Posted Tue Oct 27, 2009 at 01:00 PM PDT by Mike Attebery
The price of Blu-ray players has decreased significantly since last year, with even brands like Panasonic and Samsung getting in the sub $200 range. Analysts say that a $49 Black Friday deal isn’t out of the question.
In response to the question of holiday sale prices, “It’s conceivable we could see a $49 Blu-ray player on Black Friday” says Ross Rubin of the NPD. “Anything is possible.”
The NPD Group is one of the organizations that tracks pricing and sales data for consumer electronics in the retail environment. Their recent analysis shows a sharp increase in the number of lower priced Blu-ray players on the market. In between January to August of 2008, not a single sub $200 Blu-ray player was on the market, but in the same month range of 2009, 14% of all Blu-ray players cost less than two bills.
Interestingly, there were fewer players in the $200-$299 range in 2009 than in the previous year, but more in the $300-$399 range. This data supports the idea of a further polarized market, with low end gear on one side, high end gear on the other, and not too much in between.
Ross adds that one of the main features that seems to be selling Blu-ray players is streaming services, and that it’s no longer common to see big sales for players that don’t offer audio or video streaming.
Source: Video Business
See what people are saying about this story in our forums area, or check out other recent discussions.
The latest news on all things 4K Ultra HD, blu-ray and Gear.