New report: 30 million households will own a Blu-ray device in 2008

Worldwide, of course...

With the PS3 being the projected winner sales-wise. Now we'll see if BD 2.0 players will be able to undercut the price of the PS3. If not then these numbers will not pan out.

Sony really plans on making a killing in the next few years don't they? Well, lets see how smart consumers really are. I don't have high hopes...



[Post edited by spoonard on Mar 26, 2008]

you said the ps3 is going to be number 1 sales wise? umm i hope u mean as a blu ray/game console vs other blu ray players, because the ps3 is like number 3 in console sales

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Worldwide, of course

No mvckalel, that's just Iceland!

Skyhawk, are you in that crowd in the post above? Yep sure looks like it.

Sony's savior, the PS3, got people into Blu-Ray in a general way. The thing is that Blu-Ray still has so much potential, but they are being so slow in getting there! So if 30 million people are going to own a player, NOT A PS3 on the side, they need to get their act up and move it with their product, or it will be 30 million people... eventually... when the players are given away.

Man I miss HD-DVD

Yes I mean the PS3 will be the #1 selling BD device in households. Sony is able to undercut competitors BD device prices due to their size, much the same way Wal*Mart is able to undercut most of their competitors due to their size. Sony (in my opinion) made sure HD DVD was killed right out of the gate basically, so that Blu would be the only choice. They are now able to undercut the competition's BD players and leverage the PS3 into more homes as both a BD player and a game console. So not only are they able to collect revenue from consumers, but also they are able to collect hefty royalties from studios and BD manufacturers. All the while screwing the hell out of both. The competition by undercutting their prices AND collecting royalties, and consumers by limiting the choice to BD when it comes to HD media. They win on all sides. Good business? Or dirty business? Well... the pic above is my personal opinion of Sony...

Didn't Sony just announce a couple of months ago that they were going to fall 1.5 million units short on PS3 sales? I guess world wide this figure is possible but at the same time I don't see them reaching their projected goals.

( GOOD LUCK )

WELL, they are not going to convince the DVD population with $400+ BD players and $30-40 movies ???
DVD people are cheap and will not convert with thos prices !!!

[Post edited by motogp34 on Mar 27, 2008]

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Skyhawk, are you in that crowd in the post above? Yep sure looks like it.

I'm in the crowd that will be watching Bonnie & Clyde, Predator, and a ton of other releases over the next few weeks in gorgeous 1080p and high bit-rate multi-channel audio. How about you?

Im also going to keep on keeping on. lol

but what Sony believes, is not quite reality. one of my favorite phrases people know that I use.. goes to the bda, if things stay the way they are. Good luck with that

in all fairness skyhawk.... at least i get to enjoy transformers, v for vendetta, and batman begins in high def first.

plus, despite the loss, at least the hardware and technology worked first... and STILL works. what have you to say beyond "protective layer" and "high cap" discs?

i at least smile because blu-ray owners are still talking about what is yet to come, and hd-dvd got to enjoy first fully functioning hardware (too bad that advantage was short-lived)

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in all fairness skyhawk.... at least i get to enjoy transformers, v for vendetta, and batman begins in high def first.

This could very well be possible. For example we were only able to watch transformers HD DVD after dinner on its day & date release - around 7pm EST. So you might have indeed beat me to it.

Getting back on track w/o talking "blah blah" about 7pm dinner nonsense...

$400 for a player does not scream "great price."

If the mainstream of players is the PS3, then that's not fully effective to the blu-ray market. Blu-ray is only a side effect of owning a PS3. We are used to having a standalone player to do movies. I am not one to buy a gaming system to watch movies - that should come second.

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$400 for a player does not scream "great price."

To you perhaps. But my HD DVD player (HD-A2) was the cheapest model of 2nd generation players, and I paid considerably more for it than $400. I thought it was a good deal when I bought it and have no regrets. Between the 83 HD DVD movies I own and my zip.ca mail rental account, I've certainly put it to good use in the time I've owned it.

Everyone has different priorities and hobbies - mine is HT and movies, and $400 is pretty inconsequential for me when it allows me to experience my favorite films in the best quality possible. Some people are into golfing. I have a friend who recenty paid over $500 for a golf club. And he thinks I'm nuts!

Skyhawk, even in my time of grief you still manage to put a smile on my face. God Bless You.

