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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  • 6 Posted by nolo_8 on Thu Sep 3, 2009 7:40PM EDT Report Abuse

    haha ryebread. I think we have a comedian here.

  • 7 Posted by johnnyfluff1 on Thu Sep 3, 2009 4:39PM EDT Report Abuse

    Let me see we are wanting the chinese to flood the US with cheap products so the Chinese government can make a profit, keep Americans out of work. Thisis the same government that at last count has shipped contaminated food for dogs,and put medication on babies toys that was in fact a poison for kids and a date rape if it had been used by an adult. If this had been an American company we would have lawsuited them out of business. Lets keep trying to buy all we can from the communists government. Then they can be world class and they can dictate what the world gets. Yes I am venting but when we we wake up and smell what the goal is and has always been to dominate the world. They don't want to play fair nor will they be good partners long term. Next year are they trying to ship cars to the US made in China without the aid of any outside partner inthe auto industry? That cuts down GM profit benefits for retiries or similiar companies. Yes please flood the US market with DVD players,cars, planes,(Boeing would like to stop making a profit. Then they too can lay off thousands of people). The question is not where does it end but when do we get up and change things. Lets make wiggets sell to them. China has over 1Billion people. Every person there needs two of ours wiggets.

  • 8 Posted by crimped357 on Thu Sep 3, 2009 3:31PM EDT Report Abuse

    I have a DVD and a Blu-ray on my 1080 tv and I can't realy see any great improvement in hollywood movies. you can only see a sharp difference in TV shows shot with 1080 cameras like the "planet earth" series.

  • 9 Posted by partidanutz on Thu Sep 3, 2009 7:59PM EDT Report Abuse

    wow!!!!!!! Crimped 357 you cant see the difference? You Need Glasses!!!!! I need glasses and I can even see the BIG difference

  • 10 Posted by erickjurado on Thu Sep 3, 2009 3:55PM EDT Report Abuse

    qwerks7, come on... don't need to insult... but just for the record you're totally wrong. I'm a total tech adict and I have both the dvd upconverter (didn't have enough to buy the blu-ray) but later I bought the PS3 and there's a noticable difference between both even with old movies.. for example: Die hard I have in DVD and Bluray and the difference is clear... By the way I have like 100 DVDs if you're not planning to do the change I can give you a good offer.. ; )

  • 11 Posted by dr3vil88 on Thu Sep 3, 2009 3:47PM EDT Report Abuse

    hey johnnyfluff, why you do get out the white sheets and burning crosses too. oh btw, this is a article on bluray and buying either hddvd or bluray, you're buying a japanese product. and yea that will let real Americans like yourself keep your job. All i hear is complaining and no doing. why dont you get up and make a better product, sell it at better price, produced by american citizens for american citizens, then come here and talk again.

  • 12 Posted by cptgreedle on Thu Sep 3, 2009 3:30PM EDT Report Abuse

    Here is the real deal people. The price drops was for competition against HD DVD. Now that the war is over, Blu-ray companies are focusing on the new players to come out later this year which feature profile 2.0, aka BD-Live (web access). These are the players people will want and they want people to buy those and not the older models that do not support web access. In addition, HD DVD is plummeting cause they are trying to clear out their inventory. The PS3 is easily the best Blu-ray player on the market in quality, function, and price. The price of the PS3 has not moved much if at all since the war ended. The BDA (blu-ray disc association) knows full well that in the wake of the format war, DVD is the new target. If Blu-ray can not compete with the DVD prices, it will not go anywhere. Since it is still only MARCH we have a LOT of time before next year and I can assure you that Blu-ray player prices WILL drop to around $250 by the end of the year! Some people are impatient, and others love to try to spin things. As for ryebread45014, the PS3 has been confirmed that there will be an upgrade later this year to allow it to have DTS-HD MA. (Check out blu-ray.com) Blu-ray not only is the better format, it is the ONLY format. Get over it! Price will drop, it is still early in the year. Wait for the new players, wait for the sales, wait for the holidays!

