Report: Blu-ray prices going up, not down

Fri Mar 14, 2008 10:01AM EDT

See Comments (63)

Now that HD DVD's on the way out, it looks like Blu-ray manufacturers and retailers are feeling free to jack up prices. Meanwhile, prices for HD DVD decks and combo players are plummeting.

The editors of TG Daily (by way of Audioholics) have been scouring the Web for Blu-ray and HD DVD player prices, and can you guess what they found? That's right: Since Toshiba gave up on HD DVD in mid-February, Blu-ray prices—which had been showing some modest declines back in December—have spiked.

Take, for example, Sony's entry-level BDP-S300, a Blu-ray player that doesn't even have the latest Blu-ray profile (it's stuck with the bare-bones 1.0 spec). Back in December, the S300 (which originally sold for a whopping $600) actually fell to about $270 on Amazon; now, according to TG Daily, average prices for the player have swelled to $403.

Then there's Samsung's BD-P1400, one of the first Blu-ray players to sink below $400. On January 10, the P1400 skimmed the $300 mark, according to TG Daily; now it's back up to an average price of $374.

Meanwhile, prices for HD DVD decks have, unsurprisingly, been tumbling. Toshiba's mid-range, 1080p-capable HD-A30, which originally sold for $400, began the year with an average price of $254; now, it's selling for a mere $134, TG Daily reports. The entry-level HD-A3 1080i player can be had for a song: just $101, on average.

Also, combo Blu-ray/HD DVD players have been showing steep price drops. As I noted in a previous post, the Samsung BD-UP5000, originally listed north of $1,000, is on sale for about $500, while TG Daily has the average price for the LG BH200 pegged at $699, down from its original $999.

So, what's going on here? Didn't Sony just promise that we'd be seeing $200 Blu-ray players by next year? Maybe so, but as Chris pointed out in his post, Sony and the Blu-ray Disc Association are holding out on licensing Blu-ray technology to Chinese manufacturers, who'd more than likely flood the market with cheap (or cheaper, at any rate) players.

Well, we wouldn't want that, now—would we?

Related:
Pricewatch: HD DVD in free fall, Blu-ray continues upward trend [TG Daily]
Format War Pricing Aftermath: Blu-ray Up, HD-DVD Down [Audioholics]

Comments on Report: Blu-ray prices going up, not down

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  • 26 Posted by saleenrules on Thu Sep 3, 2009 9:01PM EDT Report Abuse

    no way....say it ain't so....!!!!! Thank goodness we're getting a 600.00 rebate from the gov't this year!! I'm also glad I didn't jump on either format...I'll stick with my upconverting SD DVD's for now thank you...let the Joneses fight it out. People - so stupid for being so intelligent...

  • 27 Posted by saleenrules on Thu Sep 3, 2009 9:01PM EDT Report Abuse

    no way....say it ain't so....!!!!! Thank goodness we're getting a 600.00 rebate from the gov't this year!! I'm also glad I didn't jump on either format...I'll stick with my upconverting SD DVD's for now thank you...let the Joneses fight it out. People - so stupid for being so intelligent...

  • 28 Posted by saleenrules on Thu Sep 3, 2009 9:01PM EDT Report Abuse

    Gee! Can you spell M-O-N-P-O-L-Y Sure, but I'd use one more 'O'...

  • 31 Posted by beachklb on Thu Sep 3, 2009 3:04PM EDT Report Abuse

    Most of the people I know don't even know what Blu-Ray is, let alone want to buy one. What War! I just finally bought a dvd/vhs player, since vhs is virtually archaic. I may protest and watch my old vhs tapes that still work, dvds and become a media hermit. I am tired of the next best thing since sliced bread every five minutes.

  • 32 Posted by mrrohla on Thu Sep 3, 2009 7:28PM EDT Report Abuse

    Just too costly and my DVD collection looks great on my flat screen. Not perfect but one heck a lot more affordable. If everyone stuck with DVD bet those high prices would fall as would Blu Ray disks.

  • 33 Posted by v4customs on Thu Sep 3, 2009 10:30PM EDT Report Abuse

    Sony and proprietary pretty much go hand in hand. They like to think they can corner the market, they should just let it go. Blu-ray is at an astounding high. With the finacial situation of the average American, Sony should think about marketing to sell. When Sony or another company prices to sell in a DVD market instead of a league of their own, I'll be the first one on line to get movies. Until then a standard movie experience will do just fine for me.

  • 34 Posted by jasinhowe on Thu Sep 3, 2009 4:29PM EDT Report Abuse

    Ha-ha, blu-ray is really screwing their customers. None of the current decks are even upgradable to profile 2 except the PS3. Pay the $400+ now and still not able to use the additional features that blu-ray promises. Stick with a SD DVD player or buy a HD-DVD at rock bottom price to upconvert SD DVD and maybe pick up a few cheap HD-DVD's of your favorite movies before they're all gone. Better yet, wait and HD movies will be streaming to your set top box via PC, TIVO, on-demand, Apple, Netflix, DirecTv, etc, etc. SUCKA!!!

