14 DAY TRIAL // It seems that during the recent few weeks, the average retail price for mid-level Blu-ray players has been on a descending road. These devices looked rather expensive for most users until a few months ago, and couldn't be called mainstream really, but things seem to be going on a different path lately. What this means is that there are some online retailers that currently have Blu-ray players listed at below $200 prices.
Due to the lower price of these devices, they near the “mainstream” definition better than ever, and they might also prove more attractive to a larger number of customers. An overall look at the market shows an almost 50 percent price drop for some of the players, but also reveals the fact that the price cuts came almost simultaneously. And the explanation for this decline seems to be a rather simple one.
Given the fact that the latest Blu-ray products on the market bring along new features like BonusView, the old generation is undoubtedly going down. On the other hand, purchasing a Blu-ray for less than $200 could sound interesting enough to some users that would not care whether it comes with BonusView or not. And having a Sony BDP-S300 for this price sounds attractive enough.
This price drop may help Blu-ray technology gain more ground over DVD's and movie download services. Yet, help comes from a price drop for the Blu-ray movies as well. While DVD movies would sell at around $15, Blu-ray ones are getting close to them, with the smaller prices ranging from $15 to $25. Time will tell for sure whether users will widely adopt the Blu-ray technology or stick to the more affordable DVDs.
Just to make an idea about how Blu-ray players are priced these days, take a look at the slideshow TGDaily put on their site.