djOS Posted April 23, 2007 Posted April 23, 2007 Looks like WalMart is betting big on HD DVD which bodes very well for the format! Wal-Mart is about to bring HD DVD to the masses. The retail giant we all love to hate just bought 2 million HD DVD units from Taiwanese electronics corp Fuh Yuan, who along with TDK recently built a massive factory to handle HD DVD cores.So basically Wal-Mart has a crapload of HD DVD players heading its way. (Can anyone say discount?) Sadly, this probably won't put an end to the format wars, but it'll definitely come as a blow to the Blu-ray camp, especially since their cheapest machine is nowhere near $300. You can expect to see Wal-Mart's players sometime in 2008. From: WalMart HD DVD Article One comment on SlashDot reads: "My kids work at Wal-Mart and the manager there has been talking about this. HD-DVD's are selling like mad there so I hear." and: By comparison Blu-Ray players, manufactured in Japan, are not expected to drop below $1000 until next year. The International Herald Tribune writes about the risk Toshiba is taking by bringing in Chinese manufacturers to trump Sony in the format war. Go HD DVD you good thing!
AndrewW Posted April 23, 2007 Posted April 23, 2007 For those with signatures turned off: Launching the PS3 with BD drives and taking a loss just to push adoption: $2 billion Issuing a PR campaign saying the war is over and Blu-ray won: $ 100 million Watching Walmart selling HD DVD stand alone players at $199: priceless. Andrew.
momaw Posted April 23, 2007 Posted April 23, 2007 guess It's lucky my PS3 plays games and that I have been buying the HD DVD version of dual release movies.
djOS Posted April 23, 2007 Author Posted April 23, 2007 For those with signatures turned off:Launching the PS3 with BD drives and taking a loss just to push adoption: $2 billion Issuing a PR campaign saying the war is over and Blu-ray won: $ 100 million Watching Walmart selling HD DVD stand alone players at $199: priceless. Andrew. It's actually $299USD but I luv your work!
AndrewW Posted April 23, 2007 Posted April 23, 2007 It's actually $299USD but I luv your work! I've seen quite a few people quoting $199. I'll stick with that price for now, it makes me feel even warmer and fuzzier Oh, and I can't take credit for that sig entry, Skid found it on the avsforums thread. Andrew.
djOS Posted April 23, 2007 Author Posted April 23, 2007 I've seen quite a few people quoting $199. I'll stick with that price for now, it makes me feel even warmer and fuzzier Oh, and I can't take credit for that sig entry, Skid found it on the avsforums thread. Andrew. Either way it's awesome news for HD DVD, WalMart's mass market appeal to average Americans will drive adoption into homes far faster than what BluRay will manage with the PS3. WalMart will also be able to back it up with mass HD DVD movie availability to really drive the format hard!
c912039 Posted April 23, 2007 Posted April 23, 2007 How can this be???? Impossible!!!!! Our forum doyan doyen of accurate facts (HighJinx) told me that this wasn't so... BTW boys don't get too excited at the 2,000,000 players for WallyWorld...just yet... Update: Pull back the reigns HD DVD fanboys, Akihabara now says that they've made a "huge mistake" with their translation: the original source called it "藍光 HD DVD and 藍光 means Blu-RAY." In other words, Blu-ray HD DVD. Huh? Word to the wise: since both formats use blue lasers, it's best to wait for an English press release before either camp celebrates. I'm starting to wonder whether HighJinx's other posts throughout this sub-forum might also lack accuracy. Shock! Horror!
momaw Posted April 23, 2007 Posted April 23, 2007 How can this be????Impossible!!!!! Our forum doyan doyen of accurate facts (HighJinx) told me that this wasn't so... I'm starting to wonder whether HighJinx's other posts throughout this sub-forum might also lack accuracy. Shock! Horror! Calm down, don't stress, as we speak he is consulting with his fairy and will let us know how wrong it all is and reassure us with plenty of jargon that ultimately adds up to fluff.
davep Posted April 23, 2007 Posted April 23, 2007 I really wouldnt start gloating *just* yet it is good news, but there is a loooooooooooong way to go to even getting other studios on board with HD DVD.
