Samsung Blu-ray player makes slow start, Sony delays again
Posted on 27/06/06 00:31 by Seán Byrne                             
Samsung Blu-ray player makes slow start, Sony delays again

As pretty much expected Samsung's launch of the BD-P1000 Blu-ray disc player on Saturday went off to a slow start with players struggling to leave the shelves.  Worse still, the Hollywood news website MovieWeb reported about plenty of confusion if anything amongst the consumers.  This would most likely be the case for consumers who saw the players for the first time and have no idea what's the difference between Blu-ray and HD DVD.  At present, the player is selling for a hefty US$999, with a choice of seven Blu-ray titles to choose from.  The player is expected to hit the retail stores in the UK in September. 

If consumers were depending on Sony to launch the first Blu-ray disc players, they would find themselves waiting another while again with Sony now pushing back its Blu-ray launch yet again, this time to around October 25th according to Sony Style's website.  It was just a few weeks ago that they delayed the launch to August 15th from July.  According to a Sony spokesperson, the launch has been reportedly delayed as a result of software-related issues and not HDMI as some have thought, especially with the finalisation of the HDMI 1.3 interface standard.

Samsung's high-definition Blu-ray DVD player finally went on sale in US shops on Saturday, but early reports suggest that the players are not flying off the shelves.

Hollywood news website MovieWeb reported that Samsung's BD-P1000 DVD player, which hit the shops five days after the first seven Blu-ray films on 20 June, aroused "little sales activity" but "plenty of confusion" among consumers.

Samsung may find comfort in the news that Toshiba's rival HD-DVD player is also said to be selling slowly.

Quote from Tom's Hardware about new Sony delay:

Without any announcements or warnings in advance, the release date posted on the Sony Style Web site for its upcoming BDP-S1 Blu-ray Disc player was updated last Wednesday to read, "On or about October 25, 2006."  The previous date had read August 15, after having been delayed from a late July date just two weeks ago. 

With even poor sales being reported for the much cheaper Toshiba HD DVD player, it looks like this battle will go on for a good while yet before it starts to become clear which side starts leading.  The slow start may also be a had sign as we could end up seeing something like what happened with Super Audio CD and DVD-Audio, the two high definition audio formats that have aimed to take over the Audio CD.

Source: Computing News

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By shimman, Tuesday 27 June 2006 01:44
i bet sony's delay is due to the ps3; sony wants to inflate the value of ps3 by offering more expensive bd player right before the launch of ps, so that the price drop of bd player is unlikely in the market
By Crabbyappleton, Tuesday 27 June 2006 02:48
CrabbyappletonThey need to get folks buying 1080p displays first. Only then, will customers "need" a blue laser player.
[edited by Crabbyappleton on 27.06.2006 02:52]
By FidelC, Tuesday 27 June 2006 03:24
FidelCLMAO! "delayed as a result of software-related issues" What tf is it, a spaceship? Who wants a disk player to have any software in it. The same goes about Pentium cpu (toshiba), RAM and cooling fans - there shouldnt be any of this crap in a good reliable player. The start is weird itself. How can Sony be a leading developer and then let Koreans have the fattest piece of pie, that is to make millions on a new to the market product. Or are they expecting people to get pissed with raw and buggy and then to fork out for the real thing in October? I just hope by then ppl will have realised what a dirty game Hollywood tries to pull off. Cheers.
By Hypnosis4U2NV, Tuesday 27 June 2006 04:34
Hypnosis4U2NVI was reading the article and thinking the same thing.. The players and the media are useless unless you have a set capable of 1080p.. Waste of money if you buy it and expect to see an improvement over DVD IMHO..
By psychoace, Tuesday 27 June 2006 04:45
Weird most people that have bought it and had it correctly setup on a 1080i monitor said they noticed drast improvements. Also of course it had a slow start it's opening weekend this is not a mass consumer product yet. They are probably estimated less then 50,000 units to be sold before PS3 comes out. Toshiba has announced they are expecting 250,000 units to be sold by end of 2007. Maybe if they had huge adverst on tv for it then I would think they were expecting a huge turn out but they are not pushing it like a "must have" right now.
[edited by psychoace on 27.06.2006 04:49]
By deezus, Tuesday 27 June 2006 05:34
bottom line..costs too much....if you have a nice plasma and a good upscaling dvd player the difference in pq ia not worth it...now lower price to 299 us and ill get one...again i am not saying that there is no difference in pq but it is not worth the hefty price tag....
By neo1918, Tuesday 27 June 2006 06:52
I would say that even without a 1080p, 1080i or 720p TV set, people would be wise to stop buying DVDs and buy the movies in HD just to future-proof themselves. I stopped buying DVDs over a year ago knowing that the movie companies would just want me to rebuy all the movies again in HD. The thing is, with the prospect of one of these formats dieing off, there really isn't a way to future proof your collection.
By DukeNukem, Tuesday 27 June 2006 14:59
DukeNukemYou're all crazy. I'm going back to VHS. Movies are down to $2.99 at Wal-Mart. clown
By Bodygard, Tuesday 27 June 2006 16:39
No people wouldn't be wise that way... People would be wise if they stand still and wait, wait and wait for this thing comes clear! People, stick to your DVD, wich is good and don't waste your hard earned $$$ Well the companies would want you to buy the same movies in HD, lol and you accept it and buy them? i say no, i don't buy them! i already have them in dvd, why do i would want to buy them again? to see more colors? lol
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