Is Best Buy Souring on HD DVD? (1 Viewer)

[BrettGallman]

My local BB has the Westinghouse set-up, and I've seen units for sale in stores 3 times, including today. They also had the newest releases today. I'm so tempted to take the plunge, but I'm weary with all the glitches, and the fact that BD is looming on the horizon. I'm horrible at self-control, though. I'm sure I'll bite before long.

 

[Jeremy Little]

I didn't check the other titles, but Batman and Harry Potter still showed 6-13 and 6-20 respectively. These are changing constantly, so don't put too much stock into that until closer to those dates. If Batman does come out, it will probably arrive no later than Friday this week.

 

[Dave Moritz]

Was at my local BB two days ago and they have allready pulled the Toshiba HD-DVD player from its display. The HD-DVD movies are off one of the side isles and are not up where the player was being shown off. I was just suprised that BB would have dumped the player even before they had a blu-ray player to replace it. If Sony had not put out blu-ray and our only choice would have been HD-DVD I most likely have pulled the trigger on HD-DVD from the get go, even with the players bugs.

Even though I rather have a blu-ray player I have to admit HD-DVD looks very good and there are some nice titles on that format as well.

 

[Robert James Clark]

My Best Buy still has their end display of HD-DVD with the demo disc running on a 42" LCD.

Surprisingly, there was no display for BluRay. I had to hunt for the Samsung player (there were two mixed in the DVD player section with no price or sign displayed. I found the Bluray discs on a shelf under the HD-DVD movies! HD-DVD's are now found in three different locations in the store.

Though unlike the OP I draw no corporate BB conclusions from this very soft launch at my BB (it's a smaller BB with no Magnolia), I am curious how others stores around the US are launching BluRay.

 

[RobertR]

Went to my local Best Buy today. The HDDVD and BD displays are of equal size (back to back). No BD demo was playing, though.

 

[Brent M]

My Best Buy has banished their HD-DVD display from the store apparently as it was nowhere to be found when I was there yesterday. Now, the Blu-Ray setup is located where the HD-DVD player and titles used to be.

 

[LarryH]

The Blu-Rays were not put out at my BB today. The staff said there wouldn't be a player for another week, so it didn't make sense to put them out. So far the HD-DVD display is as it has been since day-1, plus overflow titles on another shelf across the aisle.

 

[Ed St. Clair]

I'll go out on a limb here, and guess that's a lost for HD DVD! ;-)

How sad is it, that the fate of BD and/or HD DVD is in the hands of BB & WallyWorld? :-o

Go Uni, go uni, go uni...

 

[Rachael B]

I saw the Samsung player in action last night at Busted Buy. I had to wait about a bit to see it. First, dude sez people must'a stole the demo disc. ...'an I'm like, where's the remote....I wanna see the menus. I said there must some discs we could open and play. Dude goes off and brings back dude #2. Dude #2 informs us that the demo disc has been recalled over a rights issue, that'sa some spicey first day! I smell a So-knee rat here, stealin' some Samsung thunder...?!!! It's a theory that fits the facts. Anyway, they never could produce the remote. You can't work the menus from the faceplate. The Play/Stop/Pause buttons are on a circular button that presses on four sides for the functions, ugh, bad, foul! Pioneer put a round thing-y like this on some LD players once. I thought nobody'd make that mistake again....

I tried to get 'em to open 50 First Dates. I wanted to see a new movie that would have every advantage on the format. The dudes got permission to open a disc and they wanted Filth Element, of course. I'd already read up on it and it's dirt problem. I wished they'd of opened any of the others. They had 'em all except House Of Flying Objects.

I wanted to turn down the 60" Sony's contrast whilst dudes were off but the remote for it was MIA too. TFE was totally in disgraceland. That print needs a dose of Shout to get the dirt out. I watched the first half hour or so.

I flew over to BB again this eve after ski club, just barely making it in time, hair stille wet. I was jones'in for a copy of Syriana HD. When I went over to where the Samsung was yesterday, it was gone. I presume sold. 5 Blu-way discs were next to the HD-DVD's in a new little section for 'em on a DVD isle....no sign, no nothin'! A few other folks waundered over and saw Blu-ray with me yesterday. They were not wowed either. One fella said he was waiting out the format war but curious. That made 2 of us, outside the dudes.

No HD today! The A1 that was next to the Samsung last night was gone too, presumably sold??? I didn't stick around or ask.

 

[Dave Moritz]

I was at my local BB here in Phoenix this past week and they had a Samsung BD-P1000 on display. They had it hooked up to a small Samsung plasma HDTV and a small set of Samsung speakers. They had 6 Blu-ray movies and no Terminator disc.

They where using House of Flying Daggers to demo the Blu-ray player and I was disapointed in the MPEG encoded Blu-ray disc! The video lacked sharpness and depth. The HD-DVD display had been gone for around 2 weeks and the Blu-ray display is on an end cap. I can't believe that Sony released MPEG2 disc to roll out Blu-ray. The funny thing was the the Toshiba HD-A1 HD-DVD player was hooked up to a Sony HDTV.

