Well Balanced NY Times Article on Price Cuts

13927 Views 198 Replies 89 Participants Last post by _Noah_, Jan 18, 2008

DTV TiVo Dealer

Discussion Starter · Jan 14, 2008

Here's some quotes from today's NY Times:

HD DVD players have been cheaper than Blu-ray players for a while, and sales of standalone players have been strong. But Blu-ray has benefited from Sony's cachet among video enthusiasts, as well as the ability of the PlayStation 3 game console to play Blu-ray discs.

''While price is one of the consideration elements for the early adopter, it is a deal-breaker for the mainstream consumer,'' said Yoshi Uchiyama, group vice president of digital audio and video at Toshiba America Consumer Products.

Toshiba also said it planned an extended campaign of TV, print and online advertising to promote the format.

The only error the Times made was they only referenced 2 of the 3 major studio's as exclusive to HD DVD and missed DreamWorks.

-Robert

1 - 20 of 199 Posts

Figgie

· #2 · Jan 14, 2008

3

Ninja edit: Nevermind! Yours is from the Associated press that NY Times used....

Ignore

Hi Rob! Think you might have missed the other post

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=976792

they mention tech consumers but yours is the NY Times

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5150zx

· #3 · Jan 14, 2008

Quote:
Originally Posted by DTV TiVo Dealer /forum/post/12814167

Toshiba also said it planned an extended campaign of TV, print and online advertising to promote the format.

Why the hell didn't they do this months ago. Their marketing is as bad as it gets! Even if they dropped prices to $100.oo on all their players, unless a lot of content comes out (at a bit lowered prices)..........forget it!

p0tempkin

· #4 · Jan 14, 2008

Quote:
Originally Posted by DTV TiVo Dealer /forum/post/12814167

The only error the Times made was they only referenced 2 of the 3 major studio's as exclusive to HD DVD and missed DreamWorks.

It's not an error; Dreamworks Studios was purchased by Paramount in February 2006, and is now wholly-owned subsidiary.

Dreamworks Animation Studios is a separate entity (not owned by Paramount) but is not a major studio.

anotheraviator

· #5 · Jan 15, 2008

Quote:
Originally Posted by moretothepoint /forum/post/12814363

And buying a product with no future is an even bigger deal breaker.

We must all remember there is still no guarantee that Blu-ray has a future either. If sales don't increase it could be the doorstop of 2009 as another product will sweep in and take the gold.

Google "CES 2008 Digital Downloads" and you'll see just how much all those same Blu-ray studios are talking about the future of movie distribution.

Wendell R. Breland

· #6 · Jan 15, 2008

Robert,

Do you offer a price (30/60/90 day) protection guarantee? If so, who antes up the money? What do you think BB & CC reaction will be?

MRMOTA

· #7 · Jan 15, 2008

Folks at this point I do not care who is victorious as long as it is not downloads. I like the feel of having a disk that I own and I can feel. If Toshiba does pull a hail mary and annihilates the BDA or manages to become a viable choice and coexists with blu-ray cool. However the HW pricing while definitely a good thing for the consumer will not inspire other mainstream CE's to decide to jump in and compete with the prices that Toshiba has decided to sell there players now. I for one would like some choice and up until now it has been Toshiba and rebadges... If the combo's finally come up to snuff that is also possibility. It will be an interesting year for HDM.

binici

· #8 · Jan 15, 2008

Quote:
Originally Posted by MRMOTA /forum/post/12814631

Folks at this point I do not care who is victorious as long as it is not downloads. I like the feel of having a disk that I own and I can feel. If Toshiba does pull a hail mary and annihilates the BDA or manages to become a viable choice and coexists with blu-ray cool. However the HW pricing while definitely a good thing for the consumer will not inspire other mainstream CE's to decide to jump in and compete with the prices that Toshiba has decided to sell there players now. I for one would like some choice and up until now it has been Toshiba and rebadges... If the combo's finally come up to snuff that is also possibility. It will be an interesting year for HDM.

It would be sad if HD DVD lost, but I just feel uneasy picking up a Blu-Ray player without a finished profile and the higher cost, which drives me nuts! No, I don't want a PS3, I want a stand-alone player

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Meatpopsicle

· #9 · Jan 15, 2008

Quote:
Originally Posted by MRMOTA /forum/post/12814631

Folks at this point I do not care who is victorious as long as it is not downloads. I like the feel of having a disk that I own and I can feel. If Toshiba does pull a hail mary and annihilates the BDA or manages to become a viable choice and coexists with blu-ray cool. However the HW pricing while definitely a good thing for the consumer will not inspire other mainstream CE's to decide to jump in and compete with the prices that Toshiba has decided to sell there players now. I for one would like some choice and up until now it has been Toshiba and rebadges... If the combo's finally come up to snuff that is also possibility. It will be an interesting year for HDM.

I myself am pretty excited about the prospects of digital distribution. I think most concerns can quickly be addressed, and I think it will surprise many how quickly digital downloads surpass HDM in sound/pq quality.

But true - Bluray isn't going anywhere even with the majority of studios. Too expensive, and as long as they don't have 100% studio support, it will scare away 90% of consumers.

nathantw

· #10 · Jan 15, 2008

Quote:
Originally Posted by anotheraviator /forum/post/12814478

We must all remember there is still no guarantee that Blu-ray has a future either. If sales don't increase it could be the doorstop of 2009 as another product will sweep in and take the gold.

Google "CES 2008 Digital Downloads" and you'll see just how much all those same Blu-ray studios are talking about the future of movie distribution.

