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The Sony BDP-S550 Blu-ray Disc player  (Source: Sony Electronics)
The next generation of Blu-ray Disc players crib from HD DVD feature set

With Blu-ray Disc on the winning side of the high-definition war, the format appears to finally be hitting its stride in stabilizing its advanced feature set. Earlier this week, Sony announced two new Blu-ray Disc player models that include new features such as BonusView and BD-Live.

BonusView is Sony’s term for picture-in-picture technology that was mandated for all Blu-ray Disc hardware last fall. Picture-in-picture features are typically used for video commentaries in movies, and is something commonly found amongst top-tier HD DVD releases. Several new Blu-ray Disc releases are beginning to incorporate the technology.

BD-Live incorporates an Ethernet port for Internet connectivity, both for firmware updates and for bonus web-enabled features. HD DVD players have used its Ethernet support for basic bonus functions such as extended special features, trailers, trivia and surveys. Blu-ray Disc movies with such extras should hit the market later this year.

Both the upcoming Sony models, the BDP-S350 and the BDP-550, support BonusView and BD-Live. Both also feature an external port for local storage, but only the BDP-S550 includes a 1GB storage device. The BDP-S550 also differentiates itself with dts-HD High Resolution Audio and dts-HD Master Audio decoding as well as 7.1 channel analog audio output.

“Building on the exceptional picture and sound quality of previous players, Sony’s next-generation Blu-ray Disc models bring exciting interactive features to life and offer consumers a ground-breaking experience,” said Chris Fawcett, vice president of marketing for Sony Electronics’ Home Product Division. “These new devices bring home movie experience beyond the cinema and into a whole new realm of entertainment.”

The new BDP-S350 ships this summer for about $400 and BDP-S550 will be available this fall for about $500.

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when are the sub $200 players coming?
By kattanna on 2/29/2008 10:10:11 AM , Rating: 5
thats really all i want to know, cause i aint paying $400-$500 for a player




RE: when are the sub $200 players coming?
By Hexus on 2/29/2008 10:18:41 AM , Rating: 5
Not for another couple of years, possibly longer, it's like that with every new format. They'll find a more cost effective way of producing it, and the price will drop when the "new tech" buzz about it dies down. Not to mention in a few years the demand for them will have lulled.


RE: when are the sub $200 players coming?
By FITCamaro on 2/29/2008 10:31:50 AM , Rating: 5
Demand for the HD formats lulled the day they were released due to price. HD-DVD had a chance of changing that with players starting to break into the $100 mark. A moot point now that the studios have told us that we decided on a format.


RE: when are the sub $200 players coming?
By killerroach on 2/29/2008 10:38:31 AM , Rating: 2
Granted, nobody knows what that was doing to Toshiba's bottom line (as, last I knew, nobody was coming close to sub-$200 besides them, and they had a few below $100)... I think that, with industry resources coalescing around a single format, the prices should drop pretty steadily, although I somehow doubt seeing a sub-$200 price point until next year (in the mainstream sense).


RE: when are the sub $200 players coming?
By Master Kenobi (blog) on 2/29/2008 10:50:49 AM , Rating: 5
quote:
I think that, with industry resources coalescing around a single format, the prices should drop pretty steadily

I wouldn't bet on this. The industry collectively wants to keep the format price high. DVD is cheap and the margins aren't that great. Both on the players and the movies. Blu-Ray (High Def) is the solution to that problem. People will want high def and the studios will give it to them, but it will cost them. Player manufacturers are tired of making low margin DVD players and want higher margins so they will keep high def devices and players up in the $400 range.

The price of entry for high-def will stay high for several years. Don't expect to see sub $200 players before 2010. Unless some maverick company blows into town and sells them at a really low margin just to stick it to the big players.


RE: when are the sub $200 players coming?
By MrPickins on 2/29/2008 11:14:26 AM , Rating: 2
Sounds like BS to me.

The industry is much better served by having as many people adopt the technology as possible, and that means lower prices are a must.

Sure they make less per player, but profit overall will be much larger when Blu-Ray becomes more mainstream.


RE: when are the sub $200 players coming?
By Spuke on 2/29/2008 11:39:31 AM , Rating: 3
quote:
Sounds like BS to me.
Doesn't sound like BS to me. Look at the price of these two newly introduced players. Does it look lower to you?

I would love a Black Friday $100 BD player too but I really don't think it's going to happen for a few more years.


