September 19, 2008
Blu-ray Disc™ Player Pricing And Sales

Blu-ray's "extremely healthy" market just is "not enough"; holiday price cuts announced.

By Gary Reber

I reported on my blog this morning the remarks made by Andy Parsons, Chairman of the U.S. Promotion Committee for the Blu-ray Disc™ Association (BDA).

Parsons noted during the CEDIA EXPO that “the demand for Blu-ray Disc products is extremely healthy.” Yet, at the DisplaySearch HDTV conference held in Los Angeles on September 15 to 17, Parsons said that Blu-ray player and disc prices won’t fall until volume increases, noting that the market volume was not strong enough. Huh? He has gone from “extremely healthy” to “not enough market,” within a two-week period. He also said at DisplaySearch that Blu-ray player and disc companies need to build awareness in order to increase volume.

I don’t disagree there. I think that is the “critical” action necessary to assure Blu-ray’s success. And yet, there is hardly any consumer advertising at present to promote such. Parsons warned of the threat to Blu-ray’s market share posed by digital downloads. I agree that this indeed poses a threat long-term, but in the foreseeable near future, there just isn’t enough download capability to deliver all the performance that Blu-ray today is capable of delivering––that is, full 1080p24 resolution, 7.1-channel discrete lossless Dolby TrueHD and DTS®-HD Master Audio. Of course, if companies do not educate consumers on how to use this performance in their homes (theatres), then the old “good-enough” picture and sound delivered by Internet downloads and digital cable and satellite will suffice.

Sadly, too few consumers (and retailers) have the knowledge to know how to deliver an optimum performance home theatre experience that fully utilizes the exclusive performance picture and sound capabilities inherent in the Blu-ray Disc format. That’s where education and advertising should be directed.

As for pricing, Sony has announced that the price of its BDP-S350 Blu-ray Disc player will be reduced $100, to $299. Surprisingly, Memorex has announced the MVBD-2510, a budget Blu-ray Disc player that is being offered for at $269. The MVBD-2510 has Bonus View 1.1 functionality, 1080p24/60 frame rates, Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD Master Audio bitstream audio playback and 7.1-channel HDMI and 5.1-channel analog output. This is a significant sign that the market is headed to lower player prices lower-priced players. What is also needed to bolster volume and pump up market demand is significantly reduced disc pricing. Significantly lower player and disc pricing is the ticket to Blu-ray’s success. The higher-end, and thus pricier, premium Blu-ray Disc players will remain niche products that offer the enthusiast the full-performance capabilities of the format. Those players will be the source for a true optimum performance home theatre experience set up to deliver anamorphic widescreen nirvana and 7.1-channel discrete lossless holosonic® spherical surround™ surround sound, along with D-BOX Motion Code™ and ultimately, 3-D stimulation.     

Gary Reber
Editor-In-Chief & Publisher
Widescreen Review




Tags: - editor's couch - - Blu-ray - - BDA - - DisplaySearch - - Andy Parsons - - Dolby - - TrueHD - - DTS - - DTS-HD - - D-BOX -