Join the largest consumer electronics community in the world! Register now and join 417,392 other members (2407 online now)
Blu-ray prices continue to climb
Posted on 08/04/08 15:15 by Tim Stork
In an article from the TG Daily, trendwatcher Mark Raby concludes that Blu-ray prices continue to climb. Blu-ray players' prices continue to climb as demand has increased and competition has decreased in the high-definition video market. Only Samsung's BD-P1400 and LG's combo player have settled down and are moving back to a better pricepoint.
Other players' prices are higher than they've been all year and many think it won't take long before they set themselves out of the mainstream target market. This could be a tough year for the Blu-ray Disc Association since growing competition from movie download services and growing prices aren't in favour of Sony's format. In January the prices of most Blu-ray players were lower than they are now, but after HD DVD's withdrawal from the battle ground many prices started growing.
.jpg)
The chart above (from: TG Daily) shows that many Blu-ray players have reached a higher price point after HD DVD's loss. A simple conclusion is that those that bought a BD player during the format war made the best deal. Some said that prices of Blu-ray related products will go down after the format war, but the opposite happened. LG's combo Bluray/HD DVD player went against this trend and reached a $585 price point, nearly the same as Panasonic's Blu-ray specific player.
more cdfreaks.com news
3
15:26
1
04:30
2
23:24
4
19:37
8
13:07
0
23:33
8
06:28
Reactions
Discuss this article with your fellow community members! We appreciate your valuable input, but please keep the reaction policy in mind and make sure your reaction is constructive.
By
Afterburner (guest),
Tue 8 Apr 2008 16:51
I would not worry too much about this. As soon as competition increases of the companies that build Bluray drives then prices will be down soon enough again. We've seen the same with DVD players.
Excellent point Afterburner. The competition now needs to take place on the manufacturing pre-wholesale arena. As more manufactuers make them this will result in more supply thus lowering the price. Prices may be high at first to cover inital investment cost. They are also trying to sustain higher profit margins as long as possible before the competition rains on their parade but it's just a matter of time. 
Let's not lose sight of the fact that Sony and the BD cartel are deciding who can make players, and ultimately how much they will cost. There is no real competition.
Posted by CDan on Tuesday 08 April 2008 19:50
"Let's not lose sight of the fact that Sony and the BD cartel are deciding who can make players, and ultimately how much they will cost. There is no real competition."
Upscaling DVD players are just fine for me. I will need a 60+ inch display with 1080p ! before I would even glance at a Blu-ray player. By then, (if they are still around) they oughtt to be plenty cheap. If they are still hndreds of dollars by then, I think we can expect Bluray to fail. It simply isn't worth it for what you get, nevermind all the accompaniing Sony and studio DRM headaches.
By
Glenn (guest),
Tue 8 Apr 2008 21:32
typical sony,they push the compotition out then make you pay through the nose for there product and just to twist the sony knife a little more,they up the prices ang get away with it because they own all the marbles.LIKE CRABBYAPPLETON SAYS,UPSCALING PLAYERS ARE GIVING NEARLY THE SAME QUALITY,BUT FOR A FRACTION OF THE COST...AND THEY PLAY DIVX AND AVI`S AND A HOST OF OTHER POPULAR FORMATS....SHOVE IT SONY,RIGHT UP TO THE TOP.
Sony will milk as much as they can from Blu-ray by inflating disc and media prices in an attempt to recoup some of their R&D costs. The early-adopters of Blu-ray will suffer in this process.
By
Gummy (guest),
Wed 9 Apr 2008 14:04
I say one thing, piracy rules!!!! I can download any movie in high definition encoded in X264 or play the ripped content on my harddrive so no need for a pathetic and expensive Blu-Ray player. Thank you for this Slysoft!
By
micro$soft (guest),
Wed 9 Apr 2008 17:34
Crabbyappleton wrote"It simply isn't worth it for what you get, nevermind all the accompaniing Sony and studio DRM headaches."
You Guys need to move on and get a life...Sony don't care about 'Small Fry'...If you don't like the heat stay out of the Kitchen. 
By
Garfield (guest),
Wed 9 Apr 2008 18:14
I gotta say I said this would happen, Sony has a total monopoly on Blu Ray, they say who can and who can't build or sell Blu Ray.
Blu Ray is an immature bug infested, feature poor offering, the ONLY reason it got where it did is because of the PS3 and the stake Sony has in many studios - very clever of Sony.
When we went through the pain before i.e. VHS / Betamax at least the format was 'open' with many manufacturers co-operating same as it was for CD (and Sony tried to control that), not so Blu Ray.
Those that say it isn't worth it are right too, I upgraded everything just before christmas and the picture quality has improved no end - the reason - a top dollar full HD LCD from Toshiba.
I find it hard to see ANY difference in many broadcasts or DVD / HD DVD material - sure there are some but are they worth the high price ... I gotta say no I'm afraid.
