I just thought I'd update everyone about the letter I said I would write to Best Buy. I received a really nice letter back, but what surprised me is that the CSR said that they could not say whether or not Best Buy would offer BluRay technology at this time, which really floored me.

Now, I'm of course assuming they will, after all, if you go to their website, there is a little flash film right now for HD-DVD / BluRay, so I'm sure it has more to do with legalities and contracts and that sort of thing about putting it in writing to the public, but thought it was interesting and somewhat disappointing.

They have BluRay players for sale on their website, is that not offering BluRay technology?

They also have a several-page guide about Blu-Ray technology on their web site (same as with HD-DVD).

I'm not sure the concern. If either of these technologies is even of remote interest to the consumer market, BestBuy will sell it.

I suppose its similar to what car dealers do, SWAT, sell what's available today. They aren't currently selling it and don't exactly know when they will, so why talk it up and risk talking you out of visiting the store today and buying something.

If I were a big box store I would be very non commital about both technoligies just fromt he stand point that they seem to get pushed back a lot, and I don't think there has really been a groundswell of demand for either.

Yes, I am aware, as I mentioned that in my post. Just reporting the e-mail I received. I would post it verbatim, but have chosen not to do so on a public forum without the writer's permission.

I'm just surprised that:
Their salespeople at the store I went to a few days ago seemed almost ignorant of both technologies.

That they are officially non-commital to the public, even while displaying an ad and offering the players for sale.

My guess is that they're just doing a wait-and-see attitude. Obviously, I would bet they will sell both formats until a clear winner dominates the field at least.

Larry

Salespeople are typically not aware of new technology until they have to sell it. As someone who used to work at CC, people aren't told of new technology, usually. They're not trained to do anything but sell. And I was one of the few people that was actually interested in the stuff I was selling so I did the research myself.

Still, I have to admit that your posts continue to confuse me. Your way of thinking is...umm...interesting, to say the least.

Do you actually buy this kind of equipment at Best Buy? There are real stores for that. BB is good for games and DVDs where you don't need a dealer behind you. But a $1000 disc player?

I read an article yesterday (sorry don't have the link) saying that retailers are keeping these new products (HD-DVD and BR) low key due to the delays and uncertainty in release dates.

LOL, well I'm sorry we seem to be talking over each other's heads. Yeah, I understand about salespeople. I also work in retail at the moment, and concur that the workplace isn't exactly a fount of info for information.

Basically I'm trying to gauge the popularity of these formats basically. Let's see we have the first releases due pretty imminently, in about four days, right? And, there's so many delays and divisions about it that the people that should be knowledgable are not and the "big box" retailers that sell these items are publicly noncommital.

As has been said before either here or elsewhere, it's almost as if the companies producing these formats are *trying to fail*. I just hope that HD DVD (both HD and BR) don't just become some niche product like minidisc, etc.

Let's just say it's not looking promising. And, what's more depressing is the PC end of things. Will there be dual-format drives? Otherwise, people are only going to have a one format choice when watching a hi-def DVD on their computers. I just hope one format wins pretty soon, it's all looking pretty depressing so far.

Larry

Well, personally speaking, I'm not going to buy either of these players, until I see this thing play out a bit, until either a clear winner breaks through, or dual-format players become a reality, buying it at Best Buy or otherwise. At least until they work through the various kinks that will undoubtedly happen.

I am interested in the development of the technology, however, which is why I follow boards like this one.

Larry

The real depressing thing with PCs is that we are all going to need new video cards and monitors (HDMI-HDCP ones). Even without the ICT enabled, I think HDMI will be mandatory for PCs to play next-gen discs. It'll also be interesting to see whether PCs can decode these formats on the fly. That is some serious horsepower required.


You could, however, certainly have two drives. It's not different than you are going to need two set-top players, if you want both formats.

Just so you know...Best Buy is supporting both formats equally. There is an internal document about the two formats...the pros cons of both; and that as an employee you are supposed to say that Best Buy isnt taking sides and going to provite both equally... as they come avaliable. Just FYI.

Thanks. Figured as much, just reporting the e-mail I got back when I wrote asking about it. I wouldn't expect any different if I were a retailer and had to decide about what was best for my business with two competing formats one of which might fail (i.e., VHS vs. Betamax). I just hope it's not a niche format like Minidisc or SACD/DVD-Audio.

I went again to my local Best Buy (Inland Empire area of California), and asked about HD-DVD. They said they didn't have any in, and not to expect any for at least a month. So you folks in Orange County (CA) and other areas around the country that did get the players and movies on launch day, even though it was only a few, count yourselves lucky.

Larry

I'll bet that's crap. I'd bet there'll be more in before then. They just don't want you harrassing them daily or they are hoping you'll buy something else. Never trust an employee for info, they are usually last to know.

The local high end store said they had 20 on order and expect some of them in on Friday. However, some of those are XA1s so I don't think those will ship yet.

Yeah, I think it is too. The salesguy was definitely in "customer service mode", nearly patted me on the head, lol.

At the very least, it was nice to know they acknowledged the format's existence. Will be glad when I see it in mass quantities, as opposed to online and reports of a few here and there.

Larry

If they don't offer RluRay technology, I guess they won't carry PS3 console and games too

I believe they will. I'm just really puzzled by the minimum of advertising, word-of-mouth (outside of internet), and availability of these formats.

Larry

It's still early in the year. Toshiba is going with a "soft launch" rollout to slowly let hardware out to the public and build up word of mouth while their production supply line increases capacity. This will build towards a larger advertising campaign nearer the holidays, which is when most people spend their disposable income.

I expect similar from Blu-Ray, assuming they don't hold off the whole format launch until the PS3 is ready in November.