Due to the economy problems, fall of dollar value etc... ?

No no, of course not.

Even when dollar tanks and loses another 50% of its value, all the Japanese/Chinese/Taiwanese/Korean/Norwegian/Italian companies will just suck it up and sell the projectors to you with the same price.

NOT.

Of course they will go up in price, just as will everything else imported from outside US.

I'm afraid, there's no quick fix out of this one. Ye reap what ye sow.

When the economy cools, prices tend to fall. This is because demand will fall if people chose not to spend money on luxuries like projectors in an uncertain economic climate.

This is the law of supply and demand in action. Simple economics.

Many currencies, including the Chinese currency, are tied to the dollar to avoid the very situation envisioned by CADOBHuK.

It is a problem for a company like Sim2 that is based in Europe though. It pays its workers in Euro and gets paid in dollars. Not ideal for them at this time. I have a European client that is getting killed by this right now. It can't raise its prices because its competitors are asian. It has chosen to bleed red ink to preserve market share.

Many companies hedge against currency fluctuations. Smart companies, do at least.

To hedge against this you should buy your projector in Gold bullion or oil futures

Yes, projector prices as are all prices are going to be seeing increases across the board this year. We've already seen it some of our lines.

Unfortunately, the cost of oil isn't coming down anytime soon.

Richard

It is a problem for a company like Sim2 that is based in Europe though.

I think there really is no reason to complain when it comes to Sim2. Sure US prices went up earlier this year, but those prices are still much better than the european prices.

The C3X1080 was the first to suffer when the prices increased. It retails for $33k now. Same projector in europe retails for €28k, which is over $43k. So over $10k more. In theory, they should be cheaper in europe. That's why it's a much better option to import from US. Best prices anywhere.

We're getting a lot more calls rom Canadians, that's for sure.

Richard

Yes, projector prices as are all prices are going to be seeing increases across the board this year. We've already seen it some of our lines.

Unfortunately, the cost of oil isn't coming down anytime soon.

Richard


Who has has raised prices other than Sim2?

Also, I know Marantz had to raise some prices because they had to switch to lead free glass for their lenses.

I would really be surprised to see many companies taking this strategy on existing models.

It is more likely that they might try to sneak one in on a new model, which, presumably, would be better and have more features. This would be infinitely more palatable, but, even then, there is no guarantee that higher MSRP equals a higher street price.

No I'm sure that the next President will impose projector price controls.

When was the last time that prices on electronics went up?

Blu-ray players were $300 a month ago now they are back up to $400 plus:
This made Google News today:
http://www.news.com/8301-10784_3-9893149-7.html?tag=bl

That is a 25% increase! Actions speak louder than words I guess. :)

That is a 25% increase! Actions speak louder than words I guess. :)

Don't you think that is just a spoil of victory in the format war? HD-DVD is out of the way, Let's cash in!

Yes, projector prices as are all prices are going to be seeing increases across the board this year. We've already seen it some of our lines.

Unfortunately, the cost of oil isn't coming down anytime soon.

Richard

Get real...

Oil could go up to $200 barrel and projectors will still cost less at the end of the year. :D

Don't you think that is just a spoil of victory in the format war? HD-DVD is out of the way, Let's cash in!
Of course. The out-of-touch Sony Electronics President Stan Glasgow said that the company would be "at a $300 rate" through this year. Will this guy next be on Saturday Night Live?

Walmart and the clubs lock the few titles up behind glass while SD dics are everywhere from $5 to $15. Individual discs are not even on sale anymore at BestBuy. New titles (even of old movies) at Amazon are priced at $28 and up. Rentals are nowhere to be found locally.

In this deepening recession Blu-ray is looking more and more like Pioneers old Laserdisc format. Given this atmosphere there is NO way the format is going to gain widespread consumer acceptance. Sony won the battle but has lost the war.

We're getting a lot more calls rom Canadians, that's for sure.

Richard

One of them.....:D

The Canadian branches of the CEC Company are just too greedy.

There are not many posts of reincarnates I agree with but for some reason I have to agree with this one. :)

Get real...

Oil could go up to $200 barrel and projectors will still cost less at the end of the year. :D

Quite possibly not... depends on the margins. The cost of oil direclty affects the cost of everything:

* Plastic raw materials
* Transportation (every component)

There's no disputing that the costs of the raw materials for the projectors will increase.

Pair this with the weakening purchasing power of the dollar...

Looks to me like AT LEAST price parity, where decreases due to volume purchase, economies of scale in manufacturing, and competition driving down margins are equally offset by the factors mentioned above.

I guess we'll see!

We'll just have to buy projectors made in the USA...Bell and Howell where art thou?: :)

Raising prices after HDDVD's demise makes sense in the short term, by nabbing those with discretionary income but were waiting for a winner.

But after that they better realize they're competing with SD DVD, or they will indeed be the next laserdisc.

I am just damn glad I got my VW200 when I did. ;)

....

In this deepening recession Blu-ray is looking more and more like Pioneers old Laserdisc format. Given this atmosphere there is NO way the format is going to gain widespread consumer acceptance. Sony won the battle but has lost the war.


I predicted that long ago... no competition = higher prices. What irks me is why the movie industry thinks Blu Ray can be profitable when HD DVD was less expensive. Now that HD DVD has lost the format war, Blu Ray will become a niche product because it's too expensive for J6P. Without J6P, Blu Ray will never supercede standard DVDs.