£400+ for a player ... 
never.
never.
Posted by micro$soft (guest) on Wednesday 09 April 2008 17:34
Crabbyappleton wrote"It simply isn't worth it for what you get, nevermind all the accompaniing Sony and studio DRM headaches."
You Guys need to move on and get a life...Sony don't care about 'Small Fry'...If you don't like the heat stay out of the Kitchen. "
LOOOL! Yet more "balanced" thought from someone that spells Microsoft with a dollar sign. 
Why don't you register already?!?! You know you want to! 
Sony needs techies and that's who frequent these type websites. through word of mouth, we can make or break these greedy bastards.
Dude, the morons that invested in these Bluray lines are sh*tting bricks right now as they see a bleak economic future in the US for extravagant purchases. If we hold out 6-12 months, these clowns will be dropping all the DRM and selling BLu ray discs for $9.95 a pop.
By
micro$soft (guest),
Thu 10 Apr 2008 08:19
Crabbyappleton wrote"If we hold out 6-12 months, these clowns will be dropping all the DRM and selling BLu ray discs for $9.95 a pop."
I have no problem with BLU-RAY selling for $9.95...what gets my goat are people like you who slate SONY for no apparent reason.
"for no apparent reason"
oops then lets'go and see,
- dead or dying batteries
- dead or dying PS2's /not too few, if you ask me /
- DRM and other nasty things on media/movies
- rootkits
- "excellent" quality products from such a company these days that long ago proved that they COULD build quality products
- and now the forced BluRay shit...
if you ask me these are quite some reasons to make $ony look like an arrogant monopoly... And well, let's not talk about their customer care and support. As those almost do not exist there these days. Yeah, you may be right and call M$ a company looking for $ only, and as said I have to agree with you regarding this. But then, that is still not an excuse for $ony as all their actions make people's life harder and more expensive day by day... if you don't belive what I am talking about then simply read the title of this news post again and see yourself what $ony give to people... yeah, they said prices will sink as soon as the war has been over... and what do I have to realize everyday since the war has been over ? Just the opposite of that... more expensive players, more expensive movies and whatever... tell me what is $ony's real strategy then, except collecting more and more money. 
/
- DRM and other nasty things on media/movies
- rootkits
- "excellent" quality products from such a company these days that long ago proved that they COULD build quality products
- and now the forced BluRay shit...
if you ask me these are quite some reasons to make $ony look like an arrogant monopoly... And well, let's not talk about their customer care and support. As those almost do not exist there these days. Yeah, you may be right and call M$ a company looking for $ only, and as said I have to agree with you regarding this. But then, that is still not an excuse for $ony as all their actions make people's life harder and more expensive day by day... if you don't belive what I am talking about then simply read the title of this news post again and see yourself what $ony give to people... yeah, they said prices will sink as soon as the war has been over... and what do I have to realize everyday since the war has been over ? Just the opposite of that... more expensive players, more expensive movies and whatever... tell me what is $ony's real strategy then, except collecting more and more money.
By
micro$soft (guest),
Thu 10 Apr 2008 14:00
u_n_s97 wrote "But then, that is still not an excuse for $ony as all their actions make people's life harder and more expensive day by day".
You need to go back to sleep because you're talking out of your arse.
I've yet to hear a real reason from you why we should love and admire $ony as much you wish to... 
And you know what, that is quite enough for me to belive that I am right.
And you know what, that is quite enough for me to belive that I am right.
By
micro$soft (guest),
Thu 10 Apr 2008 14:21
u_n_s97 wrote "I've yet to hear a real reason from you why we should love and admire $ony as much you wish to... "
People like your goodself will always jump on the bandwagon without having a just cause...just think for yourself or is that beyond your intelligence.
I don't have to think for myself, neither have to find a just case...
Unfortunatelly I've been dealing with $ony stuffs too for ages and to be honest, in one word they all suck... I can rely on my own bussines experiences and looks like other sources also made sure that there something must be fishy with these "superb" $ony stuffs and ideas... like BR itself for example. This whole '$ony is good or not' game can easily be understood if you take some time and read these articles again and again. But if I am wrong as you suspect, then PROVE that these growing prices and alike are good for the masses and it is not about profit only... I suspect you won't deny this anyway. And as I said yes, M$ are not any better at all. 
I can rely on my own bussines experiences and looks like other sources also made sure that there something must be fishy with these "superb" $ony stuffs and ideas... like BR itself for example. This whole '$ony is good or not' game can easily be understood if you take some time and read these articles again and again. But if I am wrong as you suspect, then PROVE that these growing prices and alike are good for the masses and it is not about profit only... I suspect you won't deny this anyway. And as I said yes, M$ are not any better at all.
By
micro$soft (guest),
Thu 10 Apr 2008 15:03
u_n_s97 wrote "I don't have to think for myself"
I rest my case...bye.
