A media rep for the Blu-ray Disc Association recently sent us an email mentioning the
Philips BDP9000/37 in it, and we couldn't find any retailers selling it at the time. Well today we're getting reports on the availability of the player at Wal-mart for only $898, apparently already shipping. Most other major big box and online retailers -- we checked Best Buy, Circuit City, Amazon, Target, Buy.com, and Newegg -- either don't have it listed at all, or have it for pre-order only. A post at
AVS Forum notes that some Wal-mart stores may simply be selling the player before its potential release date of November 1st, so potential buyers should move quickly in case this was a mistake. There's also some confusion as to whether the box is just a rebranded Samsung
BD-P1000, or if it has different parts inside; the consensus so far seems to be that it uses the same reference design but with different video DAC (
digital-to-analog converter) components (216MHz vs 192MHz for the Samsung). The Philips model features a Faroudja scaler for upscaling standard-def DVDs up to 1080p (progressive) on HDMI or 1080i (interlaced) on component, HD playback of WMV HD (VC-1) video, HDMI and multi-channel audio outputs, a multiformat card reader, and support for BD-ROM / BD-R / BD-RE / BD9, DVD+/-R,+/-RW, CD-R / RW, MP3, JPEG, and HD JPEG. Another thing to note is the reduced price when compared to the $1000 - $1300 pricetags of the Samsung and
Panasonic players. Are we starting to see the effects of competition in the next-generation player market? And will the availability of multiple vendors for Blu-ray products push the price down (think
economies of scale) faster or further than the effectively one-manufacturer HD DVD format?
[Thanks, Frédéric B.]
posted Oct 25th 2006 5:35PM
Philips? Great...
And everyone gave HD-DVD camp a bad time because the Toshiba and RCA HD-DVD players were basically the same.
In the beginning it's always easier to use reference designs.
Good point, I'm sure the RCA was just a reference design as well. I guess my question was more of one about reference designs in general, if RCA and Toshiba are using basically the same design, are they essentially the same model? Whereas the Samsung, Panasonic, and Philips models seem to be using different chipsets and hardware -- remember only the Samsung had those video problems earlier, am I right? But regardless, there only seem to be a small number of HD DVD designs, and more Blu-ray manufacturers have designs either on the shelves or very close to release.
Walmart also seems to have an RCA HDDVD player for $450 as well.
http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product.do?product_id=4790609
perhaps that should have been mentioned too so as to not make this editory seem pro-blu-ray?
I didn't mention the RCA player because we've already covered it in at least one other article on the site, I will link it into the text of this article once I find it.
Also, I did notice the Philips and RCA models at my own local Wal-mart here in Fort Worth, Texas, USA, so apparently it's available in quite a few places nationwide. If only I had the money to buy either player! :
Great news!!
"perhaps that should have been mentioned too so as to not make this editory seem pro-blu-ray?"
You're an idiot. Would you be complaining if Erik had written an article to inform us all of a new HD-DVD player on sale? I think not.
"You're an idiot. Would you be complaining if Erik had written an article to inform us all of a new HD-DVD player on sale? I think not."
If you can't refrain from using personal insults perhaps you should go somewhere else.
I was rebutting because of the last two sentences in the above article. Informing us of a new product release is one thing but showing signs of favoritism is another.
http://www.engadgethd.com/2006/06/02/rca-hdv5000-hd-dvd-player-hits-store-shelves/
http://www.engadgethd.com/2006/05/02/the-rca-hdv5000-appears-on-circuit-citys-website/
Those would be new product release information without a hint of preference towards a format by the writers. We as readers are allowed to be partial towards a side but writers on a public website covering news on both formats should remain neutral.
Actually, I honestly _do_ try to be neutral when announcing the facts in my posts, yet I try to throw some opinions and questions in at the end to get the discussions and comments started. If you just want "facts," there are plenty of press release websites I could refer you to. As Matt points out, we're intending to promote discussion and get people thinking about different aspects of the issues.
