[opendtv] Re: STB hunting
- From: Tom Barry <trbarry@xxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: opendtv@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Sun, 22 Jan 2006 19:25:33 -0500
Well, we seem to be in agreement that US consumers will at least
somewhat be willing to buy OTA STB's for $100 or less, at least if they
work right. But I still think the reason producers are not offering
them at that price (usually) is that they do not feel it would be
profitable.
I don't claim to know what it takes to build an OTA STB. And I don't
claim to know what sort of fudge factors they would build in based upon
a possible expectation of possibly high returns. (I returned one)
But it does appear they are not being offered for this price except for
various fire sales.
Do you believe that manufacturers could profitably market sub-$100 OTA
boxes now? And I mean market, not just waving something at a demo in
Congress.
- Tom
Manfredi, Albert E wrote:
> Tom Barry wrote:
>
>
>>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.
>
>
> As opposed to what product category, Tom? Name any other
> product that manufacturers wouldn't rather sell at a
> higher price point, but that the market draws down to
> whatever the going price is. For example, color TVs, DVD
> players and recorders, ... . Any trouble finding DVD
> players or color TVs? Not me. They're all over the
> place, at rock bottom prices.
>
>
>>I guess the rule of thumb is to buy OTA STB's only at
>>closeout sales.
>
>
> It seems to me that on both sides of the ocean, freeview
> stand-alone STBs sell quite well if the price is at or
> around $100. People are willing to shell out that much
> on a whim, just to give it a try. It seems that in Europe,
> products are available, and here, for stand-alone STBs, we
> get 2 year old merchandise at 2 year old prices, even
> though better and cheaper chipsets exist and are being
> built into integrated sets, or in combined OTA and DBS
> boxes.
>
> So far, no one has been able to explain this oddity with
> anything resembling a sensible reason.
>
> Bert
>
>
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