ETA and pricing of upcoming BD standalones

[Ruined]

For those waiting for one of the newer, faster, and more fully-featured BD standalone players, here are the ETAs for when they will arrive according to internal Walmart documents, plus some other info such as pricing, BD profile, and how they handle nextgen audio codecs:

Phillips BD-7200 (Profile 1.1, bitstreaming) - Available now - $350 street
Samsung BD-1500 (Profile 1.1, bitstreaming) - Start of May - $350 street
Sylvania/Funai (Profile 1.1, bitstreaming) - Start of May - $300 street
Panasonic DMP-BD50 (Profile 2.0, full internal decoding) - End of May - $550 street
(expect street pricing of the DMP-BD30 to drop to $350-$400 upon the arrival of the BD50)
Sony BDP-S350 (Profile 1.1, bitstreaming) - July - $350 street
Sony BDP-S550 (Profile 2.0, full internal decoding) - August - $450 street

Profile 1.1 = True PiP-capable for extra features such as In-Movie Experience Video Commentary
Profile 2.0 = Internet-capable for downloadable extras and online features

Also, there is no indication that it will be sold at Walmart like the above players supposedly will be but a Pioneer rep on AVS has stated that the:
Pioneer Elite BDP-05FD (Profile 1.1, full internal decoding) - has been delayed until August.

[Sehnzeleid]

Originally Posted by Ruined

For those waiting for one of the newer, faster, and more fully-featured BD standalone players...

...but not really "cheaper"...

[Ruined]

Originally Posted by Sehnzeleid

...but not really "cheaper"...

I dunno, I see a ton of players that are supposed to street at $350. That may create more competition and lower prices - though there is nothing in the $250 ballpark unfortunately.

[biglyle]

Originally Posted by Ruined

I dunno, I see a ton of players that are supposed to street at $350. That may create more competition and lower prices - though there is nothing in the $250 ballpark unfortunately.

I think they will need $250 players by the Christmas rush to really get the ball rolling. $250 may just be low enough to get fence sitters into the water, especially if its bundled with a flick or two.

[ganthc]

I think there will be cheaper prices by Christmas, definitely. Especially if Sylvania/Funai players keep undercutting the more established brands. But considering the Sony and Samsung brands are just slightly higher, I think there is room for price dropping as CEs compete for the emerging bd market of consumers.

[Wirehed]

Walmart is going to sell a $550 player?

[videoworx]

The Samsung 1500 has been delayed until June, and will be 2.0 compliant. DTS-HD (no mention of MA) will be added with a firmware update. MSRP is unchanged.

[Ruined]

Originally Posted by Wirehed

Walmart is going to sell a $550 player?

Apparently, according to a Walmart insider. Remember the BD50 is the most anticipated BD standalone probably ever, so even though it is expensive it may be a hot item.

[Wirehed]

Originally Posted by Ruined

Apparently, according to a Walmart insider. Remember the BD50 is the most anticipated BD standalone probably ever, so even though it is expensive it may be a hot item.

That's an interesting thing to note in itself.

[ganthc]

Originally Posted by Ruined

Apparently, according to a Walmart insider. Remember the BD50 is the most anticipated BD standalone probably ever, so even though it is expensive it may be a hot item.

I still don't see how it justifies a $100 premium over the Sony player that seems to have the same credentials.

[Ruined]

Originally Posted by ganthc

I still don't see how it justifies a $100 premium over the Sony player that seems to have the same credentials.

It comes out 2-3 months earlier, that's how. I'm sure once the BDP-S550 is released Panasonic will drop the MSRP on the BD50 to $499. But until then, Panasonic pretty much owns the higher-end standalone market by themselves. They have the only BD2.0 standalone player w/ full internal decoding (and bitstreaming too!) until the S550 comes out, so until that point they can charge a premium for their technology.

[dugpa]

Those prices all look reasonable. I don't get why people are bitching. Hell, I've never bought a regular dvd player that cost less than $350 (not counting computer drives). Seems like $350-$450 to have near perfection high definition films in your own home is a small price to pay.

[Wirehed]

Originally Posted by dugpa

Those prices all look reasonable. I don't get why people are bitching. Hell, I've never bought a regular dvd player that cost less than $350 (not counting computer drives). Seems like $350-$450 to have near perfection high definition films in your own home is a small price to pay.

I agree.

[Dogg]

While I tend to agree with the whole "you get what you pay for" deal (in regards to value for your money) and although I consider myself a movie buff who uses the DVD player nightly either for movies or TV shows, $350+ is still a big investment for me. Especially considering that to get the full benefits of the technology, I also need to upgrade my AVR.

[Ruined]

Originally Posted by Dogg

While I tend to agree with the whole "you get what you pay for" deal (in regards to value for your money) and although I consider myself a movie buff who uses the DVD player nightly either for movies or TV shows, $350+ is still a big investment for me. Especially considering that to get the full benefits of the technology, I also need to upgrade my AVR.

To be honest its probably not worth upgrading your AVR unless you want to upgrade it for some other reason, like a better amp. While the nextgen audio codecs do provide a signficant improvement over DVD, that improvement is small beans compared to the massive video improvement.

[videoworx]

The Funai player will cost $280 at Wal-Mart (it will be Magnavox branded, model # NB500). Wal-Mart wants $348 for the Samsung BD-1500, and the Panasonic BD-30 is only dropping to $448.