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[jjasper]

hmm American Pyscho and Young Guns is out too pretty good week.

 

[DarkJediKnight]

Reservoir Dogs in HD? Nice. I wonder how good the transfer is?

It received a 4/5 stars at Highdefdigest for picture, which is mighty impressive since it's a low budget movie, but the guy hated the movie. To each his own I guess. Lionsgate transfers have been fantastic as of late.

 

[Petrarca]

I just wish HD-DVD dead already. As a movie fan this format war has been a pain the ass. Don't give me this nonsense that both format can co-exist bullshit, this aint' console war. ONE MUST DIE.

Format war limits the growth of HD penetration. I ain't buying 2 machines to watch movies from different studios, so the sooner this ends the better. So I cheer the winner to win and the loser to die already. In this case blu-ray is winning and HD-DVD is dying, so I cheer for blu-ray. NOTHING PERSONAL

 

[ChrisJames]

I just wish HD-DVD dead already.

Yeah, no shit. Your posts are so blatantly one-sided they make me puke a little bit in my mouth every time I read them. Your reasons for supporting Blu-Ray aren't even all that great, but whatever. It's not like you alone are going to make Blu-Ray win just by coming on here and posting all the pro Blu-Ray propaganda you can find. I'm surprised you guys are so threatened by HD-DVD if it is indeed the inferior format that you make it out to be.

 

[OmniGamer]

Yeah, no shit. Your posts are so blatantly one-sided they make me puke a little bit in my mouth every time I read them. Your reasons for supporting Blu-Ray aren't even all that great, but whatever. It's not like you alone are going to make Blu-Ray win just by coming on here and posting all the pro Blu-Ray propaganda you can find. I'm surprised you guys are so threatened by HD-DVD if it is indeed the inferior format that you make it out to be.

Seems most pro-BRD fans are not "threatened" by HD-DVD, but rather annoyed.

 

[ChrisJames]

Seems most pro-BRD fans are not "threatened" by HD-DVD, but rather annoyed.

Why don't you guys buy your BRD's, watch them, and enjoy them. And I'll buy my HD-DVD's, watch them and enjoy them.

I don't know why they can't coexist, but whatever.

 

[Ckid]

Why don't you guys buy your BRD's, watch them, and enjoy them. And I'll buy my HD-DVD's, watch them and enjoy them.

I don't know why they can't coexist, but whatever.

Screw coexisting, we need one to die so all the studios start supporting that format.

 

[Raistlin]

I don't know why they can't coexist, but whatever.

It is unlikely the market can support such a situation.

Either a single platform is created, or this could turn into DVD-A/SACD all over again.

 

[Kleegamefan]

Screw coexisting, we need one to die so all the studios start supporting that format.

3 major studios (Paramount, Universal and Warner) are supporting HD-DVD....isn't that good enough

 

[LuCkymoON]

It is unlikely the market can support such a situation.

Either a single platform is created, or this could turn into DVD-A/SACD all over again.

Another one of Sony's "great ideals".

 

[ManaByte]

Another one of Sony's "great ideals".

I thought SA-CD won the HD audio war? At least that's what people say when bringing it up in comparison to BRD.

 

[DarienA]

Another one of Sony's "great ideals".

Oh that's right Blu Ray is Sony's idea... Sony all by themselves made this... yessir....

 

[maharg]

Oh that's right Blu Ray is Sony's idea... Sony all by themselves made this... yessir....

Um. The fact that it has garnered significant support does not change the fact that Sony developed and championed it primarily. I don't see how that could ever be considered in dispute.

 

[sonycowboy]

Another one of Sony's "great ideals".

Along with those crappy "ideals" (wtf) like the first magetic tape & tape recorder, the tranistor radio, the floppy disc, the trinitron screen, the walkman, (co-invention) the CD-ROM, or (co-invention) the DVD.

The evil bastards!!

 

[Alcibiades]

another topic for another thread, but the DVD was basically a Toshiba/Warner thing and Sony compromised somewhere in the process...

 

[DarienA]

Um. The fact that it has garnered significant support does not change the fact that Sony developed and championed it primarily. I don't see how that could ever be considered in dispute.

Sony is the face of Blu Ray, everyone knows that, however I'm tired of seeing it painted like they developed the format solely on their own in a vaccum... which they didn't.

