Target to only sell Blu-ray players in stores
Everyone's favorite wasteful format war took another strange twist today, with the AP reporting that Target will only stock Blu-ray players in its retail stores -- specifically, Sony's $499 BDP-S300. The decision, which Target and Sony are due to announce tomorrow, doesn't include Target's website, Xbox 360 HD DVD drive, or HD DVD movies, so it's not a particularly huge win for Blu-ray, with even Target saying things like "We are not proclaiming one format vs. the other as the preferred consumer technology." Still, coupled with Blockbuster's decision to only stock Blu-ray discs, it looks like the format war might be fought and won at the retailer level, not by consumers.[Thanks, Keith]
Filed under: HDTV
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Blakamin @ Jul 26th 2007 1:26AM
but the big question is "what will Wal-Mart do"?
Andrew @ Jul 26th 2007 2:06AM
According to their website they're doing the exact same thing. The BDP-300 is the only player you can check store availability for.
http://www.walmart.com/search/browse-ng.do?ic=20_0&ref=125875.331064&catNavId=62055
Bryan @ Jul 26th 2007 2:46AM
Walmart is already giving shelf space to BluRay new releases even at small stores. I just saw tonight that "Bridge to Terabithia" and "Ghost Rider" have spots in the new release section at my small local Supercenter.
SteveMB @ Jul 26th 2007 1:42AM
Blakamin, I think that Wal-Mart was actually going to sell an HD-DVD player.
http://www.mybeautifulkatamari.com
Dave @ Jul 26th 2007 2:05AM
this rocks!!! :p
JTM @ Jul 26th 2007 2:17AM
I think I could be happy with either but not both so I'm glad the retailers have sided with one. I think Universal Studios is the only film studio not supporting Blu-Ray at this point. They need to get on the wagon.
Dan @ Jul 26th 2007 2:25AM
Universal has an agreement to be exclusive with HD DVD until mid 2008. Universal has mentioned that they will produce both HD DVD and Blu Ray through 2008. So yeah, the format war is coming to an end.
dj-kenpo @ Jul 26th 2007 2:24AM
I could care less who wins, I just want cheapo burners and media, and thta won't happen till one side wins and then the oems can invest in the tech rather than holding back and waiting.
I'm tired of 4/8gb disks. I want my 25 or 30gb disks. whichever wins the faster the better.
ark_v2 @ Jul 26th 2007 2:37AM
I want one format to win fast too, but in the end it might not end really well. If one of the formats dominates the market too fast they'll price their products as high as they want. A little more competence won't hurt, but it looks like Blu-ray is owning HD DVD right now.
dj-kenpo @ Jul 26th 2007 11:19AM
I don't think so. dvd dominated the market on it's own. burners dropped in price as more oems manufactured them. that's the case that won't happen until one side wins with this format, it's pretty simple. if someone isn't winning, why invest in an assembly plant that might be a complete waste in 2 years.
prices WON'T drop until someone wins, not the other way around. competetion between oems is what's wanted here, not between camps
tekdroid @ Jul 26th 2007 3:02PM
dj-kenpo @ Jul 26th 2007 11:19AM
I don't think so. dvd dominated the market on it's own. burners dropped in price as more oems manufactured them.
-----------
DVDs burners took an age to come down from stratospheric heights, and the catalyst was CSS being broken. Before that, it was only used for (expensive) data chores.
That's how I remember it. Not competition between OEMs. DVD players, then recorders, were too highly priced for many many many years.
dj-kenpo @ Jul 26th 2007 3:38PM
ya, I remeber dvdr's costing $20 each. it took about 5 years for them to drop to the $50 mark, but I don't think that's bad, it's too be expected, I don't expect to see blu-ray or hd-dvd burners for $50 until about 5 years from either now, or when one wins.
dj-kenpo @ Jul 26th 2007 3:40PM
sorry, what I mean is, for the burners to drop to $50, not the media... just so there's no confusion. wouldn't want any confusion on guesstimating the future after all.
mg @ Jul 26th 2007 2:30AM
Well, blu-ray profile 1.1 becomes mandatory in November, so I wouldn't be buying blu-ray at the moment - probably why the sony 300 is being discounted (is that right?). However, the Toshiba HD-DVD I'm considering seriously: it's cheap enough so I won't feel bad if I have to ditch it in 12 months time. I'm pretty new to this, having just looked in detail at it all in the last couple of weeks, and my gut feel is that blu-ray is going to win out because it has a lot more over HD-DVD on the technical side, the problem is price - HD-DVD looks to have the price edge.
