy if you ask me. Its pretty obvious that since there is no format competition and not much media out there on disc yet, that they can still get away with charging a bit too high of prices for the next year or so. Lame if you ask me. If this is so important to them why don't they pump some cheaper models out...... stupid.

After all.... they have a collective monopoly in the market.

Pushing player's prices down isn't their top priority right now though. The gaming division is completely tied up with summer promos, home, and firmware updates as well as games. While the entertainment division as a whole recently dumped $200 million into OLED. I think they're more concerned with pushing OLED before the competition that making a $200 player.

Plus, Sony never really has had low end prices for the consumer before others.

[Callo]

Other Blu-Ray manufacturers could still go for cheaper Blu-Ray players soon to compete. It's not like SONY is your only option. They sure don't have a monopoly. SONY does not have a monopoly in the Blu-Ray market.

Let's see if Toshiba can come up with cheaper Blu-Ray players as they did with HD-DVD players.

[Nuvian]

http://www.betanews.com/article/Sony...way/1204752383




Kind of crappy if you ask me. Its pretty obvious that since there is no format competition and not much media out there on disc yet, that they can still get away with charging a bit too high of prices for the next year or so. Lame if you ask me. If this is so important to them why don't they pump some cheaper models out...... stupid.

After all.... they have a collective monopoly in the market.

this will also hold the 360 with blu-ray price up,ofc they want thier own console to be one of the cheapest blue ray players money can buy.

[Redrider]

I would seriously question the need to reduce the price of Blu-Ray player this fast or down to the current DVD player price level (ever...)? It's kinda like expecting to pick up a 46" 1080p for around $500 in five years from now (probably will never happen). Same goes for dropping the price of the PS3 to match the current price of the Wii, why would you want to sell a technically superior product for that same as old technology? IMO there is a sweet spot for profitability and consumer value and Bl-Ray is not there yet, but the mainstream "mass-market" consumer is not there yet either.

[Lefein]

Meh, what's $300 compared to the cost of a new HDTV? I think they are wise in keeping the price up. After the 2009 switchover, the premium on HDTVs will plummet and it makes sense that the movie players will hit the $200 mark at that point as well.

I'll stick to my guns on this. I don't believe there is an overly price conscious market for HD movie players yet. Not as long as the TVs to play them still cost what they do. All those people who thought their Olevia TVs were the most awesome thing ever two years ago are now learning their lesson. HD-DVD gambled on this market and lost as well. It might sound mean to say this, but the evidence is on my side: If people wanted cheap, they'd get an SDTV and stick with DVD..

[DayWalker]

eh... high prices are still holding back the avergae consumer from going HD...

If sony wants BR to catch hold before digital downloads gets big they better get people on board ASAP

[TH3 GAM3]

Didn't Sony announce a $300 BR player for later this year. I'm not complaining though.

[Lefein]

eh... high prices are still holding back the avergae consumer from going HD...

If sony wants BR to catch hold before digital downloads gets big they better get people on board ASAP

LCD TVs will actually be cheaper to manufacture than CRTVs one day. Want to know the big industry secret why prices are so high?

1. The best stuff is already out until OLEDTVs start becoming mass produced
2. Market psychology lets them get away with it aka. everyone is playing keep up with the Joneses
3. HD content itself comes at a premium except the few markets that already have HD over the air... especially outside of America.

2009 will be a magical year for those people who really want to get an HDTV but still can't afford one. OLED TVs and laser TVs will take the place of the current HDTV technology as the premium catch items and the current technologies like LCD flat panels will become substantially cheaper to mass produce. Until then, prepare to pay the premiums. If you have an HDTV right now, all the marketing research states you have:
a. a credit card
b. a well paying job
or c. you stole it

[TH3 GAM3]

LaserTV replaces RPTV
OLED replaces Plasmas

[DayWalker]

LCD TVs will actually be cheaper to manufacture than CRTVs one day. Want to know the big industry secret why prices are so high?

1. The best stuff is already out until OLEDTVs start becoming mass produced
2. Market psychology lets them get away with it aka. everyone is playing keep up with the Joneses
3. HD content itself comes at a premium except the few markets that already have HD over the air... especially outside of America.