[Post edited by tony1569 on Mar 27, 2008]

No offence guys. I find Sky a bit smug. Just an opinion of course. I can see the US adopting Blu-Ray a lot fast than say Canada. With little to no pressure on Canadians to get HD, or the lack of support by the CRTC there will only be a fewlike SKY, Falcon, and others at this forum that will adopt Blu-Ray. It's going to be hard to predict how many people will buy Blu. Sky, do Canadians have that expendible income? What do you do for a living?

Okay, in a nutshell, you may wanna pay $400. Others may not. In fact, a lower price is always what will appeal to a larger crowd. I myself cannot see paying $400 for Blu-Ray, (not a PS3 by the way), and this player not work all the way. When I want to pay money for a good piece of equipment (like you would sky), I want to see what this hardware does and if it is worth paying for.

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I thought it was a good deal when I bought it and have no regrets

You must really want your opinion to matter. Well, it doesn't hold anything against the hurtful truth. (see post above again sky... you know, the one with the crowd)

Ok you guys are getting personal. Let's remember these companies and studios don't give a rats ass about any of us, they just want our money. So for us to be fighting over their technology and movies is just plain nuts.

I'm also one of the few that thought HD DVD is/was superior but we no longer have that option so on to bluray it is. While it may not be perfect in it's current form, bluray is getting better and hopefully in time we will all be enjoying movies on the same systems and arguing about which movies we thought was better or which audio tracks we liked.

Just keep things in perspective.

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Sky, do Canadians have that expendible income?

Yes.

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What do you do for a living?

I'm on welfare just like everyone else in the glorious socialist republic of Canada!

But seriously now, I really find it hard to believe that the average middle income American would think $400 is too much to spend on their favorite hobby on a very occasional basis for something that should provide years of enjoyment. Heck, it costs a guy $100+ here just to take their wife to a nice resturant! (Which we don't do very often). I mean, how do Americans like yourself get their HDTVs, break into store front windows and run down the street with them?

And anyone who thinks a player has to be $150 or whatever before they'll bite isn't likely the type who will buy software either. Can you guess how much those 83 HD DVD titles I own cost in comparison to me paying almost $500 for the Toshiba player? Believe me, the player was a very, very small chunk in the total home theater expenditure scheme of things.

You don't even wanna know how much I paid for my first CD player!

Skyhawk there are SOME people that can afford $400 players but not many. DVD really took off when the players hit that magic $200 mark the companies keep talking about. For some reason thats the magic number for the mass consumer market to dive in. I don't know where they got that number from but I'm guessing it's based on previous sales trends from products like DVD.

Like I said there are people that can purchase a $400 player without a problem but for the mass consumer market to do so those prices have to come down. You have to remember these same people that cannot afford $400 are actually quite happy with DVD. Not everyone has a 100" screen with a receiver that can decode Dolby TrueHD, DTS HD etc, hidef players or expensive speakers. Heck a lot of people don't even use HDMI, they're still using composite or component cables.

[Post edited by Falcon01 on Mar 27, 2008]

MrCzech says:

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I myself cannot see paying $400 for Blu-Ray

Here's a solution. Don't pay $400 for Blu-ray. Problem solved.

Gosh, I should be paid for giving this type of needed advice on this forum!

I guess I'm in the minority here...

I own both formats and I gladly paid $300+ for my HD A35 and $400+ for my PS3. In the long run, you save a TON of samolies and grief by waiting for everything to come out on DVD, BD or HD DVD and watching them at home, rather than blowing coin at the theater with sticky floors and lice-infested seats. The quality of picture and sound is better at home anyway!!!

[Post edited by wolfen on Mar 27, 2008]

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DVD really took off when the players hit that magic $200 mark the companies keep talking about. For some reason that the magic number for the mass consumer market to dive in.

That's quite possible, since home theater and movies aren't an important hobby to everyone. For most people it's probably a past time, and some would rather spend $500 on a silly golf club instead like my friend did!

Going forward, market forces and demand, along with economies of scale and technological and production advancements will influence Blu-ray player prices. It's the way it works - it's the way it's always worked with new CE technology. However, since those of us who own HDTVs are still a minority, it's probably priced just fine at this stage of its life-cycle and target demographic. We don't have to target the "masses" all at once. Toshiba tried this theory by heavily subsidizing players and it predictably didn't work.

