Toshiba vs. Blu-Ray: Round 2
Toshiba comes out swinging with a one, two knock out combination in the form of a new red laser DVD player the XD-E500. How would you like a DVD player that upconverts to 720p, 1080i and 1080p for an introductory price of $150.! In fact I’ve already seen XD-E500 player advertised as low as $99. from big box retailers. Consumers have spoken loud and clear that Blu-Ray’s offerings are hardly enough to warrant the investment of new players and the higher price of titles. As I mentioned in my earlier article “Will Blu-Ray ever have it’s day” some industry analyst mistook the introduction of Blu-Ray as the second coming of DVD; when in fact they have very little in common. DVD offered a huge improvement in home entertainment audio & video quality. Blu-Ray offers an improvement that a majority of consumers can’t even appreciate even when viewing a 50” or larger 1080p flat panel and listening to a 7.1 channel THX Ultra2 surround system. Anything smaller than that and the difference is quite frankly trivial to even the most astute viewer.
Blu-Ray players that entered the market at $600+ are still holding steady at $399. For a marketplace that has grown accustomed to disposable DVD players for $70 that is a price they are simply not willing to accept and it shows. Quarterly Blu-Ray sales projections have consistently fallen well short of their mark. Sales of the Sony PS3 was enough to push the Blu-Ray format over the hump and snuff out HD-DVD but even though PS3 sales remain strong and game sales are out of control Blu-Ray movie titles have reaped little benefit if any from the short lived triumph.
Now enters Toshiba once again with its stealthy XD-E500 delivering what I feel may be the deciding factor in the demise of Blu-Ray. The XD-E500 player offers and notable improvement in quality to satisfy the video enthusiasts but at a price point that equally satisfies your average consumer and there home entertainment budgets. Let’s not forget the Sony, the parents of Blu-Ray, are also one of the leading manufacturers on the advancement of the latest 4K technology. The question must be asked; how long is Sony willing to keep 4K advancements on the back burner to help limp along the red headed step child they’ve acquired in Blu-Ray.
by Jason Levert