By MrPickins on 2/29/2008 2:19:46 PM , Rating: 4
Since when has Sony been a leader in bringing low cost products to market? They usually target a higher tier of consumer.

That and they have obvious reasons for not wanting to undercut their PS3 sales.

Wait till more manufacturers start making new players.


By ebakke on 2/29/2008 11:51:18 AM , Rating: 2
quote:
Sure they make less per player, but profit overall will be much larger when Blu-Ray becomes more mainstream.


Maybe. Maybe not. The same people producing Blu-Ray drives are producing DVD drives. If they have higher margins on Blu-Ray, they may be making more profits keeping the prices higher and limiting the number of overall players. I obviously don't know the details (since I'm not an exec for any of those companies), but I'm completely confident in their ability to do whatever maximizes profits.


RE: when are the sub $200 players coming?
By deeznuts on 2/29/2008 12:53:25 PM , Rating: 2
quote:
The industry is much better served by having as many people adopt the technology as possible, and that means lower prices are a must.


The movie industry is. The electronics industry wants more adopters, but they also want a higher ASP. It's a balance they have to strike. It's not as simple as more = better. More at what cost? That's the basic question almost every business in almost every industry must ask themselves.


By MrPickins on 2/29/2008 2:23:47 PM , Rating: 2
I agree with you, more does not always equal better. But, unless they really push blu-ray, consumers will just stick with dvd until direct downloads become mainstream, and the manufacturers will all lose out.


By tophat on 2/29/2008 1:23:36 PM , Rating: 2
I agree with you there. This is a consumer product and as such, is very price sensitive. The consumer market will respond once the price reaches that fabled sub-$200 level. At the $400+ level, you're not talking about the average consumer anymore. You're looking at technofiles that want the latest-and-the-greatest and/or the ones that are looking for the best-in-class players. Why? Because the average consumer probably doesn't even know that there even was a format war- let alone the features of these new fangled format revisions!

If in doubt, look for the idiot factor- in this case, that factor translates into an uninformed consumer. That coupled with the fact that there is only one game in town now (BD), consumers will undoubtedly be looking only at price-points.


By dever on 2/29/2008 3:11:29 PM , Rating: 2
quote:
industry collectively wants to keep the format price high.
Maybe so, but there's always a couple spoiler companies that are willing to take a small margin. Count on the maverick... that's the beauty of the free market.


By GreenyMP on 2/29/2008 5:23:36 PM , Rating: 2
quote:
The industry collectively wants to keep the format price high.


No sir. You have forgotten econ 101. The individual players want to keep the prices high, but market forces (competition, economies of scale, etc.) will force prices down. Individual players (like Sony) will attempt to skim the market (sell new products high to take extra money from early adopters) but that cannot continue as market forces increase.

This will be just like every other new technology. Here is my Blu-ray player price prediction.
Year 1: $1000
Year 2: $500
Year 3: $250
Year 4: $125
Year 5: $70


RE: when are the sub $200 players coming?
By BansheeX on 2/29/2008 10:51:42 AM , Rating: 3
We'll see $200 on Black Friday. According to HD-DVD fans, though, BD is purposely inflated in price. I guess that means we can expect heavenly Toshiba to come save the day with a $100 BD player, then, right? Right? Riiiiighhht?


RE: when are the sub $200 players coming?
By omnicronx on 2/29/2008 11:05:39 AM , Rating: 2
quote:
I guess that means we can expect heavenly Toshiba to come save the day with a $100 BD player, then, right? Right? Riiiiighhht?
Right!


RE: when are the sub $200 players coming?
By Visual on 2/29/2008 12:05:44 PM , Rating: 1
it *could* happen, if they still have some of microsoft's funding left :p
but on the other hand, if they still had those money, they wouldn't have declared defeat yet...


By murphyslabrat on 2/29/2008 12:55:30 PM , Rating: 2
Yep, you're right: the fact that they stopped producing a player for a market that ceased to exist is absolute proof that they have no money left.


RE: when are the sub $200 players coming?
By Owls on 2/29/08, Rating: 0
RE: when are the sub $200 players coming?
By Spuke on 2/29/2008 4:51:48 PM , Rating: 3
quote:
Now everyone else expects $99 BD 2.0 players because Toshiba did it. That is not going to happen soon, sadly.
Yes I expect $99 BD players and will buy one when they get to that level. You BD fangirls can go ahead pay the full $400 and $500. The rest of us will wait it out with the "idiots".


