BD player plunges under $100.00!

[Mr Peabody]

Best Buy online is selling the Insignia Blu-ray with Netflix streaming for $99.00. This may be a sale making it temporarily sub $100.00 but I didn't think I'd see BDP that cheap yet. Rumors are flying that Black Friday may see $50.00 BDP's. This should really make it a Blu holiday and if prices stay this cheap the DVD may be fading fast. Although BDP's are currently only 15% of disc player sales which I found quite surprising. More players at $99.00 or less could change that quick. Out of all the BDP's being sold over 80% are sub $300.00 players.

[Woochifer]

I think the sign of the times will be when manufacturers stop making DVD players and go exclusively to Blu-ray (wouldn't be a big deal, given that all BD players can also play DVDs). Oppo Digital already announced that they have discontinued their DVD players. I expect that other higher end and midtier manufacturers like Denon will follow suit in very short order. I doubt there's much of a market for high end DVD players nowadays.

Once the prices on lower end BD players go below $100, that's already creeping closer to the $50-$60 price points on typical DVD players. I understand that this is Black Friday pricing, but how much longer will it be before $100 becomes the normal price point? Right now, normal BD player prices are already below $200, and I saw the Panny BD player at Costco yesterday selling for $160. And of course, you got that Insignia model already going for $100.

[Mr Peabody]

Deals are abound and good for those who could wait. Panasonic was the hold out as far as I could tell. When Sony and others dropped down to $299.00 or lower the Panny's were still up at or over $399.00. Now I saw at Amazon the dmp-60 at $199.00 and dmp-80 at $249.00 in addition to the one you saw. I don't kknow how well the quality will be as prices drop. I know the Samsung 1500 paled in comparison to my old 1200. Since some of the Pannys are older models that have proven track records some one is getting a good deal.

[Invader3k]

Now if they could just get Blu-ray discs priced similarly to DVDs...it's hard for me to justify plunking down $30.00 for any movie. I imagine the average consumer is the same way.

[Mr Peabody]

Yes, it would be nice if the BD prices dropped some. I bought Transformers 2 on Blu for $19.97 at Wal-Mart so I hope this trend holds up. I also check Amazon under titles I want, many times you can get used copies very reasonable. Amazon runs a lot of sales too.

[Invader3k]

Yes, I'm noticing a lot of the big titles can be found new on Amazon for under $20.00 now. I'm hoping this trend continues as well. I think a $20 price point is much more palatable than $25-30.

[pixelthis]

I think the sign of the times will be when manufacturers stop making DVD players and go exclusively to Blu-ray (wouldn't be a big deal, given that all BD players can also play DVDs). Oppo Digital already announced that they have discontinued their DVD players. I expect that other higher end and midtier manufacturers like Denon will follow suit in very short order. I doubt there's much of a market for high end DVD players nowadays.

Once the prices on lower end BD players go below $100, that's already creeping closer to the $50-$60 price points on typical DVD players. I understand that this is Black Friday pricing, but how much longer will it be before $100 becomes the normal price point? Right now, normal BD player prices are already below $200, and I saw the Panny BD player at Costco yesterday selling for $160. And of course, you got that Insignia model already going for $100.

Thats going to happen.
The only DVD only players will cheap commodity units.
I saw Mr. P's Insignia at our new best buy, opened where the Circuit city cratered.
Great buy if it will last, heard that Insignia products have the lifespan of a fruitfly.
A MUCH BETTER BUY would be the name brand on QVC for 139 bucks.
Always said that Blu was going to be not a new format but teh evolution of an
old one (DVD).
kinda like SVHS , except for the failure part.
WHY GET A dvd PLAYER for 50$ and up when you can get a Blu player for not much more?
DVD players are DEAD

[Mr Peabody]

I think one of the best BDP deals right now are the Panasonic. I'm not sure which model Costco has at $160.00, or even the dmp-60 for $199.00, for a few bucks more you get a true quality player opposed to the typical entry level.

[Worf101]

Well, I've a couple of reservations about this. I believe, though I've no statistical data to back it up... YET, that while DVD players have market saturation in America it won't quite be so easy for BR to do the same. Couple of reasons...