Travis @ Jul 26th 2007 12:37PM
Can the Sony player not be upgraded?
Also, I looked at the Walmart link given above and the details for the Toshiba player say 1080i, so I guess it can't do 1080p? Although it's definitely a good price at $298.
I'm not really sure who would buy a $500 Blu-Ray player instead of just getting a PS3. The only reason I can come up with is that it probably doesn't get as hot and it comes with a remote. Other than that who would completely give up the option to play games, do photo slideshows, play mp3s, and watch h.264 encoded HD videos?
CircleK @ Jul 26th 2007 2:32AM
Perhaps i'm thinking way outside the box, but don't retailers sell the product to consumers? How then can retailers win this war, when at the end of the day the consumer buys the product. The consumer will buy what they want. Consumer demand is what influences what retailers sell. At the end of the day, the consumer will still decide this battle.
emjoi @ Jul 26th 2007 2:41AM
It's hard to sell to a customer when you can't give him a clear message.
"These are the players, these are the disks, these are the screens". The FUD involved in "Well, these 2 formats look and act almost the same but they don't work together, and one of them might be gone in a year" just confuses and puts customers off.
And it's hell for the poor dumb Target sales guy who doesn't know much about anything, and has to sell the damn things.
Michael @ Jul 26th 2007 2:44AM
I had the same thought you did, since the wording of the post isn't too great. I think what the post meant to convey is that the war may be won by a specific camp if it makes a bunch of deals with retailers to provide its product exclusively or if a company simply decides to majorly back one format over the other (like this and Blockbuster could be seen as).
You're right though, it should be consumers who make the decision. I'd find it pretty pathetic for one format to win over the other by simply limiting consumers' choices down to only one at the retailer level, instead of letting them decide for themselves.
On the other hand, maybe it'd bring a resolution much sooner. Personally, I don't care much. All I say is if a dual-format player could get down to $500, I'd ditch my Xbox HD add-on, and be pleased to not have to deal with the war anymore.
Sean @ Jul 26th 2007 2:48AM
Maybe the consumers have already spoken and Target has seen through the sales of bluray and decided to only stock BD.
Also to the argument that HD-DVD cost less is pointless. Why would someone by a player that isn't going to be useful in a couple of years. In all honestly it is obvious that bluray is going to win. In 2 or 3 years it will be difficult to get the hd-dvd movies you want.
Evan @ Jul 26th 2007 3:39AM
@emjoi
Wow, you don't give us Target employees much love do you? Funny thing is I'm not the least bit offended because I agree with you. I bet I am the only one reading Engadget at my store and they locked me in the back room!
Personally I will continue to stay with HD DVD until they either die or pull off the upset of the technological ages. If I have to I will put some money down on a dual format player when the time comes. It is a shame that consumers have never really gotten the chance to make a real choice on the issue. If everyone was format neutral I doubt Blu Ray would have won (still haven't yet!) I mean, seriously, how many of us wouldn't have enjoyed another Sony proprietary format failure. I guess they are do for a winner after so many failed attempts.
Still got my fingers crossed for HD DVD. To those who have posted anything about Universal producing Blu Ray discs you need to link to your information, as I have never heard any statement even close to that. The only better resolution to this war is if Warner Bros wins!!! (Total HD Disc)
Karan @ Jul 26th 2007 4:45AM
@CircleK,
The law is of Supply And Demand, not just Demand. If you can't buy a HD-DVD player or rent the discs from your local Blockbuster, your demand will most likely morph to the one which has supply. With only one studio exclusive to HD-DVD, BD has the edge here.
Ben Hobbs @ Jul 26th 2007 7:50AM
neither is it just supply, you could simply buy elsewhere, It's pretty daft to think people will instantly buy the twice as expensive system due to availability, they will just not purchase instead.
HD DVD's trick up its sleave is the fact it's not region locked - Many of the Blu-Ray "exclusive" films are available in Europe on HD-DVD. Still its all about cheaper players, there won't be a "winner" until they stop making DVD's anymore.