RE: when are the sub $200 players coming?
By Chaser on 2/29/2008 6:47:17 PM , Rating: 1
Let's hope for your sake the price for the High Def TV you plan to use with it plummets too Mr Big Spender.


By Spuke on 2/29/2008 6:51:55 PM , Rating: 2
I already have one. Bought it three years ago at the wife's behest. I wanted to wait till LCD tech got better (and cheaper) before I bought one but the wife insisted. Not disappointed in the least though as the DLP I bought has a great picture and does HD very well.


RE: when are the sub $200 players coming?
By Chaser on 2/29/2008 6:36:47 PM , Rating: 1
and now Chapter two of the HD DVD FUD machine.

quote:
A moot point now that the studios have told us that we decided on a format.


For the sake of accuracy player sales and disk rentals were overwhelmingly in favor of Blue Ray over HD DVD. The consumer had both choices to buy and rent and those numbers "told" the studios very clearly which format they preferred.


By Spuke on 2/29/2008 6:54:24 PM , Rating: 2
quote:
and now Chapter two of the HD DVD FUD machine.
No FUD at all. The studios AND retail DID choose the winning format. People didn't. Toshiba bailed ONLY because Netflix and Walmart bailed. I don't know about you but I don't anyone named Netflix.


By Belard on 3/1/2008 9:04:22 PM , Rating: 1
Toshiba was selling their players at a loss. The A3 (basic player) is about 6 months old, at the most. Its MSRP was $400. After Christmas, it was $300, after WB pulled out of HD-DVD, it was $199. By Feb 1st it was $130~150.

Toshiba was losing money for every player sold. It wasn't CHEAP because they LOVED you... they were trying to get market share. There were actual numbers is you look... even during Christmas - more people were buying BLu players and movies more than HD-DVD, even thou some HD-DVD players could be had for $100~200.

When someone buys a $2000~6000 HD-TV set, they don't sneeze at a $400~600 player.

Glad the war is over, it means more blue players to choose from and prices will LOWER NATURALLY. We get a format that holds almost TWICE as much info and is scalable to 100GB easily.

HD-DVD was in trouble when Blu started shipping and the PS3 hit the market. Exclusive studios for Blu to start were: SONY pictures, Fox and of course Disney.


By Belard on 3/1/2008 9:04:23 PM , Rating: 2
Toshiba was selling their players at a loss. The A3 (basic player) is about 6 months old, at the most. Its MSRP was $400. After Christmas, it was $300, after WB pulled out of HD-DVD, it was $199. By Feb 1st it was $130~150.

Toshiba was losing money for every player sold. It wasn't CHEAP because they LOVED you... they were trying to get market share. There were actual numbers is you look... even during Christmas - more people were buying BLu players and movies more than HD-DVD, even thou some HD-DVD players could be had for $100~200.

When someone buys a $2000~6000 HD-TV set, they don't sneeze at a $400~600 player.

Glad the war is over, it means more blue players to choose from and prices will LOWER NATURALLY. We get a format that holds almost TWICE as much info and is scalable to 100GB easily.

HD-DVD was in trouble when Blu started shipping and the PS3 hit the market. Exclusive studios for Blu to start were: SONY pictures, Fox and of course Disney.


By winterspan on 3/5/2008 4:48:18 AM , Rating: 2
Had a chance with $100 players? You are a moron.
First of all, HD is tracking along quite well for having been immersed in a stupid format war.
Secondly, have you so quickly forgotten the introduction of VHS, CD, Laserdisc, DVD, etc?? Players were NOT EVEN CLOSE to $100 or even $200 for the first few years, and thats not even adding in inflation.
Toshiba was losing their ass badly on those cheap ass players, hence the reason no other manufacturers bothered to even compete. Also, If you want a cheap BD player, Sony obviously isn't the way to go, other than a Playstation 3.

I'm sick of all these cheap asses whining about HD prices. If you are too cheap, then stick with DVD! If you can't
afford $350 for an HD player, then you probably aren't in the financial situation to even be considering one in the first place.

As for your pissy-format-war-loser comment, "us" AKA the consumers did indeed decide on a format, hence the reason Blu-ray outsold HD-DVD every single week of last year. Just get over it already.....


RE: when are the sub $200 players coming?
By joex444 on 2/29/2008 11:18:50 AM , Rating: 2
As far as I'm concerned, if I want blu-ray, I'll add in a BD-ROM to my HTPC. They go for about $130 today.


RE: when are the sub $200 players coming?
By bplewis24 on 2/29/2008 11:55:36 AM , Rating: 2
Where can you find one for $130?

