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Posted by Tim Smith on 01/05/07 09:52
In article <E9inh.7486$kB3.1060@trnddc08>,
"CJ" <cjmartin04@verizon.net> wrote:
> What's the point?? A dual player still forces the customer to choose one
> format over the other, now they just get to do it on a per-movie-basis based
> upon quality or price of the individual movie in HD-DVD or Blu-Ray rather
> than forking over money for a player that is a future doorstop. They're not
> going to want to have an entire library full of future coasters, so they're
> just as likely to stay away from HD-DVD or Blu-Ray altogether even with a
> player that will play both.
I believe that the expectation is that most manufacturers will offer
dual players, and even if the format war ends with the death of one of
HD-DVD or Blu-Ray, they will keep making dual format players, so people
with large numbers of discs in the losing format will still be OK.
> The biggest thing I see that could tip the balance in this war in 2007
> is PS3. Once PS3 is available in large numbers in the United States in March
> or April, that will introduce thousands of Blu-Ray players into homes that
> ordinarily probably would have sat this format war out, but now get a player
> because they bought the PS3 for video games. Yes, it's probably not a top
> quality player and videophiles will laugh at it, but it's better than none
> at all, and Sony, for all their fumbling and stupidity in 2006, knows it.
> Introduce people to the format using something they bought for another
> reason and they'll stay along for the ride.
Actually, the reviews I've seen say the PS3 player is better than the
current stand-alone Blu-Ray players, from a videophile point of view.
However, you might be overestimating the pent-up demand for PS3. They
are fairly easily available in the United States now, and in Japan now.
When new shipments arrive in stores, they can take days to sell out now.
Of you can order online from Best Buy--they've had the 60 GB model in
stock for a couple days. So have a couple other major online retailers
(although some of them require purchasing bundles of a few games and
movies).
The problem is that, as a game console, the PS3 is very expensive and
doesn't have an impressive line-up of titles right now. Most game
console purchasers are price sensitive, so there is a good chance the
PS3 won't become a really mass market item until the price comes down,
which will probably be at least a year or so out.
--
--Tim Smith
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