Recent Comments:
Black Friday Giveaways (part 5): Universal Remote's URC Digital R50 {Engadget HD}
Nov 28th 2008 8:33PM Hook me up!
PS3 firmware engineers interviewed, DTS-HD MA support on the way {Engadget HD}
Apr 10th 2008 9:19AM Its in 2.30 firmware update, due in the next week r so. Check out today's entry on the official Sony playstation blog ( blog.us.playstation.com )
"...the system software update will also add DTS-HD Master Audio output for Blu-ray videos, which means the high-definition visuals of Blu-ray will now be matched with the highest quality audio for the ultimate movie-watching experience on PS3."
Lack of competition sends Blu-ray player prices upward {Engadget HD}
Mar 12th 2008 11:31PM There are two truths about the recently-ended HD format war that most HD-DVD fanboys either don't understand or simply choose to ignore:
1) COMPETITION lowers prices. I'm not talking about HDDVD vs. Blu ray "format war" competion, I'm talking about competetion between equipment manufactures. Do you honestly believe that Sony, Panasonic, Samsung, LG, etc, etc are in collusion to "fix" Blu ray prices? Don't kid yourself. These companies are already competing on price and will continue to do so.
HD DVD had -zero- vendor competition because Toshiba was the sole vendor.
But wait, what's that you say??? HD DVD was sooo much cheaper! It was the "consumer-friendly" format!! It had lower disc production costs, lower player costs!! Why why WHY are Blu ray players so over-priced compared to HD DVD players??
Do you want the truth? (You can't handle the truth! ;-))
Here it comes...
2) Blu ray is NOT over-priced given its development costs and relatively short time on the market. The fact is that HD DVD was priced unrealistically low because it was being subsidized at a HUGE loss by Toshiba. As the sole vendor Toshiba could price their hardware however they chose, and they chose to price it far below development and manufacturing costs in an attempt to perpetuate the lie that the HD DVD format was inherently less expensive than Blu ray.
Why do you think there weren't any other HD DVD players from other vendors? No OEM in their right mind would try to undercut Toshiba's pricing becuase it would have been financial suicide.
Don't believe me? Go read the article right above this one ("Toshiba swallows a billion dollars on HD DVD") Actually, if you read the Reuters article, it's really 1/2 billion lost on hardware sales in 2007 and another estimated 1/2 billion to convert all their manufacturing plants to something other than HD DVD in 2008.
But the fact is Toshiba LOST 1/2 billion dollars on all the HD DVD player hardware sold in 2007. Why? Because they intentionally priced them far below cost to "prove" that they were the consumer-friendly, low-cost option to Blu ray.
Toshiba lied. HD DVD in reality was no less expensive to design and manufacture than Blu ray. And now that they the world has called their bluff they're left with a 1/2 billion hole in their corporate pockets.
Oh well...
Check out Toshiba's 2008 Super Bowl ad over at Engadget! {Engadget HD}
Feb 4th 2008 12:27AM I watched the whole game (NJ/NY area) and did not see the Toshiba ad. Granted I missed a few minutes here and there to grab a beverage or hit the john, but it would seem the ad did not run in most major markets.
As further evidence - over at http://sports.aol.com/nfl/superbowlads they have (supposedly) all of the ads posted, organized by quarter. The Toshiba conspicuously absent from the list.
Check out Toshiba's 2008 Super Bowl ad over at Engadget! {Engadget HD}
Feb 3rd 2008 11:34PM @Nfinity
Yeah, DEFINITELY a Sony/Fox conspiracy. The FCC has no problem with broadcasters selling advertising time and then arbitrarily deciding not to air the commercials that were paid for.
So explain to me how the evil Sony/Fox conspiracy failed to suppress the Paramount (Ironman) and Universal (Leatherheads) ads?
Tool.
HD makeup seeks to conceal on-screen blemishes {Engadget HD}
Jan 19th 2008 10:50AM OMFG! This is such an evil Sony monopoly! Everybody knows that HDDVD make-up, eyeshadow, and lipstick is cheaper to produce and more consumer friendly. So what if it's only made by Mattel and comes in "My Pretty Pony" pink and orange, it's still FAR superior to that crappy Blu ray make-up.
Competition heating up among Blu-ray player manufacturers {Engadget HD}
Dec 19th 2007 1:13AM @Nfinity-
Thanks for the awsome post dude! A true classic. My favorite part:
"...the key is in standalones and understand that all Sony's hopes, like little pussies, rest now on PS3 holding them long enough..."
To be honest I don't really understand the "little pussies" reference here, but it's pure comedic gold nonetheless.
Promise me that in 6 months when HD-DVD is dead and gone you'll come back to this forum and enrtain us some more.
"To Nfinity...and BEYOND!" **
(btw that was a quote from a Disney movie...you might want to pick it up on standard-def DVD)
Competition heating up among Blu-ray player manufacturers {Engadget HD}
Dec 19th 2007 12:03AM @ Matthew Berg
I was merely correcting Nfinity's snide (and mis-informed) comment:
"Panasonic has the only Profile 1.1 SA player on the market at $500.. they announced 2 more models at higher prices.. some competition..."
Well, now there's potentially another 5+ million Profile 1.1 players out there in the form of PS3's, some of them priced at $399. Oh wait, Nfinity meant _Standalone_ players, so we should all just ignore the PS3?
Fact is, the PS3 is having and will continue to have a HUGE impact on Blu ray sales and market share, no matter how much the HD-DVD fanboys try to ignore it or discredit it or mock it.
The HD-DVD zealots are quick to trumpet the low cost of Toshiba players - even the $99 Walmart "fire sale" which, by the way, was little more than Toshiba's desperate attempt to kickstart their dying format by dumping the low-end discontinued unit onto the market.
Yet with such great "deals" in HD-DVD hardware somehow Blu ray titles have been outselling HD-DVD titles by at _least_ a 2:1 margin ALL FREAKIN YEAR! How does one explain that phenomenon? Clearly the price of Blu ray players is not having a significant negative impact on software sales. By the same token, the (low! low! LOW! :-) ) pricing on Toshiba players doesn't appear to be having a significant positive impact on HD-DVD software sales.
Now let's talk demographics for a second. The HD-DVD camp is quick to claim victory with the "mainstream casual consumer" due to the low (low LOW!) price of the Toshiba players. After all, the Joe and Jane Sixpacks of the world couldn't possibly resist a $99 HD-DVD player, right?
Well, OK, suppose that assumption is correct and the "casual consumer" crowd is indeed drawn to the $99 HD-DVD player. I'll bet that they are going to be in for a rude awakening when their kids want to watch Pirates of the Carribean or Cars or Spiderman on that shiny new econ-box HD player. Oops! Sorry folks, you can't watch ANY Disney movies on HD-DVD, or Sony Pictures, Fox, MGM, or Lionsgate for that matter.
low cost player + casual consumer - Disney = a dead format.
It's been said over and over but the HD fanboys just don't want to accept it: The format war will be decided by content availabilty and software sales. And since day one Blu ray has had the clear advantage in both.
Competition heating up among Blu-ray player manufacturers {Engadget HD}
Dec 18th 2007 10:55PM Firmware v 2.10 was released yesterday for PS3 and enables Profile 1.1
In other words: 5.7 Million Profile 1.1 Blu ray players just came online.
G'night, HD-DVD.
