HD DVD vs Blu-ray - Release Calendar Uniqueness Charts

[Robert SawyerIII]

This is a visual breakdown of the running posts by Grubert at HD DVD & Blu-ray - Release Calendar & Distilled HDTV Optical Disc News Link
All information is based on Grubert's main chart, I have been counting and logging the changes on a weekly basis since 5 Sep 06, I used the last chart of August to apply a data points prior to August so a slightly higher % error is implied prior to September dates. All info from then on is first hand (which is why the bars start on 5 Sep 06).

The point of this post is to watch the changes of the formats over time. I started this as an experiment and found the results very interesting. I will keep this updated on Tuesdays (as that is when the media is released to the stores).

TOTAL COUNT / Format Unique Count / Unique to Total Count ratio (%)

HD-DVD released = 301 / 181 / 60.1%
Blu-ray released = 305/ 186 / 61.0%

HD-DVD total = 362/ 207 / 57.2%
Blu-ray total = 418/ 256 / 61.2%

Here the count, from the list, as of last update for the week of 12Sep07.

Released = as of this date
total = released + scheduled(i.e. announced)

Robert L. Sawyer III

Added chart graphing past (estimated), present and future trends in the format wars.

Left (1st) Y Axis is % of HD-DVD or Blu-Ray titles unique to their format (lines)
@ specific date in time (past & present w/ year divided into weeks) including trend lines...
Dashed Trend lines are moving average for the quarter
Dotted trend lines are moving average for the month

Right (2nd) Y Axis is % of HD-DVD or Blu-Ray titles unique to their format (bars)
past, present and announced future.

Any suggestions/comments are appreciated.




This graph is a breakdown by studio and does not deal with uniqueness, however it deals with the motivators of the media.

The averages, minimums and maximums are based on when there is a release that week, not every week to date.

[Robert SawyerIII]