2009 will be a magical year for those people who really want to get an HDTV but still can't afford one. OLED TVs and laser TVs will take the place of the current HDTV technology as the premium catch items and the current technologies like LCD flat panels will become substantially cheaper to mass produce. Until then, prepare to pay the premiums. If you have an HDTV right now, all the marketing research states you have:
a. a credit card
b. a well paying job
or c. you stole it

but isn't that hurting BRs chance of being a viable replacement for BR???

DVDs sales are pretty much unwavererd and digital downloads can't be too far off...???

[Lefein]

but isn't that hurting BRs chance of being a viable replacement for BR???

DVDs sales are pretty much unwavererd and digital downloads can't be too far off...???

Digital Downloading is all hype. It could be a market disruptor but it won't replace hard media for a long time. BR will replace DVD quite easily. Again, remember that 2009 is like a cocked gun to the head of standard definition. Sure, you'll have your knuckle draggers with their converter boxes, but those are probably the same people whining about BluRay being too expensive... Now try convincing these people that sitting around with your thumb up your butt waiting for a movie to download that you might not even be able to keep and have reduced extras for the sake of wiring or wi-fi ing up your television set is the "next thing"? HAH!

Self fulfilling prohecy my friend. The same crowd that held out for years before getting DVD will also hold out for years before going BluRay. Sony knows this and so should you.

[TH3 GAM3]

Blu-Ray is going to replace DVD but its harder on BR since people have to get HDTV to fully enjoy it.

[mcav]

I don't see why people expect the priceof blu ray players to suddenly plummet. If you're comparing the prices to te now defunct HD DVD - there is a reason they were suddenly so very cheap. They were getting rid of stock for a long time, and cutting their losses through regular discounting of prices.

Oh and Daywalker - you keep waiting round for DD, while we all enjoy high definition blu ray for the next 10 years.

[Behemoko]

Blu-Ray is going to replace DVD but its harder on BR since people have to get HDTV to fully enjoy it.

This is true. The switch over to DVD worked well because everybody and their dog had a low def tv and that is what both VHS and DVD used.

Now, for people to actually see this as a worthy switch, they need a high def tv, which polls and crap indicate is around 10-15% of America, let alone worse off Countries.

[mcav]

DVD's advantage was everyone could benefit from DVD to some extent. It's disadvantagbe was that your existing VHS collection required it's own player, and was really, really garbage in comparison to DVD. Linear access, garbage picture and sound with deterioration with every play. It simply was not compatible with DVD.

Blu-Ray's disadvantage is that to trully enjoy Blu-Ray you need a high definition screen. Having said that, widescreen was really needed to fully enjoy DVD, so people can be forward thinking and get Blu ray now to enjoy them fully eventually.

Blu-Ray's distinct advantage is that you can not only play all your DVD's on the Blu-Ray player, but they are improved to the best of their ability. DVD was hardly difficult on the eye or ears in the first place, so many people won't feel the need to replace their DVD collection until they find the HD replacements in the sales.

Obviously I'll be Blu-Raying some of my existing collection the minute it comes out (Star Wars, Indiana Jones, Lord of the Rings, Back to the Future, Matrix, just for some examples. I've already HD'd by Pirates trilogy

The point is, it's pretty much parity when it comes to the changeover from DVD to Blu Ray.

[TH3 GAM3]

HD is trying to become standard very quickly. Most major channels are changing into HD. People will start jumping ship too.

[mcav]

Quite right - you go into the high street, and the push for high definition is massive!

Even down to 19" portable sets, they are HD ready.

The HD "era" will leap forward quite suddenly. The widescreen era hardly took a long time to kick in.

[TH3 GAM3]

Quite right - you go into the high street, and the push for high definition is massive!

Even down to 19" portable sets, they are HD ready.

The HD "era" will leap forward quite suddenly. The widescreen era hardly took a long time to kick in.

It actually took over quickly in my opinion.

[coolguy]

sony can drop the price to 200 dollars tomorrow if they wanted to.
they won the war all ready

[SnakeDevil]

No competition. No price cuts. It's as simple as that. If the HD war wasn't over, the prices would have progressively declined but now, without any competition in the HD market, they can bring the prices down as slow as they'd like. Their loss really, this is driving down adoption rates.