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Custom Installers, Retailers Seeing Little Interest in Blu-ray, HD DVD
Client awareness and interest in either format is missing, dealers say.
The holiday shopping season is underway and, by all accounts, sales of Blu-ray and HD DVD hardware have been slow.
But what's going on at the dealer level? How well are manufacturers telling their story, and how are dealers and customers reacting to that message?
I've been very upfront with my opinion -- and the opinion of Systems Inc. -- both in person and on the Internet, but I wanted to get a grasp of what's happening in the field, so I made some phone calls to friends and acquaintances in both the custom and mass-market retail channel to hear what they had to say.
Unsurprisingly, custom firms have little interest in either format until it has proven itself. We all know that the client's home is not the place to beta test new ideas.
Like Systems Inc., Victor Cypher's EvTek Pro in Chicago is a full custom firm. He says that client awareness and interest in either format is nonexistent.
"Unfortunately, we haven't had any interest in these players yet. I just picked up one of each to start playing with them." He has no short term plans to begin promoting either format in EvTek Pro's proposals.
But what's going on in the retail channel? According to an employee of A&B Sound, a western Canadian retail chain, speaking on a condition of anonymity, it has been difficult to get the message out to consumers.
"It's hard to make a judgment one way or the other since we don't carry Samsung so we have no Blu-ray in the store. The [Toshiba] HD DVD player looks fantastic. And with Toshiba releasing their second generation HD DVD player very soon, I might be thinking that this war is over before it even begins."
Still, he admits that support for HD DVD has been light. "We still tell customers to wait until the companies get their acts together and then decide."
A&B Sound, like many other big-box retailers, sells software titles in addition to hardware. But that isn't making the sale of the players any easier. "We have a selection of HD DVD and even a couple of Blu-ray titles upstairs, and it has actually caused a lot of people to come downstairs and ask about the player. But they are confused because neither Toshiba nor Sony has done a very good marketing job."
A recent study from the Consumer Electronics Association (CEA) and CNet has found that even early adopters aren't familiar with everything high-def DVDs have to offer.
This perspective was reinforced at Future Shop, a Canada-wide big-box retailer and subsidiary of Best Buy. Speaking on a condition of anonymity, a Future Shop employee confessed that neither HD DVD nor Blu-ray sales were very hot.
"Neither format is really ready for prime time. Hardware is slow to hit the shelves, and without it there's no point in going deep on stocking software titles. Consumer awareness, let alone acceptance, is just not there," he says.
From all corners of the CE industry, it looks like it's going to be a cold, lonely Christmas for the two competing high-definition disc formats. Until we see a clear winner, we at Systems Inc. are recommending and specifying DVD players that scale and upconvert from 480p to 720p or 1080i.
When used in conjunction with a properly calibrated video display, the results are spectacular. Better yet, the client has millions of DVD titles to choose from when they go shopping, and don't risk ending up with a one thousand dollar doorstop in two year's time.
Lee Distad is a System Designer for Systems Inc., a high-end audio/video and automation firm in Edmonton, Alberta. For 19 years, Systems Inc. has provided consolidated design, installation and project management services for new home construction and renovation. Lee's business and industry blog can be read at www.businessopinions.blogspot.com
But what's going on at the dealer level? How well are manufacturers telling their story, and how are dealers and customers reacting to that message?
I've been very upfront with my opinion -- and the opinion of Systems Inc. -- both in person and on the Internet, but I wanted to get a grasp of what's happening in the field, so I made some phone calls to friends and acquaintances in both the custom and mass-market retail channel to hear what they had to say.
Custom Installers Not Seeing Interest
Unsurprisingly, custom firms have little interest in either format until it has proven itself. We all know that the client's home is not the place to beta test new ideas.
Like Systems Inc., Victor Cypher's EvTek Pro in Chicago is a full custom firm. He says that client awareness and interest in either format is nonexistent.
"Unfortunately, we haven't had any interest in these players yet. I just picked up one of each to start playing with them." He has no short term plans to begin promoting either format in EvTek Pro's proposals.
Retailers Waiting For Manufacturers to Get Act Together
But what's going on in the retail channel? According to an employee of A&B Sound, a western Canadian retail chain, speaking on a condition of anonymity, it has been difficult to get the message out to consumers.
"It's hard to make a judgment one way or the other since we don't carry Samsung so we have no Blu-ray in the store. The [Toshiba] HD DVD player looks fantastic. And with Toshiba releasing their second generation HD DVD player very soon, I might be thinking that this war is over before it even begins."
Still, he admits that support for HD DVD has been light. "We still tell customers to wait until the companies get their acts together and then decide."
A&B Sound, like many other big-box retailers, sells software titles in addition to hardware. But that isn't making the sale of the players any easier. "We have a selection of HD DVD and even a couple of Blu-ray titles upstairs, and it has actually caused a lot of people to come downstairs and ask about the player. But they are confused because neither Toshiba nor Sony has done a very good marketing job."
A recent study from the Consumer Electronics Association (CEA) and CNet has found that even early adopters aren't familiar with everything high-def DVDs have to offer.
This perspective was reinforced at Future Shop, a Canada-wide big-box retailer and subsidiary of Best Buy. Speaking on a condition of anonymity, a Future Shop employee confessed that neither HD DVD nor Blu-ray sales were very hot.
"Neither format is really ready for prime time. Hardware is slow to hit the shelves, and without it there's no point in going deep on stocking software titles. Consumer awareness, let alone acceptance, is just not there," he says.
One Expensive Doorstop?
From all corners of the CE industry, it looks like it's going to be a cold, lonely Christmas for the two competing high-definition disc formats. Until we see a clear winner, we at Systems Inc. are recommending and specifying DVD players that scale and upconvert from 480p to 720p or 1080i.
When used in conjunction with a properly calibrated video display, the results are spectacular. Better yet, the client has millions of DVD titles to choose from when they go shopping, and don't risk ending up with a one thousand dollar doorstop in two year's time.
Lee Distad is a System Designer for Systems Inc., a high-end audio/video and automation firm in Edmonton, Alberta. For 19 years, Systems Inc. has provided consolidated design, installation and project management services for new home construction and renovation. Lee's business and industry blog can be read at www.businessopinions.blogspot.com
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