We don't know for sure when Blu-ray Disc and HD DVD burners are coming to the UK (though the clever money is on Q4 or perhaps earlier for HD DVD), and we don't know how much they'll cost either. However, we do now know roughly how much the blank high-def media is set to sell for in UK High Street retail outlets.
For Blu-ray, we're expecting prices per single blank disc to be roughly:
* Blu-ray BD-R 25GB (unformatted) write once - £17
* Blu-ray BD-R 50GB (unformatted) write once - £20
* Blu-ray BD-RE 25GB (unformatted) rewritable - £20
* Blu-ray BD-RE 50GB (unformatted) rewritable - £30
For HD DVD, we're expecting prices per single blank disc to be roughly:
* HD DVD-R 15GB (unformatted) write once - £15
* HD DVD-R 30GB (unformatted) write once - £18
* HD DVD-RW 15GB (unformatted) rewritable - £18
* HD DVD-RW 30GB (unformatted) rewritable - £27
The above prices take no account of savings from multi-disc packs or buying in bulk or on the net.
Don't ask how we know and don't expect us to promise that these figures are dead right. All we can say is that we believe that that they will be representative of UK High Street prices when these blank discs initially come available.
Thoughts? Love to hear them in the HEXUS.community.
Update - June 19, 19:30
Over in the HEXUS.community,
our own Matt Davey pointed out that PLAY.com
is already advertising blank Blu-ray Disc media for sale, though not HD
DVD blanks as yet.
PLAY's prices for single Blu-ray Disc blanks (including delivery) are:
Sony Blu-Ray -RW 25GB Media Disc - £17.99 (we think that the correct description is BD-RE)
Sony Blu-Ray -R 25GB Media Disc - £14.99
So, a £2 premium for the sort of High Street store we had in mind sounds about right.
PLAY is also advertising Pioneer's "BDR-101A Blu-ray Disc/DVD Internal Writer" for £629.99 delivered but currently has no stock.
That's about £600 more than you'll have to pay for one of today's all-singing/dancing DVD burners but £20 cheaper than the price in the UK of the first DVD burner aimed at the public, the Pioneer A03, which went on sale in Q2, 2001 and could be had for £650.
This machine handled DVD-R and DVD-RW blanks and burned only at x1 speed. Back then, blank write-once DVD-R discs were £9 each and rewritable DVD-RW discs, as we recall, had yet to arrive.
What's obviously of great interest is how long it will take for Blu-ray burners to come down to a mass-market prices - however, you choose to define what that might be - and the same is true for HD DVD burners, which we are expecting to see come in at lower prices than Blu-ray.
Although it may be no guide at all, we can tell you that the Pioneer A03's successor, the A04, was selling for £320 or less by the summer of 2002.
And, by the summer of 2003, the follow-up burner, the A05 was selling for £199 or less.
Hopefully, though, the prices for Blu-ray Disc and HD DVD hardware are going to fall a LOT faster.
PLAY's prices for single Blu-ray Disc blanks (including delivery) are:
Sony Blu-Ray -RW 25GB Media Disc - £17.99 (we think that the correct description is BD-RE)
Sony Blu-Ray -R 25GB Media Disc - £14.99
So, a £2 premium for the sort of High Street store we had in mind sounds about right.
PLAY is also advertising Pioneer's "BDR-101A Blu-ray Disc/DVD Internal Writer" for £629.99 delivered but currently has no stock.
That's about £600 more than you'll have to pay for one of today's all-singing/dancing DVD burners but £20 cheaper than the price in the UK of the first DVD burner aimed at the public, the Pioneer A03, which went on sale in Q2, 2001 and could be had for £650.
This machine handled DVD-R and DVD-RW blanks and burned only at x1 speed. Back then, blank write-once DVD-R discs were £9 each and rewritable DVD-RW discs, as we recall, had yet to arrive.
What's obviously of great interest is how long it will take for Blu-ray burners to come down to a mass-market prices - however, you choose to define what that might be - and the same is true for HD DVD burners, which we are expecting to see come in at lower prices than Blu-ray.
Although it may be no guide at all, we can tell you that the Pioneer A03's successor, the A04, was selling for £320 or less by the summer of 2002.
And, by the summer of 2003, the follow-up burner, the A05 was selling for £199 or less.
Hopefully, though, the prices for Blu-ray Disc and HD DVD hardware are going to fall a LOT faster.
HEXUS.links
HEXUS.community - discussion thread about this article
HEXUS.headline - Samsung Blu-ray player launches June 25 in USA and Q4 in UK
Blu-ray Disc Association - home page (turn sound down before clicking!)
DVD Forum (organising group for HD DVD) - home page
