New Harris Poll bashes Blu ray!

[ldgibson76]

Well, it seems according to the latest Harris Interactive Poll, that Blu ray still has an uphill battle despite winning the format war.

http://www.electronichouse.com/artic...hnology_again/

Now granted, there were only a little over 2500 people surveyed. Do you think that this poll is an accurate barometer of blu ray's current and future market penetration in the US?

Regards.

[Sir Terrence the Terrible]

If this poll came from anyone else, I would be concerned. However Harris has been trashed time and time again from other survey companies because their survey's appear to be agenda driven, and when you track down the sources that commission the surveys, they are usually the competition hell bent on tearing another competitor down.

1. I do agree the public is satisfied with DVD, however will they continue to be satisfied when the studios start to concentrate on the bluray disc, adding value content that cannot be found on DVD? We haven't gotten that far yet, so this can change people's perceptions.

2. This survey was taken at the lowest sales point of the post holiday season. I suspect this was purposeful as to cast as dark a light as possible on bluray as they can. Had they had taken this during the lead up to the holiday season, there is no doubt the results would be different.

3. Once again the "Toshiba effect" has reared its ugly head. Because of what Toshiba has done with pricing of their players(much the dismay of their bottom line) there perception is that HD movie players are cheap, and bluray's prices are too high. While DVD had its negative detractors, player pricing was not really an issue because nobody was undercutting the price of players. There was no format war, so price perceptions did not exist.

While I do think Bluray has its issues(I would like to see more A list titles out, and more consumer education, Disney and Panasonics tour is not enough). They need to be in BB and Circuit City doing demos every weekend. What I am seeing is that most folks are waiting for Bonus view players to hit the market en mass. I do see that the market for 1.0 players is losing steam, but the market for 1.1 players is beginning to really really boom.

Just to give context to what I am saying, Harris predicted that HD DVD would win the format war. Harris predicted that HD DVD would be the first to a million players. Harris said that Toshiba was making money on each player(the amount of their losses diputes that). Harris predicted that Warner would go HD DVD, and Fox would follow them. (Fox had no intention on defecting to a less protected format, and a few of us knew that Warner was leaning blu at the time)

[Rich-n-Texas]

The problem I have Id is clicking on links posted here on the forum by spammers (a.k.a cmckenney). Electronic House is not a sponsor of this site AFAIK, in fact I'd say it's a competitor of this site's parent. On well regulated/moderated sites, that's not allowed. I've complained about this guy before but it seemed to fall on deaf ears. In ANY of his posts (except for the ones where he's defending his motives) the link is included. Nothing personal against you though.

I'd say... as soon as us consumers start getting hammered with TV commercial after TV commercial about the virtues of Blu-ray, that's when sales will take off. It's the American way and whatnot. We're all just blind sheep in the eyes of Marketing.

[Sir Terrence the Terrible]

The problem I have Id is clicking on links posted here on the forum by spammers (a.k.a cmckenney). Electronic House is not a sponsor of this site AFAIK, in fact I'd say it's a competitor of this site's parent. On well regulated/moderated sites, that's not allowed. I've complained about this guy before but it seemed to fall on deaf ears. In ANY of his posts (except for the ones where he's defending his motives) the link is included. Nothing personal against you though.

I'd say... as soon as us consumers start getting hammered with TV commercial after TV commercial about the virtues of Blu-ray, that's when sales will take off. It's the American way and whatnot. We're all just blind sheep in the eyes of Marketing.

Baaaaaaaaa to you Rich dude!

[Rich-n-Texas]

Sony flunkie.

[Sir Terrence the Terrible]

Sony flunkie.

High falut'en Rich person who drinks oil for breakfast

[GMichael]

MMMMMMMmmmmmmmm..... High def........................
Mmmmmmmmmmmmm............ Cute girls in high def...............

Mmmmmm mmmmm mmmmmmmmmm

[ldgibson76]

MMMMMMMmmmmmmmm..... High def........................
Mmmmmmmmmmmmm............ Cute girls in high def...............

Mmmmmm mmmmm mmmmmmmmmm

There you go again, flaunting your "Pimpish" ways! Wave your pimp flag!

[GMichael]

And GM manages to throw yet another, otherwise good thread, into the gutter.