Week #	Date	HD-DVD Released			Blu-Ray Released			HD-DVD Total Announced			Blu-Ray Total Announced			HD-DVD - Blu-Ray Total's				
		TOTAL	Unique	%	TOTAL	Unique	%	TOTAL	Unique	%	TOTAL	Unique	%					
15	18-Apr-06	4	1	25.0%										4	1	3	0	3
16	25-Apr-06	6	3	50.0%										6	3	3	0	3
17	02-May-06	8	3	37.5%										8	3	5	0	5
18	09-May-06	13	6	46.2%										13	6	7	0	7
19	16-May-06	15	6	40.0%										15	6	9	0	9
20	23-May-06	21	10	47.6%										21	10	11	0	11
21	30-May-06	21	10	47.6%										21	10	11	0	11
22	06-Jun-06	25	12	48.0%										25	12	13	0	13
23	13-Jun-06	28	14	50.0%										28	14	14	0	14
24	20-Jun-06	30	14	46.7%	7	7	100.0%							23	7	16	0	16
25	27-Jun-06	32	14	43.8%	13	13	100.0%							19	1	18	0	18
26	04-Jul-06	36	18	50.0%	13	13	100.0%							23	5	18	0	18
27	11-Jul-06	40	21	52.5%	14	14	100.0%							26	7	19	0	19
28	18-Jul-06	41	21	51.2%	16	14	87.5%							25	7	20	2	18
29	25-Jul-06	45	21	46.7%	20	18	90.0%							25	3	24	2	22
30	01-Aug-06	48	21	43.8%	24	18	75.0%							24	3	27	6	21
31	08-Aug-06	51	21	41.2%	24	18	75.0%							27	3	30	6	24
32	15-Aug-06	54	24	44.4%	27	21	77.8%							27	3	30	6	24
33	22-Aug-06	59	27	45.8%	28	22	78.6%							31	5	32	6	26
34	29-Aug-06	59	27	45.8%	32	26	81.3%							27	1	32	6	26
35	05-Sep-06	59	27	45.8%	36	26	72.2%	104	76	73.1%	90	62	68.9%	23	1	32	10	22
36	12-Sep-06	66	31	47.0%	36	26	72.2%	106	78	73.6%	96	68	70.8%	30	5	35	10	25
37	19-Sep-06	68	33	48.5%	44	34	77.3%	116	87	75.0%	98	68	69.4%	24	-1	35	10	25
38	26-Sep-06	80	42	52.5%	56	34	60.7%	125	93	74.4%	98	63	64.3%	24	8	38	22	16
39	03-Oct-06	81	42	51.9%	58	35	60.3%	125	93	74.4%	107	72	67.3%	23	7	39	23	16
40	10-Oct-06	89	49	55.1%	69	40	58.0%	135	97	71.9%	117	80	68.4%	20	9	40	29	11
41	17-Oct-06	91	51	56.0%	74	45	60.8%	140	98	70.0%	121	80	66.1%	17	6	40	29	11
42	24-Oct-06	97	57	58.8%	78	47	60.3%	148	100	67.6%	127	80	63.0%	19	10	40	31	9
43	31-Oct-06	103	60	58.3%	85	47	55.3%	150	102	68.0%	127	80	63.0%	18	13	43	38	5
44	07-Nov-06	105	60	57.1%	88	48	54.5%	150	102	68.0%	127	80	63.0%	17	12	45	40	5
45	14-Nov-06	115	70	60.9%	101	58	57.4%	150	102	68.0%	127	80	63.0%	14	12	45	43	2
46	21-Nov-06	117	72	61.5%	110	66	60.0%	155	105	67.7%	132	83	62.9%	7	6	45	44	1
47	28-Nov-06	132	83	62.9%	115	67	58.3%	155	105	67.7%	132	83	62.9%	17	16	49	48	1
48	05-Dec-06	137	84	61.3%	122	71	58.2%	155	105	67.7%	132	83	62.9%	15	13	53	51	2
49	12-Dec-06	143	89	62.2%	127	75	59.1%	152	100	65.8%	133	82	61.7%	16	14	54	52	2
50	19-Dec-06	152	96	63.2%	133	79	59.4%	173	108	62.4%	188	122	64.9%	19	17	56	54	2
51	26-Dec-06	154	98	63.6%	135	81	60.0%	173	108	62.4%	188	122	64.9%	19	17	56	54	2
52	02-Jan-07	154	98	63.6%	136	82	60.3%	169	102	60.4%	196	127	64.8%	18	16	56	54	2
53	09-Jan-07	154	98	63.6%	137	83	60.6%	170	102	60.0%	214	144	67.3%	17	15	56	54	2
54	16-Jan-07	161	104	64.6%	142	86	60.6%	173	102	59.0%	218	145	66.5%	19	18	57	56	1
55	23-Jan-07	165	105	63.6%	154	95	61.7%	177	104	58.8%	216	141	65.3%	11	10	60	59	1
56	30-Jan-07	172	106	61.6%	164	98	59.8%	182	108	59.3%	219	143	65.3%	8	8	66	66	0
57	06-Feb-07	173	107	61.8%	170	104	61.2%	182	109	59.9%	222	147	66.2%	3	3	66	66	0
58	13-Feb-07	175	107	61.1%	183	114	62.3%	202	128	63.4%	217	141	65.0%	-8	-7	68	69	-1
59	20-Feb-07	176	107	60.8%	187	117	62.6%	203	128	63.1%	228	151	66.2%	-11	-10	69	70	-1
60	27-Feb-07	180	107	59.4%	192	118	61.5%	211	134	63.5%	232	153	65.9%	-12	-11	73	74	-1
61	06-Mar-07	180	107	59.4%	192	118	61.5%	219	133	60.7%	243	155	63.8%	-12	-11	73	74	-1