Brandon


RE: when are the sub $200 players coming?
By omnicronx on 2/29/2008 12:02:48 PM , Rating: 2
RE: when are the sub $200 players coming?
By Torched on 2/29/2008 12:35:31 PM , Rating: 2
RE: when are the sub $200 players coming?
By aju on 2/29/2008 12:50:09 PM , Rating: 2
I will wait for the add on Xbox 360 one. If they can sell PC players for $130, Microsoft should be able to put an external 360 unit on the market for the same price. I would be suprised if they were not out in quanitiy before Thanksgiving.


By deeznuts on 2/29/2008 12:57:08 PM , Rating: 2
Hmm, you know MS sold a 20GB add-on for $100 MSRP right? Just checking.


By stirfry213 on 2/29/2008 1:08:05 PM , Rating: 2
$400-500? Ummm... no? I saw a combo HD/BD drive for my HTPC for $300. Moot point now I guess (RIP HD DVD).

I think what alot of people are missing is one important point. Until BD drops into a reasonable range, it will not be adopted as the default way to watch movies, by the general public that is. So the BDplayer manufacturers have all the power to perpetuate the market.

Standard DVD sales are still HUGE. What I mean is, you and I may have 1080p HDTV and a 7.1 home theater system, but how many in the general public do? My guess is, not a very high percentage.

I love it when I go to someone's house and see this really nice LCD HDTV and they use the build in panel speakers to watch movies... what's the point?


By Hiawa23 on 2/29/2008 1:13:24 PM , Rating: 2
thats really all i want to know, cause i aint paying $400-$500 for a player

I agree. I have a PS3 & that's all I am going to pay for a Blu Ray player. all I want to do is watch the movies, don't really need all that extra, or don't want to pay for it, but it is cool to see these features in many of my HD DVD movies. This is cool for those who need this, but I don't.


By HighWing on 3/2/2008 12:19:49 AM , Rating: 2
What amuses me about your comment and everyone else who has made it is how fast you have obviously forgot that the very same thing happened with DVD players when they first came out.

As I recall the first DVD players that came out were around $500 and that was when Sony released the PS2 for $200. It was at least another year before stand alone DVD players even broke the $200 price point. Or has everyone suddenly forgot that at that time everyone wanted a PS2 because it was cheaper then a stand-alone DVD player?

Now flash forward to the present and Sony has released the PS3 with Blue-Ray at a cheaper price then a stand-alone Blue-Ray player. Granted $500 does not compare to $200, But how can you not think that the same thing would happen as with the PS2? The PS3 will and already has done the same thing as the PS2. It may not be happening as fast as it was with the PS2, but the point is that it IS happening. And since it is going at a slower rate then the PS2, it would be kind of silly to think that the players are going to drop in price any faster then before.

And even if you don't want to believe that my statements are true, there still is the fact that this is NEW technology. Remember Cd-Burners, DVD-Burners? Didn't those take at least a few years to really drop in price? Come on people, quite your whining about when prices are gonna drop and just use some common sense and understand that if you don't want to pay that much for it now, then your going to have to wait.


Good to see
By FITCamaro on 2/29/2008 10:08:45 AM , Rating: 4
That Blu-ray has finally caught up with all the standard features of HD-DVD since its inception.

Yes they won the format war, but its still the truth.




RE: Good to see
By retrospooty on 2/29/2008 10:12:25 AM , Rating: 3
Ya, its great. They finally release a player that supports PIP and ethernet d/l's and surprise, its 3x the price of HD-DVD.

Thanks Sony!!! Is anyone surprised by this? It will be a looooooooong time before BR is affordable now.


RE: Good to see
By BansheeX on 2/29/2008 10:22:37 AM , Rating: 3
If BD players aren't $200 or less by Black Friday of this year, I'll eat my own socks. Sony being on the "high-end" spectrum and not pricing its players below the PS3 should come as no surprise to anyone.


RE: Good to see
By retrospooty on 2/29/2008 10:26:21 AM , Rating: 2
I hope your right, and you dont have to eat socks...

Still, its not like others are WAY cheaper right now comparing current products, and these $400 and $500 prices are for the summer and fall product releases... Not available today.


RE: Good to see
By BansheeX on 2/29/2008 10:40:34 AM , Rating: 3
quote:
$400 and $500 prices are for the summer and fall product releases


That's just Sony, they take the "high-end" position in just about every market. Part of it is positioning, part of it is being more Japan-centric with their manufacturing.