[kexodusc]

I personally believe that if BluRay wasn't going to be a hit with consumers eventually, it wouldn't be where it's already at, ahead of where DVD was at this far into its life cycle.
That's rather remarkable really - DVD was the first real mass-market consumer ready video upgrade in almost 20 years for most of the world (laser disc didn't get near the exposure for whatever reason, I think the DVD was seen more as the CD equivalent for video which helped)...BluRay is just evolutionary and you wouldn't expect it to have as much appeal as it already does, but the market is proving the naysayers wrong.

[bobsticks]

MMMMMMMmmmmmmmm..... High def........................
Mmmmmmmmmmmmm............ Cute girls in high def...............

Mmmmmm mmmmm mmmmmmmmmm

Pimps Up!! Hoes Down!! West Siiiiiddddeeee....

[bobsticks]

I personally believe that if BluRay wasn't going to be a hit with consumers eventually, it wouldn't be where it's already at, ahead of where DVD was at this far into its life cycle.
That's rather remarkable really - DVD was the first real mass-market consumer ready video upgrade in almost 20 years for most of the world (laser disc didn't get near the exposure for whatever reason, I think the DVD was seen more as the CD equivalent for video which helped)...BluRay is just evolutionary and you wouldn't expect it to have as much appeal as it already does, but the market is proving the naysayers wrong.

Ditto.

[Sir Terrence the Terrible]

Pimps Up!! Hoes Down!! West Siiiiiddddeeee....

Gimme my money.......should I say it? I dent know hoes had their own store. I know they have their own real estate, its called the "Ho Stro".

[Mr Peabody]

The poll says 9% of the people plan to go Blu in the next year BUT did anyone stop to think the other 91% may already be in the Blu, so no need to go where you are already at. Yah?

My problem with ho's is I can't find one that takes a check.

[Smokey]

The poll says 9% of the people plan to go Blu in the next year BUT did anyone stop to think the other 91% may already be in the Blu, so no need to go where you are already at. Yah?

Is that some type of reverse psychology

I really think this type of polls keep popping up until price of Bluray drop to certain comparable performance/price level against DVD. Next year we probably will have a better handle on Bluray as cheaper price players (Sony promised a $200 player) stock store shelves.

My problem with ho's is I can't find one that takes a check.

You need to go uptown

[pixelthis]

Is that some type of reverse psychology

I really think this type of polls keep popping up until price of Bluray drop to certain comparable performance/price level against DVD. Next year we probably will have a better handle on Bluray as cheaper price players (Sony promised a $200 player) stock store shelves.



You need to go uptown

Accorrding to sir talky its that darn Toshiba and their "TOSHIBA EFFECT"
DAGNAB THEM for selling players at a reasonable price!!
Basically Sony and others are trying to get the consumer to pay for the "format" war by selling them overpriced players.
most of them arent interested in getting fleeced, even if they had the money, which they dont thanks to food and gas prices.
DVD was about a five mile "jump" Blu about half a mile, most are interested in utility for the price, in other words they wont pay a small fortune for a new toy if they dont see a cost/benefit ratio in line with reality
And its an even harder sell for those of us who know that a Blu player is basically a
DVD player with a blu laser and some improved software.
A PS3 is 399, why pay 400 for a player alone?
Heres an idea, sell a PS3 with the game trash gone anbd nothing left but the player.
AND PRICE IT ACCORDINGLY.
I have repeatly said that people and the market dont give a tinkers damn about what the "studios" and manufacturers "want".
they ARE NOT going to pay 400$ for a toy that is a (to them) slight advantage over what they have already.
I have access to HD movies on VOD, and regular cable.
THE PICTURE MAY NOT BE AS FANTASTIC AS bLU, but its still darn nice.
I CARE MORE ABOUT MUSIC THAN MOVIES anyway,
so I will wait.
Which should concern the "blu barons" more than anything.
Because if the few who really care about every incremental increase in q are
waiting, joe sixpack certainly is.
A 200 buck player is doable, AND EVERYBODY KNOWS IT.

[Sir Terrence the Terrible]

Yeah Pixie, the players price was so reasonable that the company lost nearly one billion dollars in supporting it. Eventually the format lost the war. Great business plan

I just love how pixie devalues BR into nothing more than a fancy DVD player with new software. How does one know this if they don't own one? Here is a person who is an expert on everything he never owned. Jeeze, I'll take his word for it

He says nobody is willing to pay $400 for a toy. Well, they are selling quite well, can't keep any in stock anywhere. Panasonics new player(priced at $599) has already sold out their first shipment. So if nobody is buying them, and they are being shipped, were are they going? Are the little mice from Ratatouille taking them?