 

[ccbfan]

I hope Blu Ray wins just based on the fact that I'm gonna buy a PS3 some point down the line.

Might as well hope it becomes the dominant format so I don't have to pay an extra 200 for the 360 one. I mean I can avoid getting a HD-DVD player while having a 360 but I can't avoid having a Blu-Ray player while getting a PS3.

Also the two almost cannot co-exist. Coexisting would confuse the normal consumers too much, completely stunting the growth of both media. The two looks the same while functioning the same, the utter confusion will be a huge deterant for the casuals to upgrade. Which in turns hurt both. Co-existing is basically both losing along with the studios.

The only way both can co-exist is if both have different fuctionality. Like one is only for movies while the other is for software. Kinda like DVD=video, CD=music. Most people have no idea what the difference between a CD is or a DVD is but if you ask.

(Shows a CD)This disk holds 700 megs and plays videos, what is it? Most will say its a DVD.

On the otherhand if I ask

(Shows a DVD)This disk holds 4.7 gig and plays music, what is it? Most will say its a CD.

I'm not even just talking about uneducated old geezers here. I used to work as a techician for Desktop Support at an university. Most of both students and professors fit in this category.

You wouldn't believe how bad some of these people are.

 

[Kevin]

Sony crowns Blu-Ray disc as winner over HD-DVD:


http://news.teamxbox.com/xbox/12714/Sony-Crowns-Bluray-Disc-as-Winner-Over-HD-DVD/


I wonder how Toshiba will respond. Sucks for me as I have an HD-DVD player (Xbox 360 one). Guess this gives me a reason to eventually pick up a PS3.

 

[Bad_Boy]

Sony crowns Blu-Ray disc as winner over HD-DVD:


http://news.teamxbox.com/xbox/12714/Sony-Crowns-Bluray-Disc-as-Winner-Over-HD-DVD/


I wonder how Toshiba will respond. Sucks for me as I have an HD-DVD player (Xbox 360 one). Guess this gives me a reason to eventually pick up a PS3.

Well its not like they are going to crown hd-dvd the winner lol.
Unfortunately, this war is far from over. :/

Then again, reading the article it doesnt say anything about Sony "crowning" anybody the winner, just that blu-ray is getting good sales now. TeamXbox trying to make them sound arrogan...wait...dont answer that.

 

[Kleegamefan]

Well its not like they are going to crown hd-dvd the winner lol.
Unfortunately, this war is far from over. :/

Then again, reading the article it doesnt say anything about Sony "crowning" anybody the winner, just that blu-ray is getting good sales now. TeamXbox trying to make them sound arrogan...wait...dont answer that.

Yeah, Sony didn't say "BLU-RAY AM TEH WINNAR!".....they just reported the sales compared to HD-DVD and TXB made the sensationlist headline:lol

 

[Raistlin]

Another one of Sony's "great ideals".

And what exactly is wrong with SACD?

And why was it bad for Sony to bring it out?





People seem to forget that Sony has always been primarily an R&D-based company. They attempt to establish new technologies ... sometimes to use only for themselves, sometimes as licensable assets.

I'm not sure why people consider that a bad thing. If you look at their patent and license portfolios ... it's obvious they are one of the most important electronics companies in the world.

 

[Petrarca]

:lol :lol
HD-DVD cheerleaders are pissed off at CNET for picking blu-ray as the eventual winner

http://reviews.cnet.com/4520-6449_7-6690707-1.html?tag=bubbl_1

A couple of weeks ago, I wrote a column making seven tech predictions for 2007 and, as predicted, a couple of the more "controversial" picks elicited some strong emotions from readers. Most notably, my prediction that "HD DVD would surrender by September" really got the flamethrowers out in force, and even set off a nice discussion over on AVS Forum , which appears to be home to many an HD DVD cheerleader. Among the hurled insults, I was accused of being a moron, a Sony shill, a Sony lover, and of harboring a bias against Toshiba and HD DVD. A few folks even accused the whole of CNET of being biased toward Blu-ray.

Well, for starters, let me say thanks for taking the time to read and respond to the drivel I write. Now if you don't mind, I thought I'd give a little space to responding to some of the allegations and to flesh out my argument that HD DVD will indeed be forced to bow out before too long.