Nando @ Jul 26th 2007 2:56AM
burned!
JPQsat @ Jul 26th 2007 3:30AM
I have both a HD-A1 and a PS3 and i really think that this war has to stop and fast. They are killing the market right now.
I live in a small city with a population of 30 000 poeples. Our only store with Blu-Ray and HD-DVD is Wal-Mart. They have all of the last releases, every weeks, just like in any other bigger town. The manager at the electronic department told me last week that they will stop selling HD disk at the end of the month. He says that we are only a dozen who bought HD disk and that i am probably the only one with a HD-DVD player in town. They sell a maximum of 5 to 6 disks a week and it take too much shelves spaces to be profitable.
So the only thing this war is bringing is fear. Nobody want to put their money on a format that is not safe, and the longer this war last, the longer it will take for the average guy to thrust the technology.
So yes, i really hope that big retailer choose one format once and for all. A year ago, i was in the HD DVD camp and was hoping that sony fail. But now, i really don't care who win, i just hope they will win fast.
WhyNotV2 @ Jul 26th 2007 8:39AM
"They sell a maximum of 5 to 6 disks a week and it take too much shelves spaces to be profitable."
Thing is, that's the way it is in most retail stores. They sell far fewer BlueRay or HDDVD movies because of the price. Most consumers are perfectly fine with the current DVD format at the $14-20 price point for DVDs and $50 for a player.
Nfinity @ Jul 26th 2007 4:46AM
Well I think that this news is worded as Target EXCLUSIVELY supporting Blu-Ray which is false. Again, very dissapointing news reporting. It's really disgusting.
Now back to topic, if they stock Blu-Ray ONLY it's their loss, whoever chooses to offer sub $200 HD DVD players this holiday season will make a huge profit. I don't think this will happen with Target. Unless they are stupid, or again Sony made some financial compensation promises and deals with Target(which is really not far fetched), this is a very poor management decision to come out public with this announcement. There's absolutely NO valid statistic that they are going by. They didn't have hi-def players Blu-ray or HD DVD before on sale, they only had movies and even with that I've seen in many Target stores HD DVD sections almost always empty and Blu-Ray stacked. So wording their Blu-Ray support like this makes me think that Sony paid them good chunk of money.
I mean just think about it, what's easier to sell and I mean it's TARGET not JCPenny or Dillards, a $150-$200 player or $400-$500 player? I would agree that they might $20-$50 per HD DVD player against possibly $100 profit on Blu-Ray players, but still, cheaper is EASIER to sell. I would've picked up another HD DVD player for my bedroom at my local Target to be honest, but now I'll be buying it online probably from another store.
Stellarpimp @ Jul 26th 2007 5:18AM
You can't be serious. Did you make it past the title of the entry? It does not say Target is going exclusively Blu-Ray. It says it will still offer HD-DVD players and movies online. Only the retail stores will sell ONLY Blu-Ray players. You totally wasted your time even typing.
As for nobody having any real facts supporting Blu-Ray outselling HD-DVD on a margin of 3:1 you must live in a cave. Do your research...provide a few links...do something to support your claim. Because at this time your whole entry is pure rubbish.
Deluxe @ Jul 26th 2007 8:50AM
Stellarpimp, I think 'Rubbish' is too kind ;)
Grant @ Jul 26th 2007 8:31AM
this is a dirty DIRTY format war going on.
i guess on one hand, blu-ray is outselling HD-DVD, mostly since PS3 owners can only use their PS3 for watching movies, lol.
but on the other hand, every target i go to has a plentiful stock of PS3's, and i would think they would feel kinda burned for having to shell out for Sony's "hot item" thats not moving.
damn you big business, LET THE PEOPLE DECIDE!!!
Matt B @ Jul 26th 2007 11:01AM
I bought my PS3 at Target. I play more games on it than watch movies.
Grant @ Jul 26th 2007 4:28PM
well then, you sir,
are the minority.
WhyNotV2 @ Jul 26th 2007 8:40AM
I haven't bought either. I have far too much invested in my movie library and merely bought an upconverted DVD player. If I do decide to jump to a side, it will be HD format simply because it makes most sense to me. Okay, the capacity isn't as high as the BlueRay, but the DVDs can all be pressed on the current equipment so they are cheaper to manufacture and thus cheaper to buy.
