Blu Ray Prices Falling Rapidly

[Zachstar]

Well how far we have come the first player big decks that cost over a thousand. When HDDVD was defeated 400 was considered cheap. And today?

99 dollars!


http://www.engadget.com/2009/06/19/meijers-brand-new-99-shipped-blu-ray-player-brings-joy-to-sk/#comments

The great thing about these players is that quality is pretty uniform on these things. Most use the same Broadcom system the 300 dollar players use so as long as you are HDMI you are good to go!

And there are others like a 130 dollar player at some Best Buy stores and Wall Mart etc...

I figured Blu Ray would render DVD into the same realm as VHS in 2012 or so. But with prices falling this fast.. It may happen sooner. As Blu Ray is just superior period.

[AVGWarhawk]

Personally, I have seen both side by side and can not tell a difference. But that never stopped the manufacturers making believe there is a vast difference and purchasing another player is something I need to do before my head implodes. :88) The disc are damn expensive. Really, the movie has to be exceptional for me to purchase it. So, what is it we just have to have next at any cost?

Thanks for the tip though. I'm sure eventually I will be forced into something else I just have to have because the thousands of dollars invested in previous electronics is apparenty no good anymore. :shifty:

[ReallyDedPoet]

I got one of these for my birthday and really like it. I have a HD TV 42"
( 1080p ) and can notice a difference in the picture quality and also the sound. I have bought three discs so far, all were on sale as I would not buy one at regular price, not yet anyway.

[AVGWarhawk]

Do you really notice RDP? I watched a side by side at the store and could not tell a difference at all. Disc price was $30.00!?!? That is way over the line IMO:hmmm:

[geetrue]

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Bummer!

[August]

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Bummer!

Don't worry, there will be more sales. Once they've cleaned out all the suckers i expect you'll see them get as cheap as regular DVD players.

[SteamWake]

While the price of the players continues to go down, the prices of a monitor which can take full advantage of the blu rays abilitys are still quite pricey.

[Zachstar]

Personally, I have seen both side by side and can not tell a difference. But that never stopped the manufacturers making believe there is a vast difference and purchasing another player is something I need to do before my head implodes. :88) The disc are damn expensive. Really, the movie has to be exceptional for me to purchase it. So, what is it we just have to have next at any cost?

Thanks for the tip though. I'm sure eventually I will be forced into something else I just have to have because the thousands of dollars invested in previous electronics is apparenty no good anymore. :shifty:

If you have seen a side by side comparison and see little difference it is because some idiot hooked it up via a composite cable that puts out 480i rather than a decent Component hookup (720p) or HDMI (1080p)

The difference in picture quality is astounding!

[Zachstar]

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Bummer!

I noticed that too then I noticed that Wal Mart was selling a Magnavox one for 128 USD. So I just went and purchased it. The big news tho is that is the first time any non refurbished Blu Ray player with HDMI sold for under 100USD which is the final barrier for mass adoption.

[AVGWarhawk]

If you have seen a side by side comparison and see little difference it is because some idiot hooked it up via a composite cable that puts out 480i rather than a decent Component hookup (720p) or HDMI (1080p)

The difference in picture quality is astounding!

Good point, perhaps they did hook it up using the wrong hook up. :hmmm:

[Buddahaid]

I always figured the reason Blu-ray topped HD was they could gouge more money for the discs. I new HD would lose out. Still I buy a few because I hate movie theaters. Obnoxious people, smelly crap food, and freeking sitting through up to thirty minutes of ads and trailers before the show. :shifty:

Buddahaid

[Stealhead]

Yeah the Bluray if not hooked up in the best manner wont show that much better but when it is hooked up right it is quite clear. Also the sound I find is much better. However I went in to buy Gran Tourino(great flick) the other day and even though I do have a Bluray I did not want to spend $30.00 on it so I bought the widescreen DVD instead. Figured I could use that $10.00 dollars I saved to take my daughter and wife to get ice cream(I am not self centered ******* I know hard to belive in this day and age.).Also a BluRay player is supposed to run a DVD better than a DVD player can but I suspect that is marketing bull****.

