View Full Version : When can we see 250 HD DVD or Blu Ray DVD player
Legendary
05-02-2006, 4:03 PM
Any ideas when can we expect to see a decent budget DVD player with either Blu Ray or HD DVD or both and Upscaler into one for about 250 pounds. Something similar to Denon 1920 but better.
So I have an idea how long I might have to wait ?
sbowler
05-02-2006, 4:07 PM
Spring 07 would be my bet......:eek:
I think they will have to sort out which format is going to win or at least have a duel system that can play both before we will start to see budget players, budget = volume and untill they have sorted the format war out i cant see any manufacturer being brave enough to make a high enough volume to bring the prices down, there is one big exception though, the Sony Playstation 3 and the Xbox 360 could be the cheapest way to get into either format but that wont be untill the end of this year or amybe not even untill 2007 ...for the UK at least.
Andy
Joe Fernand
06-02-2006, 7:56 AM
Hello Legendary
That's quite a wish list for £250.00.
The SnaZio SZ1350 is available now - is a half decent DVD player with up-conversion to 720P and 1080i on Analogue (Component) and Digital (DVI) and is capable of playing a fair old range of High Definition video files and all for under £250.00.
I doubt you'll see a similar spec player with an HD DVD or Blu-ray Disc drive at anywhere near that price for a long time - and if your budget conscious I'd suggest a Networkable HD Media player is going to be a better bet as pre recorded HD DVD and Blu-ray Discs (BD) are going to attract a Premium price to begin with.
Its looking increasingly likely that PS3 will launch without a BD drive built-in and instead it will be an 'add-on' option as and when affordable (sub £250.00) BD players are ready to ship
Best regards
Joe
Legendary
06-02-2006, 1:42 PM
I don't expect my wish to come true quickly, but it would be nice to have an idea I mean if there is a 3 months wait I could skip in buying Denon 1920. It probably will come around Christmas 2007 or thereabout.
Its looking increasingly likely that PS3 will launch without a BD drive built-in and instead it will be an 'add-on' option as and when affordable (sub £250.00) BD players are ready to ship
Best regards
Joe
:rotfl: Where did you read that nonsense?
I don't expect my wish to come true quickly, but it would be nice to have an idea I mean if there is a 3 months wait I could skip in buying Denon 1920. It probably will come around Christmas 2007 or thereabout.
Don't delay, buy today! HD won't be 'budget' affordable for a couple of years.
Dave
:rotfl: Where did you read that nonsense?
yeah, PS3 games will be on BR Media, so without a BR Drive.... :god:
alan_t
06-02-2006, 5:15 PM
if everybody held off of buying it when it is first released, the price would probably drop like a stone.
Joe Fernand
06-02-2006, 5:33 PM
Hello DanDT
You get me - got my wires crossed; though BD cant hang around waiting on PS3 if its to challenge HD DVD :)
As you say PS3 will be BD - just that its looking increasingly likely you wont see PS3 for a while yet and at launch BD Titles may be 25 Gb single side affairs.
Best regards
Joe
Nic Rhodes
06-02-2006, 5:42 PM
25 Gb single side affairs and MPEG2, so what is different to DTheatre we have had for 5+ years now?!! £250 well if yoU get one in 2007 consider yourself lucky. The nearest you might get is the PS3 again well into 2007 for the UK.
AndyC_772
06-02-2006, 6:01 PM
...or maybe the HD market simply wouldn't take off at all?
History has taught us that the mass market demands a major improvement over what has gone before. CDs meant the end of tape hiss and didn't wear out. DVD offered the best picture quality most people had ever seen, and heralded the end of mangled VHS rental tapes. With fewer moving parts, DVD players soon became cheaper to make than any VHS machine. Cheap is good.
Now look at the formats that have failed. MiniDisc offered recordability but hardly any pre-recorded titles to choose from. Now that pirated tapes could be first generation copies from CD, they could actually sound better than the originals people had been happy to buy for years. And how many people really buy a recording machine for any other reason? DCC was a flop for the same reason.
SACD and DVD-A sound fabulous, but only on a system capable of resolving the difference. 90% of the music I listen to is in the car or through headphones plugged into my PC at work. (I'm actually listening to an SACD right now, but it's from Mrs C's collection and not the sort of music I'd normally buy. The sort of music I'd normally buy just isn't available on SACD, at all).
I reckon if HD players are going to take off, they'll have to do so on the back of being good DVD players in their own right. 'Premium' pricing for players and discs might be tolerated by a few enthusiasts, but if they're going to take off in a big way then there will have to be a good reason NOT to buy them instead of DVD.
IMHO that reason already exists: HDCP. A new format that requires me to buy a new TV (and, for PC use, a new OS), when I already have a perfectly capable VGA screen and Linux? Whilst I've no doubt that the movie industry can see the logic, such a move makes the step up to HD much more expensive than it needs to be.
I fear for HD. I consider myself an a/v enthusiast and am certainly a potential customer. I just can't see a movie industry obsessed with DRM and sharp pricing allowing it to take off.
Pity.
Legendary
06-02-2006, 8:31 PM
I think HDTV and Blu ray and HD-DVD will not become mass market products as it is too expensive and most peope wouldn't care as they will be happy with cheap widescreen TV and DVDs.
Perhaps PS3 will be good enough for playing Blu Ray movies.
Well its about USA really, if BD/HD Rom go well there, it should go well.
In UK, there will be SkyHD as well to possibly help with the sales of HD Ready TV's.
The AV side of BD and HD-DVD is only one part of it, computer data storage needs a higher capacity than DVD can now give even with duel layer disks, so I think it will be the computer storage side of the market that will push either of these to success, the big money to start with i think will be from the computer industry, im sure there are alot more DVD drives in computers through out the world than there are DVD players in peoples homes.
Andy
jpb123
07-02-2006, 1:01 PM
...or maybe the HD market simply wouldn't take off at all?
SNIP
Pity.
I would say that it's virtually guaranteed that HDTV in some fashion will be extremely successful.
As someone pointed out. The computer storage issue alone will guarantee that millions and millions of players/burners will be available very quickly once it gets going.
That aside. I'm also a HIFi freak and have a great system with plenty of SACD and DVD-audio disks. The improvment those give the average Joe is just about zero. I've only had a few people ever commenting on my soundsystem. They have neither the equipment nor the ears to tell the difference. Those that did were all musicians.
HDTV however is so much better that EVERYONE sees a huge improvment immediatly. I've had plenty of folks over to see HD material via computer to a Pioneer 50" screen. Every single one (dozens of people) have without exception said wow, fantastic, look at that etc etc within 10 seconds of a movie starting. No exception.
Of course, there's no way that people will accept watching HDTV from their sat boxes and not being able to record it for later viewing. HDTV recorders will be a smash hit as soon as they are available for less than say 300 pounds.
Sure the two formats can complicate things a bit but it will also mean that there's continuing development in order to compete with each other. This is a good thing could possibly outdraw the negativs with competing formats.