62	13-Mar-07	180	107	59.4%	196	122	62.2%	220	133	60.5%	245	156	63.7%	-16	-15	73	74	-1
63	20-Mar-07	180	107	59.4%	201	127	63.2%	237	144	60.8%	261	166	63.6%	-21	-20	73	74	-1
64	27-Mar-07	184	108	58.7%	207	130	62.8%	240	147	61.3%	265	170	64.2%	-23	-22	76	77	-1
65	03-Apr-07	185	109	58.9%	211	134	63.5%	236	142	60.2%	270	174	64.4%	-26	-25	76	77	-1
66	10-Apr-07	188	109	58.0%	215	134	62.3%	238	143	60.1%	273	176	64.5%	-27	-25	79	81	-2
67	17-Apr-07	194	114	58.8%	217	134	61.8%	240	143	59.6%	275	176	64.0%	-23	-20	80	83	-3
68	24-Apr-07	200	118	59.0%	224	139	62.1%	242	144	59.5%	276	176	63.8%	-24	-21	82	85	-3
69	01-May-07	207	121	58.5%	227	140	61.7%	262	156	59.5%	287	181	63.1%	-20	-19	86	87	-1
70	08-May-07	207	121	58.5%	231	144	62.3%	268	160	59.7%	286	178	62.2%	-24	-23	86	87	-1
71	15-May-07	210	121	57.6%	235	145	61.7%	279	169	60.6%	290	180	62.1%	-25	-24	89	90	-1
72	22-May-07	220	126	57.3%	244	149	61.1%	281	169	60.1%	294	181	61.6%	-24	-23	94	95	-1
73	29-May-07	226	132	58.4%	248	153	61.7%	292	176	60.3%	301	185	61.5%	-22	-21	94	95	-1
74	05-Jun-07	235	136	57.9%	258	157	60.9%	296	178	60.1%	303	185	61.1%	-23	-21	99	101	-2
75	12-Jun-07	246	145	58.9%	266	163	61.3%	296	178	60.1%	303	185	61.1%	-20	-18	101	103	-2
76	19-Jun-07	247	146	59.1%	267	164	61.4%	304	179	58.9%	314	189	60.2%	-20	-18	101	103	-2
77	26-Jun-07	260	157	60.4%	269	164	61.0%	303	180	59.4%	316	193	61.1%	-9	-7	103	105	-2
78	03-Jul-07	264	157	59.5%	273	166	60.8%	309	183	59.2%	319	192	60.2%	-9	-9	107	107	0
79	10-Jul-07	269	161	59.9%	274	166	60.6%	311	183	58.8%	327	198	60.6%	-5	-5	108	108	0
80	17-Jul-07	269	161	59.9%	277	169	61.0%	313	183	58.5%	337	206	61.1%	-8	-8	108	108	0
81	24-Jul-07	280	169	60.4%	281	170	60.5%	327	187	57.2%	349	209	59.9%	-1	-1	111	111	0
82	31-Jul-07	286	173	60.5%	284	171	60.2%	336	188	56.0%	372	226	60.8%	2	2	113	113	0
83	07-Aug-07	288	173	60.1%	287	172	59.9%	341	192	56.3%	380	231	60.8%	1	1	115	115	0
84	14-Aug-07	293	177	60.4%	294	178	60.5%	341	192	56.3%	380	231	60.8%	-1	-1	116	116	0
85	21-Aug-07	293	177	60.4%	298	182	61.1%	353	204	57.8%	395	247	62.5%	-5	-5	116	116	0
86	28-Aug-07	298	181	60.7%	298	182	61.1%	355	206	58.0%	398	250	62.8%	0	-1	117	116	1
87	04-Sep-07	299	181	60.5%	302	185	61.3%	356	207	58.1%	404	256	63.4%	-3	-4	118	117	1
88	11-Sep-07	301	181	60.1%	305	186	61.0%	362	207	57.2%	418	256	61.2%	-4	-5	120	119	1
89	18-Sep-07	311	184	59.2%	316	190	60.1%							-5	-6	127	126	1
90	25-Sep-07	321	190	59.2%	324	194	59.9%							-3	-4	131	130	1
91	02-Oct-07	324	191	59.0%	334	202	60.5%							-10	-11	133	132	1
92	09-Oct-07	326	192	58.9%	344	211	61.3%							-18	-19	134	133	1
93	16-Oct-07	330	194	58.8%	350	215	61.4%							-20	-21	136	135	1
94	23-Oct-07	341	198	58.1%	365	224	61.4%							-24	-26	143	141	2
95	30-Oct-07	345	200	58.0%	378	226	59.8%							-33	-26	145	152	-7
96	06-Nov-07	346	200	57.8%	387	234	60.5%							-41	-34	146	153	-7
97	13-Nov-07	352	203	57.7%	398	242	60.8%							-46	-39	149	156	-7
98	20-Nov-07	355	204	57.5%	405	247	61.0%							-50	-43	151	158	-7
99	27-Nov-07	358	206	57.5%	406	247	60.8%							-48	-41	152	159	-7
100	04-Dec-07	359	207	57.7%	412	253	61.4%							-53	-46	152	159	-7
101	11-Dec-07	361	207	57.3%	417	256	61.4%							-56	-49	154	161	-7
102	18-Dec-07	362	207	57.2%	418	256	61.2%							-56	-49	155	162	-7
103	25-Dec-07	362	207	57.2%	418	256	61.2%							-56	-49	155	162	-7