Well Toshiba did sell 90,000 HD DVD players in one weekend but that was because they were selling them at an unbelievable price of $99. That was just nuts.

Oh and the only reason it didn't work was because of Warner and the domino effect that caused!

Anyway we've been through this before.

Mr Czech (and others) who complain about $400 to $600 Blu-ray SA prices... if you want to SAVE $$ watching Blu-ray content, then buy one of the profile 2.0 players coming soon (Panasonic BD50, two different Sony Sapphire players, and others etc), but DON'T BUY ANY DISCS - just sign up for Blu-ray rentals (online) from either Netflix or Blockbuster (or both) for a low monthly fee.

Then, when you see the regular BD sales (mainly online), for titles with net prices of $9 to $20, you might want to build a collection slowly with select sale-priced titles.

This way, you get to enjoy Blu-ray Hi-Def content now, rather than waiting for a year or two for players to drop a few hundred dollars ($200 to $300). Note: if you have a Best Buy card, I belive they automatically offer 6-months/0% financing for purchases over $300.

After you've been enjoying HD for awhile, you don't want be without it.

-JIMI (the Voodoo Child)

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After you've been enjoying HD for awhile, you don't want be without it.

Truer words were never spoken, LH.

I hate to admit it, but it pains me to watch ANYthing in SD nowadays!

I watched No Country For Old Men on DVD and it was quite enjoyable. Some movies should be watched in hidef though, if possible.

[Post edited by Falcon01 on Mar 27, 2008]

Falcon,

When you make the switch, watch it on BD.

You're waiting for the new Panny aren't you?

The Panny or any other profile 2.0 player that gets good reviews. I'll probably get one on boxing day in hopes of getting a better price also.

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I'll probably get one on boxing day in hopes of getting a better price also.

Boxing Day?!

Beauty eh?!



[Post edited by wolfen on Mar 27, 2008]

haha yes it is

The good thing about Boxing Day now is that Futureshop or Bestbuy will have sales online starting at 8pm on the 24 or 25th (can't remember) so you don't have to spend you whole night waiting in a line out in the cold.

I purchased a few products last boxing day from the comfort of my home and got some nice prices. Love it!

Don't buy blu-ray eh?

Well, i would not mind buying blu-ray, but my beef is price and workability.

Is it so much to ask? In saying that, why are my complaints being attacked?

PS - When the BH-200 gets into my system, I am sure you will find me saying plenty good about blu-ray, but that does not change how blu-ray is right now to consumers. One last thing, if you are wondering why I am paying about $600 for a player and me complaining about price... It's because it's a dual format of course, and CAN do updates across the board. So money properly spent.

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Is it so much to ask? In saying that, why are my complaints being attacked?

I didn't attack your complaints. If you figure $400 or whatever is too much for a Blu-ray player, then like I said don't get one. I merely said that I paid MUCH more for even my low-end Toshiba HD DVD player originally, and that personally $500 at the time wasn't much for me when it meant enjoying 1080p movies for the first time in my life at home. I do realize that many people are under financial constraints and/or have other priorities or hobbies that take precedence.

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One last thing, if you are wondering why I am paying about $600 for a player and me complaining about price... It's because it's a dual format of course

You can buy a BH200 even in Canada (at Future Shop) for $500, and get a $50 gift card as a bonus for a couple movies:
http://www.futureshop.ca/catalog/subclass.asp?logon=&langid=EN&catid=25325
You should be able to do much better online within the US I would think.

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And if you've ever had trouble with a firmware update on HD-DVD or Blu-ray Disc hardware (or any other hardware for that matter), you'll appreciate this post by our friend Moriarty over at Ain't it Cool News. Our own Jeff Kleist certainly knows what it's like to have a 'bricked' player. I don't think he had his Toshiba HD-A2 more than about 10 minutes before it was suddenly rendered useless by a failed firmware update. These things are rare, fortunately, but they do happen. Such are the perils of living in the new digital age.

Another unbiased (sure) opinion by none other than the digital bits...don't they get tired of trashing HD DVD??? Since obviously, the HD-A2 is the hi-def player having the most problems... [insert player here]

mvckalel, no offense but could you explain why what you quoted was biased against HD DVD? I mean considering they said "HD-DVD or Blu-ray Disc hardware (or any other hardware for that matter)..." and then said "These things are rare, fortunately, but they do happen. Such are the perils of living in the new digital age."? Where is the bias in that?