With Blu-ray declared the winner of the HD format wars, players have been going up in price. Without competition from HD DVD, Blu-ray players from Samsung, Sony, Sharp and Panasonic have actually gone up: to their highest 2008 prices yet, according to
TG Daily. It appears that the PS3 is still the best value for those looking for a Blu-ray player. Not only is it one of the cheapest (at $400), it also can play upcoming BD Profile movies, which utilize an internet connection. Current standalone players are unable to use this feature and will be incompatible with many features in upcoming Blu-ray releases.
TG Daily has some keen words of advice: "Ironically, although Blu-ray has been declared the winner, it is right now about the worst time to invest in a standalone Blu-ray player, because of the high prices and looming obsolescence. Many of the current Blu-ray manufacturers have announced new players that will support BD Profile 2.0, so my advice would be to buy a PS3 or wait for the next-gen players."
[Via
NeoGAF]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Frosty @ Mar 13th 2008 8:28AM
Thanks for reminding me why I preferred HD DVD.
-Cheaper prices
-Finished 'profile' from the get go
-Internet connectivity on all players
So frustrating...
Lee Richards @ Mar 13th 2008 9:23AM
Thanks for reminding me why I preferred Blu-ray.
-Better Spec
-Would be around longer than 12 months
-Wide manufacturer support
-PS3 future proof
So happy...
Frosty @ Mar 13th 2008 9:55AM
Anyone that says it was a better spec never tried HD DVD. No matter, I'll be taking the blu pill soon enough.
NineT9 @ Mar 13th 2008 8:39AM
I'm glad I didnt' choose HD-DVD...
I could care less about the price of other Blu-Ray players, I have a PS3 thank you very much
Next news item please
Phizzy @ Mar 13th 2008 8:57AM
This just makes the PS3 more desirable.
Matt @ Mar 13th 2008 1:06PM
Yeah, to non-gamers. Why is this good when you sell a lot of systems to non-gamers who don't buy games.
Phour ZwanZig @ Mar 13th 2008 11:12PM
Matt said...
Yeah, to non-gamers. Why is this good when you sell a lot of systems to non-gamers who don't buy games
True, which is also what will make the PS3 look to be doing good in console sales, thats the market its in.. And even when the Profile 2.0 players come out, they will most likely cost more than the current players..
RIP HD-DVD.. I miss you.. !
John @ Mar 13th 2008 9:19AM
I'm glad that person mentioned the ps3. Whenever I read these news articles I'm watching to see if they mention that the ps3, with it's internet connection, is ready from the get-go to be compatible with any upcoming changes to the profile. If Sony intended this, they really are brilliant. Stand-alone Blu-Ray: 500+, with no internet. PS3: 400+, with internet. And it's quiet. And it looks good. Oh, and it plays games.
adamevex @ Mar 13th 2008 9:20AM
No doubt other companies who produce BD palyers know people are going to be picking up PS3s. I'm sure we'll see prices start to fall when the new players come out.
crazylegs @ Mar 13th 2008 9:20AM
Really, we all knew this would happen. Money grabbing bastards!
John @ Mar 13th 2008 9:21AM
Sony should be pushing this-- remember last year when Hi-Def and Audio mags were saying they tested the PS3's blu-ray capabilities and it came out as a very high-level blu-ray player? They need to dredge up those reports, and post them on the box, or on the display models. In fact, in audio/video showrooms, they should have ps3's being sold simply as blu-ray players, along with these quotes-- so that people who want a blu-ray player know that the ps3 can compete with the best stand-alones (and include a remote).
innewjersey @ Mar 13th 2008 10:04AM
An increase in demand for blu-ray players could surely also play a role in increased prices.
Matt @ Mar 13th 2008 1:04PM
Not really. This is all about no longer having competition. Competition = good for consumer.
Ryan @ Mar 13th 2008 10:13AM
So to all those crying throughout the format war that it was just ruining things, imagine if HD DVD never existed. We'd probably STILL be looking at thousand dollar blu-ray players.
Mike @ Mar 30th 2008 11:14PM
They would just sell even more PS3 BluRay players, that's all.. That's the reason I am getting a PS3. Cheaper, and I can play the occasional game with it.
Hocheese @ Mar 13th 2008 10:15AM
That's what happens when there's no competition. Not that I'm complaining too much since I got on the blu-ray bandwagon early.
Blu-Ray players will go down in price eventually, they're just trying to cash in on the recent victory hype.
Richard Marxism @ Mar 13th 2008 10:25AM
Econ 101. Demand just went up, while supply stayed the same.
Organic_Shadow @ Mar 13th 2008 11:02AM
Yeah, but doesn't this already happen with most electronics after the post-xmas sales are dried up? This isn't exactly electronics-buying season at the moment...
In either case PS3's price didn't go up... ;)
TheEnd187 @ Mar 13th 2008 1:42PM
Just another Fudtastic Article, Player prices will go down because there is competition, not with another format, but between CE's.
As for feature functionality the only thing one would not be able to do with future Blu's would be not being able to access online features, which many Average Joes wont be doing, heck hardly any Average Joe would use PiP(profile 1.1), Although many of use Tech Savvy people will. I already have a PS3 as my player, but I am waiting for Sony's Profile 2 player so i can have a Standalone.
never$$hort @ Mar 13th 2008 2:16PM
This is not a good thing though... If they really want to start taking on DVD and gain mass acceptance along with a larger market share. The players need to be steadily dropping in price, more major hit titles need to be released, finalized specs need to be enforced and made mandatory like profile 2.0 and BD-50 discs...
I am a big supporter of Blu ray with about 150+ titles in my collection, so really want Blu to succeed, but I am starting to worry about how they are handling this current situation because if they don't get it together, Blu Ray and HD hard disc media will become a niche market, ex. Laser Disc...
ajiezer @ Mar 13th 2008 2:23PM
Well this news have a bitter and sweet flavor, in one hand the PS3 is going to sell better but many purchasers won't use it for anything but view movies, but in time maybe they'll take advantage of other features and buy a game or two every once in a while. In the end that factor could affect the perception of developers whether or not a title for the PS3 would sell good (but since more than 10 million have a cozy home I think that shouldn't be a problem)
But what about the hesitating companies, who jumped to the Blue field nearly the end of the war, were confident in the "fact" that sales of the HD media would grow largely after no consumer confusion were present (now I see the average consumer embracing the current DVD format because of the amount of cash they need to spend in order to jump to the hi def wagon) does this could mean a less strong support from those companies?
I hope not, for the sake of Blu, I love how my BRDs look in my Sony LCD, it'll suck big time if the amount of titles began to decrease and the actual jump of format would be from DVD to digital distribution (don't blame me for liking to own a disk per movie and not Gibabytes of hard disk space per feature)
One final comment...
Dear PS3Fanboy crew: I read some people complaining about how Blu-ray related news should not appear at your site, please continue to give us those useful tips and titles released per week, I truly enjoy that info and look forward to keep reading it on this nice site.
Thanx
kentuckyfried @ Mar 13th 2008 3:21PM
I think this is fine as long as their not a price *increase* on the ps3.
Reuben @ Mar 13th 2008 5:32PM
Sony wouldn't dream of increasing the price of the PS3. Remeber, they still have Microsoft and Nintendo to contend with. The thing does still play games, after all.
leiwei @ Mar 13th 2008 5:39PM
Those gradual increase in bd-player prices look like a regular inflation in the economy to me. In the beginning of the year, gas prices were about $2.95 to $3.15 and now it's about $3.65 to $3.90. Even the price for a McDonalds Egg/Sausage McMuffin went up.