I don't see Sony giving up the ghost in a couple years with Blu-ray. If history shows anything it's that Sony will support their product for years go come even if the public doesn't. For example, the cassette walkman. I bet you didn't know they still sold those. They did until a couple years ago. Sony Beta video. They support that to this day. DAT tapes? Yup, still supporting them. Minidisc? Considering I just purchased a unit late last year they're still supporting it. There's a multitude of products that Sony has brought out that the public didn't embrace but they still supported them for years.

Since Sony owns the movie division I highly doubt they'll stop making movies in Blu-ray in 2 years.

giggle

· #11 · Jan 15, 2008

moretothepoint said:
Quote:
Originally Posted by DTV TiVo Dealer /forum/post/12814167

''While price is one of the consideration elements for the early adopter, it is a deal-breaker for the mainstream consumer,'' said Yoshi Uchiyama, group vice president of digital audio and video at Toshiba America Consumer Products.

/QUOTE]

And buying a product with no future is an even bigger deal breaker.

Click to expand...

Is that really necessary??? It should be reported.

gnj1958

· #12 · Jan 15, 2008

Quote:
Originally Posted by DTV TiVo Dealer /forum/post/12814167

''While price is one of the consideration elements for the early adopter, it is a deal-breaker for the mainstream consumer,'' said Yoshi Uchiyama, group vice president of digital audio and video at Toshiba America Consumer Products."

Well mainstream consumer isn't quite in the game yet. We're still in the early adopter stage. By the time it gets down to Joe Average player prices will have come down.

It's still more to do with the software. If people are gonna pay money for a player then they want movies to play on it.

Baccusboy

· #13 · Jan 15, 2008

As has been stated elsewhere, Toshiba still has a warehouse or two full of these players, as well as budget dollars set aside for advertising this quarter. They're trying to get rid of them before they take an even bigger bath.

I'm sure the stores, both large and small, are also wanting to sell them off.

Robert, from a sellers perspective, if you order 10 HD-DVD player from Toshiba, and you can't sell them, does Toshiba credit you on a return to them? Or are you stuck with them?

I've always wondered what happened to the smaller retailers in that regard.

moretothepoint

· #14 · Jan 15, 2008

giggle said:
Quote:
Originally Posted by moretothepoint /forum/post/12814363

Is that really necessary??? It should be reported.

Click to expand...

Go ahead, report me, for stating what I believe to be the case. And while you're at it, report the hundreds of other posters who do the same.

iceperson

· #15 · Jan 15, 2008

Quote:
Originally Posted by Baccusboy /forum/post/12815171

As has been stated elsewhere, Toshiba still has a warehouse or two full of these players, as well as budget dollars set aside for advertising this quarter. They're trying to get rid of them before they take an even bigger bath.

I'm sure the stores, both large and small, are also wanting to sell them off.

Robert, from a sellers perspective, if you order 10 HD-DVD player from Toshiba, and you can't sell them, does Toshiba credit you on a return to them? Or are you stuck with them?

I've always wondered what happened to the smaller retailers in that regard.

I think it's pretty obvious based on the cheerleading as of late that someone is afraid they're going to get stuck with all those players...

PaulGo

· #16 · Jan 15, 2008

I found this article balanced and interesting:

Toshiba Refuses To Wave The White Flag In HD DVD-Blu-Ray War

It's likely that Sony over time would be willing to pay Toshiba to drop HD DVD, so the industry could focus on the one format and end consumer jitters, one analyst suggests.

By Antone Gonsalves

InformationWeek

January 14, 2008 03:13 PM

Toshiba, which recently suffered a major setback in its fight to dominate the high-definition movie format for DVDs, on Monday dropped the prices of its HD DVD players and said it would beef up its marketing campaign against the Sony-backed Blu-ray format.

At least one analyst, however, said Toshiba had little chance of winning, and its bravado was more likely an attempt to save face and create a better negotiating position against Blu-ray supporters who would like to see HD DVD go away as quickly as possible.

Balance of article at:
http://www.informationweek.com/news/...leID=205604607

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sivartk

· #17 · Jan 15, 2008

One of the few articles I've seen lately that doesn't call this a fire sale. Who knows...this could have been planned long before the beginning of the year.

Until Toshiba calls it a fire / clearance sale, I won't believe it.

I remember when Sony did a fire sale on their HD DVR back in 2006. They were selling a HD DVR priced originally at $999 through some retailers at $99. Now when the HD-A3 goes down to $30, you can call it a fire sale (10% of it's original MSRP)

onanie

· #18 · Jan 15, 2008

People should consider their purchases carefully (however cheap on appearance) with the studio support situation in mind, of which Blu-ray has 70% market share. Even as an upconverting player, you probably already have one or have seen cheaper alternatives elsewhere.

Yukon Trooper

· #19 · Jan 15, 2008

Bewilders me why HD DVD has such a weak advertising campaign compared to Blu-Ray. They are so complacent compared to Blu-Ray. All I ever see are HD PS3 Blu-Ray commercials during football games. Hardly ever see ads for HD DVD.

deez

· #20 · Jan 15, 2008

Quote:
Originally Posted by Yukon Trooper /forum/post/12815828

Bewilders me why HD DVD has such a weak advertising campaign compared to Blu-Ray. They are so complacent compared to Blu-Ray. All I ever see are HD PS3 Blu-Ray commercials during football games. Hardly ever see ads for HD DVD.

Toshiba does not know the game at which they are playing. Sony has way more to lose and Sony acted accordingly. Toshiba did nothing to win...they could have offered 1 billion dollars.....now, thier only option is cheaper players and giving that 1 billion to Disney.

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