There is
a story over at DigiTimes, that's saying Taiwan makers were a bit surprised at
the lower than expect debut pricing of both Blu-ray and HD-DVD players. Although
compared to what we are used to paying for DVD players, the price hardly seems
low, it is going to make it tougher for FVD or Forward Versatile
Disc players to catch on, even in the Asian market.
 The
HD-DVD group, led by Toshiba, showcased an entry-level HD-DVD player model
with a recommended retail price of US$499, about half the price originally
expected by market experts, the Taiwanese ODD makers pointed out. Pioneer
and Samsung, two members of the Blu-ray Disc (BD) group, exhibited BD
players with recommended retail prices between US$1,000-1,800, 30-50%
lower than the US$2,000-2,500 expected by market experts, the sources
said.
The lower-than-expected price implies that the BD and HD-DVD
camps will try to gain market share through pricing, the sources noted.
Although FVD currently has a competitive advantage in price, the narrower
price gap between HD-DVD and BD players and FVD players will bring more
competitive pressure to bear on the FVD format, the ODD makers
stated. |
Source: DigiTimes