This is a graph that points out the following...

1. Total HD-DVD titles launched and scheduled. (with monthly trendlines)
2. Total Blu-Ray titles launched and scheduled. (with monthly trendlines)
3. Where would Blu-Ray be now if it launched at the same time as HD-DVD?
4. Running difference of the totals between HD-DVD and Blu-Ray. (with quarterly trendlines)

[JeffY]

But how could this be?, PS3, err, I mean Blu-Ray has much greater studio support than HD-DVD. It must be Microsoft Excel screwing up the numbers.

Great post.

[Grubert]

Great work Robert.

[Shuley]

Cause Universal is trying to make HD DVD win,so they are pumping out the discs as fast and as much as possible.

[Kosty]

For a format launch, all that matters is that consumers see that there is a critical mass of movies available that they want to watch. If there are 10 on the shelf, the perception might be that there is a problem. If there are one hundred on the shelf, the buyers perception might be that they are more available that they can watch.

One theory I have is that soon HD DVD will have enough movies out there that people will say " there's a lot of movies out already, more than I have time to watch right now" so that studio support will not be perceived as an issue.

One problem that Blu-ray has now, is despite the fact of more announced studio support, and Blu-ray trumpeting of that fact, that there are noticably less Blu-ray movies available at Amazon and retail stores than in the HD DVD format.

[Phloyd]

Yeah, there are a few less (less than 20). Not bad considering they started later.

While the critical mass is important (and I think that this is reached for both formats) the next question becomes what the titles are.

For me neither side has released that one title that makes it a clear choice. And Universal may come closest with the release of Kong.

In any case I am looking forward to see how this chart changes over time too.

Cheers!

[Robert SawyerIII]

In the data field I shall add a totals graph which whill show 4 points...

1. Total HD-DVD titles launched and scheduled. (with monthly trendlines)
2. Total Blu-Ray titles launched and scheduled. (with monthly trendlines)
3. Where would Blu-Ray be now if it launched at the same time as HD-DVD?
4. Running difference of the totals between HD-DVD and Blu-Ray. (with quarterly trendlines)

The results are very interesting.

[Technicolor]

Great work!

I believe if the Add-on counter-balances the impact of The PS3... if Universal (and smaller studios) keeps the number of titles available higher than BD... if more cheap (and cheaper) HD-DVD stand alone players (and recorders) become available... if people with combo discs decide to buy a player (the combo is an overlooked weapon!!!)... if marketing is more efficient...

HD-DVD will beat BD's higher support and more aggressive marketing.

[WayneL]

I think it's possible that if they launched at the same time, HD would have put titles out at a faster rate. Look what they did when they had no competition. BD had (has) to do a catch-up game, so naturally they pushed their output (with quality problems).

Certainly no visible impact of "greater studio support"

[Robert SawyerIII]

If the HD-DVD add on will be playable in Vista OS, then this is a major boon for HD-DVD.

Why is MS subsidizing them I wonder?

[nataraj]

Originally Posted by Robert SawyerIII

Why is MS subsidizing them I wonder?

Who told you the add-on is being subsidized ?

[nataraj]

Originally Posted by Kosty

For a format launch, all that matters is that consumers see that there is a critical mass of movies available that they want to watch. If there are 10 on the shelf, the perception might be that there is a problem. If there are one hundred on the shelf, the buyers perception might be that they are more available that they can watch.

This is true. When I talk to people and tell them 100 hd dvd movies are already released, they are always surprised ...

[Robert SawyerIII]

Originally Posted by nataraj

Who told you the add-on is being subsidized ?

At $200 for an HD-DVD drive + usb enclosure + usb hub the costs of the build of materials for these devices should be >$200, unless I am mistaken. I doubt that they are making any money on it reguardless.

I could be wrong?

[AnthonyP]

I don't think it is subsedized. But at 200$ I agree, unlike other accessories, it is not a cash cow.

[thomopolis]

Originally Posted by nataraj

This is true. When I talk to people and tell them 100 hd dvd movies are already released, they are always surprised ...

Well, it is surprising! Considering the number of players launched and sold on both sides compared to the number of DVD's launched for the same player penetration, this is pretty nice for early adopters - I remember not having much to choose from the first few months. Walking through Best Buy, both BluRay and HD-DVD had two+ shelves of movies devoted to each.

How the picture stands now is interesting but I still think the PS3 (and now the HD add-on) will be the biggest determiner of how this whole thing will shake out.

The add on is obviously an HD-DVD player through and through - anyone buying one is obviously using it for one purpose, so the studios will react toward it's numbers accordingly and possibly ramp up HD-DVD releases beyond what they are now.