1. David Carnoy is a moron.
This one's hard to defend. Either you think I'm a moron or you don't. But I will say that I have better hygiene than most tech journalists, so--at worst--I'm a clean moron.

2. David Carnoy is a shill for Sony, as well as a Sony fanboy.
If you've read this column long enough, you should know that I'm an equal-opportunity critic. I've written 10 Things I hate about the Xbox 360, 10 Things I hate About the PSP, 10 Ways HD DVD falls short, the more-cerebral HD DVD's Xbox 360 strategy, and a column pretty much eviscerating the Sony Mylo.

It's also important to note that in predicting that HD DVD would have to surrender, I didn't go waxing poetic about how Blu-ray technology is so much better than HD DVD, because it's more of a wash. I talked mainly about how there would simply be more Blu-ray players on the market due to the fact that Sony will sell five times the number of PS3s that Toshiba (and its partners) will sell of HD DVD players--and that includes the rumored $200 Chinese-made HD DVD players that may or may not make it to market sometime this year.

Some of you have suggested that folks aren't buying the PS3 to use as a Blu-ray player. I must humbly disagree. The fact is, right now, with the dearth of good PS3 gaming titles, there's not a whole lot else to use the PS3 for. The PS3, as others mentioned, is a Trojan horse. If you get one, you're going to buy--or certainly rent--a few Blu-ray movies. And once you see a movie from an HD disc--Blu-ray or HD DVD--on a big-screen HDTV, you're going to want to see more. That's especially true of the really stellar-looking movies, the ones that the folks over on AVS Forum call "Tier Zero" discs. And another thing: A lot of home-theater buffs consider HD DVD the superior format from a picture-quality standpoint, but if you've seen Crank on Blu-ray, that argument becomes a lot harder to buy.

3. David Carnoy has a bias against Toshiba.
OK, here's where things get a little more interesting. I'm not biased against Toshiba. But you should know that the company makes it as hard as possible for CNET to review its products. Most major manufacturers send CNET review samples--products on loan for a couple of weeks--so we can do our reviews. Most manufacturers, that is, except Toshiba. Toshiba refuses to send us review samples of any electronics products because some of the merchants listed on CNET are "unauthorized" resellers of Toshiba products. Toshiba executives in Japan don't like this and told the PR folks in the U.S. to not send us anything. (Interestingly, Toshiba does send CNET review samples from its computer division because, well, it's a completely separate division with a much more enlightened view of unauthorized resellers--and online retailing.) However, the Toshiba PR folks in the U.S., realizing CNET has a slight bit of sway in the electronics buying-advice arena, are cordial enough to send us some press information and invite us to various press events.

As a result, the few Toshiba products we do review here at CNET have to be purchased--a contingency for which we have no real budget. For instance, I personally bought the Toshiba HD-A1 at Best Buy and then returned it within 30 days. We'd like to do the same with the follow-up HD-A2, HD-XA2, or HD-A20 models as well. Until we do, you'll notice the older Toshiba still rates higher than first-gen Blu-ray models from Philips, Panasonic, and Samsung. If we're biased against Toshiba, giving their product a higher rating is a pretty funny way to show it.

4. CNET as a whole is biased toward Blu-ray.
Editorially speaking, we've been very clear in our recommendation to readers: we don't think you should rush out and buy either format. Yeah, you say, what about those Blu-ray ads we see all over the site? Come on, bub, your ad sales folks are telling you to shill for Sony, aren't they?

Well, you may not have noticed, but Toshiba has also had its HD DVD campaign running on CNET. (Why a company would want to run ads on our network but not want to have its products reviewed is a bit of mystery, but so are a lot of other things in life.) The long and short of it is that ad sales teams all over the publishing world just love a good format war and would like to see this one go on indefinitely.

TalkBack
Is Blu-ray surging ahead of HD DVD? Or is Carnoy a biased hack?
Post your comment here
5. David Carnoy is making up the numbers when it comes to Blu-ray and HD DVD.
Look, I read the Internet just like everyone else. I pick up some numbers. Do I just pluck numbers to fit my argument? No, I usually start with the numbers and then try to build an argument around it. Am I perfect? No, not by a long shot.

That said, here are couple of sites that give you an idea of how Blu-ray and HD DVD software sales are tracking: DVD Empire and HDGamedb. I got them from a post on AVS Forum. For the record, the post was probably made by a Blu-ray supporter, but the sites themselves purport to back neither format.