  • 35 Posted by ai3di on Thu Sep 3, 2009 2:47PM EDT Report Abuse

    I think it's fun to watch companies that can't have a monopoly in an industry, still come up with ways to monoplolize an industry. I still won't buy one. In fact I don't think i'll buy much of anything new. I'll just wait till the technology gets old and then quickly buy up a model and gear to go with it. Chances are I will avoid bugs in the device, and the cost for all the gear and device at the end will probably only add up to the original cost of just the device when it came out. Only ppl who "just can't wait" to have the newest stuff will suffer from buying it first. The rich won't suffer, they'll just buy it new, no regrets. They will rub it in my face, i'm sure. But I won't be hungry, and I won't have a lot of debt like many do now. And I definatly won't buy a device only to have it outdated by new device less than a year later. By the way, if you use your ps3 to play movies, this is the quickest way for your machine to break. I know it won't stop you (wouldn't if it were me) but I thought I'd mention it. In fact more ps3 have broken then 360 per capita sold. I have a wii so I really don't have total knowledge here. The wii is fun and doesn't take up all my time playing games. Most of the time I am outside playing golf, softball, or frisbee golf. I really only play games and watch movies during winter. You should to, but then that would lead to more ppl driving around and getting in my way, so on second thought, just stay inside. "Being the best at a game is not an accomplishment when the rest of your life is spent at the bottom." "Go to school and get a good paying job, otherwise stop complaining to me about how luck wasn't on your side." "Only fools believe that they could have done better, when they never tried to begin with."

  • 37 Posted by edscottracing on Thu Sep 3, 2009 3:52PM EDT Report Abuse

    Well they spent their money ousting HD DVD, now it looks like Sony wants their money back. I'll stick with DVD thanks.

  • 38 Posted by ucruci2 on Thu Sep 3, 2009 10:27PM EDT Report Abuse

    Blu Ray DVD movie prices also has been high as well. In my area, they are holding steady well above $20something mark. I say, screw'em. I can wait.

  • 39 Posted by kyletank on Thu Sep 3, 2009 4:55PM EDT Report Abuse

    All you need is a ps3, a movie and some smoke.

  • 40 Posted by mastap_81 on Thu Sep 3, 2009 7:10PM EDT Report Abuse

    I am going to have to disagree with the HD-DVD portion of this article. If you go to amazon and trying looking up the Toshiba HD-A35 it is running at $699 from a reseller, when prior to February 19, it was at about $200. Same with the Toshiba HD-A30, still above $350. Why are these so much through amazon, is it because the resellers want to make a profit on a dead technology?

  • 41 Posted by davingambill on Thu Sep 3, 2009 3:38PM EDT Report Abuse

    First off lets get the monopoly business straight. Who was the only company making HD-DVD players.....um just toshiba. All other players were just toshiba models with different names on them. Toshiba was trying to force an inferior media down our throats because they knew they dvds are on the decline. They were upset the members of the BDA didn't want to use them as the error apparent to dvds and wasn't going to give up all that money easily. So get off the sony monopoly business. Fact is Sony is just one member of the hundreds on the BDA. Tell me how many different companies are making blu-ray players....uh dozens if not 20-30. Get off the Sony monopoly crap! Oh and yes it is a Japanese company but they just hired over 100 more workers in Terre Haute, IN factory for disc fabrication and I can guarantee they aren't the only americans to benefit from the jobs sony and other companies will be adding. As for prices going up..of course they are ...best buy and others know it is the only viable next gen format so lets raise the price. They already have the players. Sony and samsung and these other companies have already sold the players...its retailers raising prices to jump on the whole winning the format war. They can justify selling it at a higher cost because the demand has significantly risen since HD-DVD is dead. And the article failed to even mention the cheapest and 2.0 profile BD-player on the market. The 40 gb PS3. It is easily purchasable for $399 with a $100 off instant credit with a sony card making it a steal at $299. It plays all the extra java media on the new discs and is easily updated with firmware that roles out almost monthly. And whomever thinks it is too loud....give me a break..my upconverting samsung dvd player sounds like an aircraft taking off reading the discs....the ps3 is ultra quiet and i don't want to hear about it breaking more often than the 360...omg that makes me laugh. sony isn't spending over a billion dollars to fix all the ps3s like microsoft. we all know way way more people on their 4th and 5th 360 than any made up claim of ps3 failures...so don't make me laugh. is the ps3 the best blu-ray player...bang for buck yes...upgradable and fully supported with firmware upgrades most definately. it is most definately more future proof than any other blu-ray player. i do hope they get the high end audio squared away soon but we all know it is coming on a future firmware upgrade. so really. i think the author is more than a little bitter his HD-DVD player has been relegated obsolete...or maybe he gets a paycheck from a microsoft backed company.

  • 42 Posted by jeddhewitt on Thu Sep 3, 2009 4:31PM EDT Report Abuse

    ps3 is the only way to go i'll sacrifice a non noticeable sound difference for faster loading times and saving a few hundred bucks is nice

  • 43 Posted by xcheckmatey2006 on Thu Sep 3, 2009 10:52PM EDT Report Abuse

    blue ray is awesome and i dont get why they say latest sony player dont got latest profile u cna update it many ways (by connecting ethernet cable, other ways too)

  • 45 Posted by boydparkinson on Thu Sep 3, 2009 3:12PM EDT Report Abuse

    I just watch and laugh. I don't need Blue Ray. It would be nice but I have a problem with being shafted. They are the only ones who pay the price by keeping all the people like me sitting on the sidelines. When it becomes reasonable, I will be more than happy to join the party.

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