RE: Good to see
By BMFPitt on 2/29/2008 10:41:46 AM , Rating: 2
I'll be in the market when I can get a $200 combo player or a $150 BD player, and not a minute before...


RE: Good to see
By nbachman on 2/29/2008 11:30:52 AM , Rating: 1
I agree. I just hope that HD-DVD compatibility becomes an option in BD players and is not just thrown to the wayside. I know LG said they are going to stick with it, but will they dump it as soon as they sell off the ones they have manufactured?


RE: Good to see
By threepac3 on 2/29/2008 10:31:23 AM , Rating: 2
You can always buy the PS3...


RE: Good to see
By Master Kenobi (blog) on 2/29/2008 10:33:26 AM , Rating: 1
No thanks.

DMP-BD50 is what I'm hoping for.


RE: Good to see
By peternelson on 3/3/2008 7:49:09 AM , Rating: 2
I *DID* buy a PS3!

But since Sony have now implemented the new spec on their standalone players I want to know how soon they will release a new PS3 firmware that turns the PS3 into a more feature rich player ..... watch this space.


Audio Bitstream Output ?
By hrishi2das on 2/29/2008 9:55:25 AM , Rating: 2
Do they support TrueHD and DTS Master Bitstream Output ? That is a very important feature for a few of us with Receivers capable of decoding those streams.




RE: Audio Bitstream Output ?
By SecTech767 on 2/29/2008 10:06:55 AM , Rating: 2
I would imagine that a high end product like this would support the audio bitstream output.

I like where Sony is going with their business. They incorporating their strenghts (Blu Ray) into their new line of products. Like I mentioned in a previous comment, Sony plans on producing a wall mounted 22" all in one PC with HD capabilites. It hasnt been announced, but Sony does want to have a built in blu ray player in this device. With HD input, a computer, and possibly a bluray player, Sony could win the entertainment market with a "Buy one, get it all" device. Sony had its downtime, but they are working their way into the consumer market with great accuracy.


RE: Audio Bitstream Output ?
By FITCamaro on 2/29/2008 10:36:19 AM , Rating: 3
Other than for the kitchen, why would I want a wall mounted 22" PC/TV? You certainly couldn't use it as the center of your home theater.

I'd rather have a laptop. If I wanted a PC inside my monitor, I'd go with Dell's new one. Sony makes shitty computers.

I would say their products remain where they have been. Good but no better than cheaper competitors.


RE: Audio Bitstream Output ?
By mcnabney on 2/29/2008 11:22:29 AM , Rating: 2
Ah, this is Sony we are talking about.

That product with a BD player built-in would cost at least $1500 from Sony and I believe the market for that is pretty small.


RE: Audio Bitstream Output ?
By Hiawa23 on 2/29/2008 1:19:10 PM , Rating: 2
Well, atleast we don't have to worry about Blu Ray players being mass market anytime soon, & with the economy going as it is & high gas prices, the last thing many are thinking about is dropping $400-500 on a DVD albeit HD player.


RE: Audio Bitstream Output ?
By AlphaVirus on 2/29/2008 5:44:31 PM , Rating: 3
Remember that this is why the economy is in such a slump, people living above their means. Going out and getting credit cards to CYA when you cant afford something. Loans when you want something NOW and cant wait.

People will use their credit card to purchase a new hidef tv and a hidef player. Thats the way of a sheeps life.


By Scrogneugneu on 3/2/2008 1:01:18 AM , Rating: 3
A 22" screen with built-in computer for 1500$?

Isn't the market for those already owned by Apple?


RE: Audio Bitstream Output ?
By rninneman on 2/29/2008 1:58:32 PM , Rating: 2
The BDP-S350 does not support HD audio formats but the BDP-S550 will support decoding and bitstream out of TrueHD and DTS HD-MA. (Although the bitstream output on any player will be useless once discs authored in advanced mode are released in a few months.)


Price Complainers
By deeznuts on 2/29/08, Rating: 0
RE: Price Complainers
By suffah on 2/29/2008 2:27:26 PM , Rating: 2
No way profile 2.0 players will be sub $200 by black friday.

1st gen ones sure, even the PS3 will probably be $299 by then.


RE: Price Complainers
By Farfignewton on 2/29/2008 2:39:41 PM , Rating: 2
quote:
You probably were still using VHS when DVD came out


The five guys that statement doesn't cover bought Laserdisc and probably don't want that pointed out. ;)


RE: Price Complainers
By deeznuts on 2/29/2008 4:08:53 PM , Rating: 2
Ain't nothing wrong with Laserdisc! Lol, it wasn't that bad. You needed laserdisc for two things:

Star Wars in digital, and karaoke.