More recently, Nielsen VideoScan has released figures that show the scales are tipping to Blu-ray's side as well. Whether or not this bears out to a full-blown trend remains to be seen. But in the meantime, it's more third-party confirmation of my argument.

6. David Carnoy bought a PS3 and just wants to protect his investment.
I actually own a PlayStation 3, as well an Xbox 360--with the HD DVD drive, by the way. I'd buy a Wii if I could get my hands on one.

7. David Carnoy hates Microsoft, the other major supporter of HD DVD.
Last I checked, I didn't have any reason to hate Microsoft--or Apple, for that matter. I own two Macs and three Windows PCs, and they're all in good working order. Generally, I don't get all warm and fuzzy about large, multinational electronics corporations. They do some smart stuff, some stupid stuff, and sometimes pull off a real bonehead maneuver. The latter is especially good for traffic.

8. David Carnoy is a James Bond fan and thereby a Blu-ray fan by default.
Yeah, sure, I like Bond. So do a lot of other people--it's the most successful film series of all time. But here's the more important fact. When Casino Royale comes out on March 13, it's coming out only on Blu-ray, and it's instantly going to be the No. 1 next-gen DVD out there, by a long shot. Sony, because it owns its own studios, also has a lot of movies--including the rest of the Bond collection) that will never come out on HD DVD. True, HD DVD has Universal, but the sum total of potential Blu-ray exclusive titles is substantially greater.

In closing, watch the sales of The Departed, which comes out on February 13 on both HD DVD and Blu-ray. Both versions should do pretty well, but just how well each does should be a good indicator as to which format is headed to victory.

 

[Wulfer]

What's there to celebrate Blu-ray owners (Yes you sold some disc's and that's a good thing)? Your machine still cost around $500 and show's no signs of dropping below that. Yes sales are good (geesh I'd hope so, seeing you've got 7-8 studios) but, to think this war is over is a over sight on your part. No one win's the videogame industry at $400 and no one will win the HD war at $400 the race to the magical $200 mark is on... If you need proof of that just look at the impact the Wii had at $250 compared to the 360's $400 mark (I'm not even putting the $600 PS3 in the same category.) This war is far from over and sides can and will change as userbase grows! It's not wishful thinking it's a fact!

 

[kaching]

Another one of Sony's "great ideals".

Do you speak this way about every product a company tries to introduce, or just Sony's products? The "great ideal" here is a pre-recorded HD movie format, of which Sony isn't the only one championing such an ideal, with other companies championing it in their own way (other disc formats or digital delivery).

 

[ypo]

Wulfer says, "blah blah blah"

The tears, they flow heavy.

 

[DarienA]

What's there to celebrate Blu-ray owners (Yes you sold some disc's and that's a good thing)? Your machine still cost around $500 and show's no signs of dropping below that. Yes sales are good (geesh I'd hope so, seeing you've got 7-8 studios) but, to think this war is over is a over sight on your part. No one win's the videogame industry at $400 and no one will win the HD war at $400 the race to the magical $200 mark is on... If you need proof of that just look at the impact the Wii had at $250 compared to the 360's $400 mark (I'm not even putting the $600 PS3 in the same category.) This war is far from over and sides can and will change as userbase grows! It's not wishful thinking it's a fact!

I have no idea what you just said... but in the end I'm sure it wasn't important.

 

[Jim]

Wulfer says, "blah blah blah"

The tears, they flow heavy.

That long decade fighting the Sega console vs Sony console battle have taken their toll... seriously. He's shellshocked.

 

[Zombie James]

Wulfer says, "blah blah blah"

The tears, they flow heavy.

"Yes! Yes! Oh let me taste your tears, Scott! Your tears are so yummy and sweet! Oh, the tears of unfathomable sadness!"

 

[iapetus]

Last I checked, I didn't have any reason to hate Microsoft

I own [...] three Windows PCs

MOTIVE!

 

[Oni Jazar]

Reasons for one format future:

1) Less Confusion
2) People would be more confident/comfortable in upgrading since there is no "war".
3) More people = more sales for movie studios & system manufacturers.

