Topic: Will Price Drop change the outcome of the format war ?

[Touti]

Toshiba recently announced they are permanently dropping the prices on their HD-DVD Players.  Toshiba's HD-A2 is now available at an MSRP of 299$ while the HD-A20 model is priced at 399$.  At 299$, the HD-A2 is 200$ cheaper thant Sony's BDP-S300 is the cheapest Blu-Ray player currently on the market at an MSRP of 499$

Do you think Toshiba will be effective in turning the format war in their favor ?

http://www.highdefdigest.com/news/show/Toshiba/High-Def_Retailing/Hardware/Toshiba_Permanently_Drops_HD_DVD_Player_Prices/729

[lyonsden5]

As long as the movies are $25 or more either format is going to have a hard time getting the general public to buy their discs. Those who are willing to pay the extra money for the HD content probably have better than average equipment and  are willing to pay the few extra money for the player they want.

I know many who have paid $499 or more for their standard DVD player.

To me it's all about the titles available and the price of the discs, not the equipment. That is what will eventually win the war. Just this week I bought 2 titles I was waiting to buy in HD but they were on sale for $10.00 It was an easy decision not to wait

[Touti]

We always look at it form a buyer's point of view but most people don't buy DVD's, they rent them at their local video store so the price is not a concern for them.  I suspect with HDTV slowly taking its place and the price on LCD and Plasma Tv's going down, many people will start looking for a HD player.  The question is what is gonna make them choose one over the other, price of the player, availability of film, will they simply go with what the salesman tells them they should buy ?

[lyonsden5]

[...]most people don't buy DVD's, they rent them at their local video store [...]

Really? I did not know that.

[RossRoy]

will they simply go with what the salesman tells them they should buy ?

I think that's pretty much it. Most people will go into the store not knowing what is HD or BR, so they'll buy what the salesman recommends. Which is scary, as most salesman from the big retail outlet are completely clueless about the technologies and strength and weaknesses of each format.

[lovemunkey187]

The format war in the UK is slightly different I think, but still has some big similarities.
An awful lot of people don't know what the difference is between HD or SD DVD's and for a large part, this group are not too bothered as the sound/picture quality they get from the DVDs they have at home is good enough for them.

That is part of why DVD took over from VHS so quickly. They could go to a shop, buy a player stick in a shiney disc and the difference to what they were used to was almost immediate. They didn't have to spend alot of cash on a new screen or other stuff if they didn't want to. Not like they'd have to do to get fuul HD, by spending a couple of thousand on a new screen.
If you head into any retailer you'll be lucky to find a screen that isn't LCD or Plasma. CRT was the daddy over here, RPG never really took off which I think is unfortunate as the one I had was great(that is, until the engine died and had to get it replaced 371 days after I took delivery, huzzah for 2 years manufacturers warranty), so if you do find an RPG television you can get usually get quite a good price as the retailer wants the shelf space.

In the UK, something like 70% of households have got Sky(the only satellite provider) or digiboxes(set top decoders that receive additional channels through a digital roof antenna) there a couple of cable providers as well, but they only really tend to be in or around cities and not in rural areas.
The rental market in the UK is slightly different as well. As in it doesn't have as big a tally in the viewing figures. e.g. the nearest shop for me to rent a DVD is a Blockbuster about 15 miles away(that's if it's still there).
and TBH most people are content with the films that are on Sky. Premieres over the last week or so included Borat, Nacho Libre, Mission Impossible III (tonight, it's The Prestige and White Noise 2:The Light)

[Najemikon]

Exactly what I always thought. DVD was so obvious, it sold itself. People liked CDs; DVDs look like CDs; VHS looks like those crappy cassettes rattling around the glove box, so obviously, a DVD is much better. That was all before they tried to watch one.

Even for obsessives like us, some points about DVD aren't anything to do with quality. DVD vs VHS is obvious again when you think of extra features and storage.

