[opendtv] Re: Analyst predicts stalemate in next-gen DVD war
- From: "Manfredi, Albert E" <albert.e.manfredi@xxxxxxxxxx>
- To: <opendtv@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Mon, 26 Jun 2006 11:56:01 -0400
John Golitsis wrote:
> So what pushes it's cost so high? They say it's basically
> a PC architecture, and you can get a whole bunch of PC for
> that amount of money, yet this lacks two of the most
> expensive components - a hard drive, and Windows XP.
It's a 2.4 GHz Pentium 4 with 1 Gbyte of RAM. And more.
Bert
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'Teardown' finds Toshiba taking a loss on HD DVD player
Dylan McGrath
(06/23/2006 1:25 PM EDT)
URL: http://www.eetimes.com/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=3D189600999
SAN FRANCISCO - Toshiba Corp. is taking a substantial loss on sales of
its new HD DVD player in hopes of buying a head start in the battle for
the next generation of DVD technology, according to a "teardown"
analysis conducted by market research firm iSuppli Corp.
According to iSuppli's teardown analysis, bill-of-materials (BOM) costs
for Toshiba's HD-A1 HD DVD total an estimated $674, far exceeding the
unit's $499 U.S. retail price. The estimated BOM figure excludes costs
for manufacturing, testing, cables, remote control and packaging-costs
that could easily push the total cost of each unit to more than $700,
iSuppli (El Segundo, Calif.) said.
iSuppli's analysis suggests that Toshiba is subsidizing the HD-A1 in an
attempt to gain early market share over players that use the rival
Blu-ray high-definition DVD standard, the firm said. Initial Blu-ray
players, which are slated to cost $999 or more, are scheduled for launch
by Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd., Sony Corp. and others this summer.
iSuppli's analysis also revealed that, like many early models, the HD-A1
does not have an especially efficient design, the firm said.
"The Toshiba HD-A1 is basically a combination of a low-end PC and a
high-end DVD player," said Andrew Rassweiler, teardown services manager
and senior analyst for iSuppli, in a statement.
The HD-A1 utilizes a general-purpose microprocessor instead of more
cost-effective application specific standard product (ASSP)
semiconductors typically used in consumer-electronics products, iSuppli
said. The HD-A1 also employs an Intel Corp. Pentium 4 as the main
microprocessor, as well as Broadcom Corp.'s BCM7411 for high-definition
video decoding and four ADSP-2126x SHARC programmable DSPs from Analog
Devices Inc., according to iSuppli, which estimated that the total cost
of these chips is $137.
The HD-A1 also uses $125 worth of memory, including a 1-gigabyte dual
inline memory module (DIMM)from Hynix Semiconductor Inc., three other
types of DRAM, a 256-megabyte flash memory disk from M-Systems and 32
megabytes of MirrorBit flash memory from Spansion, iSuppli said. Adding
the memory chips bring the total cost of ICs used in the HD-A1 to
roughly $247 per unit, according to the firm.
"It's unusual to find this level of subsidization outside of the
video-game console and mobile-phone markets," said Chris Crotty,
iSuppli's senior analyst covering the consumer electronics segment.
"Presumably, Toshiba anticipates making back any initial HD-A1 losses
with subsequent products. There is little question that Toshiba had to
use a high-cost design for its first model. But there is a big question
as to whether pricing its player so much less than Blu-ray is worth the
financial risk."
Product reviews of the HD-A1 have been mixed, iSuppli said, and the unit
lacks the full 1080-pixel resolution available in the competing Blu-ray
models as well as in Toshiba's own $799 HD-XA1 version of the player.
Unable to come to an agreement on a next-generation DVD standard last
year, Toshiba and its rivals each moved ahead with their own competing
technologies, creating a marketplace showdown in which consumers will
ultimately decide which technology prevails. In pricing its product
significantly below cost, Toshiba is apparently hoping to build a lead
over its Blu-ray rivals, some of which have recently announced further
product launch delays.
Next-generation equipment is one of the few remaining growth segments in
an otherwise peaking DVD market, which is facing increasing competition
from alternative content-delivery mechanisms, including video-on-demand,
Internet downloading and even Disney's resurrected MovieBeam service,
according to iSuppli.
iSuppli forecasts that factory shipments of all next generation DVD
equipment-both HD-DVD and Blu-ray-will reach 65 million units in 2010,
up from 1.6 million units in 2006. But unlike other industry experts,
iSuppli's Crotty doesn't foresee a clear winner in the battle between
HD-DVD and Blu-ray.
"This is not a repeat of VHS vs. Beta," Crotty said. "The market
dynamics are very different. The most likely outcome is stalemate, with
the savvy manufacturers introducing dual-format players as early as the
2006 holiday season."
All material on this site Copyright 2006 CMP Media LLC. All rights
reserved.
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