Reasons for BD format over HD DVD:

1) Higher capacity
2) Higher Bandwith
3) Same AV codecs
4) Larger number of studios (would be easier if Universal switched then Sony, Fox & Disney)
5) Larger number of manufacturers (would be easier if Toshiba switched then Sony, Sharp, Samsung, Pioneer, Phillips, etc)

Caveat: BD-J is the only piece of the puzzle that's yet to be fully realized. Once that's 100% implemented and learned it will rival if not surpass HDi.

Toshiba/Universal/Microsoft put up a great fight in 2006 but it's time for there to be one format so that HD media flourishes.

 

[Big-E]

"Yes! Yes! Oh let me taste your tears, Scott! Your tears are so yummy and sweet! Oh, the tears of unfathomable sadness!"

:lol Great episode.

 

[pestul]

Sales of BRD are better.. but still far from acceptable in terms of market penetration. I agree with the point about <$200 (or $100) players for that matter. If HD-DVD is selling $200 units and BRD is still around $400.. this will be prolonged for quite some time. :/

 

[Wulfer]

I have no idea what you just said... but in the end I'm sure it wasn't important.

That's ok, because what you say is never important. (Wise cracks never hold much stock!) Also, how does this relate to Blu-ray/HD-DVD discussion? Derailing maybe?

Ok, back on topic, price will play a key role over the next 24 months on how both of these platforms perform!

 

[C.Dark.DN]

"Sony Crowns Blu-ray Disc as Winner Over HD DVD
By: César A. Berardini - "Cesar"
Feb. 5th, 2007 5:09 pm
Sony Computer Entertainment America issued a press release today announcing that since the release of the PlayStation 3, with more than two million units shipped worldwide, Blu-ray Disc has experienced "tremendous growth in consumer adoption."

Using data provided by consumer research firm Nielsen VideoScan, Sony found out that:


Blu-ray has surpassed HD-DVD in cumulative sales.
Blu-ray titles outsold HD-DVD titles by more than a two-to-one margin during the first week of January (47.14 HD DVD titles for every 100 Blu-ray titles)
Blu-ray titles outsold HD-DVD titles closer to three-to-one during the second week of the month (38.36 HD-DVD titles for every 100 Blu-ray titles)


We expect to hear back from Toshiba soon but, in the meantime, it looks like Sony finally got one right.
"

 

[DarienA]

That's ok, because what you say is never important. (Wise cracks never hold much stock!)

Something must be wrong with my browser, all I read was blah, blah, blah again. Could you retype that please?

 

[Petrarca]

Don't be spinning no words. those are TeamXbox words. why don't you put up the link?

or should I just put it up here
http://news.teamxbox.com/xbox/12714/Sony-Crowns-Bluray-Disc-as-Winner-Over-HD-DVD/

"Sony Crowns Blu-ray Disc as Winner Over HD DVD
By: César A. Berardini - "Cesar"
Feb. 5th, 2007 5:09 pm
Sony Computer Entertainment America issued a press release today announcing that since the release of the PlayStation 3, with more than two million units shipped worldwide, Blu-ray Disc has experienced "tremendous growth in consumer adoption."

Using data provided by consumer research firm Nielsen VideoScan, Sony found out that:


Blu-ray has surpassed HD-DVD in cumulative sales.
Blu-ray titles outsold HD-DVD titles by more than a two-to-one margin during the first week of January (47.14 HD DVD titles for every 100 Blu-ray titles)
Blu-ray titles outsold HD-DVD titles closer to three-to-one during the second week of the month (38.36 HD-DVD titles for every 100 Blu-ray titles)


We expect to hear back from Toshiba soon but, in the meantime, it looks like Sony finally got one right.
"

 

[Ignatz Mouse]

Ok, I am a big BluRay supporter (go team) and want it to win the war, but the crowing about it is getting annoying even to me. Let's be done with the reciprocal taunting lest this be an perpetual cycle (see DS fans hammering the PSP after PSP fans hammered the DS).

 

[The Main Event]

Hmmm, sales numbers from a European Store:

BLU-RAY HD-DVD

Weekly 27.3% 72.7%
Monthly 23.2% 76.8%
Yearly 16.0% 84.0%

Releases 223 196

http://www.axelmusic.com/index_fab.php?format=39&format_name=HD-DVD

 

[ManaByte]

Hmmm, sales numbers from a European Store:

BLU-RAY HD-DVD

Weekly 27.3% 72.7%
Monthly 23.2% 76.8%
Yearly 16.0% 84.0%

Releases 223 196

http://www.axelmusic.com/index_fab.php?format=39&format_name=HD-DVD

The PS3 isn't out in Europe yet.

