[Deja Vu]

I got a shock today. While out picking up some HD DVDs, after being inspired by the local BD inflitrators and double agents over on the HD DVD section, I thought I'd check to see if my local Future Shop had any players. The BD (Samsung) was in it's usual spot and now discounted by $300. I didn't see any HD DVD players and was about to leave when a sales person asked if I needed any help. I mentioned HD DVD players and he took me over to their premier spot and lo and behold there was the new Toshiba hooked to a 60" plasma playing KK. They also had an upconverting player playng KK next to it so you could compare. Now, for a store that didn't have any HD DVD players two weeks ago, this is a big deal. To top it off the sales person seemed about as biased towards HD DVD as the BB guys are towards BD. Good thing there weren't any BD supporters there since they would have had a paroxysm. I encouraged him as he complained about the BD PQ looking too digital and the Toshiba being a much better value.

It felt good to see someone, anyone, pushing HD DVD for a change, especially someone who was knowledgable. It could be with the huge resistance to the BD standalone player prices the new Toshibas, at less than half the retail price, are saleable and worth pushing (they'd already sold 4, which is a big deal where I am - small market).


The longer HD DVD hangs in there the better things, IMO, are going to get. Sometimes I get discouraged about HD DVD when I read about the gloom and doom over here, but I am starting to feel that in the real world HD DVD is picking up steam.

Amost forgot - the sales person said he was buying a Toshiba HD DVD player next week.


Cheers,


Grant

 

[ryoohki]

FutureShop Downtown here in Montreal, just putted both Bluray and HD DVD in primary spot in the TV Departement, witch is great because it was (HD DVD) alone in a dark corner with the A1.. LOL

 

[hmurchison]

Good


All I ask is that both formats get a chance to grab consumer attention.

 

[YONEXSP]

Now if only the studios would release some new movies we would be set. It is getting to long now waiting for new releases

 

[videonut]

I was pleased to see an A2 taking center stage at the large CC in Paramus NJ yesterday. The unit was playing on a well-adjusted Toshiba monitor. I was somewhat amazed, because it really wasn't that long ago when some of the CC sales staff scoffed at me for even asking about a Toshiba player:


"We don't carry Toshiba players, but we might be able to order a RCA unit for ya. But you should look into BD anyway, 'cause it's way better..."


Now the only BD player I could find was a Sony, sitting on a lower shelf at the opposite side of the store. It was driving several monitors, each of which were in dire need of adjustment.

 

[plazman]



Quote:
Originally Posted by Deja Vu /forum/post/0


I got a shock today. While out picking up some HD DVDs, after being inspired by the local BD inflitrators and double agents over on the HD DVD section, I thought I'd check to see if my local Future Shop had any players. The BD (Samsung) was in it's usual spot and now discounted by $300. I didn't see any HD DVD players and was about to leave when a sales person asked if I needed any help. I mentioned HD DVD players and he took me over to their premier spot and lo and behold there was the new Toshiba hooked to a 60" plasma playing KK. They also had an upconverting player playng KK next to it so you could compare. Now, for a store that didn't have any HD DVD players two weeks ago, this is a big deal. To top it off the sales person seemed about as biased towards HD DVD as the BB guys are towards BD. Good thing there weren't any BD supporters there since they would have had a paroxysm. I encouraged him as he complained about the BD PQ looking too digital and the Toshiba being a much better value.

It felt good to see someone, anyone, pushing HD DVD for a change, especially someone who was knowledgable. It could be with the huge resistance to the BD standalone player prices the new Toshibas, at less than half the retail price, are saleable and worth pushing (they'd already sold 4, which is a big deal where I am - small market).


The longer HD DVD hangs in there the better things, IMO, are going to get. Sometimes I get discouraged about HD DVD when I read about the gloom and doom over here, but I am starting to feel that in the real world HD DVD is picking up steam.

Amost forgot - the sales person said he was buying a Toshiba HD DVD player next week.


Cheers,


Grant

Did I tell you yesterday I looked at the inventory system they have at BB stores and in my local region, HD DVD players were outselling BD hardware by a huge margin. I mean, the single store (Tyson's Corner) had more A-2s sold than all BD Players from all the stores that make up the region combined! (I simply counted down the column so there must have been 12-15 stores on that list).

 

[Roger Mathus]

It appears that Toshiba is expanding distribution to include big box stores. Local COSTCO has a stack of about 30 Toshiba players for $ 447. Model designation is HD D2. It appears to be the A2 with slightly different model name. No demo....just big stack of boxes of the players.

 

[Kosty]

I was personnally told at CES that HD A2s will start arriving this month by the boat load and that endcaps soon will be full at CE stores.


Good to hear these reports.

 

[RobDSM]

Great news! I can't wait to start seeing these players displayed more prominently.


I was at Fry's earlier this evening, and they had THREE Blu-ray endcap displays. Their A2 was literally in the corner of the store, hooked up to a smaller, cheap television, and it looked like crap. At least they had a 360 player hooked up fairly prominently, but still off to the side of all the televisions.

 

[Xylon]



Quote:
Originally Posted by RobDSM /forum/post/0


Great news! I can't wait to start seeing these players displayed more prominently.


I was at Fry's earlier this evening, and they had THREE Blu-ray endcap displays. Their A2 was literally in the corner of the store, hooked up to a smaller, cheap television, and it looked like crap. At least they had a 360 player hooked up fairly prominently, but still off to the side of all the televisions.

Fry's is like BB. Blu ray is all they push. But in the end you cant hide the price from the consumer.

 

[DougPr]

I can attest to Fry's bluray bias. They used to have HD-DVD movies in the aisle in San Diego on the same middle display that the new releases sat on. Then they moved bluray into that area and moved HD-DVD back by the Audio CD's area out of sight around the time the PS3 came out.

 

[Deja Vu]

I think we're going to see a shift in momentum from now on, at least with standalone players. I think many stores have given up trying to sell BD standalone planyers due to consumers resisting the price. the big box stores may make less selling an HD DVd player, but they can be sold and better to sell some of these than next to none of the others - good for employee moral too!


My experience gives me new hope that HD DVD is going to put a good scare into BD.


Cheers,


Grant

 

[SDouglas]



Quote:
Originally Posted by Roger Mathus /forum/post/0


It appears that Toshiba is expanding distribution to include big box stores. Local COSTCO has a stack of about 30 Toshiba players for $ 447. Model designation is HD D2. It appears to be the A2 with slightly different model name. No demo....just big stack of boxes of the players.

The HD-D1 was a rebadged HD-A1 specifically for Wal-mart with an all-black faceplate instead of the two-tone faceplace of the A1. Does anyone know of the cosmetic differences between the HD-D2 and the HD-A2?


SCD