When Pixie says an image is fantastic from VOD, know that it probably looks like trash. Anyone who does not calibrate their display, and watches movies in bright light has no idea what a good picture is.

How does a person with a uncalibrated television, and who has never own a single BR disc, a single BR player make a determination on the quality of the format? Sure, he knows everything, I'll take his word for it. Riiiight

I do not think ANYONE in the bluray camp is worried about a pixietightwad not buying a player. I am sure the format will go on just fine if he doesn't.

I am really glad the BDA ISN'T listening to pixiea$$. If they did, the market for bluray players and disc would have been like the market for HD DVD. Decimated!

[filecat13]

The future of Blu-ray, like any consumer product is of no direct concern to me. The product will either produce revenue that satisfies these who produce and sell it, or it won't. If it establishes a sustainable market of hardware and software, and if it produces experiences I'm interested in (at this point BR Audio) at prices that entice me, I'll join in; if not, it's fine with me if others find pleasure in the BR experience.

I do not think that the Harris results "bash" Blu-ray, so it's probably a bit dramatic to phrase it that way. The survey measures some things and doesn't measure others. It may be pop culture analysis more than pure research; however, it does not strike me as a hit piece.

Honestly, I'm not sure why we care so much about any product's success or failure. The market will decide. For every failure, there is always another attempt, another new product, another plan to open or exploit a market.

That's business. If a large corporation can't make something work, a small niche company often can. Or sometimes, the market just doesn't have the desire and the product/category goes away, only to be replaced by a different product with a different angle.

"Here's to the new boss, same as the old boss; we won't get fooled again."

[Sir Terrence the Terrible]

The future of Blu-ray, like any consumer product is of no direct concern to me. The product will either produce revenue that satisfies these who produce and sell it, or it won't. If it establishes a sustainable market of hardware and software, and if it produces experiences I'm interested in (at this point BR Audio) at prices that entice me, I'll join in; if not, it's fine with me if others find pleasure in the BR experience.

I do not think that the Harris results "bash" Blu-ray, so it's probably a bit dramatic to phrase it that way. The survey measures some things and doesn't measure others. It may be pop culture analysis more than pure research; however, it does not strike me as a hit piece.

Honestly, I'm not sure why we care so much about any product's success or failure. The market will decide. For every failure, there is always another attempt, another new product, another plan to open or exploit a market.

That's business. If a large corporation can't make something work, a small niche company often can. Or sometimes, the market just doesn't have the desire and the product/category goes away, only to be replaced by a different product with a different angle.

"Here's to the new boss, same as the old boss; we won't get fooled again."

Filecat, you have to know the history of Harris. During the format war, Harris produced very negative surveys regarding bluray that were completely counter to all of the other survey's in the field. When asked who commissioned the survey's they took, it was Toshiba. Harris has never had one good thing to say about bluray, and it is apparent to me they have an agenda. The question I have to Harris is, why?

[ldgibson76]

Filecat, you have to know the history of Harris. During the format war, Harris produced very negative surveys regarding bluray that were completely counter to all of the other survey's in the field. When asked who commissioned the survey's they took, it was Toshiba. Harris has never had one good thing to say about bluray, and it is apparent to me they have an agenda. The question I have to Harris is, why?

"Sir T"

You are definitely grading this on a curve!
For the number of polls regarding sales totals of software and standalone players, that have given blu ray a positive spin, there have been just as many on the opposite side of that spectrum. If you "Google" the inquiry regarding blu ray sales in the first qtr. of '08, there's just as many polls stating how good and how bad the sales figures are for the format. It's not only the Harris Poll that states that the numbers are below expectation due to OMG , the market conditions!, But many (consumers) do not see the significant improvement on picture quality over dvd, or if they do, it's minor and therefore offering no justification for buying a new "dvd player", or buying into another format for $400.00, or they refuse to acknowledge it because it's just not that important in the overall scheme of things. Don't you think there is a possibility that the American public has learned it's lesson by now regarding the pricing of technology?

Just like in car purchasing, there was a learning curve. The average car buyer for decades was a homerun waiting to happen, (JACKPOT written on the forehead in neon!). But because of information/internet, the ability for a car salesman to make a decent living is nearly impossible. The consumer has access to info (invoice prices). Obtaining that info was at one time unheard of! Today, consumers walk into showrooms with 5 or 6 consumer mags, invoices, and access to information that most salespeople aren't even privy to!