djOS Posted April 23, 2007 Author Posted April 23, 2007 I really wouldnt start gloating *just* yet it is good news, but there is a loooooooooooong way to go to even getting other studios on board with HD DVD. True, however this is the sort of thing that will tempt Studios into format neutrality as the money from content sales will be to much to ignore. WalMart is also well know for strong-arming its suppliers and might tell the non-neutral studios to "start making HD DVD's or find some place else to sell your SD DVD movies".
attilathepun Posted April 23, 2007 Posted April 23, 2007 As posted in the last thread, if true (which appears highly likely from the text, translation questions aside), it would definitely be a big boost for HDDVD. That said, the article quotes a likely sale date some time in 2008. Given that existing name brand players (both HDDVD and BD) are already lowering to under $500 (and lower for HDDVD) then a $299 price point in 2008 may not be the killer price that it would be, say now. The IHT article and the price points it quotes is from 2005, though the risks it refers to is still valid.
cwt Posted April 23, 2007 Posted April 23, 2007 As posted in the last thread, if true (which appears highly likely from the text, translation questions aside), it would definitely be a big boost for HDDVD. That said, the article quotes a likely sale date some time in 2008. Given that existing name brand players (both HDDVD and BD) are already lowering to under $500 (and lower for HDDVD) then a $299 price point in 2008 may not be the killer price that it would be, say now. The IHT article and the price points it quotes is from 2005, though the risks it refers to is still valid. So what your saying is Sony [ who will never license their bda technology to china for fear of patent infringement] will achieve price parity with china ? There was a very good documentary on sbs not too long ago about the clout and buying power of Walmart .They also sell very reasonable 720p dlp tv's for JSP[according to avs forums]
attilathepun Posted April 23, 2007 Posted April 23, 2007 So what your saying is Sony [ who will never license their bda technology to china for fear of patent infringement] will achieve price parity with china ? Never is a very long time. Blu-ray is supported by LG and Samsung (among others) and you will find that Korea has had a fairly decent record of competing on price. What I was saying is that assuming this is true, it may not be as huge a coup for HDDVD as it would have been if they had pulled it off earlier. The IHT article linked too suggested that Toshiba were looking to do this in October 2005. It is now April 2007 and we have an (apparent) announcement of a large order from WalMart. Imagine the damage they could have done if this were announced this time last year, with the $299 players landing now.
Skid_MacMarx Posted April 23, 2007 Posted April 23, 2007 So what your saying is Sony [ who will never license their bda technology to china for fear of patent infringement] will achieve price parity with china ? There was a very good documentary on sbs not too long ago about the clout and buying power of Walmart .They also sell very reasonable 720p dlp tv's for JSP[according to avs forums] Apparently the HD-DVD specifications for China are different (this news is dated so I don't know if this is still the case) The DVD Forum has released a preliminary format for a HD DVD-ROM specification that targets the Chinese market.The version 9.9 spec was unveiled at the DVD Forum Japan Conference 2006 here on Thursday (Oct. 5). Chinese organizations, including the Optical Memory National Engineering Research Center and China Electronics Technology Group, requested that the DVD Forum compile a Chinese version of the HD DVD-ROM format. The forum's Working Group 11 for Blue-Laser DVD has been working on the format since early this year. Physical specs mostly parallel current HD DVD-ROM specs—a 12-cm disk with two 0.6-mm-thick platters and a single layer with 15-Gbyte capacity. Only the modulation codec differs. For the HD DVD family, ETM (8 data bit/12 channel bit modulation) is used, but the China-only version employs FSM (4 data bit/6 channel bit modulation) codec. The Chinese groups apparently sought a different codec to isolate the Chinese version from the HD DVD format used elsewhere. The working group confirmed that ETM and FSM exhibit almost the same frequency characteristics. Based on the physical format, the Chinese group plans to define a proprietary video format. "We prepared the format. How the China-only specification is implemented is under discussion between China and the Forum's Steering Committee," said Yutaka Yamanaka, senior researcher at NEC's Optical Recording Technology Center. Yamanaka also chairs Working Group 11. The format is scheduled to be completed by December and will be labeled: "HD DVD-ROM part1 Ver 10.0 for China only." http://www.eetimes.com/news/latest/showArt...cleID=193104828
Skid_MacMarx Posted April 23, 2007 Posted April 23, 2007 I'm starting to wonder whether HighJinx's other posts throughout this sub-forum might also lack accuracy. Shock! Horror! I don't know what to believe c912039 is this latest or not? Wal-Mart will be selling cheap Chinese-made HD DVD players for $299 as reported by Engadget.Pull back the reigns HD DVD fanboys, Akihabara now says that they've made a "huge mistake" with their translation: the original source called it "藍光 HD DVD and 藍光 means Blu-RAY." In other words, Blu-ray HD DVD. Huh? Word to the wise: since both formats use blue lasers, it's best to wait for an English press release before either camp celebrates. http://newtech.aurum3.com/index.php?option...7&Itemid=18 Considering Engadget reported that HD-DVD may get region coding.. I don't know what to believe.. http://www.engadget.com/2006/05/26/hd-dvd-...na-only-format/ Has there actually been an official statement by Wally Mart?
