A study in the US conducted by HD-DVD-backer Toshiba has revealed that $200 (£100) is the price point at which buying into HD player becomes a ‘no-brainer’, according to Toshiba HD-DVD expert Oliver Van Wynendaele.
As reported on Home Cinema Choice, more than 60 per cent of the consumers that were surveyed were saying that at this price they would consider buying. At $300, 30 per cent of them said they would buy and at $500 it was only 8 per cent.
Van Wynendaele argues that selling next-gen players at low prices is key if the HD-DVD and Blu-ray camps are ever to persuade people to part from their existing DVD players and movie collections.
If true, the ‘magic price point’ gives the Toshiba-backed HD-DVD format an obvious advantage over Blu-ray: it is already selling standalone players for $200 or less in the US. And they’re not being subsidized by profits from software sales.
Van Wynendaele claims that it’s the technology inside HD-DVD players that makes them so cheap to own.
“We based our technology on the same disc structure as DVD, so pick-up lenses, drives and so on follow the same principles; following the same technology as the technology that has been amortized in the last 10 years already.”
“Of course the new things are expensive – blue lasers, diodes – but overall the bill of materials is less than for Blu-ray players.”
Editors note : At the CEDIA EXPO in Denver September 2007, we had the opportunity to to speak about HD-DVD with some of the specialists, including Mark Knox and Kevin Collins, as well as assist at a HD-DVD presentation which you can watch on Cinenow.TV. Click on the HD-DVD link on the right above.