But now there is no HD-DVD player in sight but there is plenty of HD-DVD discs right around the corner from the Blu-ray display. After the long wait and Blu-ray is finally here now its a matter of when will Sony break out the MPEG4 or VC1 encoded discs.

I do think BB is backing away from HD-DVD but I think they are still trying to offer the software to see if there is any interest in the format. If Sony can not get there act together I may just and up having a Toshiba HD-A1 HD-DVD player in my HT by Christmas.

 

[Ed St. Clair]

LOL!!!
As much as I like to bash Sony (They make it so easy, while I'm trying not to be a Blu Basher. I just will not buy a Sony BD player, although I will most likely buy Sony BD discs, as a movie fan, how could I not! Maybe I'll buy used Sony BD disc that way Sony does not get any of my money), does anyone have negative names for any of the WB HD DVD titles that have low sound or were mis-mastered?
Thanks.

Someone said HD DVD first title would be "Failure to Launch", that was a good one, however haven't come across any negatively named HD DVD's.

Although it would be great to say I'm only doing this to be fair, which is some what correct, it's really cause these title names just crack me up!!!

Maybe I should start a thread; "Names for messed up HD titles". ;-)

Oh, sorry!
Back on topic;
I did go to my local BB, they still had the HD DVD display up this week. Of coarse just the menu was on (I started up TLS) & the discs around the XA1 were Blu titles!!!
A "dude" came over, so I asked if they had the Samsung BD player, "dude" said yeah, they would be hooking it up later this week.
HD DVD titles were predominately display on the isle down from the endcap display as well as on an endcap of DVD titles across from the XA1.
HD DVD didn't die at BB, this week! ;-)

 

[Kelly Grannell]

The craziest thing about my local 3 BB locations and 2 FS (FutureShop) locations is that their prices on the software is $10 more than at Wally's

 

[ChristopherDAC]

I noticed that both Best Buy and Circuit City had big spreads in their fliers in this Sunday's newspaper advertising Blu-Ray as "the future of DVD". I don't recall any such push for HD DVD. Perhaps they retailers have decided that the preponderance of studio and manufacturer support in going to mean an automatic winner, and aren't interested in pushing the default losing format? Or maybe they just make more profit on a $1000 player than a $500…

 

[RickER]

I was in Best Buy last Tuesday and they had HD DVDs and Blu Ray discs up front with the regular DVDs. Not many discs at all, but still up front. I didnt see them today. I walked the whole store, inside Magnolia and everything. I didnt see any Blu ray display, or HD DVD for that matter. I did see the HD DVD display 2 weeks ago but had to ask where it was hooked up.

 

[Steve Tannehill]

At the big store in Plano, BB had the old endcap that used to have the HD DVD player with Blu Ray and a Samsung flat-panel. The BD discs were in boxes nearby. Down the aisle, there was a Toshiba HD-A1 tied down to a shelf, and a small section of over-priced HD DVD's.

I asked the salesman how that $1000 Samsung was doing, and he said it just came in, but he was very impressed with it, moreso than HD DVD.

When I asked why the HD DVD player was not hooked up, he said one was, in Magnolia to the 72-inch Mits....

And while no one was even batting an eye at the BD display, someone was buying that Mits and HD DVD player. Score!

- Steve

 

[Steve Tannehill]

Oh, and true to form, CC had a BD display in the front of the store, with the player showing the demo, and last week's discs for sale. Although they said they also had HD DVD, there was no evidence of that, and when I asked them if they had any HD DVD discs, they said no.

Bogus.

- Steve

 

[RickER]

You would think they would have a banner, a display...something to let you know your watching Blu Ray or HD DVD. Let people know its not just DVD. Regular DVD has always looked good on those $10,000 displays.

How many people do you think bought a HD disc and returned it cause it didnt play on the regular DVD machine?

 

[Jeff(R)]

This Sunday's Best Buy newspaper ad.

Page 8:

[url=http://img204.imageshack.us/img204/2676/bestbuynewspaper7vk.th.jpg] [/url]
(click to enlarge)

Page 28:

[url=http://img86.imageshack.us/img86/5954/bestbuynewspaper26kz.th.jpg] [/url]
(click to enlarge)

The Circuit City ad:

[url=http://img95.imageshack.us/img95/3131/circuitcity3vy.th.jpg] [/url]
(click to enlarge - "Blu-ray is here - experience the next generation of DVD"

 

[Jesse Blacklow]

No mention of HD DVD in any ads? Ouch. Stopped by a couple of the locally-owned stores in my area. Very few were stocking Blu-ray, but only one had HD DVD hardware, and their salesman were heavy on the BD push. They pre-sold one while I was there.

 

[Jeff(R)]

I didn't see it. The links to the full weekly ads are at the top of the circuitcity.com and bestbuy.com web sites.