Now let's take the electronics market. The turntable, the eight track, the cassette player,the VCR, the CD player, the dvd player, even the laser disc player, and lets not forget the software, all eventually goes down in price. Some faster than others, but they do come down. You can put the flat panel in there also! So the US consumer has by now figured it out. Wait until it drops down to a comfort level, which in this economy seems to be $200.00 and then take the plunge. That's not solely Toshiba's doing either! There are a number of factors dictating the demand for that pricing standard, starting with at least 7-8 years of decent dvd players being priced under $200.

That being said.....I believe that it all depends on where you go to get your information.
And you don't think bluray.com shows a little bias in it's opinion of what's going on in the market place?! Of course they do. The BDA could be near bankruptcy and bluray.com wouldn't admit it until they had no other choice!

I dare you to respond! Sir T aka "The Oracle! of all things Blu ray"!

Regards.

[filecat13]

I'm skeptical that Toshiba would spend money to do a survey in April when they discontinued their competing product in February. Looking at the survey, I see no indication of who was involved in sponsoring the survey if, in fact, anyone was involved.

The methodology is covered in some detail with all the expected disclaimers required by the NCPC, which is to say one can feel free to accept or reject its conclusions. It's just not worth getting excited about.

[pixelthis]

Yeah Pixie, the players price was so reasonable that the company lost nearly one billion dollars in supporting it. Eventually the format lost the war. Great business plan

IT was, in fact it had me thinking about buying a HD.
Two things pushed me away, the lousey track record I had with tosh products, and the fact that everybody on the PLANET had already chosen Blu.
If the "format war" had even been close I MIGHT HAVE VERY WELL GONE hd

I just love how pixie devalues BR into nothing more than a fancy DVD player with new software. How does one know this if they don't own one? Here is a person who is an expert on everything he never owned. Jeeze, I'll take his word for it

I never owned a front projector but studied them for years.
AND THE people who work on jet airplanes usually dont have a 767 parked in the garage.
DVD players are CD players with a shorter wavelenght laser and a different feature set.
Blu has lasers with an even shorter wavelenght, which was quite an acomplishment.
But the mechanism that blu uses isnt that much different from a DVD player.
Couldnt be, beCAUSE it plays DVDs.
You think people havent figured this out?

He says nobody is willing to pay $400 for a toy. Well, they are selling quite well, can't keep any in stock anywhere. Panasonics new player(priced at $599) has already sold out their first shipment. So if nobody is buying them, and they are being shipped, were are they going? Are the little mice from Ratatouille taking them?

Sell a caddy for a million bucks and someone is going to be nuts enough to buy one.
So its raining but can the rain support the crops.
BLU is selling sure, but are they selling enough?

When Pixie says an image is fantastic from VOD, know that it probably looks like trash. Anyone who does not calibrate their display, and watches movies in bright light has no idea what a good picture is.

I watch a movie in dim light, usually, but its nice to have the option of not having to do so, a option your obsolete system doesnt give you.
And a set that isnt as finicky as a CRT dinosaur doesnt require that much calibration,
YOU ARE LIKE THE GUY WITH A carburetor who doesnt understand why a guy with fuel injection can go so long without a tune up.
AND what does this have tro do with blu ray?

How does a person with a uncalibrated television, and who has never own a single BR disc, a single BR player make a determination on the quality of the format? Sure, he knows everything, I'll take his word for it. Riiiight

THANK YOU.
A blu player is very good, in fact I will buy one sometime(maybe)
But only because I like to collect movies.
If I just watched, VOD would be fine.
What the BDA and teh clueless types who populate it dont seem to GET
is that the paradigm has changed.
This isnt the age of videotape, where VHS "won" and beta was vanquished.
A hard copy disc format is for one market...COLLECTORS.
And while BLU HAS a small window to become established , its a very small window

I do not think ANYONE in the bluray camp is worried about a pixietightwad not buying a player. I am sure the format will go on just fine if he doesn't.

Undoubtedly, but the point is that in spite of what you say I am a quality FREAK,
and have the closet full of laserdiscs to prove it.
and the fact that I am in NO hurry to run out and grab a blu ray player might not concern you but it does concern those who know me, because they think that if I am in no hurry, why should they be?
One would be nice, but instead I am going to buy discs, and that way I will have a rather large collection when players become reasonably priced.
I have been a pioneer plenty of times on new formats (S-VHS, VHS-HIFI, LASERDISC, ETC) and have the arrows in my back to prove it.
No arrows this time

I am really glad the BDA ISN'T listening to pixiea$$. If they did, the market for bluray players and disc would have been like the market for HD DVD. Decimated!

