In comp.sys.ibm.pc.hardware.chips krw <krw@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> wrote:
> In article <qhdu85xiu.ln2@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
>, archmage@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> says...
> > Videophiles certainly will pay big bux for BluRay, and *some* more
will if
> > in fact HD-DVD is dead and the format war is over. Many other people
will
> > probably end up only getting BluRay players when/if they're enough
cheaper
> > that it's a "why not get the better one?" decision: unlike Beta or
> > Laserdisk, BR players will still play regular DVDs.
>
> Sure, but the marginal cost of the BR player has to be close to zero
> for that to happen.
Yes... well, not /necessarily/ zero, but in whatever people find impluse
purchase territory to be.
Also, for many people the marginal cost should probably be relative to a
*nice brand* DVD player (ie, Sony/Panasonic) which is still around
$80-100,
rather than the $20-40 Cyberhome/Apex/Wal-mart-specials.
Had $99 HD-DVD players come in a year earlier, they could have made a much
bigger difference.
> > The other factor is the cost/availability of content: right now, BR
disks
> > are often more expensive than regular release DVDs, and pretty much
anything
> > available on BR is available on regular DVD at the same time.
>
> That's the other issue. If BR content is more expensive than
> standard DVD, people aren't going to flock to it. I see a huge
> catch-22 hurdle for BR to get over.
Yes. The only way to get over it basically is to eat the increased cost
until economies of scale kick in, which *to an extent* that's what Sony
has
been doing. Whether that'll be enough or last long enough for the format
to
really hit the mass market is anyone's guess - if not, it will probably be
relegated to the high-end videophile market the way laserdisc was.
> > If they really wanted to push BR, they could release the BR disks a
few
> > weeks/months ahead of the regular DVD - remember how for a while, many
VHS
> > tapes came out first in much-more-expensive "rental" editions before
they
> > came out out as "retail" editions?
>
> They content producers wanted to make more money. They have no
> horse in the media race.
They're still manipulable somewhat, or they'd all just have been BR/HD-DVD
dual-format.
--
Nate Edel http://www.cubiclehermit.com/
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