Toshiba Strikes Back With Sales

[teamerickson]

Toshiba Strikes Back With Sales

January 11, 2008

Value Electronics started advertising a Toshiba HD DVD player sale in the days following Warner's bombshell about dropping its support of the format. It appears the sales are due to Toshiba-delivered cuts. Normally $299, Toshiba's entry-level HD-A3 is going for $149 at the retailer. Value is also advertising Toshiba's higher-end HD-A30 for $199.98 and HD-A35 for $299.98. Shoppers additionally get 10 free titles with purchase of any of these Toshiba players at Value. Amazon.com was also advertising similar lower pricing for Toshiba models on Friday. It's anybody's guess if consumers have been following the news to realize that after March, they won't be able to get Warner titles on HD DVD. These hardware prices are good, and cheaper than many available BD set-tops, but I wonder if they're attractive enough to make people forget that they aren't going to be able to play Warner's upcoming Batman sequel Dark Knight in high-definition. But at the least, they'll have a nice upconverting player that will make a standard definition Dark Knight DVD look better than it might have otherwise. A Toshiba spokesperson wasn't around to respond for comment. I say Toshiba will only really make waves if they work to slash selling prices to below $99, the sales price for HD DVD players at Wal-Mart and Best Buy that caused such a tizzy among consumers back in November.

Toshiba Strikes Back With Sales - RED STATE, BLUE STATE - Blog on Video Business Online

Now is the time folks. If you been standing on the sidelines waiting for good prices, here you have it. Buy 2 or 3. Give as a gift. Your sure to get years of enjoyment out of these next gen DVD players.

 

[mike123abc]

Have some major retailers informed Toshiba that they will not be ordering more units from them? Maybe Toshiba needs to reduce inventory.

 

[vurbano]

Have some major retailers informed Toshiba that they will not be ordering more units from them? Maybe Toshiba needs to reduce inventory.

Or maybe they know that more players = more movie sales.

 

[Ronnie-]

More FUD by the HD-DVD side!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Oh wait, I am not vurbano Just wanted to see how it felt to do that at least once. Got to say, it didnt really do it for me, maybe I did it wrong.

 

[SatinKzo]

More FUD by the HD-DVD side!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Oh wait, I am not vurbano Just wanted to see how it felt to do that at least once. Got to say, it didnt really do it for me, maybe I did it wrong.

LOL.

Sales wise. They need to start at $99 again for the A3, $149 for the A30 and maybe $229 for the A35 if they really want to get them into consumers hands IMO.

I'm looking to buy a backup or get a new one and keep one of my A2's as backup, but I will wait for the next price drop.

 

[allargon]

Too little too late--unless Paramount or Universal releases a combo or twin as the only disc (no SD DVD) available of a popular or high profile movie, HD-DVD will continue to wither.

HD-DVD was priced to succeed. It shows how overpriced Blu-Ray standalones are when you can buy 3 finished spec HD-DVD players for cheaper than you can buy one 1.1 profile standalone.

 

[JoeSp]

Too little too late--unless Paramount or Universal releases a combo or twin as the only disc (no SD DVD) available of a popular or high profile movie, HD-DVD will continue to wither.

HD-DVD was priced to succeed. It shows how overpriced Blu-Ray standalones are when you can buy 3 finished spec HD-DVD players for cheaper than you can buy one 1.1 profile standalone.

Why do you say Bd is overpriced? I rather believe that it is Toshiba undercutting their own market as the reason for HD-DVD's low prices. That and the future of no Warner. If Toshiba had of kept the players at the $300 to $600 range and lowered the price of movies they would have impacted the market in a bigger way.

First, Toshiba would of made money on the players and other CE manufacturers would of jumped on the HD-DVD market because they could of made money. More players would of meant a better market penetration to offset the PS3 market. Also, having other manufacturers make your product would look better to the average consumer.

Second, by reducing the price of the movies you might encourage those who seem to live on Netflix to maybe purchase a few movies? This would of greatly increased their disc sales numbers and Warner might of been in the HD-DVD camp instead of the BD camp. I don't understand why the HD-DVD camp did not do this right from the begining. If the cost of pressing a HD-DVD was so much less then BD then those costs savings should of been passed onto the consumer.

Third, Toshiba made a fatal mistake with the Paramount/Dreamworks deal. They uped the ante and they did not have enough backers. They would have done a much better job of buying that loyalty from Warner - who currently is doing very well at the box office and off the shelf. If they were going to grap Para why not grab Warner at the same time. It let the BD camp know what their intentions were and Sony along with the vast supporters of BD both CE and Studio did not want that to happen again -- and it did not.

