[QUOTE=ldgibson76]
Quote Originally Posted by Sir Terrence the Terrible

STT, do actually read what you submit before you submit it to the forum?! Man, you have loss all credibility with a statement like the one you made above. "Many owners of the PS3 do not play games, but wanted the cheapest way into bluray." That is without a doubt, an opinion, not a smart opinion, but never the less, an opinion . You noticed, no one submitted a reply agreeing to that assumption! Wanna know why?!!!! Cause you're wrong!
The main reason why consumers purchased the PS3 was because of the gaming benefits, i.e., resolution, graphics, Madden, etc,.....Blu ray was the added bonus! People would have purchase the PS3 regardless of Blu ray capabilities. Why? Because it's all about the gaming! Blu ray playback was an after-thought for the average PS3 buyer. Once it became apparent that the games would not be readily available at the inception, that's when blu ray purchases took off. Yes, I agree that PS3 was the cheapest way to obtain bluray playback, but this may be a shot in the dark, but I'm sure that if the average consumer had their choice between a stand-alone player and the PS3 and the stand alone player was priced, at let's say $399.00 initially, PS3 may have acquired strong numbers, but not the totals it currently has. And for the most part, during the inception of Blu ray and HD DVD, the stand-alone Blu ray player was $1000! The average Blu ray customer was forced to purchase the PS3. And that was hard to swallow ($600.00) in it's own right. Have you ever heard a PS3 while in operation?! It's loud as hell! Cooling fans blowing for days! For the Video and audio purist, that's usually unacceptable. The PS3 is not the best solution for movie playback. That's not my opinion, that's a consensus. All I'm trying to say is if the Bluray players had been introduced at a more reasonable price point, your stand on Blu ray would have more merit.

Now regarding the remark you made about the cost to produce a HD DVD player..."$300.00" and selling the A2 for $99.00 or 199.00 is a big loss for Toshiba.....You're right STT, I don't know you, but with that logic, you do not under stand the Japanese MO when it comes to market penetration! It's a method that was established back in the late eighties with Toyota/Lexus. When Lexus introduced the LS400 at a starting price of $38,500.00, a full size import luxury car with an multivalve 8 cylinder, it turn the luxury automotive world upside down. Why, because Mercedes Benz and BMW, the leaders in that division at that time knew that after disecting the LS400, realized that that car should be 50K all day. At that time, a 6 cylinder E class was 50K and the 5 Series was well over 45K. Now, after Lexus took over the market, they priced the car appropriately, by then it was too late. No matter what BMW and Mercedes did, the damage was done. Name recognition, quality, customer service became the epitome of Lexus. Even today, luxury car manufacturers are still playing catch-up ball! Moral of the story, Toshiba knows exactly what they are doing. A lot of so-called authorities in the industry predicted that the HD DVD camp would close down shop a year ago, wouldn't last 6 months. Now you have the Sony CEO coming out publicly and stating that after all the claims of Blu Ray victory, "It's a stalemate!" No where in that statement did he specify who he was trying to pacify!
Create a perception, and 9 times out of 10, it becomes a reality. But the one time that it doesn't, you know what they say about spitting into the wind?!!! There's always a chance it will fly back into your face! Didn't mean to give you a lesson in Japanese marketing, but it is now the standard of penetration and domination in today's consumer market!

Last but surely not least, let's talk about the people who visit my design center and view HD DVD images and Blu ray images side by side on 80" x 45" and larger screens. STT, we have a healthy collection of Bluray and HD DVD movies. We make sure that if a movie is out in both Blu ray and HD DVD we have them so a fair comparison can be made. Now we try to make sure that the playing field is even, for instance...103" screen, 1080P projectors (3LCD)/(DLP) with same capabilities such as 24fps, HDMI v1.3 capability, similar lumen count, contrast ratio and video processing technology, etc,....And yes, even when reps from Blu ray friendly companies see the comparison, in our venue, guess what? They are wowed by the quality of the HD DVD! Now they all may not admit completely that HD DVD looks better, but we see the expression on their faces, and a lot of times the expression screams out, "We really should be considering HD DVD as a possibility."
STT, have you ever seen HD DVD and Blu Ray movies side by side on the big screen?!
If you have, then you have a unique perspective on the subject, but if you haven't, how can you possibly suggest that what I stated in my previous post was unlikely?! Blu ray has improved no doubt. They have cleaned up alot of the noise in the newer releases, but it's arrogant presumption to think that what I stated was not fact.
I've said my piece. I'm sure you will counter and I welcome it. Having fun yet?!

I bought my PS3 for the BR. I can't speak for the rest of the world.