Cheaper BDP on the Horizon

Today Engadget is reporting on the announcement of Sony’s upcoming BDP-S300, a ‘low-end’ Blu-ray player. My first thoughts were basically the same as theirs. Sony is announcing a cheaper model, with all the same features of it’s big brother, why? I would tend to assume it’s because Blu-ray isn’t taking off like they’d hoped, but how could you expect it to?

With every new technology there are a group of people to take the plunge immediately, but it takes time for a new standard, to become the standard. There are a few things holding success back, in my mind. First, is Blu-ray’s direct competitor, found in the HDDVD format. A quick search of Best Buy’s website, reveals an HDDVD player at half the price of Sony’s Blu-ray player. Next, not nearly everyone has an HDTV. While the idea is nice, without a display to play HD media, I sure wouldn’t be racing out to buy a player. This, however, is bound to change, with the impending shutoff of analog broadcasting.

Another barrier to entry for the BDP-S1 (the current model) is Sony’s own PS3. I’m not sure if it’s exactly the situation, but it seems to me that the, now readily available and in stock, PS3 might be cannibalizing sales of standalone players. Why, I would ask, would you buy a standalone player for $999.99 when you can save $400 and go with the top-end PS3? Not only does it play Blu-ray movies, but also, it offers excellent next [this]-gen gaming experiences, like Sonic the Hedgehog (notice internet sarcasm). But, in all seriousness, it’s cheaper and has numerous additional features. Even if you aren’t interested in gaming, at all, it is the economical choice.

It is, however, promising to see the next iteration in Sony’s BDP line, offering a substantial price cut, even if it is only to $600 (still the same price as a high-end PS3). No matter how flashy the technology, no matter how many gigabytes of data you can cram onto a disc, price is the number one factor in broad adoption of a new technology. Now DVD players are prevalent in most homes across America. Well, another quick search of Best Buy brings up several results under $99, one, in fact, going for a mere $27.99. So, setting aside predictions of who will win the format war, it is going to take substantial price cuts in both HDTV’s and in High Definition players, to foster the broad adoption that both sides are eagerly awaiting.