Posted by Derek Janssen on 09/19/07 18:43

Lloyd Parsons wrote:

>>>All this is very nice. Now let's talk about the price you'll see in the
>>>store for the 2 HD format players:
>>
>>Sure--Because, as we've seen on other boards, that's ALL HD fans do:
>>"People want cheap players".
>>Unfortunately, the topic of storage capacity, audio codecs, 1080i vs p,
>>HDMI 1.3 rarely gets brought up, and when it does, we get thrown some
>>scare-story fact from 2006 that has since been firmwared out of existence.
>>But, hey, how about them cheap players?
>>
>>Being a Blu proponent now no longer means being a "Whoa, d00d!" PS3
>>gamer-boi, it means now trying to see an integrated end to the format
>>war, and how to engineer future consumer-friendliness into one format to
>>levee-dam that '09 floodwave of newbies that's about to hit.
>>Sorry, guys, you had your chance, but like David Mamet says, Things Change.)
>
> You are confusing the wants and needs of the audio/videophile and geeks
> with those of the average consumer. Every poll and study done shows
> that cheaper is what gets it done in CE.
>
> The Blu Ray fans always want to talk about the technology, but usually
> it is the technology that is coming in the next version after the next
> version after the next version. The consumer world just doesn't give
> one fine rat's ass about that.

Actually, they do, which's why sales have been slow lately:
Blu's had to put out statements saying, "No, really, it's okay, you CAN
buy a player before October!"
Most seem to be waiting for the Q4 third-generations anyway, as the
mindset seems to be in with the armchair tech-buying Best Buy customers
(who don't shop at Wal-mart) that they don't want to replace their
purchase next year when the industry throws them another curve ball.
Between the substandard product that's ready now, and a suitable and
adaptably ground-level product that's ready tomorrow, the one that's
"complete" now is...not a good idea. Tomorrow is always another day.

> What the consumer wants is a cheap hi definition DVD that works well.
> At the moment, he isn't being offered one from the BD camp at all, and
> only marginally from the HDDVD camp.

So, basically, what we're hearing from the HD camp is "Well, sure, the
other guys claim they may have some technical edge NEXT year, but it
doesn't matter now, because the customers are idiots who don't know
better, and they're going to buy our format by accident...That's what
they do!"

(Um...well....I'm sold. 0_0''
Nice to see an industry treating their product's sales like a Victim of
Circumstance.)

Derek Janssen (or "Soicumstance", for Curly fans)
ejanss@comcast.net

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