Sticker Shock (High Def DVD/Blu-Ray Players)

With Toshiba launching their first HD DVD player (HD-XA1 @ $936) in Japan today and Sony launching their Blu-Ray player (BDP-S1 @ $1000) in July, some people are whining about the prices of these players. Most people are not early adopters anyway, only those that want the cutting edge of technology need apply. "But that's just way too expensive" you say. That's the price of new technology folks, just the same as our beloved DVD was when it was first launched way back in 1997.

Sony's DVD-S700 was released in Japan in March of 1997 for approximately $933(US).



Not many had the inclination nor the money to acquire one at launch, but in the end, most of the US households have some sort of dvd playback device in their homes - and you can get one dirt cheap.

Even prior to these devices - Selectavision, the first VCR released in the US, was about $1000, while Sony's first CD player (CDP-101) was over $900.

So get over the sticker shock of 1st generation players - you should know the drill by now.