How will prices for REAL DVD Player VALUE in the market rise? HD-DVD player prices have been artificially low as Toshiba tried to dump players and flood the market in one last desperate attempt to build interest in their format and clear inventories. But how is that "low price" people paid going to feel when they can't get any new titles to play on their machine in 6 months? Was it really such a good deal?
Many manufacturers were sitting on the sidelines waiting to see which format was going to win, and now one has. When multiple manufacturers come out with BluRay units, the price wars will start for those as well. We may not be able to get them for $129, but the format and utility of whatever we purchase will survive past July.
For example, how much are decent SD DVD players now? Unless you want a high end Denon or Arcam (you can still buy an upscaling Denon DVD5910CI for $3800 new - LOL - bet they are flying off the shelves at that price right now), you can get a very decent unit for sound (OPPO 980H) or video (OPPO 981HD) for a little less or a little more than $200. Yamaha and Denon (and Toshiba) also make serviceable SD DVD players for less than $300 on the street. Once all these manufacturers join Samsung, Sony, Panasonic and LG in a price war for your BluRay dollar, prices WILL FALL from where they are now for a mature product with a reasonable shelf life (say, two years instead of two months).
Even Toshiba will throw their weight behind BluRay, and they too will make money as all the manufacturing giants race to get your $$$ and allegiance with the new format. But how would you like to be their HD-DVD Program Manager right now?
Many manufacturers were sitting on the sidelines waiting to see which format was going to win, and now one has. When multiple manufacturers come out with BluRay units, the price wars will start for those as well. We may not be able to get them for $129, but the format and utility of whatever we purchase will survive past July.
For example, how much are decent SD DVD players now? Unless you want a high end Denon or Arcam (you can still buy an upscaling Denon DVD5910CI for $3800 new - LOL - bet they are flying off the shelves at that price right now), you can get a very decent unit for sound (OPPO 980H) or video (OPPO 981HD) for a little less or a little more than $200. Yamaha and Denon (and Toshiba) also make serviceable SD DVD players for less than $300 on the street. Once all these manufacturers join Samsung, Sony, Panasonic and LG in a price war for your BluRay dollar, prices WILL FALL from where they are now for a mature product with a reasonable shelf life (say, two years instead of two months).
Even Toshiba will throw their weight behind BluRay, and they too will make money as all the manufacturing giants race to get your $$$ and allegiance with the new format. But how would you like to be their HD-DVD Program Manager right now?