As for my own personal bias, I've said in our podcast that I prefer Blu-ray for its higher storage capacity and some other minor reasons, but that doesn't mean I won't buy an HD DVD player in a second if the price is right. I don't even own any Sony products, and I don't remember ever owning any. If anything I'm a Pioneer, Samsung, Toshiba, Panasonic, JBL, and Philips fan, as those are the brands of the products in my home theater. I also prefer ATI and AMD for computer parts, if that makes a difference in your opinion of my neutrality! *shrug*
Pliepl - These three very popular articles seem to be bias but still worthy of your time and by the way, he does pose a valid question as this is a blog...not the Wall Street Journal.
http://www.hdbeat.com/2006/04/19/why-hd-dvd-will-prevail-my-opinion/
http://www.hdbeat.com/2006/07/11/why-hd-dvd-will-prevail-my-opinion-three-months-later/
http://www.hdbeat.com/2006/08/16/why-blu-ray-will-win/
Well Costco.com has the Toshiba HD DVD for $399 thats a 20% drop from when it came out...how much faster do you want prices to drop?
I bet HD DVD players are $299 by the fall 07 and that's when the sales really go up.
...and my local Magnolia now has, on display, demo versions of both the Panasonic and Pioneer Blu-ray players. Supposedly they perform about the same, and are both noticeably better than the Samsung player.
Matt,
Thanks for the article suggestions; I’ll have to check them out. I’ve just recently found this site through engadget so I haven’t looked through the older articles.
Yes, this is a blog site and not the wallstreet journal and I understand there may be some bias in the reports. What the article fails to mention is that hddvd has had players from 2 brands for some time now and it is blu-ray that is now just coming out with their second available player. The questions suggested an entirely different scenario and would be more valid if the information was more accurate.
Erik,
There’s nothing wrong with posing questions to spur comments. The question didn’t fit the article since the last part of it wasn’t entirely accurate. hddvd players have been available from 2 brands for some time now and it is blu-ray that is actually just now catching up in that regards. Although you and I may be aware of this, others may not be.
I was a supporter of blu-ray a few years back when I first read of the formats. As time past and the formats launched, what I realized was that we (people who frequent tech sites and the technically inclined) are not the ones who will ultimately decide the winner of this format war. Like it or not, we’re the minority. The winner will be decided by the mass majority of consumers who will usually buy whatever does what they want at a price they can afford regardless of technical specifications. Those that nitpick about specs are in the minority. If this wasn’t the case, hdtv adoption would be complete by now and the broadcast mandate wouldn’t have been pushed back to 2009.
Blu-ray as a storage medium makes a very convincing argument although blu-ray as a movie medium does not. Hddvd as a movie medium makes a very convincing argument although hddvd as a storage medium isn’t as convincing is blu-ray. Lets not forget that this war is primary a movie medium war.
I’m still convinced whoever makes it to the sub-$300 retail price will have the majority consumer group. Regardless of which format the studios initially said they would support, they will migrate to where the customers are. It’s already starting to happen.
Great player!
Blu-Ray has total hardwere lead !
'for only $898" hahaha. Wow, didn't know this was a high roller blog.
So I'm assuming this "bargain" includes the faulty chip and other problems that the Samsung has... oh..and don't forget Sony has delayed theirs like 4 times because NOT EVEN THEM KNOW HOW TO FIX BLU RAY!!!
"forget Sony has delayed theirs like 4 times because NOT EVEN THEM KNOW HOW TO FIX BLU RAY!!!"
It just seems to me that Sony is putting it's full support behind PS3 (at the cost of it's player division) so their player's delay isn't too much of a shocker. They're trying to close the player price gap between the two formats by pretty much forcing customers (who wants a blu-ray player) to go with the PS3. They’re betting the barn on selling everyone a game machine and a blu-ray player all in one for $500, a bargain I’ll admit. That plan might have worked if it was still the original 4 million units by end of the year plan.
Die hard blu-ray supporters will argue the PS3 Trojan horse in the format war though most probably don't consider the grand scheme of things. What it is now is barely enough to make a splash. The impact will be negligible if it’s a niche product.
As it stands, the only advantage blu-ray holds over hddvd is studio support and even that is already starting to equalize. Yes, I considered capacity and it’s negligible at this point unless studios starts releasing 4+ hr movies as the standard or higher then 1080p content.