Wal-Mart puts stake through HD DVD's heart

[ONUOsFan]

There are too many options for me to pay premium, bleeding edge prices for Blu-Ray and blu-ray products:

Didn't you say you had an XA2? How much did that cost you?

hdtv through cable, satellite and over the air, existing hd-dvd products, and excellent upconversion of reasonably priced DVDs. With HBO, Cinemax, Showtime, Starz, and Voom I can watch in HD most movies I want to see, including those produced by Sony and Disney, and in the future Warner. Not to mention HD-PPV on multiple channels. Its simply a question of options, and I don't know if Sony (and by extension the blu-ray camp) realizes that yet.

What Sony (and anyone else who's tried it) realizes is that you can't seriously compare any of those options (other than HD-DVD, which is short for this world) to Blu-Ray. The PQ is in a different ballpark, and from what I've read the sound is an even bigger difference (something I hope to find out for myself as soon as I can convince the wife we need a new receiver).

 

[Chucky Cheese]

something I hope to find out for myself as soon as I can convince the wife we need a new receiver.

Why do you have to convince your wife? Just go buy a reciever.

 

[Jamey K]

Why do you have to convince your wife? Just go buy a reciever.

You MUST be single.

 

[Chucky Cheese]

You MUST be single.

Nope married, 2kids. If I want something I go buy it. Don't need permission, she not my mother.

 

[Carl B]

Where have you been man -- prices for the average BD player hover aroung $400 and have been there since Thanksgiving 07! By XMAS 09 you will see sub $200 BD players and maybe sooner!

Dream on!

 

[Chucky Cheese]

Dream on!

Bought my stand alone for $277 with tax durring the holidays. It very much possible.

 

[bsk116]

What has BD really won? With one format the have a monolopy and can keep prices higher for the percieved value over standard def. I'm glad we have DVD around to keep them honest in pricing.

You might be correct, but I think your being presumptuous. None of us know where pricing (hardware or software) will be in a few months if BD becomes the format standard.
If your prediction is true, then sales should suck because of the high prices and BD will have gained very little in the end.
I cannot envision video enthusiast's settling for standard def (up convert or not) if they have experienced HD.
I guess it all depends on the individual whether they feel the higher premium for HD, as it stands, is a good value. Just one man's opinion

 

[ONUOsFan]

Nope married, 2kids. If I want something I go buy it. Don't need permission, she not my mother.

Could I just whip out my card and buy a new receiver? Yes. Would she be happy about it if I don't clear it with her first? No. Is it important enough to have an unhappy wife over? No way.

 

[jayn_j]

One format = no reason to lower prices.

It appears this is true, I haven't seen BD lower prices, if I'm not mistaken prices of BD have gone up. WB announcement has really emboldened BD. Now manufacturers will try to recoup all the money they lost during the format war. I doubt there will be any price drops until the 4th quarter.

This is only true for a niche format. Laserdisc prices never came down. They actually crept up during the life of the format. When I bought my first LD player (the original Magnavox VD-8000) movies were priced at $20-25. When DVD was introduced, they were priced from $35-50, depending on studio.

If and when someone decides to go for a mainstream market the prices will come down. The reason is that at that point the competition is not with a different format, but between titles on the same format. Not "do I buy HD-DVD or BD", but rather "Do I buy Star Wars or Sound of Music"

 

[IcEWoLF]

 

[IcEWoLF]

There will be new blu-ray players for 250$ by the this summer, maybe even lower..

 

[mike123abc]

This is making news everywhere. It seems to have more press coverage outside the electronics industry than the Warner announcement did. Even made the front page of yahoo in the news box, the wall street journal and will probably make a lot of Sunday papers tomorrow considering it has been picked up by the major news organizations.

When Walmart moves, America listens.

 

[BlackHitachi]

This is making news everywhere. It seems to have more press coverage outside the electronics industry than the Warner announcement did. Even made the front page of yahoo in the news box, the wall street journal and will probably make a lot of Sunday papers tomorrow considering it has been picked up by the major news organizations.

When Walmart moves, America listens.

Well just goes to show i guess the red boy's were right! Walmart will be a deciding factor in this so called WAR.

 

[IcEWoLF]

Well just goes to show i guess the red boy's were right! Walmart will be a deciding factor in this so called WAR.

The war was over when Warner said so, not when Wal-Mart said so.
Warner started it.
Wal-Mart gave HD-DVD the final blow.

 

[diogen]

The war was over when Warner said so, not when Wal-Mart said so.

Really? Just yesterday it was

Retailers killed HD-DVD.

What will be the story tomorrow?

Diogen.

 

[JohnL]

Well just goes to show i guess the red boy's were right! Walmart will be a deciding factor in this so called WAR.

Hitachi,

I beat you to your post, check out Post #10 on the first page of the thread, great minds think alike

John

 

[IcEWoLF]

Really? Just yesterday it was

What will be the story tomorrow?

Diogen.

The point was, the downfall of HD-DVD began when Warner said bye bye.
Yes retailers also decided the faith..but that was after Warner left and additional studios joined blu-ray.

 

[Chucky Cheese]

What will be the story tomorrow?
Diogen.

.

That HD-DVD is a done deal today, tommrrow, next week, next month. The sooner you can accept it the easier it gets.

 

[dfergie]

Hmmm, my players still work

 

[diogen]

That HD-DVD is a done deal today, tommrrow, next week, next month. The sooner you can accept it the easier it gets.

Thanks, padre.
I feel so much better already...

Diogen.