T800 Posted April 23, 2007 Posted April 23, 2007 You can expect to see Wal-Mart's players sometime in 2008 Thats a Very Long Way off !!! Toshiba Players willl be that price by then, and are close to that now from some stores, so this isnt going to help them much
ajm1503559545 Posted April 23, 2007 Posted April 23, 2007 Considering Engadget reported that HD-DVD may get region coding.. I don't know what to believe.. Um Skid that was May 2006 mate and nothing has been reported/hinted/suggested since. You're still hanging onto this little nugget of not much with a firm grip though aren't you?
Skid_MacMarx Posted April 23, 2007 Posted April 23, 2007 Um Skid that was May 2006 mate and nothing has been reported/hinted/suggested since. You're still hanging onto this little nugget of not much with a firm grip though aren't you? lets say it caused a great deal of grief so I clearly remember the article .. also I've compiled a db of related articles here as the search function at this forum is not that reliable.. As for the cheap WalMart HD-DVD player, I suppose proof is in the pudding when its released.. I'm sure there will be an official statement before that considering the attention the original Engadget has stirred. just every time I do a google I get conflicting info like above...
momaw Posted April 23, 2007 Posted April 23, 2007 Um Skid that was May 2006 mate and nothing has been reported/hinted/suggested since. You're still hanging onto this little nugget of not much with a firm grip though aren't you? He has bookmarks filled with those nuggets he won't let go of for just these occasions
Skid_MacMarx Posted April 23, 2007 Posted April 23, 2007 He has bookmarks filled with those nuggets he won't let go of for just these occasions nuggets with those fries momaw? I tend to agree its a HD-DVD player considering the announcement of the Venture player: http://www.dtvforum.info/index.php?showtop...Canadian+HD-DVD although I could be wrong!
ajm1503559545 Posted April 23, 2007 Posted April 23, 2007 lets say it caused a great deal of grief so I clearly remember the article .. also I've compiled a db of related articles here as the search function at this forum is not that reliable.. Are they all references to official statements, news articles or posts in forums. In other words are they genuine statements, rumour and scuttlebutt or whispers from leprechauns?
Hydrology Posted April 23, 2007 Posted April 23, 2007 The old regional coding on HD-DVD is sooooo 2006 - nobody even talks about it!! (except BR fanbois clingin on for dear life!)
Skid_MacMarx Posted April 23, 2007 Posted April 23, 2007 Are they all references to official statements, news articles or posts in forums. In other words are they genuine statements, rumour and scuttlebutt or whispers from leprechauns? looks like you require a lesson in Epistemology 101 as well......
momaw Posted April 23, 2007 Posted April 23, 2007 Are they all references to official statements, news articles or posts in forums. In other words are they genuine statements, rumour and scuttlebutt or whispers from leprechauns? psst ajm, here's a link to that database of skids. Don't tell anyone I leaked it too you.
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