Study: Blu-ray players cost too much
From the ‘duh’ department: Blu-ray players need to be cheaper. This, according to a Retrevo.com study that found 34 percent of respondents in an online survey said if players were more affordable, they’d jump onboard the bandwagon.
The most an American would pay for a Blu-ray player? $150, says Retrevo, a Sunnyvale, Calif.-based consumer electronics shopping site, in a Blu-ray-related online survey.
Even though Blu-ray Disc players now represent roughly 40 percent of retail shelf space at consumer electronics stores — up from 15 percent last year — lower unit prices was cited as the no. 1 reason for not investing in the high-definition technology.
I agree — and this was the reason for my recent mini rant here on Sync: Sony drops price of Blu-ray players. Meh. Unless consumer electronics manufacturers bring the price of players down to between $100 and $150, this format isn’t going to catch on anytime soon (and the media needs to drop below $20, too). That, and there’s some serious comeptition in the digital download space — especially stateside where you’ve got Netflix HD on demand.
Consumer awareness is another factor for not embracing Blu-ray just yet, says Retrevo, as nearly 50 percent of respondents say they’ve never watched a Blu-ray Disc movie.
Here’s the full retrevo study findings if you’re interested.
Filed Under: Blu-ray > HDTV
Tags: Blu-ray, blue, bluray, costly, definition, disc, dvd, expensive, HDTV, high, money, player, price, retrevo, study
money is always a factor. my reason is none of the player are capable of playing burnt media.my philippes which isn’t a blue ray plays everything. if they manufacture a blue like that i would buy one at a reasonable price
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I have a Blu-Ray player and paid nearly $350.00 CDN and it is worth it to a point – great picture, sound is not much better (only slightly more noticeable), but the main problem is that you buy a Blu Ray disc and it is doesn’t play – the error message states you need to upgrade your firmware to watch this Blu-Ray Disc. This is frustrating, as my machine is only 8 months old…for this I don’t even buy any more Blu-Ray discs…
So if they fix this problem then I will purchase more movies – if not then what is the point, every 3-6 months you have to upgrade firmware.
Katherine
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I agree entirely that the the prices should drop .I sell these at 1 of the major retailers and cost is always a factor. The other problem is that up-converting DVD,S are nearly as good and you can only tell the differece side by side. $85 or $200 + for a blu -ray? No contest.DVD will always win out.
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This is where the PS3 comes in. Upgradeable firmware, plays burnt DivX and other files, has some sweet games, has online browsing through wi-fi and now costs $299.99 CAD. Cough up the coin, it’s not a bad deal at all.
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@Purcey: Completely agree. I got one through classifieds for $100. BEST deal EVER. Blu-ray + PS3 Media Server. I actually haven’t played any games yet! :p
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wtf are they talkign about i seen a blu-ray player for 150 bucks mind it was a bottom of the line modle but still it’s cheap and probly just as good as the one in the ps3
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wouldn’t buy one at $50, technology carried past human limitations, just how much definition can you see, like a sport’s car that can do 200 mph and the speed limit is 60, well these 60 year old eyes are just fine with DVD’s, Heck I still pull out old movies on VHS and yes I do have a 1080 capable TV.
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I started to collect music when it came out on vinyl, spent great sums of money for that collection. Then 8 track players came out and more money was spent. Cassettes, cd, dvd, blue ray, and some I didn’t mention. What’s next, I quit at cd’s. I don’t buy any music or movie’s anymore, haven’t since cassettes and vhs faded out. I’m 51 and enjoy music and good movies very much. So i’ll play my music on vinyl or satellite radio and catch a movie on PPV.
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