Blu-ray player sales

Al.Anderson · 05-01-2008, 08:58 AM

I thought this was interesting: Blu-ray player sales down despite format victory | Tech news blog - CNET News.com

I haven't seen any threads on this topic in a while. What do people think the slow adoption is due to: player cost, media cost, economy, DVD good enough?

I know for me I'm not crazy about paying the extra price of an HD disk, so I just rent. But I'm guessing many people aren't looking to rentals as their primary viewing source.

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Chuck King · 05-01-2008, 10:24 AM

I think it's a combination of the state of the economy and media costs. I don't buy the argument that it's player cost. The couple of hundred bucks you pay for a blu-ray player over the cost of a decent DVD player will be overcome by the premium cost of the discs in a hurry.

Scott-S · 05-01-2008, 10:28 AM

Netflix rents Blu-Ray movies.

But I think the big reason for slow sales is that most (like me) are waiting for the 2.0 players.

Ennsio · 05-01-2008, 10:47 AM

If the experiences of my friends with PS3s that have tried Blu-ray discs is any indication, a large reason is that "DVD is good enough". I have several friends who have bought PS3s recently to go with their HDTVs and were eager to see what Blu-rays looked like on their system and came away impressed but said that they did not notice a huge difference from DVD and would definitely not have bought a stand-alone player for blu-ray. Especially for $400 or more.

My brother is the same. I'm helping him put together a great home theatre in his basement and he has a 720p projector and 5.1 sound system but just a non-converting DVD player. The image looks good but could definitely be improved with blu-ray but he is not keen on forking over $400-$500 for a product that is still in its early stages. For him, DVD is good enough for now. Contrast that with when he first bought his home theater. He was one of the first people to buy a DVD player (when the DVD section at the Blockbuster was the size of the current Blu-ray sections) and loved the upgrade that DVD was over video.

I think that unless people are really in tune with what is possible for video quality (such as in discussions here), many people do not see the need to upgrade yet as they are happy with DVD. I don't know whether it takes a drop in the price of players or the price of software or both before people are willing to take the step up from DVD, but I think most people don't see DVD really holding them back at this point.

Mark Zimmer · 05-01-2008, 11:29 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Scott-S

But I think the big reason for slow sales is that most (like me) are waiting for the 2.0 players.

Same here. $400 is too much for a player that will be obsoleted by summer or fall. So I'm waiting more or less patiently for the Sony 550.

Goko · 05-01-2008, 01:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Chuck King

I think it's a combination of the state of the economy and media costs. I don't buy the argument that it's player cost. The couple of hundred bucks you pay for a blu-ray player over the cost of a decent DVD player will be overcome by the premium cost of the discs in a hurry.

For me it IS player cost. Why should I buy a player now when come X-mas time I could save myself hundreds of dollars and get a better player as well. Till than other HD sources will do just fine.

chuckg · 05-01-2008, 01:31 PM

I'd say all of the above. the players are far more expensive than they need to be....I mean, c'mon, really. The disks cost more, and can't be played on existing equipment. Unless folks get a larger TV ( or sit closer to one of the same size) then the image upgrade won't be noticeable to the average joanne and joe. They also won't notice much of an audio improvement on their tiny-tinny speakers.

Me? I'm waiting for 2.0 with analog audio outs and a price under $500.

Jeff F. · 05-01-2008, 01:46 PM

The hardware and software are WAY TOO EXPENSIVE for the small bump in PQ, in my opinion. I've got a 52 inch Sony 1080p HDTV with an upconverting Sony S-DVD player. It really is good enough for now until those BD prices drop - and I'm normally an early adopter.

TravisR · 05-01-2008, 01:52 PM

I'm sure all the factors discussed are playing a part but the most important aspect has been missed.

Quote:

Standalone Blu-ray player unit sales in the U.S. decreased 40 percent from January to February and saw a very slight increase (2 percent) between February and March, according to NPD.

The format war ended in January so all the people that were sitting on the fence caused a sales increase in January so, of course, sales were going to drop in Febraury. And then the numbers went up slightly in March compared to February.

This story is just twisting figures to manufacture a story.

RickER · 05-01-2008, 02:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mark Zimmer

I'm waiting more or less patiently for the Sony 550.

Me too, and for now my Sony BDP 300 is doing fine.

KurtEP · 05-01-2008, 02:18 PM

Blu Ray is still in the early adopter phase. How many homes even have a high definition television at this point? Plus, the shelves aren't exactly groaning with BD releases, and a lot of the local rental places don't carry them. The average person probably just doesn't see a good reason to buy right now, unlike some of us hardcore types.

I never understand those who say the bump is small in quality, though. On my system, and most of the others I've seen, the difference is usually quite apparent. True, some disks are better than others, but most of them are significantly better. I'd be willing to bet that a lot of the same people had a hard time telling between a shelf worn VHS and DVD too.

ReggieW · 05-01-2008, 02:43 PM

Here in lies the rub...

Most of the enthusiasts on this forum will know/research the difference between various Blu-ray profiles. Casual consumers don't know and can really care less as long as the player plays their discs - and of course, some of the early players won't on certain features. I think stand-alone player sales MIGHT rise once the prices come down. The economoy is just too terrible right now, so luxury items are taking a back seat to food and gas. I really don't see people running out to upgrade in this climate when they're already content with the image SD-DVD is putting on their screens for now. I hear time and time again from family members that the transitions from VHS to DVD seemed like a pretty huge step up due to factors we're all aware of, where as going to Blu-ray seems marginal TO THEM. Yes, the picture quality is undoubtedly better, but this is probably not enough alone to win them over at this stage. Unless Blu-ray movie/hardware prices drop to SD-DVD levels in the coming years, I really don't see the format ever replacing it. For now, I will simply enjoy what's released on Blu, but none of us should be surprised if Blu-ray never becomes the phenomenon that SD-DVD is/was.

Zack Gibbs · 05-01-2008, 03:02 PM

Their figures don't count the PS3, which makes them pretty much worthless. I know it's hard, if not impossible, for them to track the number of PS3 sales that were due to Blu-ray, but that doesn't mean you can't count them at all.