Blu-ray format still the loser this holiday because of economy |
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The Blu-ray is now the uncontested winner of the much-played out format war for home entertainment against HD-DVD. So why are executives still worrying about its fate this holidays? Because the economy is down, that's why. And when consumers don't have cash to spend, no matter how great the format is, it just won't sell if their priority is to "put food on your family", as Bush would put it.
Lori MacPherson, Disney's General Manager for home entertainment, expounds:
The economy is the biggest challenge, because there are just so many pieces to the Blu-ray puzzle that consumers face. You need the high-definition television set, you need the player, you need the cables, you need the software...
Yes, it sure takes a lot of prerequisites before you can fully enjoy the benefits of owning a Blu-ray player, and this is precisely what's driving away the consumers from picking them up. If there's any consolation, though, it's looking like stores are seriously considering lowering the price points for the gadget to make it more accessible to buyers.
But the Blu-ray players and its many accompaniments are not the only things to worry about. Of course, for you to really enjoy it, you must have the discs. And the discs, unfortunately, are pricey themselves as well.
To this, Sony VP business development Rich Marty says, "We're constantly looking at (disc) pricing). What it amounts to is that we'll wait until after the fourth quarter and see how it goes."
Related Articles:
- Come on, come all - HDTVs and PS3 value bundles at Wal-Mart
- Blu-ray Disc Ripper v1.4: can now copy BD-live content
Via Reuters
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Comments [refresh]
I'm so sick of hearing about the american economy.
you realise the american economy *****s everyone up right. Messed us up here in Canada, and we have one of the most osund banks in the world.
why cudnt we caompare our dollar with gold liek before.
uhh ya i come from Canada, and we are one of the least affected by America's economy, we depends mainly overseas for goods, in fact a lot of items are going down in price, have you seen gas prices nowadays?
The American economy is really *****ed up. Our dollar soon won't be worth anything, and we're turning into a socialistic government. Was I proud to be an American 10 years ago? Sure for the most part. Right now it's about the last thing I want to be associated with.
I wish I could move to London.....
better move to Asia : no terrorists, cheap technology, and asian women ...
....on top of that Omaba is about to f_ck up every large business by taxing the CRAP out of them which will only further destroy our economy and that is based on our own HISTORY!!!
Democrats love to tax ourselves to DEATH!
You mean removing bush's tax cuts?
HA HA HA! You still think the last republican's administration IMPROVED the economy?
Imagine that, just 3 months ago we have record gas prices just as oil companies are once again posting RECORD PROFITS. Now the economy has gone to hell and gas prices are nearly half what they were? People are not driving half as much, or anywhere near that.
Isn't Obama going to help out the major US auto makers too? Oh man he's ruining everything even before becoming president!
What exactly is based on our own history? Idiots listening to fox "news" and believing everything they tell you to? HA HA HA Moron!
You're mindset is the reason other countries hate the US.
OK, so I may be showing my age, but back in the early 80's (yeah yeah, when the earth was cooling) CD manufacturers were promising that when the new medium had caught on and everyone was manufacturing and packaging their music (where it all started) then the prices would go down. At that time, CDs were double the price of an album/record (ask your folks if you don't know what I am talking about). So basically $14.
If it weren't for my wife, I wouldn't buy CDs at all anymore. In basically 30 years the price NEVER changed.
Now, here is a little lesson in human behavior. You go to your favorite discount store... Your favorite hit movie of the summer has just come out on DVD (blu-ray in a minute). The special 2 disk version is about $25. Basically the movie and some extras 'version' are $20.
Now, set the time machine for 1 year to 1.5 years ahead. You go past the $5 movie bin and see your favorite movie in there.
Big deal, right? Movie is 'basically' old.
WRONG!!! You have to think a bit deeper than that. Do you "really" think that the store is presenting you with a huge bargain because they want your business? If you do I have some bakery fresh homogenized giraffe ***** for you, guaranteed to appreciate double in price in as little as 2 weeks.
FOLK!!! At $5 per movie (same version same package) the DISCOUNT STORE is still making money. (Hollywood and those involved have already made theirs).
Pure unfiltered greed is THE only motivator here. Now that Sony (undisputed king of proprietary) has the ring through the consumer's nose their going to ride your ass long after it died on the way to the bank.
I wish the Philips Technologies had originally came up with the technology on this one. (look up the pre-tences story about cassette tape technology and you'll see what I mean).
Let's be honest with ourselves here. You can burn a CD for about 10 cants. You can burn a single layer DVD for about 40 cents. And then you can burn a dual layered DVD for just under $1. Jewel cases cost about 10 cents apiece (given the right circumstances less than a penny). DVD Boxes cost about the same 10 cents each. Artwork for each is about $4000 to $8000 dollars up front cost. The actual printing is pennies per 100 after a couple thousand copies are made. Be it for music or DVD.
So by my math, you can't get away from an entertainment title of any medium for under $2 (once the numbers are in the 100K range). Yet at $5 a title, the Discount Store is still making money. Let's just say that this doesn't make sense in the commonly taught business model of the schools that I have been to.
I have written so many times before, the music artists that don't have complete control of their music make only pennies on the album. (for the longest time nothing over 10 cents) MOST movies break even after their theater run and sales to the movie networks.
Knowing all this, where is the justification in the 400% price hike for entertainment titles? Bluray takes advantage of this purely because of proprietary technology. Pure greed - nothing less.
