Many Chinese and Taiwanese OEM Blu-ray Disc player manufacturers are seeing their products sit on store shelves while players from major manufactures - such as Sony and Samsung - maintain strong sales. According to reports, this is due to major manufacturers lowering their player prices to the sub-$200 level for the holidays, a move which places them at the same price level as the majority of entry-level players.
In October and November, the Chinese and Taiwanese OEM manufacturers began sending Blu-ray Disc players to the US and Europe in anticipation of strong sales ate the $200 price point, which was expected to be $50-$100 less than the majors. As the holiday shopping time neared, the majors dropped prices more than expected, and retailers focused on promoting those players, rather than the store brand equivalent.
Because of this, no new orders have been placed in December (as retailers look to clear out stock before reordering), and these manufacturers fear no new orders will come until the end of Q1.
i think during the format war when they were talking about the cheap chinese players coming[at that time] they said the major manufacturers might do something like this...cut prices
here we are!
It is not the price cuts. Those lesser names have no business selling for anywhere close to $200, when the format is expanding into the mainstream. This can hardly be consider a niche market right now. Moreover, they should have anticipated the price drops.
Prices need to come down! I'm much more concerned about the rise in disc prices and general stagnation in the marketplace since HD DVD went the way of the dodo. I think Blu-ray needed HD DVD if only to keep the prices competitive. Nobody in their right mind is going to pay $30+ for an old movie that they already own unless it's one of their all-time favorites that they will watch again and again. I can only think of a handful of movies I would be willing to double dip on at that price. Hence the problem we have with the format. It's a catch22 scenario where nobody is willing to buy the overpriced movies that they can either get for half the price on DVD or they already own on DVD... until Blu-ray movies become more affordable. The problem is that a price drop won't happen until a reasonably sized marketplace is established. We're in a deadlock pattern that looks an awful lot like the second coming of Laserdisc. If Sony wants Blu-ray to take off in a serious way, then they need to drop prices now! Don't let greed destroy what should be the next optical format. The longer we go without serious market penetration, the more viable direct downloads becomes.
Where are you paying $30+ for a movie? Maybe you should shop around or stay away from Best Buy, Borders or Barnes and Noble.
And why are you talking like only Sony sells Blu-Ray movies? Sony doesn't set the price of movies except for the ones they release themselves. The studio releasing the film does: Paramount, Universal, Warner, etc.
Not to mention with sales of The Dark Knight and the overall increase in sales for Blu-Ray movies, all I cansay about your price rant is blah, blah, blah. We've heard it all before. Shop aroound and you can find good deals on movies.
Blu Ray Movie prices are not that bad and are coming down, not increasing.
I purchased some new BLU from amazon at 4.99 each. (6 James Bond Movies). You can get deals all the time, I have 60 blu ray movies or so with average price paid of $15. I just saw an ad for best buy with 20 or so DVD movies at $19.99. How is Blu Ray that much different? Look for the deals, prices are coming down. But compared to DVD, BLU is not that far off what you pay for DVD in many cases.
Hope they don't fold up shop because of it. They need to stick around to fill in that price range once the prices (for the majors) go back up after the holidays.
If the Blu-ray consortium really wants to take 50% of DVDs market share (Sony said that was a goal by this time last year) then they need to do something drastic like match DVD pricing dollar for dollar. Blu will fly off the shelves if this is done. Many people already own a PS3, but in this bad economy and world recession, people can't afford luxury items (Blu-ray). I own 20 Blu-ray movies, but I haven't bought any in several months because times are tight and I need to find a way to save more. I know many of you as early adopters are financially well off, but mainstream America (the ones you need in order to gain that kind of market share) simply can't afford it at this time. I'm not trolling, I am genuinely concerned for the future of the format. From an economic standpoint, Blu-ray could not have picked a worse time to look for adopters.
why would a technology that has only been out 3 or so years match the price range of an inferior product that has been on the shelves well over a decade? think about that stuff before you post. with inflation factored in, the cost of a blu ray disc 3 years into the format is below what the cost of a dvd 3 years in was. places like amazon are offering extremely low prices, i bought underworld for cheaper than i can buy the standard dvd, and people still rent. the cost of players is more of a deterent than anything, and with them coming down, everything will fall into place.
Supply and demand! Market share is everything. You could have the greatest product since sliced bread, and if it doesn't sell then there is no market. If there is no market then the product becomes extinct. Sony has a history of developing technically superior products, but most of those technologies don't last for long (remember Betamax?) Why you ask? Because nobody bought into them!! They were too damn expensive for mainstream adoption. So before you go and defend the higher pricing of new technology because the costs of production are more, think about what is needed to ensure that your tech gets mainstream adoption.