The PS3 is the big question mark, more for studios than customers. Will the studios put out enough titles and copies of each to support the PS3 at all, or will they wait to see what the adoption rate is? If they go halfway in between, will the additional support overcome the current lead of HD-DVD or just match it.

And the big question; how low does the PS3 movie adoption need to be and/or how high does the Add-on sales need to be to sway Disney.

[nataraj]

Originally Posted by Robert SawyerIII

unless I am mistaken.

And your experience and background is ... ?

edit : do you work for altex.com ?

[nataraj]

Originally Posted by thomopolis

The PS3 is the big question mark, more for studios than customers. Will the studios put out enough titles and copies of each to support the PS3 at all, or will they wait to see what the adoption rate is? If they go halfway in between, will the additional support overcome the current lead of HD-DVD or just match it.

They will have some forecast based on MR ...

[Robert SawyerIII]

Originally Posted by nataraj

And your experience and background is ... ?

edit : do you work for altex.com ?

Yes, I work for Altex Electronics while finishing my masters in electrical engineering at UT San Antonio.

I have done a lot of research into current and past market stratagies to try and forcast what is going to happen with this format war for a school paper.
The paper & blog about related info

The BOM(build of materials) at current prices for the drives (Blu-Ray and HD-DVD) are still very high. iSupply performed a teardown of Toshiba's 1st gen HD-DVD player and found that the cost of the parts and materials in the player was about ~$170 more than the selling price of the player itself.

[BuGsArEtAsTy]

Originally Posted by Robert SawyerIII

At $200 for an HD-DVD drive + usb enclosure + usb hub the costs of the build of materials for these devices should be >$200, unless I am mistaken. I doubt that they are making any money on it reguardless.

I could be wrong?

A USB hub and USB enclosure is next to nothing. The bulk of the cost (besides the remote, and temporarily the free King Kong HD DVD) is the optical drive itself.

iSuppli did say they felt the original NEC drive in the Toshiba HD-A1 was $200:



However, I'd be surprised if the new Toshiba drive in the 360 add-on costs that much to produce. I do agree though it's quite possible neither Toshiba nor MS are making much off this 360 HD DVD drive, especially in Canada where the price of the Xbox 360 HD DVD add-on drive is only US$179 (including remote and free disc).

[nataraj]

Originally Posted by Robert SawyerIII

The BOM(build of materials) at current prices for the drives (Blu-Ray and HD-DVD) are still very high. iSupply performed a teardown of Toshiba's 1st gen HD-DVD player and found that the cost of the parts and materials in the player was about ~$170 more than the selling price of the player itself.

Originally Posted by BuGsArEtAsTy

iSuppli did say they felt the original NEC drive in the Toshiba HD-A1 was $200

iSupply is good when it comes to products using well known components. But for brand new ones like this - it will have no idea and can be very wrong. The price negotiated between NEC & Toshiba or Toshiba & MS are bound to be closely held secrets.

[WayneL]

Originally Posted by thomopolis

The PS3 is the big question mark, more for studios than customers. Will the studios put out enough titles and copies of each to support the PS3 at all, or will they wait to see what the adoption rate is? If they go halfway in between, will the additional support overcome the current lead of HD-DVD or just match it.

The stores have built up an inventory of unsold BD titles, which may handle initial demand.

[Phloyd]

Originally Posted by Technicolor

Great work!

I believe if the Add-on counter-balances the impact of The PS3... if Universal (and smaller studios) keeps the number of titles available higher than BD... if more cheap (and cheaper) HD-DVD stand alone players (and recorders) become available... if people with combo discs decide to buy a player (the combo is an overlooked weapon!!!)... if marketing is more efficient...

HD-DVD will beat BD's higher support and more aggressive marketing.

That is a lot of if's!

I would be interested to know if there are any people buying the combo discs as 'future' proofing.

It seems to me that the choice of a $20 DVD or a $40 combo disc to future proof with a system that may be the next format is not gonna work out favouring the combo disc.

I already have an HD DVD player and refuse to pay extra for combo discs.

So... does anyone know of anyone with no HD DVD player buying combo discs? I'm just curious...

[Robert SawyerIII]

Originally Posted by BuGsArEtAsTy

However, I'd be surprised if the new Toshiba drive in the 360 add-on costs that much to produce. I do agree though it's quite possible neither Toshiba nor MS are making much off this 360 HD DVD drive, especially in Canada where the price of the Xbox 360 HD DVD add-on drive is only US$179 (including remote and free disc).