NO, they are listening to nattering know-nothings such as yourself, who are encourgaging
them to go with Apples business model, which conseded the world to the much more inferiour windows based PC.
And delivered the videotape market to VHS in spite of BETAS obvious superiority.
So it looks like Sony is going to repeat the same monumental mistake in a thirty
five year span.
Botique players when most want a basic movie machine.
players are nothing you give those away, you will make a few bucks on teh first ones but eventually economies of scale will drive profit margins razor thin.
SOFTWARE is where the real money is, you need players in peoples hands to sell it tho.
And at 400 bucks in a recession that is really a depression you arent gonna put that many out there

[ldgibson76]

I just read the June issue of "Home Theater Magazine"-'Hook me up column: "In Memoriam: HD DVD by Joshua Zyber.
The article lamely explains the how and why's of the demise of HD DVD. It's certainly a watered-down explanation of why HD DVD lost the war!

That being said, I must admit that you were WAY ahead of the curve. I know this is old news, but I believe that I need to acknowledged this. That way, I can continue to be a "troublemaker" with a little credibility!

You get your "Due Res-spect Mon!"

Regards.

BTW, you have to admit that "Pixel" is funny at times! The 'airplane mechanic/767 in the garage' comeback was hilarious. Relevant analogy?! Debatable.

[Sir Terrence the Terrible]

"Sir T"

You are definitely grading this on a curve!
For the number of polls regarding sales totals of software and standalone players, that have given blu ray a positive spin, there have been just as many on the opposite side of that spectrum. If you "Google" the inquiry regarding blu ray sales in the first qtr. of '08, there's just as many polls stating how good and how bad the sales figures are for the format. It's not only the Harris Poll that states that the numbers are below expectation due to OMG , the market conditions!, But many (consumers) do not see the significant improvement on picture quality over dvd, or if they do, it's minor and therefore offering no justification for buying a new "dvd player", or buying into another format for $400.00, or they refuse to acknowledge it because it's just not that important in the overall scheme of things. Don't you think there is a possibility that the American public has learned it's lesson by now regarding the pricing of technology?

First, sales are not below expectations, they are well above expectations hence the player shortage that is currently plaguing bluray. Secondly there is absolutely no proof whatsoever that the market conditions are dictating bluray player and software sales, ZERO. Once again, this Harris survey was taken during the down period of ALL consumer products. I think the timing was purposeful as to create as much negativity about bluray as they can. Its their history.

As far as player pricing...well folks decide at what price points they are willing to pay for new technology. Some folks will buy players no matter how much they cost, others have price points. It has been that way with ALL technology. The general public has not idea how much it cost to make and market a player, and I am not sure that is important to them. When players reach each individual persons pricing sweet spot, they'll jump in.

There is something I do not think you notice. When a survey like this comes out, websites all over the net just repeat the results with their own personal spin. Its not like every wesite conducts their own survey, and then publishes the result. So you can go to google and get all kinds of spin on a single survey. I look at NDP to get the information I need since it is the most neutral and complete information source.

I have been studying this whole war thing for about two years. There are two camps with two or three different kinds of people reporting on these format issues. There are the computer driven journalist and studies backed by the computer industry(which are totally biased towards the computer, and away from the disc, and do not know as much about the film and video industry as a whole) and the journalist or studies done by film and video experts who know the field exceptionally well.

Generally the computer journalist are pretty negative towards bluray. They would rather see downloads as the way to go(that it because they do not understand or really care about properly watching film) because it pushing the industry they report on, and gives it prominence over disc based media. In this whole war the computer based surveys and reports tended to only look at the bad points of bluray, and most supported HD DVD because of the participation of Microsoft(a computer based company) and the direction that Microsoft wanted to take HD media(downloads). Harris is apart of this group. They have basically been a mouth piece for Toshiba, Microsoft and the HD DVD PG. Engaget, EngagetHD, CNET and all of those computer based websites have also been quite negative towards bluray. Sometimes to the point of spinning data in to non recognition.

