Well, you threw down the money for a 50" plasma with no HDMI (presumably some time back, which would be more expensive than the current models that do include HDMI), but consider the price of the player(s) and cluelessness of a Sony Store employee to be the breaking point. I would have thought it would be the uncertainty of the future of the format war, or lack of finalized specs, or worries over DRM that would weigh into your decision more. I figure most people here would pay for a DVD player that costs at least ~10-15% as much as their display, and slightly more (say 15-20%+) for a next-gen player, if they were interested.
The guy was appreciative that I taught him a thing or 2. I was there to ask him their plans concerning PS3 and Blu-Ray, because that would affect my rental business, to work hand in hand...hardware/software.
Bottom-line, with the 95% piracy here (open B&M locations, not street stalls), which the studios still don't give a toss about, Blu-Ray/PS3 has NO hope of taking off if they don't region modify the units, which they didn't with PS2.
Fiji is purely an import industry, with open region distribution. One could say it's a piracy mecca, with daily national newspaper ads, radio ads touting $1 DVDs FOR KEEPS.
I'm doing my homework, and best to secure the future of the legit industry here, after almost developing it singlehandedly (SD-DVD).
As a consumer...there's no way I'd pay $1,000 and then $30-$40 for a title I already have, with down-rezzed resolution.
$500 and $20-$30 YES.
Not to mention a new receiver, plasma and projector!
There are at least 10 titles announced from Sony And Lions Gate that are must haves imo. Looks like I will be going to Best Buy 5-23 and buying the Samsung. And when the players I am really interested in are released, I will sell the Samsung and buy another player.
Theres no way I am buying the 40% studio support that goes along with hd dvd, and I am tired of waiting for HD movies at this point