Phil1624705739 Posted May 29, 2007 Posted May 29, 2007 This is your opportunity to convince Toshiba that there is a local demand for the HD-XE1. Just voice out your interest and an acceptable asking price in your opinion. Will sound out the rep once we have a clear picture here. No flaming please. Phil
Doggie Howser Posted May 29, 2007 Posted May 29, 2007 How about looking at the number of XA2 owners ;) I only bought the XA2 (at close to US$900) cos I wasn't even sure I could get the XE1 here, Thing is.. the XA2 is so affordable now in the US, I wonder how Toshiba would price it here. If they want to make it competitive, it would have to be cheaper than the PS3. With v1.80 firmware, it matches and even exceeds the capability of the Toshiba. It has a good DVD deinterlacing and excellent upscaling that matches HQV and the BR 1080p24 is a new benchmark to meet.
SiriuslyCold Posted May 29, 2007 Posted May 29, 2007 I would suggest that Tosh (or whomever) do what Sony failed to do with SACD i.e. discontinue all SD products and only issue HD/Combo players from now on. Caveats: 1. has to play SD material 2. It has to be competitively priced - perhaps the entry level machine would be just slightly higher than an entry level SD. Result? There'd be no reason for anyone to get a SD player. Since most people would have displays capable of at least 720p, people would have more incentive to buy HD material
htfreak Posted May 29, 2007 Posted May 29, 2007 Okay, Flame Mode OFF. Region free DVD coding would have to happen first for the XE1 to be viable here. If this can be done, then I think Toshiba can use the pricing for current high-end DVD players from Denon and Pioneer and price the XE-1 slightly lower to entice local buyers. Toshiba needs to do this in order to set people's mind thinking whether it still makes sense to buy a high-end DVD player now when they could get the added High-Def features with HQV processing for about the same price. Toshiba will need to include at least two or more free HD-DVD Blockbuster titles like King Kong, Happy Feet and Blue Planet so as to let people enjoy watching the glorious pictures quality without having to inccur disc costs at the start. Once they get hooked, the demand for the discs will follow subsequently. Do some tie-in marketing with their Full HD panels like providing free or heavily discounted XE-1 player for every 47" Regza 68 series panel sold. This way, kill two birds with one stone. Pioneer has been doing this with great success during their new plasma panel launch events where they bundle their 989 player for free. Showcase the benefits of HD-DVD technology and point out the faults of the BR format like non PIP and Interactive content features. Don't forget that there is still a format war being fought. Also use the opportunity to show-off Lossless Audio offered in the new HD format so as to bring to people's attention of yet another advantage against the DVD format. Lastly, they will have to aggressively market the technology at a launch event in high profile places like Ngee Ann City, Suntec City or Vivo City just like what Panny did recently for their PV70/700 plasma launch. Not some small meeting room in Suntec like what Toshiba did previously with their Regza 66 series launch which they also used to show-case HD-DVD. You need to spend money to make money. Done. Flame Mode ON. ;D
petetherock Posted May 29, 2007 Posted May 29, 2007 I agree with the bundling deal. think an important price point for the man on the street is about $500, plus region free coding. The GDP in SG is massive and we have tremendous buying power. The job of the marketing dept is to make it enticing to buy the player and why they should spend good money for essentially what is to them a 'souped up' DVD player. One of the reason the PS3 sells is the games capability, plus the wireless features. The Toshi is basically a enhanced DVD player which also does a new foriegn format. Avergae joe may have a stack of 'chiong' discs (which actually may help him convert since these discs maybe be region free - :) ) So the new machines must porve to be reliable, load quickly, and emphasis the single HDMI wire connection. In summary, make it a good deal, with easy connection and good compatiblity with current software of ALL regions and bundle it with a TV.