You have fanboys, of which I will not get into, because they basically make no sense whatsovever(that goes for both bluray and HD DVD fanboys)

Then you have the journalist that report on nothing but the film and video. These are the people I tend to listen to. They have a long experience in the industry, they understand how it works, and they report on nothing else but the film and video industry(unlike the computer journalist that attempts to report on both). They have the most balanced view of the film and video industry than anyone. Adams Research and NDP fall into this catagory. I balance what I see in NDP with what I read from the industry experts when I make my opinions. A great majority of the time the computer based analysis of the video industry is just plain wrong, and often spins the data to make it look like downloading is the happening thing. When you read NDP, this is just not the case.

Just like in car purchasing, there was a learning curve. The average car buyer for decades was a homerun waiting to happen, (JACKPOT written on the forehead in neon!). But because of information/internet, the ability for a car salesman to make a decent living is nearly impossible. The consumer has access to info (invoice prices). Obtaining that info was at one time unheard of! Today, consumers walk into showrooms with 5 or 6 consumer mags, invoices, and access to information that most salespeople aren't even privy to!

This is not usually the case in the consumer market as it applies to consumer electronics. There is no bluebook for CE equipment.

Now let's take the electronics market. The turntable, the eight track, the cassette player,the VCR, the CD player, the dvd player, even the laser disc player, and lets not forget the software, all eventually goes down in price. Some faster than others, but they do come down. You can put the flat panel in there also! So the US consumer has by now figured it out. Wait until it drops down to a comfort level, which in this economy seems to be $200.00 and then take the plunge. That's not solely Toshiba's doing either! There are a number of factors dictating the demand for that pricing standard, starting with at least 7-8 years of decent dvd players being priced under $200.

You are speaking strictly of the mass market here, not the collector or the videophile. There are always a segment of the population that are bottom feeders(Pixie is one of those) looking for the lowest prices. Formats success are not based on these individuals, and analysis and surveys from over twenty years has determined this true. The collector or videophile are the people that give a video format success. They buy the most players, the most disc, are the loudest trumpeters of any video based format whether it be laserdisc, DVD, or bluray. By the time the bottom feeder(or price conscious if you will) hit the market, either the product has already been established by collectors, early adopters and videophiles, or its dead already. The majority of players that are selling well are around $350-600 dollars, so this $200 price point really only applies to mass market purchasers who usually enter the market much later.

That being said.....I believe that it all depends on where you go to get your information.
And you don't think bluray.com shows a little bias in it's opinion of what's going on in the market place?! Of course they do. The BDA could be near bankruptcy and bluray.com wouldn't admit it until they had no other choice!

You obviously do not go to bluray.com very much if you can just automatically make this assumption. I get my information from a variety of sources, not just bluray.com. I do think bluray.com exists to push the format, but I do not think it is quite as biased as you assume they are. The insiders there are very balanced with their information, dispensing both the good and the bad information on the format. The finance insider Maxpower1987 has warned the CE manufacturers(to their face I might add) that they are too slow getting profile 1.1 and 2.0 players out there. He warned the studios that they will squander their oportunity to capitalize on releasing their libraries on another format if they don't get out and market their products. So it is not always good new as you assume it is. Secondly, bluray.com is an independent website, and is not afiliated with the BDA or any other format supporting organization. So your overly negative assumption is not necessarily true, and is just a bit over the top.

I dare you to respond! Sir T aka "The Oracle! of all things Blu ray"!

Regards.

Grrrrrrrrrr LOL

[Sir Terrence the Terrible]

I'm skeptical that Toshiba would spend money to do a survey in April when they discontinued their competing product in February. Looking at the survey, I see no indication of who was involved in sponsoring the survey if, in fact, anyone was involved.

The methodology is covered in some detail with all the expected disclaimers required by the NCPC, which is to say one can feel free to accept or reject its conclusions. It's just not worth getting excited about.

Toshiba may have discontinued their product, but that doesn't speak to which direction they are currently going. If you think that Toshiba is going to fold up in a corner after this war, you are dead wrong. Toshiba is going to work with Microsoft to get downloading off the ground. They have an agreement signed for this very goal. Toshiba is also working on adding additional features such as HDI and interactivity to the DVD format to extend its life. What better way to get traction on both of these two activities if you can create an atmosphere that bluray is not doing well.

I am not questioning their methodology or their conclusions. I am questioning their timing. They chose a time when no other marketing or survey company would do such a survey because they know that January through July are not months where the consumer is interested in buying much of anything electronic.

Sometimes things are not always what they seem at the surface. Dig deeper, and you can see the true intentions.