RE: Price Complainers
By Spuke on 2/29/2008 4:58:01 PM , Rating: 2
quote:
If you are that price sensitive, which is fine, just wait until you find a BD player at your local supermarket, then you'll know it's in your price range.
You're the kind of person that wins the lottery and blows all of his money in 6 months on pizza. Then has the nerve move right back in with mom after you're broke.


RE: Price Complainers
By deeznuts on 3/1/2008 6:29:42 PM , Rating: 2
Umm, no. Having been part of a financial counseling team exclusive to many Fortune 1000 company executives, I am very fiscally responsible.

Spending $200-300 on an electronic component is very far from being fiscally irresponsible, unless you are on a very low wage with a lot of liabilities.

As I said, there is nothing wrong with waiting for it to come down, just don't cry about it while waiting for it. Wait, then buy. I do that all the time for things I don't have to have right away e.g. I keep waiting on hard drives for my file server and PS3, I just keep waiting and they keep dropping. I'm just not on every hard drive related thread going, "I won't buy until 500GB hits $80!!!!!!!"


WHAT HAPPEN TO Affordable Prices
By joker380 on 2/29/2008 3:25:27 PM , Rating: 2
One reason i was backing HD was because of it's prices and region free option, because lets admit it not all of us can spend $400. Even though Sony won the war i don't think they will see substantial consumer interest in this players unless the prices are like 100-150. Well good luck to everyone who supported BD we are all screwed with their monopoly. I will be laughing my as s off when this whole BD will come and bite their own as s. Well good luck everybody




RE: WHAT HAPPEN TO Affordable Prices
By cmdrdredd on 2/29/2008 4:36:22 PM , Rating: 2
joker380 and EVERYONE ELSE WHO DIDN'T READ ALL THE REPLIES!

DVD when introduced was more cost prohibitive than Blu-Ray is at the present time. Remember that before you complain. Also remember that Blu-Ray disks are scratch resistant and have a more complicated authoring and license process which costs more money. Not to mention the fact that the people who really buy HD equipment CAN afford $400 players. The people who complain simply can't, and I'm sorry to say the industry isn't ready to care at the moment. They are working on standardizing a few things with profile v2.0 and getting the remaining studios on board first.


RE: WHAT HAPPEN TO Affordable Prices
By Spuke on 2/29/2008 5:00:16 PM , Rating: 2
quote:
The people who complain simply can't, and I'm sorry to say the industry isn't ready to care at the moment.
WRONG!!!!! We're being smart with our money. There's no way in hell I'm going to drop $400 on a BD player just to have a friend wait two years or so and buy a BETTER one for $99. No thanks! I'll wait. YOU can go ahead and buy the $400 one.


RE: WHAT HAPPEN TO Affordable Prices
By Timeless on 2/29/2008 5:45:18 PM , Rating: 2
With that train of logic you would never spend any money on anything. Why should I pay $99 when in a year it will be $79? Or two more years and it's $50? By then, a better player is out so maybe you should just wait for that one to go down to $99? And don't bash early adopters because they are the reason that prices will fall for YOU to buy. You are not smarter than an early adopter. You might think you are, but most probably both your IQs will be around the same. He/she justs wants the coolest toy more than you do.


RE: WHAT HAPPEN TO Affordable Prices
By Spuke on 2/29/2008 6:27:51 PM , Rating: 2
quote:
With that train of logic you would never spend any money on anything.
With this train of logic I've made some great purchases and have gotten the best bang for MY buck. I didn't say wait forever either, goofy, I stated that at $99 I would buy BD and when it hits $99, I'll buy a BD player. It's really simple actually. Buy when your money does more, not when it does less.

Sometimes I do the early adopter thing but I don't do it all of the time. I would be broke or much poorer than I am now. But I'm not, I have most of the stuff I want and I got them at good to fantastic prices. Like I said, YOU can go ahead and pay the $400 and $500 now if you like. I won't be.


I never understood...
By Draco on 2/29/2008 10:08:17 AM , Rating: 2
...the need to have the audio decoder in the DVD player. What's the point of having a fancy A/V receiver if the DVD player is doing all the audio decoding.

I would imagine both these units can send a bitstream in the format of your liking to your receiver?