HT102 Posted May 30, 2007 Posted May 30, 2007 I think the availability of 1080p24Hz on the PS3 makes it even more important for Toshiba to ascertain that its flagship HD-DVD player is available in all regions. At barely S$865 per unit (incl Blu-ray remote), the PS3 is now the most value for money HD-player in Asia. Toshiba needs the XE1, which IMHO is the best SD/HD-DVD player in the market now, to compete with PS3 for the monies of Asian AV enthusiasts. Honestly, the news of an over-priced E1 and non-availability of XE1 in Sg further discourage me from buying anymore HD-DVDs. The HD format war has almost ended for me.
Jag Posted May 30, 2007 Posted May 30, 2007 Sony has got the right mindset, and also industrial might to fight the format war.I'm guessing Sony's lessons from past format wars (Beta, MDs, PS) are starting to pay off. I still feel that HD-DVD and BRD can co-exist IF a universal player is available.
Guest francis woo Posted May 30, 2007 Posted May 30, 2007 Price it at around $700 and free the region coding for sd dvd should convert those sitting on the fence to cross over!!
Phil1624705739 Posted May 30, 2007 Author Posted May 30, 2007 Guys, thanks for the suggestions but can we get a little bit more specific as in who is interested in the XE1 and at what price. Phil
petetherock Posted May 30, 2007 Posted May 30, 2007 XE1 at 1k, I will buy it E1 - 500S$ plus region free SD DVD
Audio Posted May 30, 2007 Posted May 30, 2007 My wish that is not fulfill in the current batches of HD-DVD players is .....DVD-Audio support. (Audio)
digital601 Posted May 30, 2007 Posted May 30, 2007 will buy E1 -$500, plus region free. Consider if XE1 -1k.
c7221624705751 Posted May 30, 2007 Posted May 30, 2007 If I understand correctly, the local E1's official pricing had been set to S$999, so the XE1 needs to be one level above that. Will buy a local XE1 at $1599 (this is the current Europe pricing now) in a heart beat, code free or not. guys, please show your support. If the ppl in this hobby forum are not even willing to pay a bit more for a premium product, it just shows that the Toshiba management are right: there is no local market, and s'poreans are really more cost conscious. I paid $1400 for the XA1, $1300 for a E1 import, and was abt to pay $1500 for a XE1 import. $1599 is reasonable for me. It's still cheaper than the Denon 3930, and Pio 989 when it was just launched. Phil I hope in the end you dun have to see Toshiba ppl red-faced. There ARE a lot of ppl here that are willing to pay more. Many of them dun post much though. (Sam, Jason Yeo, Oliver, Mascular, etc, where are you ? come and support Phil leh )
Phil1624705739 Posted May 30, 2007 Author Posted May 30, 2007 Phil I hope in the end you dun have to see Toshiba ppl red-faced. There ARE a lot of ppl here that are willing to pay more. Many of them dun post much though. (Sam, Jason Yeo, Oliver, Mascular, etc, where are you ? come and support Phil leh ) I'm just doing everyone a favor here. Not that I have vested interest for my vendors or CNET in particular. Remember, I'm one of you guys too and pay good money for my equipment. I just hope that there is sufficient interest here to motivate Toshiba to reconsider bringing in the XE1. Phil
petetherock Posted May 30, 2007 Posted May 30, 2007 Bro whilst I respect your choice to pay more, my question is - why should we? If the E1 is priced at 999, does it mean we need to comply and hence be expected to pay more for the XE1? I am assuming bro Phil wants an honest opinion from us. No doubt there are more bros / pros who have not spoken, but will they all pay more? I think we need to represent the avergae joe as well, and if we ask him to pay 1k for what is essentially a 'souped up' DVD player which plays a new 'souped up' format, he will be reluctant. The average joe is pretty affluent but is also pretty much a bird - cheap cheap :) This is the man Toshiba SG needs to reach out to. Even if 50% of the frontier bros here commit to the E1, it is a pretty small number. Do what Sony did, reach out to the masses with their PS3 and price it right, the masses will come I say. I rather tell Phil what we wnat rather than what the Toshiba SG hopes to hear only, then HD DVD may prevail in the format war. P If I understand correctly, the local E1's official pricing had been set to S$999, so the XE1 needs to be one level above that. Will buy a local