VidaBox to offer all-in-one systems with CableCARD, Blu-ray, and HD DVD

[ericl]

Now this right here is what I'm talkin about fellas..

VidaBox all in one solution

• Blu-Ray
• HD-DVD
• 2 HD capable Cable Card slots
• 3TB RAID 5 storage
• Record two HD shows while playing back a third

Oh price? Only $5k..

via Engadget

[Dusty Chalk]

That's actually pretty reasonable, considering all it does, if it does them all well.

[nightflier]

$5K is a whole lot to ask for something that a computer can do too. Maybe if Vida Guerra did a Vidabox spot during the superbowl halftime commercials, maybe they'll sell a few more of these, but at that price point there are a lot of other players with more experience.

[ericl]

$5K is a whole lot to ask for something that a computer can do too. Maybe if Vida Guerra did a Vidabox spot during the superbowl halftime commercials, maybe they'll sell a few more of these, but at that price point there are a lot of other players with more experience.

I don't know, have you priced all these pieces of hardware individually? a BD AND HD-DVD drive? 3 TB storage? 2 Cable card slots?

Not to mention it's all already in one case, with the OS and presumably decent software. Once you factor that in, how much would you save? Don't get me wrong, i love DIY stuff. i'm just sayin..

Reminds me of a story. One time I had a couple servers on sale on craigslist. This joker kept emailing me, giving me the most ridiculous lowball offers. He was trying to tell me that if he bought all the components in bulk in their bare form and assembled them himself he could build the same thing for pennies on the dollar. He just wanted the convenience of buying from me quickly and easily, rather than doing all that leg work. WELL DUH!!! Of course he still wanted to pay the "pennies on the dollar" for the already assembled high-end server.

Ok, tangential rant over.

[Dusty Chalk]

I usually tell those people to go ahead.

[nightflier]

I still think $5K is a high price point if you consider that the company is not paying retail for their parts. I think if you just bought a Sony desktop (Blu-Ray included) and added an HD-DVD-R you'd have the same box. At OEM prices, that would not come to $5K, I'm guessing.

Of course, the VidaBox is nicely packaged, the software has been pared down to HT symplicity, and it costs a certain amount to market the package, too. Maybe the cost is appropriate after all, but the price point is right around what their competitors are doing (Escient comes to mind). I just don't know if it will be able to compete.

[ericl]

I usually tell those people to go ahead.

That's exactly what i did!