If you are claiming that the MSRP of either player was reduced, and then raised again, please include a link to any proof of this from Sony and/or Samsung. Otherwise, please don't use specious arguments to support your position. Promotions end, and prices return to their regular levels. That does not indicate a price increase.

And, as far as new 1.0 players, according to what I have read, the BDA is not allowing any new 1.0 players to be announced or released. All new player models announced from October of last year forward must be 1.1 or 2.0.

Your analogy might make sense, but it goes against what Sony and other BDA members have publicly stated. Time will tell whether you are right or they are.

Yup, haven't heard of any 1.0 players in the pipeline. -mod snip-

Did anyone else's Best Buy put all Blu-ray movies in clear plastic cases? Seems overnight they decided to put close to a thousand Blu-ray movies in those annoying plastic lock cases to prevent theft.

The problem(s) with your scenario is that you don’t have one format; you have two media formats, and an industry looking to mimic the SDVD boom.

I do not understand your analogy with the digital camera. Is there only one Blu-Ray machine on the market capable of BR playback? If anything, your statement goes against the point you are attempting to make because the PS3, the leading piece of BR hardware, has thrown off everyone who has tried to pinpoint its market significance.

On this forum alone there were numerous calls that the PS3 is Blu-Ray, that the rest of the manufacturers hardly even matter. Here’s my question for you: Do you truly believe that all of those large corporations within the BDA will remain passive to the PS3 performance? Why is SHARP on record stating that they will be the leading Blu-Ray manufacturer? Why were TDK and Panasonic exclusively promoting BR in Europe, aside from SONY?

Because they are content with the current status quo, because they’ve captured the consumer base you use as a foundation for your speculation??

Also you suggest, or at least that is how I deciphered your analogy, that there is a good chance that the BDA could fumble the opportunity to grant BR a mass status. With the kind of campaigning and advertising they beat Toshiba and its pricing strategy to the punch?
Allow me to go on a limb here and state that if anything the BDA’s strongest point so far has been marketing, advertising, and promoting. It isn’t an impossible scenario but I very much believe that it is an improbable one.

I also have a difficult time understanding why the competition is over. If anything the competition begins now. You have a potential mass market up for grabs where all of the major hardware manufacturers will be aiming at securing a sizeable share. The consumer base you talk about is only a viable argument to support your theory if you head the SONY marketing team. The BDA isn’t SONY and there are numerous point of views that corporations will take into consideration once Hollywood is firmly behind the format. Even those who aren’t directly interested in BR, that would be the gaming industry, will still compete with the PS3. And as past events have shown us at least in pre-mass market conditions the PS3 has influenced BR hardware pricing in the direction you desire, not the other way around.

Externally, the market conditions are equally potent. For better or worse Warner’s current financial troubles are more than likely the best news the BDA could have hoped for. The arrival of the new CEO and his desire to “reevaluate” Time Warner/AOL and their past performance could well mean that the VOD-issue many are so “concerned” with could be used as an extra incentive for the distrib to promote BR. VOD, now or in a foreseeable future, will not be a viable market (the Texas experiment could give you an idea why), BR has plenty of potential to become one (I urge you to read MaxPowers thoughts on why Warner was so negatively positioned towards Toshiba and their “consumer-friendly” advertising – at least to me it does not seem like they will be content with the current market structure).

As you could see, on both fronts, internal and external, Blu-Ray will be pressured to produce results. This is the type of business climate all of those who entered the format war were hoping for. As to how quickly results are likely to be seen…this is another issue. Yet, I tend to believe that with the mass planning and execution of recent events by the BDA the big players have a pretty clear idea how and where they are heading.

Ciao,
Pro-B

Yet, I tend to believe that with the mass planning and execution of recent events by the BDA the big players have a pretty clear idea how and where they are heading

This is the big question I have. Intentions. Plans. Goals.

Phase 1, advertise and slash prices.
Phase 2, woo movie studios over to your side.
Phase 3...we'll have to wait and see.

The BDA doesn't owe you an explanation, you were never a supporter....Toshiba and Microsoft can't provide you with an answer for their misguided loss and your antagonism for Blu...move on to VOD and champion that cause...looking forward to hearing from you.

Do you honestly think that they'll raise prices? I mean it's ridiculous to even think that's going to happen.

+1....come to think of it, RED is the color for anger....

This should be filed under "rumor" at this point, but if true, this could be very interesting.

http://www.smarthouse.com.au/Gaming/...7L7H2R4?page=1

I apologize, when I saw this all I could think of was:

Step 1. Steal Panties
Step 2. ???
Step 3. Profit!

I think I agree here. We assume the endgame is to replace DVD but what if they are content with a "premium" DVD product to go alongside the regular DVD product?

I do agree about the whole inter-intra business, but I think that the INTER-format competition did and would have continued to keep prices lowering.

Maybe that is why so many business entities backed BD where the bottom wasn't falling out as fast as HD DVD. Just a thought.

Anyone who loves Sony and the PS3 better pray that is a rumor. A BD equipped XBox is the absolute LAST thing Sony wants on the market.

A BD equipped Xbox or BD add on would only further stamp BDs presence in the marketplace. If this is true, kudos to Msoft for taking this bold step.

I'll sell my PS3 if this is true.

I wouldn't have bought my ps3 last week if I thought this was even a remote near-future possibility.

However, if there is a blu-ray add on for the 360 before any half-way decent ps3 games come out - my ps3 will be sold.

BD is one of the big selling bullets for PS3. If there is a BD equipped XBox 360 either in unit or add on, then it is game over for PS3. The attitudes of these two posters would be very representative.

I want either an XBox360 or a PS3 this year. Right now I am sort of on the fence, but leaning PS3 so that I can get BD playback, and for MGS4.

If XBox secures BD playback, I can wait for MGS4 to show up on XBox.

Wouldn't make much sense.

Aside from the fact it would be MSFT helping out its competitor, how much would the price of the AO be? Lets go with the launch price of the HD DVD 360 AO. $199.

Why would anyone buy a $350 for a Premium 360 and then $199 for a Blu-ray AO when they could buy a PS3 for $399? $200 more and you could get a whole different system as well!

Same here. I love my PS3, but the game selection on 360 is just much better.

See the post below yours and above this one.

$200 is a lot of money. Some folks might not be interested in the PS3 at a $200 premium. And the IR situation on the PS3 still sucks (although my Schmartz IR adapter has helped a bit).

My PS3 is really just a glorified Blu-Ray/PS2/PS1 player. I still own no PS3 games besides Tekken 5 online. I know I'll get a few games I want to play eventually - so I'd keep it - but I sympathize with folks that wouldn't.

:lol:

Yes, I see that. However, why spend $199 for a Blu-ray AO (if you already on a 360) when you could spend $200 more and get a totally different system?

For me, I'm just waiting to dump the PS3. Have never owned a game for it, will never own a game for it, and want a great stand alone. Maybe next year.

Maybe they just don't have or don't want to spend that extra $200 on hardware.

Maybe they would rather spend it on the movies, or they just don't have it to spend on entertainment at all.

I had a 360 for 6 months and sold it right before the price drop and picked up a PS3 for two reasons.

1. Blu-Ray playback
2. Dependability

There is no way I'm going back to the 360 even with a BR add on due to the problems the 360's are having. I have no confidence that Microsoft would correct these issues in the future. It's the same logic that I use for no longer buying Dell computers.

I have two friends who are now both on their 3rd and 4th units while my PS3 is running no differently then when I first purchased it. I'm sticking with Sony at this point. My next BR purchase will be a stand alone player not the 360.

I noticed video games wasn't in your list.