Mobile/PDA About Us Advertise here


		User name	Password

		Not registered yet? Register here. Lost your password? Click here.

Browse by topic

News

Still no sign of Chinese HD players

24 August 2007 18:40 by Rich "vurbal" Fiscus | 13 comments

In January there was much speculation that low priced Chinese DVD players would be available well before the end of this year, including a deal supposedly in the works by retailer Wal-Mart which were eventually shot down.

More than half way through the year, no such deal has emerged, and along with questions about how long it would be until the Chinese players are more than a rumor, speculation about how much impact such a move will really have is rampant.

In an e-mail response to a question about the mass merchant�s fourth-quarter high-definition plans and whether it will bring in players from Chinese manufacturers this year, a Wal-Mart spokeswoman said, �We are still evaluating the situation and not making a decision to go solely with one over the other right now."

Despite HD DVD players being priced much lower than equivalent Blu-ray players, the inclusion of BD in the PS3 and broader studio support have kept the battle between the two fairly even.

Combine those facts with consumer confusion about both products, and you have a situation that doesn't look good for player sales at any price.

Source: Video Business

Permalink to this article

Integra to release HD DVD player (7 September 2007)

Amazon heats up HD format war (28 August 2007)

Official sales numbers for HD titles released (15 August 2007)

Toshiba lowers HD DVD player sales target (12 June 2007)

Wal-Mart denies that $299 HD players are coming (27 April 2007)

Wal-mart will offer under-$300 HD players (24 April 2007)

HD-DVD v Blu-Ray sales update (9 April 2007)

« Previous news article
New Digital Video Fundamentals Guide

Next news article »
Paramount decision leaves retailers explaining

Post your comment

Discuss this article!
Unfocused (Junior Member) 24 August 2007 18:49
They have been talking about this for awhile. Could this be a ploy to milk more money out of the existing HD players? [ + quote]
sk8flawzz (Member) 24 August 2007 18:54
as long as they work.. these players should sell good if they arrive in time for the holidays.. [ + quote]
swarmpack (Member) 24 August 2007 21:23
wait till november when they holiday rush comes in and these will come out count on it. [ + quote]
ChiknLitl (Member) 24 August 2007 21:36
Umm...What qualifies as affordable? I can buy a Toshiba HD-A2 for $300 at most best buy and circuit city stores. [ + quote]
gallagher (Member) 24 August 2007 21:43
well, i can walk in any walmart and buy a $30 dvd player. If they got hddvd down, to the $100-200, i would buy one. Otherwise, I can wait. [ + quote]
morguex (Inactive) 25 August 2007 4:50
Wal-mart brings in everything from china, we better wake up soon. Before it's too late, but sadly it probaly already is. Peace all [ + quote]
ChiknLitl (Member) 25 August 2007 6:43
*Originally posted by gallagher:* well, i can walk in any walmart and buy a $30 dvd player. If they got hddvd down, to the $100-200, i would buy one. Otherwise, I can wait. True, but that's ten years after the technology has been around. Just a few years ago DVD players were still around $100 bucks or so. [ + quote]
c1c (Member) 25 August 2007 8:07
Now if we can only get a combo HD DVD/Blu Ray/ DivX player for under 300 bucks the sales of TV's will soon follow. With limided HD content on TV this is the way to go. Let's go China! Make sure you don't use any lead in these low end drives! [ + quote]
jony218 (Senior Member) 25 August 2007 8:22
I think I'll wait on the fence until the hd / blueray format war is over. I don't want to buy the wrong one. For right now regular DVD looks good enough for me and about 75 percent of the people out there. I do think HD is going to win, but Sony has deep pockets and can intiminate the studios into seeing the beauty of the blueray. [ + quote]
hughjars (Inactive) 25 August 2007 17:06
Don't worry, they're coming. There's no 'myth' to this, Toshiba formally licenced the HD DVD design in 2005 and last year Microsoft signed deals with Broadcom at CES 2007. Patience, they're coming (and with the Toshiba HD A2 available at less than $240 new they are surely set to come in at well under $200). [ + quote]
ZippyDSM (AfterDawn Addict) 25 August 2007 19:27
*Originally posted by morguex:* Wal-mart brings in everything from china, we better wake up soon. Before it's too late, but sadly it probaly already is. Peace all Its too late and chances are in 20 years the US will be the new mexico.....a nice 2nd world nation to visit but not move to. [ + quote]
bronzet (Newbie) 26 August 2007 9:55
I wonder how much Wally World is gonna sell the players for? [ + quote]
borhan9 (AfterDawn Addict) 31 August 2007 15:41
Well gathering that Chinese manufacturers bring good and reliable cheap goods to the west. Hopefully the wait means they will bring players that can play both formats. My Biggest wish :) [ + quote]