Fourth, those Toshiba HD-DVD players are not all they are cracked up to be, while they might say their format is finished -- it is not. They run excruiatingly slow and they have just as many problems playing newer movies and have a need for an upgrade as the BD players do. And the recent approval of the 51gb dics while maybe a good thing would of negated thousands of early generations of HD-DVD players that would not of been able to play those discs. Of course, now we will never know -- will we.

 

[allargon]

Third, Toshiba made a fatal mistake with the Paramount/Dreamworks deal. They uped the ante and they did not have enough backers. They would have done a much better job of buying that loyalty from Warner - who currently is doing very well at the box office and off the shelf. If they were going to grap Para why not grab Warner at the same time. It let the BD camp know what their intentions were and Sony along with the vast supporters of BD both CE and Studio did not want that to happen again -- and it did not.

Fourth, those Toshiba HD-DVD players are not all they are cracked up to be, while they might say their format is finished -- it is not. They run excruiatingly slow and they have just as many problems playing newer movies and have a need for an upgrade as the BD players do. And the recent approval of the 51gb dics while maybe a good thing would of negated thousands of early generations of HD-DVD players that would not of been able to play those discs. Of course, now we will never know -- will we.

If you go back in time you will find it reported that Warner turned down $250 million from Toshiba at the same time Paramount accepted $150 mill. Sony got Fox for a measely $120 mill.

The Toshiba standalones are no slower than most BD standalones, and you know it. Stop it! You know the TL-51 would've worked fine w/ 1st generation players just like the Bonus View and BD-Live discs will play the main movie with 1st generation BD players.

 

[nonrev]

JoeSp is an azz. Disregard most of what he says. You want proof of that just read his post!!

 

[Ronnie-]

JoeSp is an azz. Disregard most of what he says. You want proof of that just read his post!!

Ok, thats constructive.

 

[nonrev]

Ok, thats constructive.

Did you read the crap in his post?!?!?!

 

[SatinKzo]

If you go back in time you will find it reported that Warner turned down $250 million from Toshiba at the same time Paramount accepted $150 mill. Sony got Fox for a measely $120 mill.

The Toshiba standalones are no slower than most BD standalones, and you know it. Stop it! You know the TL-51 would've worked fine w/ 1st generation players just like the Bonus View and BD-Live discs will play the main movie with 1st generation BD players.

+1

Joe, I can agree with points 1 and 2 of your post, but 3 and 4 are just incorrect.

 

[Ronnie-]

Did you read the crap in his post?!?!?!

Yes I did. He has a few good points in it, and some that I do not agree with. Dont see how me, or you, not agreeing makes him an "azz" though

 

[Ronnie-]

+1

Joe, I can agree with points 1 and 2 of your post, but 3 and 4 are just incorrect.

Part of 4 might have been correct.

 

[SatinKzo]

Part of 4 might have been correct.

I remember reading that that 51gb disc was tested with no issues other than a firmware update for the 1st gen players.
I can't find the link now, but if someone has a link proving or disproving it, please post.

 

[nonrev]

Yes I did. He has a few good points in it, and some that I do not agree with. Dont see how me, or you, not agreeing makes him an "azz" though

This was not me lashing out at him for this single post. My post was an accumulation of seeing him posting things that I know he knows are false. Everyday same ole crap and I know I'm not the only person feed up with his intentional inaccuracies.

 

[Ronnie-]

I remember reading that that 51gb disc was tested with no issues other than a firmware update for the 1st gen players.
I can't find the link now, but if someone has a link proving or disproving it, please post.

Yeah which is why I said MIGHT. I would be interested in seeing that too. If it is official.

 

[gadgtfreek]

The 51gb disc was tested with gen 1 and worked.

The 51gb disc will also never see the light of day. That was stated in the avs insider thread recently and NOT disputed. Not worth arguing about anymore.

 

[Ronnie-]

The 51gb disc was tested with gen 1 and worked.

The 51gb disc will also never see the light of day. That was stated in the avs insider thread recently and NOT disputed. Not worth arguing about anymore.

Ok, i was not aware

 

[navychop]

I don't believe it is universally accepted that the 51GB disc works with all players sold to date. Moot point, anyway.

We'll never know. Or care, a year from now.