With the estimated price at say $150-200, the power brick at $10-20, the usb, pcb, case and passives at $10-20 (totaling $170-240 with out labor, packaging, and transportation costs), can we really say that microsoft is working in the black on this product.

I will admit that the refinement of manufacturing will probally get the HD-DVD into the black with-in a year, but it won't be untill late next year untill the total losses on the unit are approaching black.

The question would be...

Why does Microsoft want another hardware device with an extended (1+ year) ROI?

[nataraj]

Originally Posted by Robert SawyerIII

The question would be...

The real question would be

Why do you pretend to know the cost of hd dvd drive ?

Look at Canadian price - that should give you a clue.

[Robert SawyerIII]

Originally Posted by nataraj

iSupply is good when it comes to products using well known components. But for brand new ones like this - it will have no idea and can be very wrong. The price negotiated between NEC & Toshiba or Toshiba & MS are bound to be closely held secrets.

In reguards to the new, unknown component costs involved in the drive, the drives are not such a significant departure from current drives that their components can not be estimated too. For HD-DVD the optical pickup is identical with the exception of the laser diode itself, Blu-Ray adds more complexity on top of that because of the different NA lens used with the pickup.

Originally Posted by nataraj

The real question would be
Why do you pretend to know the cost of hd dvd drive ?
Look at Canadian price - that should give you a clue.

I don't pretent to know the cost of the drive and am trying to make educated guesses with all the information available. That information is leading me to believe that Microsoft is going to sell these units at a loss untill manufacturing costs can come down.

In the game console market it very common to LOSE MONEY on the equipment for the first year+ because of the importance of network effects.

Network effects can be described as this... Most people get a telephone not because the technology by itself is important, but the fact that with it (now adays) you can talk to anyone in the world, i.e. this is why video-phones have failed numerous times in the past, because the equipment is useless without people to call.

The difference here is that Microsoft IS PROBALLY LOSING MONEY from these inital sales of these units, which is an acceptable business model to get the equipment out there if you have a stake in the software(media) to recoup the costs faster than waiting untill the costs of manufacturing decreases enough to make profit from the equipment sales themselves.

The reasons for the price differences around the world are that marketing professionals feel that people will accept a prices of 199 (or 20999JPN) better that 253EU (23270JPN).


The question rephrased...

Is Microsoft going to try to make their money by concentrating on bring the manufacturing costs down, or are they getting (or forcasting) another stream of revenue from the media to be sold from these players.

[Robert SawyerIII]

Note: Transporter 2 was listed twice in December, so I corrected this week & last.

[nataraj]

Originally Posted by Robert SawyerIII

In reguards to the new, unknown component costs involved in the drive, the drives are not such a significant departure from current drives that their components can not be estimated too. For HD-DVD the optical pickup is identical with the exception of the laser diode itself, Blu-Ray adds more complexity on top of that because of the different NA lens used with the pickup.

You are going along the right path. Just ask yourself if the OPU is so smilar to DVD why should HD DVD drive be $190 more than a DVD-ROM ?

I don't pretent to know the cost of the drive and am trying to make educated guesses with all the information available. That information is leading me to believe that Microsoft is going to sell these units at a loss untill manufacturing costs can come down.

See above. Tell me your logic why it should be $190 more than DVD (actually dvd-rom can be had for cheaper, but I'm putting $10).

In the game console market it very common to LOSE MONEY on the equipment for the first year+ because of the importance of network effects.

But as you know accessories always make a healthy profit.

The reasons for the price differences around the world are that marketing professionals feel that people will accept a prices of 199 (or 20999JPN) better that 253EU (23270JPN).

Actually if you see the Canadian price - people are surprised. Traditionally Canadians have come to expect higher price than US ...


The question rephrased...

Is Microsoft going to try to make their money by concentrating on bring the manufacturing costs down, or are they getting (or forcasting) another stream of revenue from the media to be sold from these players.

In this particular instance - since most of the cost is in the drive - bringing the cost down entirely depends on the HD DVD drive cost - which MS can't directly control. And MS doesn't make any money on HD DVDs (well minimal anyway). So you would have to restart and look at your assumptions.

[Robert SawyerIII]

Now that iSupply and the costs of Blue Laser OPU's has been discussed a little more, is it so inconceviable that the HD-DVD IS that much more than a DVD OPU?

[nataraj]

IIRC, the iSupply figure for the bd-rom in ps3 is 125. Given that BD is more complicated than hd dvd, pick your number for hd dvd drive.