Blu-ray Players to Hit $99 This Holiday Season

As previously reported, the Blu-ray Disc Association (BDA) has recently brought the high definition format to China. In order to accomplish this, they had to not only provide the technology to create Blu-ray Discs and players to Chinese manufacturers, but also create a licensing format which would lower costs and streamline the production process. One of the advantages to the rest of the Blu-ray buying world, commented Mark Leathan, Marketing Director at Samsung, was that we will soon see the "entry of the Chinese manufacturers into the Blu ray market that we will have a $99 Blu ray player." During last year's holiday season, Blu-ray players could be found for as low as $128, though quantities were limited due to the availability of product and the high demand for the high definition players. With sales this year predicted to be at least twice of what they were last year, it is expected that the $99 price point will become the norm for entry-level players, rather than as part of a special sales promotion. These lower priced entries, however, will likely have little effect on major consumer electronic manufacturers. It is highly unlikely that Sony, Panasonic, and Samung will participate in entry-level game of slim-margins, and will likely leave that to the new Chinese manufactures and new products from Magnavox or Sylvania. As you can see from the magnitude of the announcements over the past few days, the Blu-ray format is expected to be the hot ticket item this holiday season. The only question is, how many millions of people will wake-up to a new Blu-ray Disc player and Blu-ray copy of 'Lord of the Rings'?
Source: Smart House | Permalink	Relevant for:

Scorxpion  » Apr 17, 2009
Finally no one can say i cant buy a player because it is costing too much.Everyone now is welcome to examine the true high Definition of Blu-Ray discs.

ogscorpion  » Apr 17, 2009
Finally I can afford to put a BD player in each room of my house. Eat that HD DUD lovers!

docmanjay  » Apr 17, 2009
now if this was saying...now we can offer the same quailty as our $400 players for $99...this is landmark....but a plastic piece of junk for $99 is just that....next!!!!!

BLURAYSONYES  » Apr 17, 2009
Finally I can afford to put a BD player in each room of my house. Eat that HD DUD lovers! Didnt we past this already? Its been a while anyone talking about HD DVD. MOVE ON!

tru blu  » Apr 17, 2009
There are many people out there who will find this tempting. Welcome to the world of Blu.

andyman1970  » Apr 17, 2009
Great news. Now maybe Blu-ray will become the clear choice in home movie watching. Hopefully I will be able to persuade all of my non Blu friends to convert.

FRAK  » Apr 17, 2009
Thank God for child labor to help bring down costs! (Please note: sarcasm.)

that1guypictures  » Apr 17, 2009

I think that Blu-ray players will eventually fall to the same price as upconverting DVD players. I'm hoping that manufacturers will stop making these since it causes customer confusion at the Best Buy where I work. Most customers think DVD's won't play on Blu-ray players. That needs to be addressed. Eventually if DVD players are stopped being manufactured, then the customer will eventually just switch out of necessity...and the manufacturers and retailers would reap the benefit of a slightly higher priced product, without hurting the average joe. I still balk at people at Best Buy who state $45 for a DVD player?! That's expensive. Um...they were $1000 back in 1997.

Blu_Beast  » Apr 17, 2009
even if their not that great in qualityits worth it to put them in a kids room and bedroom, NICE!!!

Johnny Neat  » Apr 17, 2009

Now they need to lower those insane HD tv prices. Everyone should have a Samsung A750 level of picture at entry level at under a 1K at a 40" size. Am I asking too much? I think not when they are trying to get everyone to get a Blu-Player. Why have a Blu-player when too many people have tubes of old and some can't even see the HD difference or feel it's now worth the price points of things offered now? Now everyone can have say a Pioneer Elite 50-60" & a PS3.

H-BOMB  » Apr 17, 2009

I like it but you know that the players are going to be average at best. Plus, it is a good thing for the nubiles out there to introduce them to the world of Blu-ray. I also think that the big three can and should reduce the price of their players. The next thing to do is to bring the price of the Blu-ray disc down to a reasonable level. No disc should be more than $20 - that includes new releases. By the way, Johnny Neat, the PS3 use to be the top dog, not anymore, the stand alone Panasonics have better PQ and AQ. Even the stand alone Sony players are as good as the PS3.

Titanicfave  » Apr 17, 2009
Cool! Now more and more people can get into the true movie experience~Blu-ray!

jstute55  » Apr 17, 2009

I think the price point is great to introduce new people to the technology. However, at $99 the player will have issues with playability, firmware updates, etc. This will then cause those people to be severly turned off and disappointed with the technology, and more than likely returning the players with frustration. Unfortunately, you often times get what you pay for. There are plenty of players at the $200 price mark that (as a poster commented) if they were to drop to $100 to $150, would cause more people to buy with much fewer problems. Just my $0.02!

RobertSprenger  » Apr 17, 2009
I can finally get the coolest mother-in-law in the world a unit as I don't even buy regular standard discs anymore and I can never bring up anything to watch without bringing my unit. This is great news, I'll start getting her all her Disney and surprising her... although I wouldn't want her having a coronary on Xmas Day with all this stuff

KDASH  » Apr 17, 2009
I need a second one for the bedroom.

DodgerBlue42  » Apr 17, 2009

The only thing I worry about with these bargain-priced players is quality and reliability. I haven't had any problems with my PS3 but I've heard about a lot of problems with other players, even name-brand players that cost $250 or more. If someone buys one of these cheap players, will they have problems playing 2 or 3 of the discs they bought with it, and take it all back for a refund and never bother with Blu-ray again?

mugupo  » Apr 17, 2009
Nice when when will blu-ray burner drop for pc?

DodgerBlue42  » Apr 17, 2009
Johnnie Neat, display prices have come way down, at a rate I think is good for the future of HD. I was just looking at Best Buy's site and they've got name-brand 40"-46" 1080p displays for under a grand.

Blu Titan  » Apr 17, 2009
Great news! Say hello to mass adoption, and goodbye to those remaining Internet Trolls.

JT_Designer  » Apr 17, 2009

I agree with Jonnie Neat. I was recently in Best Buy and PC Richards. Those 40"+ displays which are selling for less than $1000 are not 1080p at 120Htz. They may be 1080, but the refresh rate is slow so you will get pixelation when there is fast motion. The refresh rate must be 120Htz to 240Htz which is coming out now. 46" Samsung displays average $1600 and if you want a Samsung LED they average $2600-$5000+ for a 46" - 52" respectively. All of these displays have to come down in price.

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