I was at the 2005 CES with some other CD Freaks and we got to see Philips demo the very first PC Blu ray drive. It was tri-mode and wrote to all three media perfectly using a beta of Nero. I wanted one bad and was told that they would be out in the fall.
That was January 2005! What happened??? The focus seemed to switch from the exciting world of engineering and development of a new optical storage method, to a war between to boneheaded rival camps. Each one bending over backwards for the movie studios as they figured this was going to make one or the other a winner.
By the time both camps got done courting the studios and added so much DRM to the players that would come later - I lost interest. Never mind that one camp finally "won". At this point..who gives a hoot?
I am not against Sony or any other company- I am against people dictating to me what I can or cannot do with my purchases.
Why should I have to shell out extra monies for protection for the studios? If they don't want people copying or sharing the "films" then- DON'T DIGITIZE AND SELL THE DAMN THINGS! Your asking for it!! After all, any profit from optical is gravy after the box office anyways. Hell, you wont even share it with the writers!
Why should I shell out for development of new sophisticated DRMS, that cause me to have to shell out another 100 dollars to crack the darn thing?
Why should I be labelled a criminal, because I want to stream my movies I bought on my HTPC? Why should it be wrong for me to want my music to work on any MP3 player? Why do I need to be loyal to iTunes?
What the hell ever happened to the "Fair Use" law? Why should the DMCA be written to trump my rights?
This is what pisses me off - not Sony.This message was edited at: 10-04-2008 21:02
By
micro$soft (guest),
Thu 10 Apr 2008 15:37
Crayybappleton wrote" This is what pisses me off - not Sony"
Then why write words like DIE* BLU-RAY DIE* DIE*.Your
arguments are like fetching water with a BUCKET full of holes.
By
Cubeman (guest),
Thu 10 Apr 2008 19:38
Anyone who thinks we're still in the early adopter phase of high definition disc deployment should have their brain checked. Its been 4 years since we first got a look at HD-DVD and Blu-Ray. That more than qualifies as main stream. When HD-DVD bowed out that was Sony's last excuse in my opinion for charing the shitload they are charging for stuff. They are doing it now to recoup the blood money thet paid to the studios to win the war. They can keep their blu-ray shit and Ill use downloads.
By
micro$soft (guest),
Thu 10 Apr 2008 19:50
Cubeman wrote"They can keep their blu-ray shit and Ill use downloads."
No problem with that comment, each to his/her own...good luck with your inferior downloads.
Posted by micro$soft (guest) on Thursday 10 April 2008 15:37
Crayybappleton wrote" This is what pisses me off - not Sony"
Then why write words like DIE* BLU-RAY DIE* DIE*.Your
arguments are like fetching water with a BUCKET full of holes.
Because of the DRM can't you read!?! Bluray is so riddled with it, that noone will want it. Dude, once they get an install base, get ready to have the rug pulled out from under you. You will get to pay for each instance of what used to be Fair Use.
Yes I want Bluray to die. I think if folks held out and waited for one year, that they would drop this DRM nonsense. It might take 2 years, but the Bluray lines are deadly expensive and the capital has to be earned back.
Look what happened when the music industry died and then also what happened when they could not stop file sharing. They decided to dump the DRM.
I think it could happen again.
You think the customer is "small fry" as you stated at least to Sony. I have news for you the customer is the king. We don't need these companies, they need us- our money. Hold it and they will break.
To say that the customer or people like us in here are small fry is like saying the tail wags the dog. This message was edited at: 10-04-2008 21:10
By
micro$soft (guest),
Fri 11 Apr 2008 08:16
Crabbyappleton wrote "Yes I want Bluray to die"
You're living in Cloud Cuckoo-land. BLU-RAY is not going to DIE, so get with the program!!!.
By
Dorvaldude (guest),
Fri 11 Apr 2008 11:19
Nice to see that someone at Sony remembered the Beta/VHS Wars. (My Betamax stills runs great; superior quality will always have a place on MY shelf.) Anyway, THIS time, Sony made sure that there wasn't going to be a second market fiasco. PS3 does it all, in case you are concerned about rising prices.
The desparation has aready started- fire sale on Bluray movies at Amazon! By two at 30% off and get the third movie free. LOL 
http://www.amazon.com/gp/feature.html/ref=amb_link_6671762_2?ie=UTF8&docId=1000214241&pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_s=right-blog-0&pf_rd_r=0N5QVQB4NKDHQ6RYZTHE&pf_rd_t=101&pf_rd_p=383731001&pf_rd_i=193640011
By
micro$soft (guest),
Fri 11 Apr 2008 18:18
Crabbyappleton wrote "The desparation has aready started- fire sale on Bluray movies at Amazon! By two at 30% off and get the third movie free"
HD-DVD...I remember reading that such a format existed not long ago.Long live BLU-RAY. 