Sony drops price of Blu-ray players. Meh.
Sony announced this week a price cut on three of their Blu-ray Disc players. Why aren’t I enthused about this? Read on and tell me if you get my point or disagree.
A price cut on premium products is usually cause for celebration among tech geeks who want the latest and greatest — for less.
And so in anticipation of the all-important holiday season, Sony this week announced a price reduction on three of its Blu-ray players: the BDP-S360 (now $249.99, down from $349.99), BDP-S560 (now $399.99, down from $449.99) and the BDP-S760 ($499.99, down from $549.99).
So, what’s wrong with that, you ask?
It’s not enough.
If Sony desperately wants Blu-ray to be the true successor to the DVD, the company needs to bring down the price of its players to at least $150 (as Samsung and other have done) if not $100. Yes, I know Sony isn’t known for having the most aggressive prices – the Japanese giants pride themselves in being a premium consumer electronics company – but if the biggest force behind this high-def format wants to see it succeed, it starts with making the hardware more accessible.
Even with the dropped price, is $250 to $500 affordable for most Canadians? And that “entry level” Sony BDP-S360 doesn’t even have Wi-Fi — compared to the PlayStation 3 for $50 more, and it’s also a gaming system with a hard drive, too.
And then there’s the price of the media: Blu-ray discs are much more expensive than DVDs, on average. I remember gasping when I held up a copy of The Dark Knight on Blu-ray Disc at my local big box store and the sticker was $34.99. For a freakin’ movie?
Hey, I know Blu-ray looks and sounds much better than DVD – not to mention they offer more interactive features and access to online content (for many flicks) – but the folks behind this format, led by Sony, aren’t going to make this mainstream until it’s a lot more affordable.
And if they don’t hurry soon, digital downloads might just become the real successor to the DVD instead of Blu-ray Disc – just as MP3s replaced the CD instead of the costly DVD-Audio and Super Audio CD (SACD) formats.
Think I’m out of line? A price cut is a price cut? Or do you agree this format won’t become a universal standard until it’s more affordable? Or maybe you don’t think Blu-ray Discs are all that better-looking and sounding than DVDs to justify the investment? Do tell!
Filed Under: Blu-ray > Uncategorized
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They will lose out. With the price of SD cards and other related formates that can hold 16, 32 and even 64 gb right now, we will see that as the future of accessing movies. Small and reuseable. Between these and internet downloading who needs DVD and Blue-Ray.
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The author is an a**. He appears to have a sense of entitlement.
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Thank you, Gortex, for your incisive and insightful commentary upon the topic at hand. It added much to the discussion that I found extremely useful and informative.
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Thank you, Krantzstone, for your thinly veiled sarcasm designed to inflate your flaccid internet ego.
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“Flaccid” is how Gortex’s mother describes your penis. But thanks for playing.
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I concur. He just finished mentioning that there are lower priced blu-ray players available and yet he feels that he should be able to get a “better” brand name for the same amount of money. Boo hoo.
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Gortex,
I’m just looking out for the average Canadian who can’t afford this technology. My point is two-fold: make the price cut meaningful and in doing so it has a chance of becoming a mainstream format like DVD.
Marc
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Marc,
All too true. At this point I am looking for Blue Ray internal or external to my computer where I can up convert regular DVDs to 1080P and where I watch all of my purchased DVD movies now. I refuse to buy (though I can well afford it) Blue Ray movies the price is astonomical, I should say the profit margins are astronomical but as-long-as people put out for them the prices will remain in the stratoshpere.
A much cheaper external Blue Ray player that has a good choice of extras and ease of use is more of an advantage, breaks, toss it for another. Not environmentally sensitive I know but that’s another show.
CFN,
Phil
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The problem I have found with Blue Rays is that when they are rented from video stores the copies often skip and are very difficult to watch. I’m wondering if that is because people may be trying to copy them and damaging the discs as a result of this process.
I agree that the price needs to drop significantly or the market will be lost.
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I agree that the quality of the video and audio is outstanding and should be the reason that people buy the player and media. The price is still too high. At this point, unless you are in the 35-50 age range, you won’t shell out the cash required to purchase it. The younger generations have been exposed to too many different ways to find the movies that you want to watch on the internet for basically free.
I love owning a movie, having the cover and extra features. However, I’m not someone that owns a TV that can support the kind of video quality the Blu-ray can provide, and therefore will not benefit from it’s purchase. The only way that I’m going to buy a Blu-ray player at this point is if my DVD player dies and the cost of the replacement is comparable to a Blu-ray player. i’m not talking about the cheap 25$ ones, but more like the $100-150 ones that provide more features like DivX playing capabilities.
Prices need to drop for this media to succeed.
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Much the same as for the Kindle… the hardware is far too pricey and the same is true for the media they play.
Marc C.
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Frankly, I don’t think there’s a need for Blu-ray. I prefer to download. It’s not a “cost” thing for us. We have a 50″ HD-LCD and an HD-DVD player. But it’s more about convenience for us. And WE are in the 45-55 age range… so don’t make age assumptions Randy! Boomers & Zoomers don’t age like previous generations; they aren’t about to lie down. We built & developed the “Technology Age” & we intend to use it, and continue to improve it. Tech. is supposed to make life easier & more enjoyable; and buying & installing Blu-ray players & movies doesn’t do either.
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I’m also in that 45-55 range, and very much into technology. My take on this is that people will buy it just to say they have it, it’s the preppy generation and that’s what they do. For the rest of us, well add on the 1200$ TV you need and the 500$ surround sound system(and yes you can buy one cheaper, but does it really do the job?) and this really prices it out of my league. I’d rather spend that money on a better computer system that is much more versatile.
My take :w MK
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I watch movies because the story is interesting. I don’t need BluRay or even HD to be able to count the hairs in Brad Pitt’s nose to enjoy the movie!
Great cinematography is definitely a plus, but on a small screen (I have 20 inches flat-screen), it does not have the impact of a theatre viewing. And since I live in a small apartment with an already-too-small living room, I have no plans to buy anything bigger or more technologically advanced. I also don’t need to spend a fortune replacing all of my DVDs with BluRay versions.
So if I want a visual “WOW!!” for a specific movie where I really expect that impact, I will go to a movie theatre.
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I am so bored with articles like this that complain about the price of new technology. If the author remembers when DVD players came out, the price of a Sony DVD player in the third year out was around $300-$400 dollars. VHS players were out for years before they fell below the $500 range. I used to work at an electronics store when DVD players were new and many of the customers kept telling me that DVDs would never catch on because they were too expensive and that they had a difficult time renting them. Guess what? They caught on once the price of the player dropped to $299. The improvement in quality was well worth the extra $100 premium over VHS players at the time. If you have a decent sized HDTV, the switch from DVD to blu-ray is well worth it. If you don’t, quit complaining about the price of something that isn’t aimed at your demographic anyway.
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Just one word in response……….If it’s not important enough to you to be “cutting edge” to spend large, just WAIT………..in this fast paced world, it doesn’t take long for prices to tumble. And…you don’t end up with a losing format ( Betamax, anyone????)
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PS3 FTW!! Personally, I would get a PS3 just because it has more functionality than a conventional Blu-Ray Player.
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DVD’s will be gone in near future.With zip drives and SD cards ,the size and space capacity and price blows away other forms of recordable media.I’ll give them 2-3 years of life left.Hd possible on these types as well.
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