Get Better Gear!

Premier Sponsors

Other World Computing

TechRestore

Top 5 Free Apps

Release Date: August 05, 2009
Genre: Games
Release Date: May 22, 2009
Genre: Games
Release Date: August 29, 2009
Genre: Games
Release Date: March 27, 2009
Release Date: August 07, 2009

iTunes New Music Releases

Release Date: September 29, 2009
Genre: Rock
Release Date: September 20, 2009
Release Date: September 15, 2009
Release Date: August 25, 2009
Genre: Rock
Release Date: August 25, 2009

Top 5 Paid Apps

Release Date: April 22, 2009
StickWars $0.99
Release Date: March 31, 2009
Genre: Games
Bloons $0.99
Release Date: April 05, 2009
Genre: Games

Discover New Music

  • Zooropa

    • 10 out of 10
    • U2
    • This record is perhaps U2's finest hour, yet it has been forgotten as a strange by-product of the ZooTV tour's overload, and is generally regarded by most fans as a poor effort. It is this sentiment t
  • Playing the Angel

    • 8 out of 10
    • Depeche Mode
    • Oddly enough, Playing The Angel is a return to form for Depeche Mode, even though it may well be argued that they never truly deviated from their roots in their more recent offerings. In the

  • Haunted

    • 10 out of 10
    • Poe
    • Dropping like a bomb on some of the blah musical offerings of her contemporaries, Haunted was one of the best albums of 2000, obliterating the competition.

      Ostensibly a tie-in to her brot

  • Live at the Magic Bag, Ferndale, MI

    • 6 out of 10
    • Supersuckers
    • Man, there's nothing like good, old fashioned, rock and roll... add a bit of industry resentment to that with a double-shot of cynicism, and you get one of the best "new" rock bands going. This album
  • Plans

    • 8 out of 10
    • Death Cab for Cutie
    • With the introduction of Plans, Death Cab for Cutie became a new addition to many user's Artist list after the single "Soul Meets Body" became a hit on iTunes. Offering a fresh alternativ

Reader Specials

Visit Deals On The Web for the best deals on all consumer electronics, iPods, and more!

News

Report: Most Consumers Cite Other Priorities Besides Blu-ray

A report released by ABI Research on Friday showed that more than half of the respondents cited "other priorities" when asked about the purchase of a Blu-ray player.

In addition, less than one-fourth said they would be buying one in 2009. The ABI research included 1,000 respondents.

The value proposition of the Blu-ray technology was cited as the reason for much of the lukewarm response.

"Consumers were happy to embrace standard DVD when that format arrived because the improvement in quality over VHS videotapes was dramatic," said principal analyst Steve Wilson. "Standard DVD didn’t require the purchase of a new TV either. In contrast, while half of the respondents to our survey rated Blu-ray’s quality as ’much better’ than standard DVD, another 40% termed it only ’somewhat better,’ and most are very satisfied with the performance of their current DVD players."

Adding to the problem, Mr. Wilson said he expects tier one players to remain above US$300 for the rest of 2008. Also, for many, buying a Blu-ray player would require customers to buy a new HDTV to fully exploit the Blu-ray video quality.

The one positive noted in the report was the enthusiasm Sony PS3 owners have for the format. "While you might think gamers purchase fewer movie discs that others, we didn’t see any significant evidence of that in our results," said Mr. Wilson.

Sony itself has confirmed that it doesn’t expect to see Blu-ray players in the $200 range until 2009. That $200 number is cited by observers as the trigger point for the wide adoption of the new technology. For now, the manufacturers seem content to let the technology bubble slowly on the back burner while PS3 owners carry the brunt of raising volume and reducing manufacturing costs.

Post Your Comments

  Remember Me  Forgot your password?

Not a member? Register now. You can post comments without logging in, but they'll show up as a "guest" post.

Commenting is not available in this section entry.