Sharp and Pioneer Invest in Each Other

[avaserfi]

More fuel for this pointless war. It seems that Sharp is now the top investor in Pioneer while Pioneer took a small chunk of Sharp. Sharp will be supplying laser diodes to Pioneers drive assemblies. Although this helps BD out it seems like it might spread to other sectors which could be a very good thing.

I am sure in a couple days HD DVD camp will have some other announcement to counter this one. Maybe HD DVD and BD will invest in each other just in case the other fails .

http://www.twice.com/article/CA6480280.html
http://www.blu-ray.com/news/?id=525

 

[GlocksRock]

I think we will have a better handle on what format will have a better chance after Christmas.

 

[avaserfi]

I think we will have a better handle on what format will have a better chance after Christmas.

Better still does not mean good . I have read that between BD and HD DVD the current market penetration is about 1% even if the combined penetration is 5% after the holidays that is still nothing compared to DVD sales. I have a feeling that the market share will rise slightly due to the holidays, but the constant changes to HDMI and the two formats themselves along side the constant bickering between large companies just puts off too many people. Combine that with the fact that most people cannot take advantage of the HD spec audio wise and many do not notice or care about the difference visually.

I guess I just don't see the next few months in being a determining factor in this pointless war.

Sad I say all this and have endorsed a side. Now if I can get a good deal on an HD DVD player I will be neutral .

 

[stratman]

More fuel for this pointless war. It seems that Sharp is now the top investor in Pioneer while Pioneer took a small chunk of Sharp. Sharp will be supplying laser diodes to Pioneers drive assemblies. Although this helps BD out it seems like it might spread to other sectors which could be a very good thing.

I am sure in a couple days HD DVD camp will have some other announcement to counter this one. Maybe HD DVD and BD will invest in each other just in case the other fails .

http://www.twice.com/article/CA6480280.html
http://www.blu-ray.com/news/?id=525

Hey Andrew,

Read the thread on Chinese hi def format, the blu-ray camp has in fact invested in HD DVD.

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

Guys, I'm telling you. Everyone knows that the prices will keep on dropping. So when HD DVD gets around $100 & blu-ray gets around $200, they will CO-EXIST, and all the studios will make both formats to increase sales.

 

[Adam]

Guys, I'm telling you...they will CO-EXIST...

There can be...only one.

 

[avaserfi]

Guys, I'm telling you. Everyone knows that the prices will keep on dropping. So when HD DVD gets around $100 & blu-ray gets around $200, they will CO-EXIST, and all the studios will make both formats to increase sales.

Adam is dead on here, if either of these HD formats is to succeed one has to die. The general public does not want to worry about having to purchase the right disc for their player. They just want to go out, buy a movie and pop it in their player no worries, end of story. With not only hardware but software manufactures *****ing and whining about which is better it puts off the public even more because they don't know which to get and they wait. After a long enough waiting period both will die out or become niche formats like SACD and DVD-A and will be lost to better mediums or at least different ones. Also, while you might say universal players are the future right now at least, it seems as if the general public doesn't really seem to want either HD formats so why would they want both?

Perhaps if the BD camp and the HD DVD camp weren't playing for keeps this would turn out differently, but neither side will back down. Then again what is the point of pushing something if you don't really believe in it.

Hey Andrew,

Read the thread on Chinese hi def format, the blu-ray camp has in fact invested in HD DVD.

Thanks, I forgot about that. I guess because of that situation I wasn't clear enough with what I mean about investing in the other. I meant similarly to the Sharp/Pioneer deal where a symbiotic relationship is expected. BD is just hedging its bets as Sony can count their failures as well as anyone else.

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

There can be...only one.

***LOL***
That's a good one!

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

Adam is dead on here, if either of these HD formats is to succeed one has to die.

Okay, what if both can be bought at $100 each? Could they co-exist then?

I heard someone say that you can't compare this to XBox vs. PS3, but I forgot the reason. If these two can co-exist at $400/$500 each, why not blu-ray/hd dvd at $100 each?

