Is Wal-Mart Pushing HD DVD?

[admin]

Amidst a flurry of conflictive reports in A/V sites and blogs across the net, Fuh Yuan the Chinese manufacturer that reported the initial news that Wal-Mart had placed an order for 2 million low priced HD DVD players, quickly responded to the rumors by posting a disclaimer on their site stating the deal wasn't written in stone... just yet.

Discuss "Is Wal-Mart Pushing HD DVD?" here. Read the article.

 

[westcott]

Although no one likes the uncertainties that come with a format war, including me, the competition has probably made HD player prices drop faster than they would have otherwise.

I am not a big fan of Walmart but if it speeds up the format war and\or lowers prices, we all win.

 

[The Dukester]

Although no one likes the uncertainties that come with a format war, including me, the competition has probably made HD player prices drop faster than they would have otherwise.

I am not a big fan of Walmart but if it speeds up the format war and\or lowers prices, we all win.

I couldn't agree more. A lot of folks talked about which format porn adopted to be the deciding factor, but I believe that Waly World has more influence than porn on the issue. HD DVD still needs more titles and studios backing it to win, though, IMO.

 

[tomahawktim]

Chinese junk not sunk format HD DVD if floats

For the sake of the HD DVD format's future, I hope their manufacturing is better than their English.

A flood of crappy players could kill the format.

 

[BMXTRIX]

A company like Wal-Mart isn't dumb. While it is possible that they have decided to team up with HD DVD, they also likely have a fair bit of interest in Blu-ray as well. If I were with Wal-Mart and wanted to persue HD disc formats, I would be looking carefully into both formats equally and approaching both HD DVD and the BDA to find out what low-cost options were available.

HD DVD has been putting out great quality, but it has almost all been under very tight control from Toshiba and Microsoft. Going to a 100% Chinese solution with the cheapest players possible is not necessarily going to kill the quality, but it sure doesn't bode well for solid quality controls.

Yet, anyone who thinks these rumors, is anything but good news for HD DVD is crazy. Even the possibility that Wal-Mart MAY be looking into something like this is a very good showing for how the HD DVD format has been able to sustain itself against the BDA monolith.

If Wal-Mart does go this route, it would be very significant I believe... Especially if players come in under $200 while Blu-ray is still sitting around $500 for their cheapest models.

 

[GlocksRock]

Lets hope their players also include built in Dolby True HD and DTS-Master Audio decoders, and 8 ch. analog outputs... but I won't hold my breath.

 

[pikers]

For the sake of the HD DVD format's future, I hope their manufacturing is better than their English.

A flood of crappy players could kill the format.

Poop always floats

Frankly, there will be a large segment of the buying population that will be averse to HD-DVD if Chinese manufacturers/brands get hold of the format. Appealing to J6P might sound appealing in terms of volume, but in terms of brand perception in certainly isn't concurrent with the high-performance image that next-gen formats wish to convey. Of course, these perceptions might not always jibe with reality, but it is what it is. The last thing we need is yet another format found along the isles of Walgreen's. Blu-Ray will secure the high-quality segment, thus enabling them to secure higher price points and margins.

Think of this scenario:

HD-DVD = Fewer releases/studios, and less manufacturer support. What support is does have is largely by Chinese no-name brands.

Blu-Ray = More titles, greater storage, and high-quality devices built by recognizable names.

Of course, this can change if manufacturers play their cards correctly and OEM their products through Chinese suppliers while maintaining tight QC. Short of this, American buyers will focus on the fact it's built in China and look elsewhere. I really hope both formats can thrive, but if HD-DVD rolls the dice on cheap manufacturing from questionable vendors, this war may decide itself.

 

[pikers]

Lets hope their players also include built in Dolby True HD and DTS-Master Audio decoders, and 8 ch. analog outputs... but I won't hold my breath.

You raise a valid point that most aren't aware of. Many of the uber-cheap Chinese DVD players are devoid of many of the things that actually enable the quality people expect of DVD. The problem lies with the fact that cheap players, due to mass-consumption, will tend to "set the standard" of what DVD should look like. People become satisfied with mediocrity.

If HD-DVD players also follow this route sure, you can have a $200 HD unit, but at what cost to the key feature sets and capabilities that are omitted to enable that price point? It's like buying a used Vega and slapping an Audi logo on it.