By Master Kenobi (blog) on 2/29/2008 10:32:22 AM , Rating: 2
Many people don't use a receiver.


RE: I never understood...
By rninneman on 2/29/2008 1:56:12 PM , Rating: 2
Once Blu-ray movies are authored in advanced mode, the decoding has to be done in the player. (Every HD-DVD released was in advanced mode.) Once profile 2.0 discs start coming out, those will most likely be the first BR discs in advanced mode. The player has to decode the audio to LPCM to take advantage of the special features. If you would like to read up more as to why, here is a good article.

http://www.highdefdigest.com/news/show/Joshua_Zybe...


PS3?
By Kefner on 2/29/2008 10:32:50 AM , Rating: 2
Will there be an update to the PS3 to support Profile 2.0?




RE: PS3?
By Master Kenobi (blog) on 2/29/2008 10:38:43 AM , Rating: 2
Yes, there will be, expect it around the launch of the first BR2.0 player to hit the market.


RE: PS3?
By BMFPitt on 2/29/2008 10:40:04 AM , Rating: 2
Before these ever hit the shelves.


Will PS3 blu-ray be upgraded to 2.0?
By dyeager on 2/29/2008 10:55:17 AM , Rating: 1
If current PS3s are not upgradeable, this could adversely affect PS3 sales. It would be smarter to delay, rather than to risk sending the PS3 crashing down to its launchpad after its recently blu-ray victory inspired takeoff.




By Master Kenobi (blog) on 2/29/2008 10:57:15 AM , Rating: 3
As stated in here, PS3 will be upgradable to BR2.0 expect a firmware update in the next month or two.


By dyeager on 2/29/2008 11:01:31 AM , Rating: 2
This question was answered while I typed.


Over Priced
By karielash on 2/29/08, Rating: 0
RE: Over Priced
By Master Kenobi (blog) on 2/29/2008 10:39:24 AM , Rating: 3
I was thinking "Boo hoo hoo".


By omnicronx on 2/29/2008 11:03:11 AM , Rating: 2
I need DTS-MA!!




By bmheiar on 2/29/2008 11:40:31 AM , Rating: 2
Now when will they have available the stand-alone Blu-ray recorders w/HDD & ATSC/QAM tuners for USA residents? From any manufacturer. I am meaning ones that are able to record & play BD(R/RE), DVD [(+/-) R/RW & (+/-) DL R/RW)], with a built-in HDD (500GB and bigger), and having a built-in "full" ATSC/QAM digital tuner (not the OTA ATSC tuners). That is what I am wanting to see. I would get one if they were available for USA residents. But the only ones that are out now are for use in foreign countries like UK, Japan and etc. These will not work in USA, because of the voltage differences (11OV/220V) & the differences in digital signals from country to country. From my understanding. There many be some other reasons, why they will not work here in USA. Also along with USA being on that bandwagon, of you can not copy/archive digital material or media without paying for it. Meaning you have to pay your cable/satellite provider to get digital channels other than the free OTA channels, then having to pay a monthly rental fee to your cable/satellite provider for a DVR which you can not get if you do not subscribe to their digital channels package (non-OTA package). Then there is the option of Tivo HD, which you also have to pay a monthly subscription fee to get the interactive TV guide to be able to use it.

Since everything is going to digital channels in Feb 09, will this change and/or expand the options of being able to use a DVR & what I mentioned above, without having to rent it or a monthly subscription fee to use it?

Now let the down rating begin.




By Roy2001 on 2/29/2008 11:53:31 AM , Rating: 2
I won't buy a BD player untill price drop below $150.




These and PS3?
By Gastrian on 2/29/2008 1:45:35 PM , Rating: 2
What is the main advantage of getting these standalone Blu-Ray players compared to just getting a PS3?

I tend to buy mid-range items (I won't spend more than £200 on a set of surround sound speakers) so would unlikely make use of all the nice audio features and I have an Xbox360 for gaming though so the PS3 playing games is a feature I wouldn't overlook but wouldn't purely base my decision on.




$400-500? ARE YOU MAD?
By rsasp on 2/29/2008 3:49:36 PM , Rating: 2
wow, ok so it's version 2, only added couple features. SO WHAT. I am only going to get Blu Ray player when it's under $200, I'm pretty sure that other consumers like me won't fork in their hard earn money.

HD DVD player was extremely impressive, I have seen them going for $99 before HD DVD lost in the HD war.

Anyway I really hope that Blu Ray player can drop down to $200 price range.