I thought there was some diffrence in the storage between the two. i know that is why BETA lost out to VHS. BETA gave a better quality picture but it could only fit so much time and it meant that alot of movies required more than one tape while VHS could store much more so as long as the movie was less than something like 2 1/2 hours it could fit on one VHS tape.
This time around with Bluray and HDDVD there was even some studio backing one format or the other.

[darius359au]

If you have seen a side by side comparison and see little difference it is because some idiot hooked it up via a composite cable that puts out 480i rather than a decent Component hookup (720p) or HDMI (1080p)

The difference in picture quality is astounding!

I tell people I know that its like the difference in picture quality between VHS tapes and DVD's when they first came out , there's that much difference.

[sunvalleyslim]

Wait six months and they'll be giving them away........:yeah:

[Stealhead]

I would not bet on that. they are trying to get rid of excess stock tahnks to the slower economy once they clear it out a bit and start ordering the amount they can turn around at the normal rate the price will go up again supply and demand.Right now they have too much supply not enough demand to sell them at the normal price that will cahnge sooner or later.

[Zachstar]

I would not bet on that. they are trying to get rid of excess stock tahnks to the slower economy once they clear it out a bit and start ordering the amount they can turn around at the normal rate the price will go up again supply and demand.Right now they have too much supply not enough demand to sell them at the normal price that will cahnge sooner or later.


Its not excess... The good profile 2 models are still selling in the 2-3 hundred dollar ranges.

These cheaper players are made possible due to advancements in price reduction per BD-rom. Mainly licensing and much cheaper diodes.

[Zachstar]

Wait six months and they'll be giving them away........:yeah:


Well it will take some time but look at DVD! A player that can output coaxial dolby digital and look fine runs from 30-50 dollars these days. A used one less than 10.

But blu ray will win because there is just no comparison to blu. Look at the new "Star Trek" Seasons in Blu Ray! They have the original AND the Remastered on the SAME disc. (And 7.1 AND Mono) You simply cant do that with DVD without packing in twice or three times as many discs.

Once "Star Trek 2009" comes out in Blu I think it will be the perfect way to demonstrate the absolute superiority of blu even if the jackass hooked it up with composite cables.

[Chad]

Also a BluRay player is supposed to run a DVD better than a DVD player can but I suspect that is marketing bull****.



I don't think it's marketing b.s. I work at Wal-Mart in electronics and around these products all day, and from what I've read (they don't train us at all, just give us a ring of keys and let us go) is that Blue Ray players Up-Convert normal DVD's to1080p.

Basically, I believe that normal dvd's are infact 720p, and the high defination of a Blu-Ray player converts it up to 1080p.

In that sense then, a Blu-Ray player is a video scaler, which is defined as A video scaler is a device for converting video[/URL] signals from one size or resolution to another: usually "upscaling" or "upconverting" a video signal from a low resolution (e.g. standard definition) to one of higher resolution (e.g. high definition t.v. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Video)).

Here's a link with pictures to help explain: [url]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Video_scaler

[ReallyDedPoet]

Do you really notice RDP? I watched a side by side at the store and could not tell a difference at all. Disc price was $30.00!?!? That is way over the line IMO:hmmm:

Not only in the picture quality ( when you are using it with 1080p ) but also the sound, it's much more fuller :yep:
I've bought 4 so far, the last for some reason ( Predator ) was just fair quality. 1\2 of it was crystal clear, the other half looked like VHS :doh:

[bookworm_020]

Still yet to get below the $300 dollar barrier here in Australia. But the prices are still going down. I might get a Blu Ray player in the future, but for the moment I feel no need at the moment. One of my TV's is a CRT 4:3 and the other is a LCD 16:9 but not Full HD.