ExYLE @ Jul 26th 2007 8:50AM
i haven't looked it up in a bit but it seems, like its not decided by consumers at all this time, much like VHS vs Beta (pr0n industry decided that). as most actual studios (directors, crew, tech guys) prefer HD-DVD where as the "studios" as a business only care about highest bidder, if hd-dvd offers 1$ for loyalty and Sony offers 2$ they are going to go with the bigger profit. and as far as consumers deciding many ppl don't know the difference, and if its near impossible to find a store to carry players/media for the preferred format then they will have to 1. travel further to find one, or 2. buy online, which many people don't like doing. so overall it comes down to convenience, which is more readily available. and the SD DVD format war isn't even done yet (dvd-r(w) vs. dvd+r(w)). so once again its the big business that is deciding our future.
Galley @ Jul 26th 2007 9:15AM
WooHoo! My favorite store goes "Blu"!
Mr Smarty Pants @ Jul 26th 2007 9:40AM
That is one cute puppy! *scratches ears*
Gordy @ Jul 26th 2007 9:47AM
IIRC, Beta was effectively killed when video stores only stocked VHS movies back in the mid 80's. I remember it well, since I bought a Betamax recorder. Looks like Sony has learned well.
I, for one, will continue to download my movies.
craig @ Jul 26th 2007 11:00AM
I consider myself format neutral, but currently own an HD-DVD player for one reason...price. (well ok and that it's ethernet equipped for updates and has had full audio capability since inception..). I look at it like this, eventually i'll probably buy a BD player...when they get to about $250 which is what i paid for my HD-DVD player. Bottom line is when (if) BD comes out on top, i don't feel that i lost a ton of money, and my HD-DVD player and movies will just be relegated to the other room.
I know my local Target's not moving the PS3's they have, so i don't know how the standalone BD players will fare.
Furthermore, if you're in the know, then you realize it's pretty foolish to buy a BD player until after October anyway...
mg @ Jul 26th 2007 3:07PM
That's about the best reply here. I think this year 2007 is too early to see, but at least now we're getting a feel for the dynamics of the market. Next year 2008 will be more of a decider. The prices are starting to come down into the territory where consumers will take the risk. The problem is that most people are reluctant to take a $500 punt and find that in 2 years they have a brick.
Alain @ Jul 26th 2007 11:30AM
Anybody got statistics of PS3 sales vs. 360 HD-DVD Player? DVD uptake was quick because the improvements over VHS were obvious (let's not even get into LD's...), but with either of these HD formats, the benefits are far from clear to the average consumer... UNLESS they have a nice big, shiny HDTV sitting in their living room. I'd think that sales of either format will be slow until there are more HDTVs than standard TVs in people's homes.
Martin @ Jul 26th 2007 6:53PM
Oh Boo Hoo, Target is not supporting my HD-DVD! :(
Never mind I can't watch Pixar/Disney, James Bond, Sony movies, to name a few on my HD-DVD player.
Let the customer's decide? Um they have...More Blu-Ray movies are being sold at a 2 to 1 rate. Sounds like they know what they want.
"But they're watching them on a PS3 so it doesn't count!!!!" WAAAHHHAAA!!!
Even IF Sony gave them a financial consideration for this Target wouldn't take it if it wasn't worth their while.
The sooner we get to ONE DARN FORMAT THE BETTER!
GOOD FOR TARGET!
GOOD FOR HDTVs
GOOD FOR CONSUMERS.
MCT IMAGES Blog
Ben H @ Jul 30th 2007 8:11AM
Anyone hear that? Me neither, probably because of all the blu-ray fanboys have their foots in their mouth. Now let the excuses and fake indifference commence.
Blufactor @ Aug 3rd 2007 8:10PM
It's now official. Target DOESN'T CARRY HD-DVD PLAYERS ANY MORE. If you go over to the Target web site the HD-DVD link that use to have Toshiba HD-DVD players now only has 2 upscaling DVD players. A search of the entire site shows the only HD-DVD device they still offer is the xbox360 add on. This is now officially a hard blow to HD-DVD.