So much BS so little time.
By gochichi on 3/1/2008 2:22:29 PM , Rating: 2
Since when did DVD movies become "low margin"? Piracy is the only thing that might be making them low margin.

Here's my deal:
IF piracy is worth crying about, THEN when these movies are practically piracy free they should be even more affordable or at least as affordable.

Since when is it the customer's responsibility to think about the manufacturer's cost? DVD are free to make, so margin can't possibly be low there. If DVDs were sold for $2.00, that would be a low margin. Same for Bluray DISKS, the cost to manufacture them is negligible. The packaging is even the same as ordinary DVDs WHICH WAS A STUPID AND BORING CHOICE. Think about what a cool new case style would have done, like maybe CD-sized aluminum cases... that would be cool, or something else that's cool. Now Bluray is stuck with packaging that's cheap to look at and cheap to produce.

I saw a Sony Bluray player for $277.00 at Sam's club during this past holiday season. I expect the more affordable players to be in the $190-$270.00 range by the summer.

Just because Bluray "Won" it doesn't mean that they have little to worry about. If they keep price gauging like crazy (and when you make all of these "expensive" parts yourself, you are doing just that) they will get overrun by a combination of iTunes HD downloads, XBOX HD downloads and the duplicatable DVD including pirated DVDs. DVD ripping has lead people to think of DVD-quality as "pristine".

Let's stop feeling "sorry" for a mega company like Sony, they are big boys and they are choosing to hurt the format in order to push the PS3 and viceversa. Stand alone players need to be readily $250.00 in 2008 or there will in fact not be a successsor to DVD.

The mainstream will continue to use DVDs and those slightly geekier folks will rent HD content. Not to mention Charter on Demand and HD Cable/ DirecTV.

It's not a bad thing, I'm just describing it. Bluray will be the new LaserDisc... meaning the extremely pricey choice for true videophiles while everybody else jumps up and down about copying VHS tapes (now DVDs, Divx etc).

Before you start flaming note the following:
1) I did not say HD downloads were as good as Bluray... though a lot of older HDTVs you'd be hardpressed to see the difference. Forget the quality of the TV, so many of those watching HDTV will definitely not know the difference. Ever since I can remember, most people don't know what's going on. How many times have you seen someone watch a stretched standard def broadcast and not even know it? It's so common, most people just can't tell right from wrong (in terms of video quality).
2) I do not disagree that Bluray will be the superior quality way to purchase a movie for the home for the forseable future. We may never see a higher quality way in our lifetime. Sadly, the future will be to play 1GB movies on our cellphones... not so much the other way around.
3) The CD was never replaced by anything because nobody can tell the difference of the higher quality formats. At the same time, audio components continue to deteriorate and convenience has taken over. Those dinky iPod earphones are horrific, and yet that's the new way to listen to music. CD is seen as a "pristine source" and everyone is just thrilled with the compressed derivatives.
4) Keeping your library on tap, will compete with having the best quality. I could take a 100 DVD-quality movie collection on my portable harddrive and it will play on just about any computer. (I don't have such a thing, but it's possible, will certainly be even more possible in the future).
5) Just because I predict these things does not mean I am excited by these things. I don't own an iPod. I love disks, they are so simple. Here is ONE movie, I love that. But I'm not normal. I also can tell quality differences better than 90% of the popullation (and you may
be in that 10%). I also don't have the money... and that's kind of a problem.

I break up potential customers as follows:
A) Some young people can tell the difference, of those only some of them have the money.
B) Most young people could care less about piracy laws, and love convenience and amount of movies over quality.
C) Older folk that don't even see themselves as ever having an HDTV. Usually not a lot of money or simply not interested.
D) Older folk with HDTVs that just can't tell the difference. It's amazing how few people can tell the difference actually. Have the money but not the interest.
E) Older folk with money that like to buy the best there is, whether they can tell the difference or not.

There are many of E, and young folk will spend a lot of money on Bluray. I just don't think it's going to replace DVDs I really don't.




don't be a twit
By opterondo on 3/2/2008 9:18:56 PM , Rating: 2
Same old game in 3 months you won't be paying $400-$500 MSRP; it'll be alot less. This isn't as specialized as a game console or a 500w graphics card.




Wow
By whirabomber on 3/3/2008 2:19:02 PM , Rating: 2
$400-$500 for a blu-ray drive that has features HD DVD launched. Wow. Tie me down. Really, that thrilling. Yeah. I'll be sticking with my PS3/60GB thank you.




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