The leap from DVD to HD isn't so obvious. They look the same and worse, you have to buy another player? But it looks the same! Why do I need another player? That's how many people will be thinking. And for the more conscientious film nuts, HD won't make an obvious difference to storage and extra features.

It's got to be taken for granted before it'll succeed. Every technology advance is the same.

[leo1963]

I think the price of the players will determine the winner in the format war.  As for number of available titles that will increase as time passes.  The studio that can offer a title in both HD and Blu-ray will have a big advantage in the future.

[Touti]

It looks like my original question should have been "Will the end of the format war drop prices ?" and the answer is NO.  I had to to kill before a dentist appointment today so in anticipation of the pain I decided my wallet would suffer as much as me and I went to future shop with the intention of buying my first blu-ray movies.

In the end I dind't buy any, the prices are just so high I can't justify the expense.  I don't understand what's going on here.  Now that the war is over wouldn't it make sense to lower the prices to increase sales ?  The average price at FS is around 27$CAD, that's ridiculous, now wonder Blockbuster only has 2 or 3 shelves of BR movies.

Are they so dumb as to now see that people won't make the switch if movies are too expensive ?  Collectors won't do it and people won't buy BR players if there's not enough BR movies available at their local video rental store.  Sunday I wanted to watch Milk which I haven't seen yet............my Blockbuster doesn't have it in BR.  What's the point of having a BR player if I don't have access to BR movies.

Should I open an account with NetFlix or the likes ?

[lyonsden5]

They are starting to come down, at least here. Amazon is the cheapest overall. Many movies are under $15.00 USD. Some even as low as $9.99.  New releases are between 20.00 & 28.00, depending on the movie.

Even Best Buy has many BDs priced at $14.99. Those are sale prices though, but still a good sign.

Target, which usually has some of the best everyday prices on standard DVDs, is the highest. This past month their sale prices hit the under $15.00 range as well.

Not sure about WalMart, Blockbuster, or some of the others. But from what I've seen proces are finally starting to drop. You can usually the BD for about $2-$3 more than the "2-disc special edition" Standard DVD and has all the same features.

I am hopeful it is a trend that will continue. If it is I'm sure it will spread north 

[Touti]

Unfortunately Rick it rarely spreads north.  A year when the Canadian dollar was worth more than the American one prices never went down on anything.  We were still paying 15%-20% more on almost everything be it dvd's, electronics, appliances etc.

Some people put a lot of money in their pockets.  I'm waiting for the BR release of LOTR, I hope our dollar is high when it comes out, then I can order it from the states

[lyonsden5]

Unfortunately Rick it rarely spreads north.  A year when the Canadian dollar was worth more than the American one prices never went down on anything. 

Actually I remember that... not too long ago I believe. Our dollars were at least equal yet magazines, books, etc that have USD and CAD prices on them still showed the CAD as the 15%-20% you mention. 

[RossRoy]

Actually, instead of lowering prices, they are trying a different tactic to force people to BR...

Not that it changes much to me. Like if having to wait a few weeks for a movie I wouldn't get to watch until a few months matters much 

[Achim]

As Rick pointed out, it seems to be rather a Canadian problem

On the other hand, it seems to be almost Amazon trying to push Blu-ray single-handedly, with sales going on almost all the time and them having the lowest pricing on the market, not all that far above the DVD counterparts. DeepDiscount only reached below their level during their 25% sale.

Actually, instead of lowering prices, they are trying a different tactic to force people to BR...

Not that it changes much to me. Like if having to wait a few weeks for a movie I wouldn't get to watch until a few months matters much 

I only read a little bit, but I got that they want to increase rentals rather than sales for DVD and hope to increase Blu-ray sales by releasing them before the DVD...? While I get the latter (I wouldn't expect drastic increases though) I am not sure about their reasoning for the former. I would have thought sales are better than rentals...?

[Najemikon]

Blu-Ray is definitely taking a better hold here. My local Blockbuster has a range of "old" titles at £10 each, but online, I can find the same titles for £6.99. Upto about four months ago, I was still thinking that £10 was a bargain for any BR!