Just look at how game consoles gain market share. They saturate the market by coming in at huge price breaks compared to what it cost to manufacture, then they have the market share, so they can start selling games and eventually turn a lucrative profit that way. No matter how you slice it, Blu-ray needs to find a way to gain market share in a serious way.
This thread is about players and companies filling in a pricepoint that major HW manufacturers choose not to pursue. It has somehow been steered into a lower price on movies thread.
It is unfortunate that these type of companies are struggling because they are the ones that help stabilize the market and eventually drive major manufactuers prices lower. Unless people can see a major advantage of a brand name over an off brand we instictively go for the lower priced item.
Competition is everyones friend and leads to better prices.
I agree with mdm, cheap players should not be that high.
As for movie prices, people seem to forget how high CDS and DvDs were when they first realized. We though have an advantage. We have the internet. We can browse, though most people are lazy. They refuse to look and expect all prices to be the same everywhere. These are the same people that were paying $26.99 for a brand new standard dvd at Suncoast and FYE in the mall. I like Best Buy better then Wal MArt because they actually have sales. I am excited for The Super Target they are building across the street from the Wal MArt. Target has sales to which will force wal mart to match.
Remember, too, that no one in the industry wants prices to fall too far (i.e. DVD level), because if they do, the whole reason behind creating them is lost. DVD doesn't make as much money anymore in hardware or software because it's gotten so cheap. That's why every in the industry likes Blu ray-- it makes them money. If the prices were to match DVD, there'd be no reason for the industry to bother anymore. Prices will drop, but it will be a long time before they equal DVD prices, I think, barring the occasional sale.
Tough titty for the entry level manufacturers then, if they can't compete, then they shouldn't be in the business. Kind of the like the North American auto industry, there's a reason these guys can't cut it. If they can't compete price-wise, then give us a reason to spend the extra money, but they don't.
To andyman, if a blu-ray are gonan be made in U.S. is probably gonna be cost you over 500
aleast. also since illegal here ain't technical skillful compare to chinese worker therefore it
won't be easily be done here. The price different of country made from the same product
especially on eletronic is very big different especially among eletronics.
Well, maybe these entry level player companies should cut their prices as well. Maybe we should have some American made Blu-ray players on the shelves.
I picked-up the Sony BDP S350 at Futureshop for $260.00 it came with 3 Blu-Ray titles (Kingdom of Heaven/Devil wears Prada/I Robot) - about a month ago. It is amazing the image quality is outstanding. The other machines offered were $150.00 more expensive. The unit has BDlive capability - but I'm paranoid and will probably not use this feature.
Quote:
andman970
Power Member
Good, US citizens should by from major manufactures as opposed to buying from companies in communist countries like China.
Bollocks mate what a bigoted xenophobic attitude some Americans have. With attitudes like that your country will have trouble finding trading partners and the U.S. will continue to be Knee deep in shit. Face it most Americans don't give a monkey's about where stuff comes from as long as its cheap. Next time you watch a movie, try checking out where your Sony, Onkyo, Marantz, Denon, Pioneer is actually manufactured, then see if you still make such crap statements. I always prefer to buy quality products, but to boycot a product merely because yu dn't like where its made is pure turd.
Randall, didn't you pay attention throughout the history of DVD (or any new product that that survives). Prices always start high and eventually drop. And as for HDDVD being there for competition, REALLY!? Were you paying attention there either? Blu-ray didn't remotely compete where pricing was concerned (other than a few Amazon sales). And in spite of Blu-ray's higher price, the product slowly but surely won out in sales of both hardware and software.
And as for these hard times (financially speaking), I'm someone that would be considered middle to lower middle income as well as all of my friends and all but a couple of them have gotten blu-ray within the past 6 months and the couple that haven't are going to have them under the tree on 12/25. And do you really thing that Black Knight's 1.7 million in world wide sales was mostly wealthier "early adopters," I doubt that. I was one of those that bought it day one. If only early adopters were buying blu-ray you wouldn't be seeing those kind of numbers.
Sure Blu-ray hasn't hit critical mass yet, and it may not for couple of years more, but it will. And like DVD did back when it hit critical mass, prices will drop big and hard. So just hang in there, and don't get your panties in a bunch.
Many Chinese and Taiwanese OEM Blu-ray Disc player manufacturers are seeing their products sit on store shelves while players from major manufactures - such as Sony and Samsung - maintain strong sales. According to reports, this is due to major manufacturers lowering their player prices to the sub-$200 level for the holidays, a move which places them at the same price level as the majority of entry-level players.
