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.
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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2 Posted by cnull on Thu Sep 3, 2009 3:27PM EDT Report Abuse
They are just doing this to prove me wrong. -CN
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3 Posted by dtjerome on Thu Sep 3, 2009 3:49PM EDT Report Abuse
I hope they never license the Blu-ray technology to Chinese manufacturers because all they will do is flood the market with pieces of crap. I bought the 60 gig PS3 and I love it. Well worth the price I paid for it.
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4 Posted by bryankturer on Thu Sep 3, 2009 3:14PM EDT Report Abuse
Thank goodness that the format war is over finally. I got a 80gig PS3 and I think it is the best blu-ray player out there for the price. It has all the updated software and you can play some of the best games to ever come out. So the people that are looking for a Blu-ray player go get a PS3 and you will be able to have any new software that comes out for the basic Blu-ray players out there. And by the by PS3 is the best system out on the market unless you want the PROD from MicroCrap that has to keep going back to get fixed. Have a good day people.
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5 Posted by ryebread45014 on Thu Sep 3, 2009 8:57PM EDT Report Abuse
Blu-Ray is not the best format, HD-DVD is. It has more features and capabilities but since it is up to the movie studios and not the consumers then the poorer format wins. The PS3 as blu ray player is not a capable player. No bitstream audio output or DTS-HD Master Audio decode capabilities.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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
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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.. ; )
1 Posted by blogess1 on Thu Sep 3, 2009 3:09PM EDT Report Abuse
Its the next DVD hype so why would it not go up - more demand for it.