1. You need a better monitor to even see the difference.

2. Will the luddites, pay for a tech they can't use? Even if it's only $10.00 more?

3. Entry level BDplayers are slow, buggy and not exactly a trip in the park, this might also drive some folks to wait.

Still, I'm not playa hatin' but just because you can buy a BD player, doesn't mean you should.

Da Worfster

[pixelthis]

Well, I've a couple of reservations about this. I believe, though I've no statistical data to back it up... YET, that while DVD players have market saturation in America it won't quite be so easy for BR to do the same. Couple of reasons...

1. You need a better monitor to even see the difference.

2. Will the luddites, pay for a tech they can't use? Even if it's only $10.00 more?

3. Entry level BDplayers are slow, buggy and not exactly a trip in the park, this might also drive some folks to wait.

Still, I'm not playa hatin' but just because you can buy a BD player, doesn't mean you should.

Da Worfster

same thing goes for CRACK.
Thing is, dvd players break, and why not replace one with a Blu for a few bucks more?
More and more peeps have HDTV, and Blu is a real improvement.
One sign of Blus growing acceptance is the flood of BLU discs out there, some rather cheap.
THEY'RE SELLING THESE DISCS TO SOMEBODY

[Invader3k]

I think the transition will be more of a subtle and somewhat slow one, like someone suggested above. Perhaps more video game systems and other devices will integrate BD playback, like Sony's PS3 already does. Eventually Blu-ray discs will be cheap enough that most consumers will choose that format, and DVDs will slowly be discontinued.

[Mr Peabody]

Worf has some good points, people aren't going to buy just based on price, there has to be some justification in the consumers mind. They will have to be willing to commit to the format and plan on getting the better display if not already in place. With that being said I read some statistics that state Blu-ray is further along in it's 5th year than DVD was in it's
5th. The rapid trend could continue if prices of both players and software drop which looks like is happening. I'm not sure what's up with Wal-Mart but they are selling a lot of new releases at $19.97. Older new releases are still around $25.00 and there are some $10.00 titles like T3. WM is even cheaper than Amazon on recent new releases.

I also have to wonder who and where are making the statistics because I know a lot of acquaintences that do not have HDTV yet and aren't really concerned about getting Blu. I notice many of the department and big box stores have TV's running with basically infomercials explaining Blu-ray and the advantages. Who knows what effect this has but it can't hurt either. I think a lot of people just chilled when they found out they could keep their current TV because it would continue to work just fine with their cable.

[Woochifer]

Now if they could just get Blu-ray discs priced similarly to DVDs...it's hard for me to justify plunking down $30.00 for any movie. I imagine the average consumer is the same way.

Just bought G.I. Joe and North by Northwest for less than $20 each yesterday. The prices are coming down, just not as fast as consumers would like.

[Woochifer]

Well, I've a couple of reservations about this. I believe, though I've no statistical data to back it up... YET, that while DVD players have market saturation in America it won't quite be so easy for BR to do the same. Couple of reasons...

1. You need a better monitor to even see the difference.

2. Will the luddites, pay for a tech they can't use? Even if it's only $10.00 more?

3. Entry level BDplayers are slow, buggy and not exactly a trip in the park, this might also drive some folks to wait.

Still, I'm not playa hatin' but just because you can buy a BD player, doesn't mean you should.

Da Worfster

Won't even matter a few years from now. We're at a point right now where it's very hard to find a non-HD TV. The average consumer buys a new TV roughly every five years, so it's only a matter of time before HD penetration is close to complete by simple attrition. Same process goes for the disc player, and it will get to that point where you can't find a standalone DVD player anymore.

Oppo's preemptive move to discontinue its DVD players is just the beginning. I think you'll see most of the midmarket and high end players do the same thing shortly, and it's only a matter of time before the big boys join in. There's virtually no money to be made on DVD players nowadays, so the first tier companies pulling out of the market won't have much of an impact on the bottomline if they decide to focus on BD players from here on out.

[Woochifer]

I think one of the best BDP deals right now are the Panasonic. I'm not sure which model Costco has at $160.00, or even the dmp-60 for $199.00, for a few bucks more you get a true quality player opposed to the typical entry level.

The model at Costco is the same thing as the DMP-BD60. It just has a different model number to keep Panny's other retailers happy (i.e., not having to price match the Costco model because it's "different")