HD-DVD Players?

mikey ra · 06-21-2006, 03:56 PM

Hello All!

I'm new to the HD-DVD party discussion, but I do have a question. Other than Toshiba, are there any other companies that will be releasing HD-DVD players in the near future (obviously not Sony - but what about LG, Panasonic, Pioneer)? I see that Samsung and Sony have/will be releasing Blu-Ray players before 2006 is history, what about HD-DVD?

Austan · 06-21-2006, 04:09 PM

RCA has a rebadged Toshiba HD-A1. There's news of upcoming Samsung and LG combo players. But if you think $1000 is high, just imagine the extra cost of a HD-DVD laser along side a Blu-Ray laser.

I beleive that Pioneer and Sony might be going Blu-Ray exclusive as Toshiba is going HD-DVD exclusive. (for now that is, things might change in the future)

mikey ra · 06-21-2006, 05:02 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Austan

But if you think $1000 is high, just imagine the extra cost of a HD-DVD laser along side a Blu-Ray laser.

Yikes, never thought of that additional cost before.

Rob_HD · 06-22-2006, 01:42 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Austan

RCA has a rebadged Toshiba HD-A1. There's news of upcoming Samsung and LG combo players. But if you think $1000 is high, just imagine the extra cost of a HD-DVD laser along side a Blu-Ray laser.

I beleive that Pioneer and Sony might be going Blu-Ray exclusive as Toshiba is going HD-DVD exclusive. (for now that is, things might change in the future)

Why would one buy the BD player yet, when there's nothing but junk Mpeg2 releases with tons of artifacting to play on them?

Get the HD DVD player now and enjoy HD optical a year early, as it will be a long time before BD prices and quality will match it...

Samsung have also confirmed this week that they are working on a hybrid player which will play both formats.

http://www.hdtvoice.com/voice/showth...threadid=26183

Lew Crippen · 06-22-2006, 09:15 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rob_HD

Why would one buy the BD player yet, when there's nothing but junk Mpeg2 releases with tons of artifacting to play on them?
...
http://www.hdtvoice.com/voice/showth...threadid=26183

If you feel the need, I’ll link to some reviews of Blu-Ray software from members (that I consider credible—you may not) that are a far cry from the emotive and pejorative statements in that comment.

**HTF Ads**

Cees Alons · 06-22-2006, 10:02 AM

Ha, ha. Emotions are running high immediately - and the 'facts' suffer.

There isn't a combo player yet, but why would the little bit of extra hardware cost so much? It isn't the price of an extra laser (if necessary) that most decisively will influence the price of the final product (as Lew would like to point out: licenses may

).

But we simply have to wait and see.

And the 'junk mpeg2 with tons of artifacts' has not been signaled anywhere (apart from the mere fact that it's difficult to weigh an artifact on a scale

).

Cees

Austan · 06-23-2006, 01:32 PM

I got some numbers for manufacturing costs. It's from a Blog site, so you decide for yourself it these numbers are "fact" or "speculation".

"...estimating that it takes $674 worth of parts to build an HD-A1 -- bringing the total cost to well over $700 when you include labor, packaging, etc. -- which means that Toshiba is taking a $200 loss on each unit sold."

http://www.engadget.com/2006/06/23/t...1-sez-isuppli/

And as Cees pointed out, the numbers dont reflect any licensing fees.
(of course there is none for Toshiba, but Combo players will paying both ways)

Austan · 06-23-2006, 01:49 PM

Another link to the same article but with more break down numbers for cost of each of the parts.
http://www.tgdaily.com/2006/06/23/toshiba_hddvd/

Ed St. Clair · 06-26-2006, 06:49 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Austan

Another link to the same article but with more break down numbers for cost of each of the parts.
http://www.tgdaily.com/2006/06/23/toshiba_hddvd/

Does anyone know if those prices are retail, wholesale, or bulk?
Thanks.

Jesse Blacklow · 06-26-2006, 08:24 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ed St. Clair

Does anyone know if those prices are retail, wholesale, or bulk?
Thanks.

The article mentions "the bill of material (BOM) for Toshiba's HD-A1 clearly exceeds its $500 U.S. retail price." BOM is usually the cost to the manufacturer. While this is normal for stuff like video game consoles, it's pretty unusual for consumer electronics. That's why the initial costs of stuff like LD, CD, and DVD were pretty high. The difference is that there were many partners to absorb the cost for those. HD DVD really only has 3 (Toshiba, Sanyo, and NEC), if the statements from Microsoft employees at AVS that they aren't subsidizing it are true.

Hayes Preston · 06-26-2006, 11:35 PM

So, back to our origionally scheduled thread.

Are there any hardware manufacturers that are going to produce a HD DVD only (Not HD/BD Combo) player?