I'm surprised how many people such as yourself don't remember how much players and discs were when DVD first came out. Granted, we went from huge, ugly, magnetic tape cartridges to the much more preferable DVD disc, but the idea is still the same. I can't believe how many people are screaming about players costing $250 or $300 as "too" expensive for mainstream adoption. For the first several years of DVD, players were at least $400 - $500. I think these people really underestimate how much this format war has impacted everyone's uneasiness about buying into HD media. As soon as there is a winner, i predict adoption to grew exponentially.
I DON'T buy the argument that DVD is "good enough" for most people. If that were the case, then "EDTV" would have dramatically outsold HDTV, which is not the case. If people are going to spend the change to get a High definition LCD, you'd think most of them would surely want to get an HD picture to go with it. While the disc prices will initially remain significantly higher than DVD, I think you'll see an upsurge of rental activity, whether it's brick and mortar or Netflix, just as you did when DVD came out. Assuming the format war comes to an end, for $250 or $300, I'd bet at least half the folks with HDTVs will be willing to buy a HD player within the next 18-24 months.
It'll be interesting to see what happens.. just need toshiba to fall on the sword now...
Now that we've thrown 'em off the trail, use the form below to get in touch with the people at Engadget. Please fill in all of the required fields because they're required.
@Jacob
I'm surprised how many people such as yourself don't remember how much players and discs were when DVD first came out. Granted, we went from huge, ugly, magnetic tape cartridges to the much more preferable DVD disc, but the idea is still the same. I can't believe how many people are screaming about players costing $250 or $300 as "too" expensive for mainstream adoption. For the first several years of DVD, players were at least $400 - $500. I think these people really underestimate how much this format war has impacted everyone's uneasiness about buying into HD media. As soon as there is a winner, i predict adoption to grew exponentially.
I DON'T buy the argument that DVD is "good enough" for most people. If that were the case, then "EDTV" would have dramatically outsold HDTV, which is not the case. If people are going to spend the change to get a High definition LCD, you'd think most of them would surely want to get an HD picture to go with it. While the disc prices will initially remain significantly higher than DVD, I think you'll see an upsurge of rental activity, whether it's brick and mortar or Netflix, just as you did when DVD came out. Assuming the format war comes to an end, for $250 or $300, I'd bet at least half the folks with HDTVs will be willing to buy a HD player within the next 18-24 months.
It'll be interesting to see what happens.. just need toshiba to fall on the sword now...