XE1 at $1599 (this is the current Europe pricing now) in a heart beat, code free or not. guys, please show your support. If the ppl in this hobby forum are not even willing to pay a bit more for a premium product, it just shows that the Toshiba management are right: there is no local market, and s'poreans are really more cost conscious. I paid $1400 for the XA1, $1300 for a E1 import, and was abt to pay $1500 for a XE1 import. $1599 is reasonable for me. It's still cheaper than the Denon 3930, and Pio 989 when it was just launched. Phil I hope in the end you dun have to see Toshiba ppl red-faced. There ARE a lot of ppl here that are willing to pay more. Many of them dun post much though. (Sam, Jason Yeo, Oliver, Mascular, etc, where are you ? come and support Phil leh )
c7221624705751 Posted May 30, 2007 Posted May 30, 2007 bro, Phil is REALLY doing us a favor, and trying to show some evidence to Toshiba that there is a sizeable market. Now with the response he got, looks like he's going to look pretty bad. We are not here to say what we want, but what we can get based on reality. Phil had been trying to help to influence the industry to bringing in more HD gadgets. It's better to have options available than no option at all. XE1 is just one item. How abt more 1080p displays ? more bluray players ? I certainly do not want to see SG as being a market simply dismissed for any new tech gadgets.
digital601 Posted May 30, 2007 Posted May 30, 2007 It's the bugget conscious comsumer Toshiba need to get to. And HD DVD availability. and price!
Phil1624705739 Posted May 30, 2007 Author Posted May 30, 2007 It's the bugget conscious comsumer Toshiba need to get to. And HD DVD availability. and price! Not quite, particularly for the HD-XE1. Guys, appreciate all your contributions but can we get back to the original purpose of this thread? That's to indicate the interest level and acceptable pricing for this player. It was a firm no-show couple of months back but my latest exchange with Toshiba indicates a probable reversal. This is our last chance for a local high-end HD-DVD player and all eyes are on the E1 right now. This will indirectly impact the rest of the vendors and their HD players. Parallel importing is not a long term solution and our market will never grow fast enough this way. Phil
Jag Posted May 30, 2007 Posted May 30, 2007 I'd say YES, I 'll be interested IF the local pricing does not deviate significantly from those from the major markets, eg, US, HK..... I'll be willing to get a E1 for $500-600, and $800-1k for the XE1. As internet savvy users, we will all know what prices these machines (and their equivalents) will be sold in other markets of the world. I'm sure Toshiba wants their machines to have the first mover advantage so as to capture the large portion of the market. but how committed they are to HD-DVD depends on how aggressive they want to price their machines.
htfreak Posted May 30, 2007 Posted May 30, 2007 Give me SD region free, free discs and local warranty and I'd consider paying not more than $1400 for the XE1 which is what I paid for my parallel imported PS3. Only way to get the XE1 for $999 is to buy those ABC stickers and paste the letter X on a E1 player. ;D
petetherock Posted May 30, 2007 Posted May 30, 2007 Thats true, as a comparison, the Aussies are paying 1.3xx k Aus$ for theirs (XE1). But it seems they are looking forward to a region hack - not here yet
Guest jonlee Posted May 30, 2007 Posted May 30, 2007 Will buy local set, regardless of model, as long as the price is on par with internet price + shipping. That's the main reason I skipped the local Mit HC5000 and paid more for a JVC-HD1 local set instead. But believe it will be hard to beat the internet price of US$620 (inclusive of shipping) for the XA2 -> any set must be less than S$1k, else will sure get from the net the XA2. Opps...btw, my XA2 is on the way. ;D
lwm99 Posted May 30, 2007 Posted May 30, 2007 HD-E1 at $999. 1080p version in Oct/Nov. I still find price too steep for me, especially don't know which camp will win the format war. http://asia.cnet.com/reviews/home_av/others/0,39037627,62016699,00.htm
HT102 Posted May 30, 2007 Posted May 30, 2007 Though I still find E1 at S$999 a little too high, I am willing to fork out S$1.5k for the XE1 if its SD-DVD playback can be region free.
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