Raising prices after HDDVD's demise makes sense in the short term, by nabbing those with discretionary income but were waiting for a winner.
But after that they better realize they're competing with SD DVD, or they will indeed be the next laserdisc.
For example at BB yesterday the new title Country of Of Old Men was $17 in SD while the Blu-ray was $30.
I want Blu-ray to succeed but this is BS! I am not a captive audience. In protest I choose to rent the movie for $1.49. This strategy saves money, sends a message and helps prevent the buildup of household clutter.

For example at BB yesterday the new title Country of Of Old Men was $17 in SD while the Blu-ray was $30.
I want Blu-ray to succeed but this is BS! I am not a captive audience. In protest I choose to rent the movie for $1.49. This strategy saves money, sends a message and helps prevent the buildup of household clutter.

Just to put some perspective on the pricing of movies: In Denmark, in a store that equates to BB stateside, new movies on DVD sells for what equates to 37.5 US$ at the going currency rate (and that's even down 10% compared to a few months ago). Blu-Ray is around 50 US$, and renting a movie is around 8 US$ for new flicks. Of course, you can get it somewhat cheaper through the internet, and yes, the low cost of the dollar does inflate these translated prices quite a bit, but these prices are what the "Joe Sixpacks" of Denmark are presented with.

Just to put some perspective on the pricing of movies: In Denmark, in a store that equates to BB stateside, new movies on DVD sells for what equates to 37.5 US$ at the going currency rate (and that's even down 10% compared to a few months ago). Blu-Ray is around 50 US$, and renting a movie is around 8 US$ for new flicks. Of course, you can get it somewhat cheaper through the internet, and yes, the low cost of the dollar does inflate these translated prices quite a bit, but these prices are what the "Joe Sixpacks" of Denmark are presented with.
Who needs BluRay with all of those Scandanavian blondes.

Unfortunately, the cost of oil isn't coming down anytime soon.

....long term is the real price of oil increasing, or is the price run-up due mainly to OPEC now adjusting against a weakening dollar? The U.S. oil companies seem to be loosing their grip on control of foreign reserves -- and this is not good news.

Just to put some perspective on the pricing of movies: In Denmark, in a store that equates to BB stateside, new movies on DVD sells for what equates to 37.5 US$ at the going currency rate (and that's even down 10% compared to a few months ago). Blu-Ray is around 50 US$, and renting a movie is around 8 US$ for new flicks. Of course, you can get it somewhat cheaper through the internet, and yes, the low cost of the dollar does inflate these translated prices quite a bit, but these prices are what the "Joe Sixpacks" of Denmark are presented with.
You guys pay the 20% Euro sales tax in these prices right?
If prices are that high then it explains why some European countries implicitly condone piracy.

Sony should be reducing prices for Blu-ray titles because they cannot be copied. This is another important reason why the format will suffer.

I was hoping the shiny disc skirmishes were over.
I guess there are still land mines to be cleared.

ted

Sony should be reducing prices for Blu-ray titles because they cannot be copied. This is another important reason why the format will suffer.

Actually, there is at least one program readily available from a well-known developer that can rip Blu-ray.

Once inflation and other economic factors are removed, projectors and other HD component prices should fall significantly.

1080p projector technology (and largely HD) is a significant jump from SD displays that we had some years ago. Large corporations have invested in R&D for new technology developments. Once research costs are recovered there should be sufficient room to reduce prices.

However, once economic factors are accounted there is a possibility for the prices to increase.

I think that all electronic prices are going to take a big hit and go up a fair amount. I was speaking to the president of a well known speaker manufacturer the other day. He had just gotten off the phone with his supplier for cabinets in China. His latest order had and increase in cost of 20-22%. This is due primarily to 2 factors. The first is that the Chinese are requiring many of these factories to supply their employees with benefits they have not had to do in the past. The second factor of course was the value of the US dollar. This is just one manufacturer but he told me he gets his cabinets from a factory that supplies them to many more speaker companies in the US and Canada. These are names we all would know. The days of moving operations to China and benefiting from low low costs are probably over for now. When you look at the overall picture, this has probably been coming for some time now. The value of the dollar is just increasing the momentum. PJs will not be immune from this either. So, if you are expecting the JVC or Marantz 1080p prices to dip down in the $2K range soon, I would not hold my breath.:o

But on the other hand, the projector prices are supposed to decline with the advancement of technology right? So the effect of the dollar fall outweights the natural affordability progress?

Blu-ray better pipe down because it will have a more formidable competitor once XSTREAM HD arives. Satellite delivery of 1080P movies and 7.1 DTS Master Audio (for a fraction of the cost) stored on a hard drive capable of storing up to 500 HD movies that can be watched by up to 4 TVs at one time. Blu-Ray who?

I don't think there will be huge increase if any at all BUT i believe some companies will increase their prices especially European companies which based their prices in Euro such as SIM2 but lets not forget that technology prices declines with time.

5 Years ago 720P DLP were in the 10K and above and now they can be have for 20% of that amount or even less.
The only thing i can imagine is that prices won't fall as fast as they were in the past.

Big Screen Flat Panel Plunge
---------------------------
"But on Tuesday, The Nikkei Business Daily quoted Sharp president Mikio Katayama as saying, "We changed the strategy [to an emphasis on smaller screen sizes] because of a plunge in North American sales of large-screen TVs." The Nikkei said a decline in demand for TVs with screen sizes of 40 inches or more is leading companies such as Sharp to emphasize models with screens between 26 and 40 inches."
http://www.displaydaily.com/index.php