 

[Pristine_Condition]

Sales of BRD are better.. but still far from acceptable in terms of market penetration. I agree with the point about <$200 (or $100) players for that matter. If HD-DVD is selling $200 units and BRD is still around $400.. this will be prolonged for quite some time. :/

I don't buy the "<$200" argument at all. I think the "<$200" argument is completely bogus at this "early adopter" stage of the format, for several reasons.

First, no one has ever seen such a player. They are Chinese vapor at this point.

Would a <$200 player be great? No one knows, because they don't exist. They might be crap, as most cheap things are, which would reflect poorly on the format. Look at how a bug in the first Samsung's firmware made Blu-ray look bad. A cheap player that makes consumers feel ripped off, or makes the format look inferior to the competition, does more harm than good.

Lastly, the kind of consumer who is waiting for the $200 HD disc player is:

a) ...probably the kind of consumer that would absolutely balk at paying the higher price for a high def disc over the cheaper DVD of the same movie anyway, so they won't buy many of those expensive discs.

b) ...probably not going to have the $1000+ HDTV that makes owning an HD format worthwhile.

c) ...probably not an "early adopter" type anyway, so probably will stay away from a new format, especially if there are still two options and it's future is uncertain.

 

[Wulfer]

ManaByte how many months do you think it's gonna take to see PS3 sales level out? Clearly, the PS3 is being pushed a Blu-ray player for now. Still, that said $500-600 is alot of cash to spend when it's not the Christmas season. Blu-ray has done well releasing titles to catchup they did what they needed to do announce tons of titles. HD-DVD on the other hand appears to be focusing on getting out real cheap (200-300) players as fast as possible. So, both players are here to stay for now. So, guess the thing to watch now is to see how fast PS3's level out!?!

 

[maharg]

I don't buy the "<$200" argument at all. I think the "<$200" argument is completely bogus at this "early adopter" stage of the format, for several reasons.

First, no one has ever seen such a player. They are Chinese vapor at this point.

.................................................. .................................................. .................................................. .................................................. .................................................. .................................................. .................................................. ..................................................

I think you really missed the point. They are saying that the 'winner' won't really be decided by the early adopters, but by the people who aren't willing to pay more than $200 for a player. Whether you agree with that or not, you're off on some weird tangent that doesn't make any sense.

 

[DarkJediKnight]

Hmmm, sales numbers from a European Store:

BLU-RAY HD-DVD

Weekly 27.3% 72.7%
Monthly 23.2% 76.8%
Yearly 16.0% 84.0%

Releases 223 196

http://www.axelmusic.com/index_fab.php?format=39&format_name=HD-DVD

You'll find that the sales are in the low thousands (and mainly 360-add on as opposed to standalones), which is nothing. I expect PS3 to close the gap considerably in weeks in Europe. Especially with Casino Royale coming.

I think you really missed the point. They are saying that the 'winner' won't really be decided by the early adopters, but by the people who aren't willing to pay more than $200 for a player. Whether you agree with that or not, you're off on some weird tangent that doesn't make any sense.

I agree with his assesment. The $200 players are a slippery slope and potentially disasterous for Toshiba. Ok, let's say HD DVD brings out the players, it's a massive success at places like Walmart, Bestbuy, Circuit City, ect.. All the Studios back HD DVD and Blu-ray dies.

Then what? You think Sony, Pioneer, Panasonic, Samsung, LG (well, maybe LG), are going to release $200 players to compete with these Chinese ones? ABSOLUTELY NO F'IN WAY! This is about making money and progressive price reduction. There's a reason these Chinese players will be cheap, there's no quality control and they will simply suck as machines. I think Toshiba sealed their fate when they announced the Chinese players because that was a HUGE F'U to the manufacturers who make the electronics world go around.

 

[TheJesusFactor]

Actually, there are a lot of quality products "made in China". Please tell me how many reliable electronics in your house are not "MADE IN CHINA".

 

[DarkJediKnight]

Actually, there are a lot of quality products "made in China". Please tell me how many reliable electronics in your house are not "MADE IN CHINA".