 

[avaserfi]

Okay, what if both can be bought at $100 each? Could they co-exist then?

I heard someone say that you can't compare this to XBox vs. PS3, but I forgot the reason. If these two can co-exist at $400/$500 each, why not blu-ray/hd dvd at $100 each?

The two formats likely won't exist at $100 a piece IMHO because people can go out and buy a good DVD player for that money. Remember the average person is not you or I they don't need great picture/sound quality to be happy. Give them a big screen and an HTiB and they are happy most often. The two HD formats are not only competing against each other their bigger competitor is the dinosaur (DVDs) they are trying to usurp.

The reason why the parallel between game systems and video playback sources might not be valid is because of market penetration goals. The last generation the PS2 was the biggest seller with slightly over 100 million units sold. Now lets look at how many people own DVD players. The difference is too large and many people have multiple DVD players in their house, some in their car etc...

 

[j_garcia]

If those two formats become $100 then DVD players will likely be around $15 so their problem of taking over the market would still be there...DVD won't go away anytime soon because it has such a huge market acceptance. As long as the studios continue to manufacture and market DVD, the new formats will never fully take off. It took a few years before DVD player prices dropped to the level that every J6P had one and VHS finally started to wane in sales.

 

[dobyblue]

Okay, what if both can be bought at $100 each? Could they co-exist then?

Can't you buy SACD players and DVD-Audio players at that price?

Do they co-exist? Yes.
Have they reached mass market penetration? No.

HDM faces a similar fate the longer HD DVD hangs around. I believe after this Christmas with all the new respected manufacturers bring out Blu-ray disc players and the 3:1 or higher advantage Blu-ray discs will have throughout Q4 that the end is nigh.

I do not expect there to be any sort of ambivalence over HDM by the time CES 2009 comes around. Blu-ray is the future of high def home entertainment. It is the only possible way HDM becomes anything other than a niche format/s.

 

[AbyssalLoris]

There can be...only one.

Dude, that is golden .

 

[BMXTRIX]

Okay, what if both can be bought at $100 each? Could they co-exist then?

I heard someone say that you can't compare this to XBox vs. PS3, but I forgot the reason. If these two can co-exist at $400/$500 each, why not blu-ray/hd dvd at $100 each?

I don't think so. When players reach that price point, and it will happen, then you are left with CE manufacturers and studios who will be driving the market.

Consumers, right now, are really buying HD DVD and almost universally, the reason is 'price'. When the price is nearly the same, then Blu-ray is setting itself up with the names in consumer electronics - Panny, Samsung, Sharp, Sony, Denon, Marantz, Pioneer, etc. Perhaps the cheap Chinese players can swing things more towards HD DVD, but more likely, there will be a price point where Blu-ray really takes off with the CE support currently lined up.

Then studios have to decide: Do they master videos for HD DVD at 30GB and lower bandwidth and only 15-25% of the market (or so) or do they master for 50GB, higher bandwidth, and far more of the market?

Will stores and retailers want to stock two HD versions at that point if they realize 5 times the sales with one format? If they use their shelf space for more of the one format, they may realize more sales, and profit, by doing so.

I have no doubt, online is really helping HD DVD to exist right now as Toshiba almost gets the same amount of online coverage as all the supporting Blu-ray companies out there. This flies in the face of the retailers who seem to have about 4 times as many Blu-ray players showing on their floors and are pushing Blu-ray far more at that level.

There are three outcomes: They coexist, HD DVD goes away, they both go away. There is no possibility, that I can see at this point, in which HD DVD survives and Blu-ray does not.

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

Can't you buy SACD players and DVD-Audio players at that price?

Do they co-exist? Yes.
Have they reached mass market penetration? No.

I also have both SACD & DVD-Audio. The reason I don't buy anymore of these music is because I can't hear a significant improvement over a high quality 2-ch CD. That is why I think both have failed.

It would be nice to have just one HD format. I really do hope it is blu-ray. BD has my support 100% at this point as I am buying 90% BD & 10% HDDVD. That 10% is because of Matrix Trilogy, Transformers (in October), and The Bourne Trilogy.