New technology in the form of hardware is always going to ebb and flow, that is a given. But wouldn't it be interesting if consumers literally put-off buying entertainment titles for 9 months to a year then race out and get their favorite title when it hits the bargain bin? Didn't this work ever so slightly with the oil companies (different model, but technique would apply to a vendor that HAS to make sales)?
Sure, there are titles I can't wait to get my copy, but wouldn't you rather be able to afford 4 movies as apposed to having to choose just 1? Good 'Ol Boy economics says, "If your neighbor can only afford 1ear of corn at the price you've got it at, you'll be swimming in the rest that's rotting away. But if he can afford3 or 4 ears of corn, you'll have to fight in order to keep your share."
Basically, If you can only afford 1, you'll only get one. The guy that can't afford to
Not that I am proud of it at all, but the US has manged to become the center of thi little planet's business realm.
That pressure in your part of the colon (sorry... world) hasn't built up to a critical level yet, so turn out the light s and continue to sit in your hovel of feigned protectiveness...
Oh wait....
Sorry. You didn't turn the lights off?
Oh, that's right... your inability to learn off our ****ups has gotten your whole country to black out and turn to cannibalism.
Well, if you can still read this, might I recomend that you take all your finances out of the bank and put all you've got into canned food and shotguns before the next door neighbor comes over for dinner.
But then if our problems are too harsh or out of touch with palatial vagina then I guess this comment won't mean much...
You may indeed be MAJORLY affected by the US. If your country gets everything imported, how are you going to get living staples if other countries can no longer afford to deliver to you?
Personally I am under the belief that you are dependent on EVERYONE for your day to day living.
I am not a world economist, but I don't think that i am that far of the mark either...
I take it you vote primarily Republican? Or just extremist?
Maybe this is too simplistic, but if YOU (yes you personally) have (basically)17% of all your income taken for taxation, I assume that you feel you have a right to say what happens to it, right? (which you do, that's not my point) So, lets say you make 100K a year. That's 17K a year that gets thrown around the country (and at one time other countries), I'll bet that pisses you off. Am I right? So then why should a miserable log slug that moves paper from one side of his desk to the other, make $4 million (between golf games and luxury cruises that YOU may have also help fund) and only pay 7% taxation or less, all because he can find a cheap ambulance chaser that will save him even more? So now YOU are going to lose your house because this fat bastard talked you into a loan you can't afford. While at the same time, this same multi-millionaire is asking for money from the government YOU paid into. He got his bail out, WTF is your's? That's been YOUR republican counterparts for the last 25+ years. I think you were born into this mess all along and you really don't know how it used to be when everybody could make a living. That makes this all the more shameful.
@ Douche Bag - "Imagine that, just 3 months ago we have record gas prices just as oil companies are once again posting RECORD PROFITS."
Every year we have record prices. That wont change. You think Obama is going to magically get you cheap gas? Is he going to pump it out his ass? You'll have to explain WTF you point is regarding gas prices.
"Now the economy has gone to hell and gas prices are nearly half what they were?"
We're nearing winter you retard. Gas ALWAYS goes down as well as travel.
"Isn't Obama going to help out the major US auto makers too?"
You are such a fool. BUSH is in the middle of helping the auto industry. It's ONE of those things they agreed on policy wise. Either way, I disagree with it. We have no business bailing them out any more then we had any business bailing out other companies.
"Oh man he's ruining everything even before becoming president!"
He hasn't ruined anything yet nor has he done anything at all. So WTF are you talking about?
"Idiots listening to fox "news" and believing everything they tell you to? HA HA HA Moron!"
Yeah, that's it. Fox News.
"You're mindset is the reason other countries hate the US."
Care to back that up with something tangible?
@ - LordRussell
I vote for what I believe in. Regardless of who that is. I don't believe in parties.
As for everything else...WTF are you talking about? Last year I paid 32% in taxes. The company I work for paid MUCH more then that. So...again, WTF are you talking about my business paying less then me?
"So now YOU are going to lose your house because this fat bastard talked you into a loan you can't afford."
It's easy for people to blame this industry for their troubles. But the truth is, they where able to AFFORD the loan when it started. So:
1. Anyone that got bit from a variable deal...well, that's a hard lesson that needed to be learned.
2. Anyone that ADDED MORE debit to their bill and lost their house...well, that's a hard lesson that needed to be learned.
Either way, they lost their home because of THEM. Poor education on their part. You can consider that being TAKEN ADVANTAGE OF but again, either way, the loss of the house had nothing to do with taxing businesses.
"That's been YOUR republican counterparts for the last 25+ years."
Wrong again!!!!!!! Tell me, where do you get your information? The housing crash was ALL DEMOCRAT. In fact OBAMA supported the exact foundation that crashed it.
Go educate yourself....Go learn about the Community Reinvestment Act.
For those that missed it...DEMOCRATS AND OBAMA caused our current economic crisis!
Republicans have their own evils but they don't compare to democrats.
Plus, you guys are forgetting that congress is mostly democrat right now. So if the economy is shlt then..... do the math.
Congress can do much more harm then the president. Which they have.... now, add the fact that we'll have a democrat president. That'll be 2/3's of our government that will be democratic. If you think things are bad now...just wait until congress can get MORE BS passed.
On a side note, I love seeing Obama stickers on bumpers right along side VOTE NO ON 8. Obama and Biden are AGAINST same sex marriage. I wonder how many gays voted for Obama? Hilarious!!!! From all of his TALKS about minorities, somewhere along the line gays thought he was talking about them as well. They thought wrong. Biden made it VERY CLEAR during the VP debate that they are AGAINST same sex marriage..... idiots!