These are SHINCO and Venturer players. How many SHINCOs and Venturers do you have?

When people say "Chinese" players, they don't mean major manufacturers who assemble their stuff in China or Malaysia. Stereotypical "Chinese" players usually use bottom of the barrel parts that "get the job done at the cheapest price" rather than provide a quality product. Basically, the electronics you see at Walmart (well, at least the ones in Canada).

 

[The Main Event]

Then what? You think Sony, Pioneer, Panasonic, Samsung, LG (well, maybe LG), are going to release $200 players to compete with these Chinese ones? ABSOLUTELY NO F'IN WAY! This is about making money and progressive price reduction. There's a reason these Chinese players will be cheap, there's no quality control and they will simply suck as machines. I think Toshiba sealed their fate when they announced the Chinese players because that was a HUGE F'U to the manufacturers who make the electronics world go around.

Are cheap Chinese DVD players a bad idea? Are Sony, Panasonic, Toshiba and Pioneer stopping production of their DVD players because of the low-end market?

And what about the announced HD-DVD players from Meridian and Onkyo? Are they sealing their fate also?

They'll have the low (Lite-On, Alco), mid (Toshiba, RCA), and high-end (Meridian, Onkyo) market covered, how is that a FU to manufacturers?

 

[ChrisJames]

Are cheap Chinese DVD players a bad idea? Are Sony, Panasonic, Toshiba and Pioneer stopping production of their DVD players because of the low-end market?

And what about the announced HD-DVD players from Meridian and Onkyo? Are they sealing their fate also?

They'll have the low (Lite-On, Alco), mid (Toshiba, RCA), and high-end (Meridian, Onkyo) market covered, how is that a FU to manufacturers?

Dude, you can't reason with these people, though I applaud your efforts.

You really can't win if you're HD-DVD (in the eyes of Blu-Ray). They plan on making cheap players that will be accessible to the low-end market, but now these are shit according to the Blu-Ray people. Newsflash: Not everyone has $500-600 to spend on a high definition player, people can upgrade when they have the opportunity.

 

[BlueTsunami]

How will the Chinese manufacture these players (like are they manufacturing the players from their factory's completely?) and are they manufacturing the Blue Diodes themselves? If so, it should be interesting how the players are (quality wise).

 

[DarkJediKnight]

Are cheap Chinese DVD players a bad idea? Are Sony, Panasonic, Toshiba and Pioneer stopping production of their DVD players because of the low-end market?

And what about the announced HD-DVD players from Meridian and Onkyo? Are they sealing their fate also?

They'll have the low (Lite-On, Alco), mid (Toshiba, RCA), and high-end (Meridian, Onkyo) market covered, how is that a FU to manufacturers?

There were no low end DVD players when the major manufacturers were selling them for $500+. You can get an entry level Sony for $60. A super low end player like Nova goes for $30. That's not a huge difference in price. Most people will go for the Sony anyways.

With HD DVD, you're also not looking at the huge price difference. Toshiba subsidized the HD DVD players. Others won't. That means, they'll sell it for $599 at least. Compare that to a $199 Shinco. Both sitting side by side at Best Buy. That's just bad business sense.

As far as Meridian and Onkyo, I'll believe it when I see it. When Blu-ray announced their players, there was a prototype shown from each company. I've yet to see even a drawing from 3rd party HD DVD manufacturers.

 

[The Main Event]

There were no low end DVD players when the major manufacturers were selling them for $500+. You can get an entry level Sony for $60. A super low end player like Nova goes for $30. That's not a huge difference in price. Most people will go for the Sony anyways.

With HD DVD, you're also not looking at the huge price difference. Toshiba subsidized the HD DVD players. Others won't. That means, they'll sell it for $599 at least. Compare that to a $199 Shinco. Both sitting side by side at Best Buy. That's just bad business sense.

As far as Meridian and Onkyo, I'll believe it when I see it. When Blu-ray announced their players, there was a prototype shown from each company. I've yet to see even a drawing from 3rd party HD DVD manufacturers.

So having a $499 PS3 20GB vs a $999 Sony Blu-Ray player side by side is also a bad business sense then.

And what tells you that, say, RCA HD-DVD players will still be priced at "$599" at the end of the year? (the player came out at the same price of Toshiba's BTW...$499.99)