Are Blu Ray Players Ever Going to be Cheap?

[Coldgunner]

personall i dont see BR players comming down in price, expecially since Sony is keeping the marketing of PS3 as the cheepest most compatable BR player avaliable

i think they (Sony) did an interview a while back saying BR players will never be cheaper then the PS3, forget a source for that atm though

Most seem to think that Sony = Blu ray. This is incorrect. Panasonic own the majority of the patents. Players will come down in price because its not just sony manufacturing them.

[+Audioboxer Subscriber²]

Audio, you know damn well that was a hyperbole, especially given what the original post said. Don't flame bait me.

The question, as I have reiterated, is whether or not there's any new players coming out that are cheaper, if any prices are expected to drop anytime soon, etc.

Blu-Ray has been out two years now and the requirements to actually build a Blu-Ray player have to have dropped given that Sony is supposedly making a very small profit on the Playstation 3 right now, which includes a Blu-Ray player and a wealth of even more expensive equipment... and yet it's still one of the cheapest Blu-Ray players. So don't tell me it's the technology that has to drop in price. It already has.

I said no offence to you, so chill man.

I said what I said in light of some of the replies we got in here in relation to the title - People actually thinking/saying prices won't drop - That IMO is dumb, for the reasons I gave about technology and the relation to time/price.

You could've worded your title better, if you were wondering about "soon", instead you said "ever", but as I said in my comment I don't care that you did, I am not throwing any remarks/offence your way.

Most seem to think that Sony = Blu ray. This is incorrect. Panasonic own the majority of the patents. Players will come down in price because its not just sony manufacturing them.

Yeah the PS3 is selling decently as a BR player, and definitely won, or at least helped win the HD war.

However like the PS2, eventually it won't really be bought as a BR player any more by those not interested in gaming - Cheaper standalone players will be.

Or for the gamer who owns a PS3, standalone players will make up the HD players around the rest of the house - I doubt very few people will own 3-6 PS3s in a few years.

Example, I have about 3~4 standalone DVD players in my house, and only one a PS2.

However we all know the PS2 was hardly engineered as a quality DVD movie player, like the PS3 is to BR, but you should catch my point above.

[zape]

As of April, 2008 a joint licensing agreement for Blu-ray Disc has not yet been finalized. A joint licensing agreement would make it easier for companies to get a license for Blu-ray Disc without having to go to each individual company that owns a Blu-ray Disc patent. For this reason a joint licensing agreement was eventually made for DVD by the DVD6C Licensing Agency.

Thats why :)

[DaDude]

Ok, I haven't checked Blu-ray player prices in a while, so I decided to check just now. From what I researched, you can now find a Blu-ray player for less than $300. They used to cost over $500. So, to the OP: What's the beef? That's a pretty decent drop in price, if you ask me.

[Andrew Lyle Global Moderator]

I found this one for $249.99 (CDN) at Bestbuy.ca, but in terms of the specs, it is really bad. I can only assume the player will be bigger then the first VHS player, and take almost a minute to load a disc.

/me waits for players to shrink in size, lower the price to $199.99 or lower, and be able to read a disc like a DVD player can

[goji]

^ Don't hold your breath.

[TruckWEB]

However we all know the PS2 was hardly engineered as a quality DVD movie player, like the PS3 is to BR, but you should catch my point above.

The PS2 was not the best DVD player, we all know that. But it's really not the same thing with Blu-Ray, and Sony is right in saying that the PS3 is currently the best BR player. It was the only "first" BR player that had everything to handle the Profile 2.0 and one of the few who could be upgraded to Profile 2.0 BD-Live.

And, the PS3 cost less than most other standalone BR player. But you get many bonus, like a game console, media center, TV Internet browser, ....

So, what's wrong with a PS3 being sold as a good BR Player?

[HawkMan]

I found this one for $249.99 (CDN) at Bestbuy.ca, but in terms of the specs, it is really bad. I can only assume the player will be bigger then the first VHS player, and take almost a minute to load a disc.

/me waits for players to shrink in size, lower the price to $199.99 or lower, and be able to read a disc like a DVD player can

Why do people absolutely insist on having tiny funny shaped DVD player and otherhom theaterequipment.

seriusly it looks ridiculous, when you have a home theater, with a tiny grey and chrome highlis DVD player, stacked on top of a tiny and differently sized surround receiver, right next to a console that's bigger than both of them together.

It looks so much better when you have a standard size receiver wich also gives better sound and probably cost less than the packes wih amp and tiny speakers), stacked with a DVD player of standard size, and maybe a HTPC in a standard Stereo equipment sized case. Preferably all in matching colors, black or silver depending on preference. Now if only the 360 and other consoles would come in proper standard sized boxes as well (well Sony tried witht he PSX but).

IT looks so much nicer and cleaner. all the components have enough room to "breathe" and they can use bigger components and get less noise and better sound and video quality than int he cramped little boxes.

Of course I don't have a DVD player anymore, but I have a nice proper pioneer receivr and a HTPC in a black silverstone case that fits right in with it.and if I need more power, I can buy a multichannel amplifier wich will stack nicely with all this. sure the 360 doesn't quite fit in, but at it's an elite so the color fits in. If I where to buy a standalone BD player, at the very least it would have to have standard width, be black and be reasonabely square and stackable.

