Thinking of going Blu-ray? Hold on for the holidays.
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The bad news is that the economy is in a tailspin. The good news is that it might result in plunging prices for consumer electronic products during the coming holiday shopping season, especially for Blu-ray disc players that show movies in high-definition. ‘There’s talk of Blu-ray players hitting $200 pricing or even $149 for older models or less-known brands,’ said Ross Robin, analyst for NPD Group.
The $149ers probably won’t have BD-live, an Internet hookup for downloadable games, IM chat and other online features designed for Blu-ray. But if you care only about watching movies in high-def on your HDTV, you can skip the newfangled online stuff.
Keep in mind, however, that the low price for players could be deceptive. Although the players might get down to around $150 each, Blu-ray movie discs cost about $30 apiece. It would be like getting a shaving razor for cheap and then paying a relative fortune for the blades. Or paying a pittance for a computer printer and going broke on replacement cartridges. Insert your own analogy here.
—David Colker
/ Associated Press
