Why HD DVD and Blu-ray Need You To Be an Early Adopter Now

[David DelGrosso]

Originally Posted by kennyt

I use Netflix because I can't stand BB, after having a membership for 6 years at a local store, I had a manager refuse to rent me a DVD saying I didn't have an account. When I explained that I had in fact been renting DVD's for 6 years from this store, she told me I had not and I had no membership then told me to leave the store.!

At my nearby BB, I recently approached an employee who was placing "Buy 1, Get 1 Free" stickers on a bunch of discs.

So I asked him "What happens if one disc is higher priced than the other?"... and he responded with "I don't know" and immediately turned away from me, and resumed stickering the discs.

I just LOVE good service!

DD

[kennyt]

David,

Unfortunately the problem with poor service plagues this entire hobby. I am not talking about the manufacturers, but the retailers. I know most of my local dealers, and they all in all have been very accomadating to me, but I can tell you tales....

A surgeon colleague of mine wanted to buy new gear for the HT in his new home. When he told a local retailer his budget was $50K, and that he could go to $75K, the dealer broke off contact with him! Several unanswered phone calls and Emails later... he went to another shop that treated him much better.

I am notoriously dressed like a bum, well a bum with a nice watch on, but a bum none the less and get such a kick out of the salesman looking down on me in some shops. This is goes for Dodghe dealers and run of the mill jeweler stores too. Interestingly enough, when I walk into Tiffany's, the manager greets me by name or profession and shakes my hand no matter what I look like and I am not the biggest buyer of their jewelery. When I went into a local Mercedes dealer, again in shorts T-shirt and sandles, I got amazing service.

I remember in the mid 80's my mother was selling real estate in northern NJ, when a guy came in in cut-offs and an old T-shirt. The girl at the desk ignored him, my mom is pretty easy going, so she introduced herself and asked if she could help him out, a month later he bought a house for $1.2 Mill...... and he gave my mom her first ride in a Maserati bi-turbo convertible...

[deacongreg]

Originally Posted by kennyt

David,

Unfortunately the problem with poor service plagues this entire hobby. I am not talking about the manufacturers, but the retailers. I know most of my local dealers, and they all in all have been very accomadating to me, but I can tell you tales....

A surgeon colleague of mine wanted to buy new gear for the HT in his new home. When he told a local retailer his budget was $50K, and that he could go to $75K, the dealer broke off contact with him! Several unanswered phone calls and Emails later... he went to another shop that treated him much better.

I am notoriously dressed like a bum, well a bum with a nice watch on, but a bum none the less and get such a kick out of the salesman looking down on me in some shops. This is goes for Dodghe dealers and run of the mill jeweler stores too. Interestingly enough, when I walk into Tiffany's, the manager greets me by name or profession and shakes my hand no matter what I look like and I am not the biggest buyer of their jewelery. When I went into a local Mercedes dealer, again in shorts T-shirt and sandles, I got amazing service.

I remember in the mid 80's my mother was selling real estate in northern NJ, when a guy came in in cut-offs and an old T-shirt. The girl at the desk ignored him, my mom is pretty easy going, so she introduced herself and asked if she could help him out, a month later he bought a house for $1.2 Mill...... and he gave my mom her first ride in a Maserati bi-turbo convertible...

kennyt, is amazing you brought up this area about perception. I`ve been in sales my entire life. I can`t walk into a house and not see something I sold. I learned earlier an often that dress does not tell you everything. I know where supposed to be talking about HD and BLu - Ray, but a friend of mine told me, that the Ferrari dealer in Greenwich, now will talk with a minority if they walk in with jeans, why? because he may be a rapper or singer looking to buy a few cars.

But as far as service, I was trained by every retailer I worked with. Same of course with the specialty stores. If I was not sent, the companies and manufacturers came to the store. I do not think we have that today. Their young, un - trained, and do not necessarily like what they do.

No passion. This is the music industry and the AV industry. How can this be changed? Maybe better yet, does anyone want change?

[snofun3]

Work out the format then I'll come on board. Why should I be subsidizing Sony, JVC or whomever for a series of poor business decisions. If they'd gotten their act together 2-3 years ago, the HD format would be booming now. Screw them if they can't get their collective act together.

Look, I've got the same audio release in Vinyl, tape (sometimes casette and Elcasette), CD, SACD or DVD-A. I also have video releases in VHS, Beta, and DVD, but I will not invest again in something until the format is decided. I've been an early adopter for close to 40 years, and I'm done with paying for major corporations bad business decisions.

My system is fairly high-end (Sunfire, Bryston, Anthem, Logan ascent i's, Cinema and aerius i, etc), so it would really benefit from the higher definition, but rewarding these dweebs for not being able to decide on one format is not in the cards for me. I just bought an upconverting SD player as an interim step until this thing is decided.

I'm tired of wasting money, buying software that becomes obsolete, acquiring special hardware to allow all the formats to work together properly, paying hefty premiums for players that may, or may not be "last generation" way too fast, etc.

Will my (and millions others) not buying in to an ill-conceived format launch hurt the future of the business - of course not. Maybe all it will do is cause Sony (who's the biggest offender in this area) to come up with a different business model next time, and see that this format stupidity will cause them additional years to get thier investment back.

[kennyt]

snofun3,

I feel your pain, but I think if you are going to pick on anyone, it should be Toshiba. So far with the exception opf LG's combo player they are the only hardware manufacturers of HD DVD players. Add to this their substantion interest in the DVD format and maybe that is why we have a format war in the first place.

Most studios use Blu-ray, or both formats, as do most hardware manufacturers..... Hhhhhhmmmmmmmm...

[snofun3]

Sony, and all the rest were well aware of the situation and consequences, and even tried to work out a solution before the release of the formats, but decided, undoubtedly for business reasons not to do so. Now they get to reap the benefit of those decisions. You'd have thought that the old Beta debacle would have given them pause, but they pushed ahead, and now see that there is large resistance among the great unwashed to getting screwed one-more-time.

I've bought too many pieces of hardware that have become quaint doorstops to be wasting time and money again in this format war. Let the dust settle and I'll pick up a nice 3 or 4th generation version of the winner for probably 30% of the 1st generation, that will also function far better, with better user interface, and connectivity.

It's not like HD will go away(like SACD or DVD-A), or even that the best format will win (a la Beta/VHS), it's just so tiresome playing into the hands of some outfits who think about the consumer last.

My preamp has discrete inputs for SACD/DVD-A, yet none of the of the high def DVD players play everything, so I'd have to be changing cables again depending on what I want to hear? Nope. Enough already.

I don't care who or what's to blame, I'm tired of being the gunea pig in formats. Settle it, then sell it.