[Coldgunner]

/\indeed, I think people who are serious about home theatre should have their setup based around the equipment, not vice versa.

[+Audioboxer Subscriber²]

The PS2 was not the best DVD player, we all know that. But it's really not the same thing with Blu-Ray, and Sony is right in saying that the PS3 is currently the best BR player. It was the only "first" BR player that had everything to handle the Profile 2.0 and one of the few who could be upgraded to Profile 2.0 BD-Live.

And, the PS3 cost less than most other standalone BR player. But you get many bonus, like a game console, media center, TV Internet browser, ....

So, what's wrong with a PS3 being sold as a good BR Player?

Absolutely nothing. I'm talking about the future where standalone players are inevitably going to be cheaper.

And, the PS3 cost less than most other standalone BR player. But you get many bonus, like a game console, media center, TV Internet browser, ....

Not everyone needs the bonus stuff, plus actually, there are profile 2.0 BR players cheaper than the PS3 now.

You can get a new Sony player here for ?199 now.

The PS3 is ?299.

[Si_]

The problem with having a cheap bluray player is it will perform very poorly, at least until they can shove some decent horsepower and cooling solution in there for a low price.

Blurays Java code is extremely bloated, and many standalone players take well over a minute from disk in to movie playing. What the PS3 has going for it is the sheer grunt to handle the code and have it run at a reasonable speed.

[TruckWEB]

Absolutely nothing. I'm talking about the future where standalone players are inevitably going to be cheaper.

Not everyone needs the bonus stuff, plus actually, there are profile 2.0 BR players cheaper than the PS3 now.

You can get a new Sony player here for ?199 now.

The PS3 is ?299.

Well maybe in Scotland, but if I look at BestBuy.com, I see the PS3 at $399 and the Sony Blu-Ray player at $399 (Model BDP-S350, Profile 2.0), and the BDP-S300 is $339 but only Profile 1.1

You can also get the Insignia Profile 1.1 player for $249.... But it's Insignia...

[Cormier6083]

Huh? There are hundreds of "good" DVD players under $100 in my book. They may not be these massive quality, $1,000 players or whatever, but they get the job done and deliver good pictures and sound.

Yes, but DVD has been on the market for about 12 years now.

Give it time. It happened with VCR.

[Joel]

You can also get the Insignia Profile 1.1 player for $249.... But it's Insignia...

But isn't there no difference when it's digital? That's what every one says about HDMI cables, so it must hold true for BD players. ;)

[Coldgunner]

But isn't there no difference when it's digital? That's what every one says about HDMI cables, so it must hold true for BD players. ;)

Its all down to the video processor in the player.

[goji]

^ + Bells and whistles that can be added on (HDMI spec's', audio decoders, networking ability etc.)

Which is why the PS3 is the preferred Blu-Ray player by AV installers in the industry - it does everything for being just a player.

[Joel]

Its all down to the video processor in the player.

So then, it's been banged around and scratched at before getting to the screen? Even though it's digital? Everyone says that once it's digital, it doesn't matter what happens to it, it's always perfect.

This is the problem with a lot of people's perception of digital; it means 'untouchable by outside factors' to them. And we already know it's not untouchable.

[Coldgunner]

So then, it's been banged around and scratched at before getting to the screen? Even though it's digital? Everyone says that once it's digital, it doesn't matter what happens to it, it's always perfect.

This is the problem with a lot of people's perception of digital; it means 'untouchable by outside factors' to them. And we already know it's not untouchable.

Just to give a comparison. over the years I noticed variable DVD playback quality on the same gfx card. The software driving the hardware in a blu ray player may be better in some over others.

[fanscape]

Transformers FINALLY came out on Blu-Ray. It's going to be so awesome since Blu-Ray makes you actually feel like you're practically in the movie. Now, I just got to make sure my boyfriend isn't in the room when Megan Fox comes on...

Ivy, Transformers

[goji]

This is the problem with a lot of people's perception of digital; it means 'untouchable by outside factors' to them. And we already know it's not untouchable.

And so what is the question? The more you pay, having done your research will net you a better quality product vs a bare bones model (Insignia) that will possibly fail you after a few months providing you were able to make it past the horrendously long load times.

[Joel]

And so what is the question? The more you pay, having done your research will net you a better quality product vs a bare bones model (Insignia) that will possibly fail you after a few months providing you were able to make it past the horrendously long load times.

No question from me. I'm sure the cheap HDTV freaks will be along soon to take you up on calling Insignia a bare bones model, though. You'll know them by their $2 HDMI cables. :p

[giantpotato]

For anyone who's interested, I just noticed Wal-Mart is selling the Magnavox Blu-Ray player for $199 in Canada this week.

[goji]

There have been quite a few deals lately on Amazon and Best Buy. It could be the holidays when Blu becomes affordable :cool:

[Crazysah]

There have been quite a few deals lately on Amazon and Best Buy. It could be the holidays when Blu becomes affordable :cool:

And how much is affordable?

[DaDude]

I just saw a Blu-ray player for $200 and that sounds pretty reasonable to me. I bought my first DVD player for more than that.