Posted by Lloyd Parsons on 09/19/07 19:05

In article <_4eIi.15041$No2.14340@trndny07>,
Derek Janssen <ejanss1@nospam.verizon.net> wrote:

> 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

Was it ever different?

BTW, sales are slow lately because this is a slow buying time overall.
And with other pressures on the economy (like the housing bubble
issues), it may be a slow holiday buying season also.

Back to that old tech thing... ;-)

If being the best technology was what sold, the PS3 would be flying off
the shelves, and Sony would be making buckets of money off it. Yet that
isn't the case at all. The sales are sluggish and that is with Sony
practically giving them away, losing bunches of bucks with each and
every sale.

Heck, they can't even get someone to write a game for it that makes
gamers go 'wow!'

BTW, if BD were to have the new profile in place and all the movies took
advantage of it, they would still be behind HDDVD. No internet
connection required for BD's next profile, and Warner likes it and uses
it with some of their releases with more planned.

When 300 released on both, the BD camp made a big deal out of the sales
ratio. But that was when the HDDVD version was a combo disk at a higher
price.

Now Warner is getting ready to release another combo HDDVD and BD ( one
of the Harry Potter ones), but the price will be the same. With the
sluggish sales of both formats I don't know if people will really
notice, but it will be interesting to see if the ratio holds up.
Assuming it does, it still leaves BD pathetic with the lead it has in
actual players.

Of course, pathetic is just the perfect description of the total hi def
dvd market at the moment anyway.

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