A large part in my change in philosophy must be credited to the Playstation 3 and the availability of cheap Blu-ray players. In the same way that DVD became much more accessible once the price of the players dropped below $150, and game consoles (such as the Playstation 2) began integrating the functionality so that a video game system could also be a DVD player, a large part of the transition to Blu-ray must be credited to the price of the 120GB Playstation 3 dropping down to $300.
When the PS3 was first released, it was far too expensive for most consumers, listing a price tag of nearly $500 for a 20GB version and $600 for a 60GB system. Unlike the PS2 which had several years for the DVD to rise in popularity as a format, Blu-ray was a nascent format at the time of the PS3's release, in competition with the HD-DVD for becoming the new media of choice. With HD-DVD's declaring itself the loser of the format war last year, the electronic manufacturers and movie studios have committed their resources to Blu-ray. With the addition of the Digital TV transition this year in June, more homes this year are ready for the high definition capabilities of Blu-ray than at the release of PS3 in November of 2006.
With prices of Blu-ray players now hitting the consumer sweet spot of $150, and Blu-ray prices dropping to DVD-level prices, it's no wonder that retailers such as Amazon have a section for cheap Blu-ray discs costing $7.99 to $25. For Black Friday, there are some pretty good titles in the mix too, such as the Harry Potter movies for $10 each, most Star Trek movies being under $10, and some James Bond movies for about $9 each.
Leave a comment