  • 13 Posted by brnklbill on Thu Sep 3, 2009 3:13PM EDT Report Abuse

    Perhaps this is an industry payback to Sony who lost the last "format war". Beta was superior but the industry chose VHS instead. Sony learned from their mistake and is no longer interested in making the best. Why not flood the market with "cheap" chinese product. We've already been forced to accept the poorer of "cheap" Japanese product. Don't forget that Sony is the company who (in cahoots with production companies) has been leading the industry in sneaky, and invasive (read root-kit) "anti-piracy" code, and forcing THAT down our throats. As consumers, we all should be outraged.

  • 14 Posted by bravadatyme on Thu Sep 3, 2009 3:12PM EDT Report Abuse

    I agree taat Blu-Ray is not the best format.I have 3 toshiba HD-DVD players two A3s and one A35.The up-conversion on these players is far better than any Blu-Ray player the toshiba players are at 2.0 sorry to see HD-DVD go.They are going to force us to buy Blu-Ray players at there prices and more expensive movies at higher prices also.

  • 15 Posted by rma12762 on Thu Sep 3, 2009 8:44PM EDT Report Abuse

    It is a shame that Sony spent all that money to force out he better format, and now that they are dominating they are jacking up the price, and guess who has to pay for it? Way to go Sony, it is too bad you did not go the way of Beta-Max again!

  • 16 Posted by g_tagni on Thu Sep 3, 2009 4:15PM EDT Report Abuse

    this was supposed to be now that it's the "standard". Get ready for a monopoly that will give no room for alternatives.

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

    In due time prices will come down like VHS players in the past and regular dvd players of the present. I know that alot of people don't like China but they seem to own about $700 to $900+ billion dollars in U.S treasury bills, and its still increasing. U.S. has been borrowing money from China since the days of the Vietnam war all the up to the present Iraq war. So as you can see, the U.S. has no choice as to what China wants to do.

  • 18 Posted by everlastingember on Thu Sep 3, 2009 3:56PM EDT Report Abuse

    Oh for Satan's sake, shut up with the political bull. Sony is trying to turn a buck, that's all it is. It's not about China or the US or anything. It's all about who has the most money at the end of the day and how much they can make during the night. Sony monopolized the market, plain and simple, a move I don't support and strongly disagree with, but it is a business tactic. There will always be a company that will do anything at all to increase profits, even if it throws ethics out the window in the process.

  • 19 Posted by pimpz4u1 on Thu Sep 3, 2009 8:12PM EDT Report Abuse

    WATCH THEY WILL BRING HD DVD BACK BLUERAY WONT MAKE IT TELL NEXT YEAR.

  • 20 Posted by mentorctl on Thu Sep 3, 2009 7:16PM EDT Report Abuse

    Gee! Can you spell M-O-N-P-O-L-Y? It is why patents and copyrights are granted. Ancient history (before CD-ROMs) repeats, do you remember that BETAMAX was "better" than VHS?

  • 21 Posted by williamlli on Thu Sep 3, 2009 10:46PM EDT Report Abuse

    The cheapes BD player yet is the Playstation 3. However, home cinema owners don't like the loud noise it makes, especially during the quiet scenes. Besides that, dedicated players also consume a lot less power.

  • 22 Posted by stevencravis on Thu Sep 3, 2009 9:43PM EDT Report Abuse

    I need the prices of the players and the BluRay movies to go down first. I'll stick to Comcast High Definition and/or Apple TV until they do come down in price. -Steven www.bluraymoviesrentals.com

  • 23 Posted by zebrafetish2000 on Thu Sep 3, 2009 11:00PM EDT Report Abuse

    Kudos to Bestbuy for recognizing the horrible downfall of HD-DVD players. I purchased the HD-DVD add on to my XBOX 360 in October, I received a phone call and e-mail that I will receive a $50 gift card for choosing the wrong format. Of course that isn't much money, but Bestbuy is NOT at fault here, Toshiba is for not marketing there product well enough, and for giving up on it COMPLETELY. Thank you Bestbuy for caring about your customers. FU Toshiba for rolling over and playing dead. SONY, I have nothing to say to you.

  • 24 Posted by nathanpoitras on Thu Sep 3, 2009 7:34PM EDT Report Abuse

    Actually, Blu-Ray IS the best format. Look for prices to start going down closer to the holidays.

  • 25 Posted by decasooner on Thu Sep 3, 2009 3:40PM EDT Report Abuse

    In all fairness the Sony 300 can be updated by dowloading from the net or requesting A free firware upgrade from Sony.com Great topic

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