Re: *** Official HTF HD Formats Industry/Retailer/Studio Support Thread
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| I don't know what it costs Toshiba to make 1 HD-A2 and market it, I just know they have been manufacturing their line of HD players for several years now, and I'll wager they know what their doing. |
They absolutely know what they are doing. They're letting hardware sales profits take a back-seat to the priority of pricing their hardware low enough to encourage rapid player sales. This is a calculated strategy to try to gain market share for HD DVD early on in the format's life cycle while competition with BD is strong. It's worked as far as helping HD DVD get in the hands of more customers faster. But it's hurt because it's caused other manufacturers to sit on the side-lines or invest in BD where hardware sales profits are more rewarding.
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| Now I'm making an assumption here that BD manufacturers have set up their Blu-ray assembly lines and incurred huge expenses in doing so and it's a little late in the game to suddenly reverse directions and compete with Toshiba on a cost basis even if they may wish to do so. |
Toshiba had been disclosing their strategy for low-cost hardware, including bragging that low-cost Chinese players would be coming very quickly, well before their format hit the streets. That's why other major brands didn't get involved early in the game and nothing has changed to encourage their participation since that time.
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| My only regret is that Toshiba was not part of the BR manufacturing group. If, somehow, they were, I'll wager that Toshiba would be selling their BR players for Under $200. |
Comments like this suggest a fundamental lack of awareness about key issues of the format war. FORMAT ROYALTIES are the key reason why we have a format war at all. Toshiba wants to rake it in with HD DVD (where they own most of the royalties). Sony and it's gang (there are many members of the BD team) want to rake it in with BD. Toshiba's royalties are tied specifically to the *disc structure* of the DVD format, which is why they based HD DVD on DVD manufacturing (preserves those royalties they enjoy now with DVD) and why they weren't willing to merge with Sony when it meant going with Blu-ray Disc's higher-storage disc format. If it had been anything otherwise, we'd have one format right now.
They are indeed. And from a consumer point of view of "here and now", those players represent a great value. If HD DVD crashes and burns in a year or so because of lack of support by other manufacturers, it may not end up being a long-term value, though those players are amazing DVD up-converters and worth the price for that feature alone.
