HD-DVD group accused of panic price drop
Rob Jones, Personal Computer World 12 Jan 2006
The uneasy peace between the Blu-ray and HD-DVD high definition video camps has descended into another row, following accusations of panic price cutting by the HD-DVD standards group before products even hit the shelves.
...
High definition players and PC optical drives are expected to be released by spring. Prices were expected to be high, but the HD-DVD group caught out the industry by announcing that it was dropping the cost of its players to as little as $499.
Peter Weedfeld, senior vice president of consumer electronics at Samsung, said the move was bad for everyone, especially consumers, who would be caught in a damaging VHS v Betamax type standards war.
'You drop your prices when you are fearful of what your volume sales will be. I've never heard of a standard and technology price being dropped before it launches,' said Weedfeld.
...
But Jodi Sally, vice president of marketing for Toshiba's Digital AV group, a key supporter of HD-DVD, dismissed suggestions of a panic move.
She said that the decision was based on consumer research, which looked at what price would accelerate the adoption of players.
'We received such an excellent response from retailers that we were able to increase our production efficiency and so were able to lower the price.
'We also developed a $499 model as consumer research indicated that was a price that created a more mass market acceptance among consumers.'
...
Read the entire article here: http://www.pcw.co.uk/personal-computer-world/news/2148475/definition-spat-panic-pricing
Rob Jones, Personal Computer World 12 Jan 2006
The uneasy peace between the Blu-ray and HD-DVD high definition video camps has descended into another row, following accusations of panic price cutting by the HD-DVD standards group before products even hit the shelves.
...
High definition players and PC optical drives are expected to be released by spring. Prices were expected to be high, but the HD-DVD group caught out the industry by announcing that it was dropping the cost of its players to as little as $499.
Peter Weedfeld, senior vice president of consumer electronics at Samsung, said the move was bad for everyone, especially consumers, who would be caught in a damaging VHS v Betamax type standards war.
'You drop your prices when you are fearful of what your volume sales will be. I've never heard of a standard and technology price being dropped before it launches,' said Weedfeld.
...
But Jodi Sally, vice president of marketing for Toshiba's Digital AV group, a key supporter of HD-DVD, dismissed suggestions of a panic move.
She said that the decision was based on consumer research, which looked at what price would accelerate the adoption of players.
'We received such an excellent response from retailers that we were able to increase our production efficiency and so were able to lower the price.
'We also developed a $499 model as consumer research indicated that was a price that created a more mass market acceptance among consumers.'
...
Read the entire article here: http://www.pcw.co.uk/personal-computer-world/news/2148475/definition-spat-panic-pricing
