NPD: BD Player Prices Down, Sales Up, Possible $49 Black Friday Deals

Blu-ray player prices are dropping fast, and not only off-brand, barebones models. Even brand-name players with BD-Live and video streaming can be found for under $200. Nearly eight of every ten BD players sold this year through August were under $300, as opposed to only one in ten in the same period last year, according to NPD Group, which also reports that currently, BD unit sales make up 15% of overall US home video player purchases (DVD and BD players put together). NPD notes that between January and August 2009, 65% of all BD players sold were models priced between $200 and $299. For the same 2008 frame, the vast majority of all such purchases, at 75%, were for players between $300 and $399. Average price has dropped by approximately $100 in one year. A striking data point is sales of BD players under $200. In Jan-Aug 2008, there were no sales in that price range; in the same period of 2009, 14% of player sales were for players under $200. During last year's fourth quarter, the biggest Blu-ray player deals featured mostly off-brand players with no BD-Live. Now there are several name-brand BD-Live players with video streaming under $200, such as the Panasonic DMP-BD60, Samsung BD-P1600 and the LG BD370. "We've seen very strong growth in Blu-ray players this year. It has been a bright spot in a very gloomy industry landscape," said Ross Rubin, NPD director of industry analysis. "Nearly all other electronics device categories have been down, such as digital cameras and MP3 players." Rubin added that currently, Blu-ray unit sales make up 15% of overall U.S. high-definition/standard-definition home video player purchases. Yet he expects that will increase to 50% of unit sales in 2010 if current demand and pricing trends hold. Rubin expects $99 deals on Black Friday, and says it's "conceivable" that a $49 offer could be seen on Black Friday.
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Icedburden  » Oct 26, 2009
If there's a good Wi-fi Netflix Blu-Ray player on Black Friday for $100, I'm in.

djluis2k6  » Oct 26, 2009
$49?? Man I might just get one for my bathroom.

Ashamed Pegasus  » Oct 26, 2009
I would not buy a cheap Blu-ray player even if it is for the bedroom... I bought one last year for a great price and can't wait to upgrade it for something that actually works properly... You should be able to find decent name brand players for $99...

Blu Titan  » Oct 26, 2009
@ $49 for a player just about anyone will be able to afford one. Hopefully, we will see that price at Wal-Mart.

Galley  » Oct 26, 2009
Best Buy is selling an Insignia player for $99.99 this week.

Trekofile  » Oct 26, 2009

I now wished I'd bought a slightly higher priced player...I spent 249.00 for my Sharp w/ two free BD titles. I could have spent another 59.00 and gotten more features inclding Netflix linked cap., but opted fort he lower end and free movies. Do any of you who paid 4-500.00 and up ever have firmware issues as much as I'm experiencing? These low end black friday units may be a recipe for disaster to kill any good buzz w/ BD if consumers are riddled with playback issues. And for those that don't own or know much about their pc, like me who have to download the firmware updates on to flashdrive from their pc, than then transfer to their BD player frequently is frankly a hassle.

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