[opendtv] Re: STB hunting
- From: Tom Barry <trbarry@xxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: opendtv@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Sun, 22 Jan 2006 16:04:57 -0500
It seems to me vendors are willing to sell OTA STB's for over $200. And
it also seems buyers are willing to buy them in quantity for under $100.
That in turn does not seem to be a business model that would attract
most vendors.
I guess the rule of thumb is to buy OTA STB's only at closeout sales.
- Tom
Albert Manfredi wrote:
> So yesterday I go to the same Radio Shack where I bought my Accurian just
> before Christmas, because they were showing on the web site that they had
> some in stock. I was planning to buy a second one. There was someone else in
> line before me, waiting to talk to the store manager.
>
> When his turn came up, he was there to ask about buying an OTA HDTV
> receiver! And not only that, but the store manager had a well rehearsed
> reply ready for him. "The Accurian is a discontinued item. I don't care what
> the Internet says, there are none in stock in any of the Washington area
> stores." Obviously, he had been asked many times.
>
> So again, I hope and trust that this isn't being lost to Radio Shack upper
> management. Given the right price point, which I'm guessing to be around
> $100, and nothing more than a word of mouth reputation for good performance,
> there is a healthy demand for DTT STBs. (FWIW, my prediction was that by
> now, STBs should be going for a regular price of about $130, so that they
> could have dropped to just under $100 by next holiday season, when analog TV
> was slated to go off the air.)
>
> Much as I was disappointed that there weren't any in stock, I was pleased by
> the evidence of demand. I told the guy to try Circuit City nearby and
> Costco, not much further away. Drawing from Richard's research, I told him
> that both Circuit City and Costco had STBs that were clones of the Accurian,
> so they too should work reasonably well. At Circuit City, they were out of
> the 3rd gen LG STB and LG PVR units (which were in stock before Christmas),
> but had the Pro brand, Digital Stream brand, Samsung SIRT-451, and also a
> Humax PVR which was claimed to be good for cable, DBS, or OTA. When I asked,
> the store clerk said that OTA was digital OTA for this Humax PVR.
>
> Prices at Circuit City now were no different now from what they were before
> Christmas *and* before Christmas 2004. $229 for the Digital Stream and
> clones, $249 for the 3rd gen Samsung. The supply of OTA antennas seemed to
> be depleted from before Christmas. They only had two or three types left in
> the store, only the cheaper ones. Including one that clips to the DBS dish.
> And again, Circuit City has these items right up front, not hidden away.
> They are next to the DVD players and DVD recorders. But prices are amazingly
> stable, especially given that these units are quite aged by CE product
> standards.
>
> So I think that demand for DTT products does exist and could be nurtured
> quite easily. Seems to me clear that if DTT products don't move quickly, it
> is entirely caused by an incomprehensible failure from the supply side of
> the equation. Meaning the CE vendors and the broadcasters themselves.
> Failure to promote, failure to provide up to date products at price points
> the CE market can certainly meet. Maybe vendors are trying to force people
> to buy all-new integrated sets. Don't know. Seems counterproductive to try
> to force people to buy what they figure they don't need, but what do I know.
> Surely, if customers with older TVs try out DTT and like what they see, they
> will be more likely to spring for the new HDTV sets, no?
>
> Bert
>
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