Why are Mfrs getting OUT of the dvd recorder biz?

[RabidDog]

Why are Mfrs getting OUT of the dvd recorder biz? Its not yet a commodity market and they are still fetching high prices? Are they concentrating all their brains on hi-def recorders? I know not all mfrs are getting out but I think sony and pioneer have stopped making dvd recorders.. as far as I am aware this market is till in its infancy and has yet to reach the mass market..WHY!..why! is there some devilish plot afoot that we know nothing about? is some new trickery about to make all previous geegaws a thing of the past? is montgomery-burns about to shut off the sunlight?

[yoda313]

maybe the dvr biz is hurting recorders??? I don't know.

[Frobozz]

You say they are fetching high prices, but I doubt if that perspective is shared by the manufacturers. Pioneer had to stop making its own recorders and order them produced elsewhere because they couldn't afford to make them at the prices people are willing to pay. As far as I know Pioneer is still in the business, just not making the units themselves.

I think the demand for DVD recorders is disappointing to the manufacturers who probably hoped that people would be eager to replace their VCRs. But the DVRs are doing that instead. The fact that DVD recorders can't directly access digital channels is a big drawback, too.

Most people are happy with time shifting and not interested in archiving shows.

Standard definition video DVD is going nowhere. The future is in HD formats and DVR's are the way to do this now.

[handyguy]

Probably cause you can rent them/get them free from your cable company.

[Seeker47]

Why are Mfrs getting OUT of the dvd recorder biz? I know not all mfrs are getting out but I think sony and pioneer have stopped making dvd recorders..

I think I read that LiteOn was heading for the Exits too. It's almost a stampede.

Most people are happy with time shifting and not interested in archiving shows.

Maybe so, but I just don't get it. As far as I'm concerned, if you can't dump something off of your Tivo (I'm using that term generically for DVRs), it's nearly worthless. Archiving is necessary for a lot of reasons. I'm always getting requests from friends or relatives: "Can you record this for me ?" And they want it on DVD.

[mwkurt]

Might have something to do with the broadcast flag that some networks are sending across to prohibit copying.
Mark

[lordsmurf]

Companies get in and out of things all the time. I wouldn't read too much into it. And getting out is sometimes temporary too. I see this all the time with radios and car stereos and cameras.

[oldfart13]

According to some Chinese sources it's the cost of doing business....royalties paid to foreign companies for the rights to their technology cost as much as $15USD per unit. That's way too much if you are manufacturing units that have a retail sale of $100USD or less. And DVD players have the same associated costs so you can see why they are hot to get their own format and stop paying all those royalties.....

[wulf109]

I believe it's called capitalisim,if you can't make a profit you stop selling it.

[painkiller]

The paranoia in me says the Media moguls are convincing the manufacturers to stop making dvd recorders.

To protect their content.

The business rationale in me says these same manufacturers also invest in media content.

So they'd also be interested in protecting content.


What better way to do that than to stop making these recorders?

Besides, it tends to make the masses to be pointed towards the BD/HDD players.

(Notice those aren't recorders. And the DVRs are starting to lock down the content so you can't offload.)

[yoda313]

actually painkiller they do have a hddvd or bluray recorder available for the settop. Or at least its in development. i think it is most likely prohibitively expensive for the average joe used to current dvd recorder prices but they are or will shortly be available.

And don't forget they do have hdtv dvr recorders - even tivo has the new series 3 that does high def.

But I believe you are right in that they are restricting what you can and cannot copy. I think they restricted the to-go device from being used on the newer 3 model for tivo so you can't wifi it to to your cmputer.

[Brent G.]

I'm still waiting for them to bring back 8-Tracks. My 8-track collection is alive and well and I know there will be a resurgence some day and I will have the market sewn up. To hear country and music properly, it has to be in a pickup truck listening to 8-tracks. Those cassette thingies will never catch on.



Brent

[gshelley61]

Demand for DVD recorders is not that great, and many are returned shortly after purchase when buyers get them home and discover they are not as simple to use as VCR's. At the price points that these units will actually sell at, there is very little (if any) profit to be made.

[handyguy]

Actually, most are returned when they find out they don't copy commercial dvds.

[trhouse]

Prices have dropped to as low as $57.

http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product.do?product_id=5027235

[painkiller]

Heh. Everybody here is right!

Actually, around the beginning of this year some of us at lunch were discussing this very thing. Even then we predicted there would be a rush of new technology out the door - then right back in again once people found they couldn't do what they wanted to record.

Even now (for awhile) I've notice that my Series 2 TIVOs won't let me transfer nor record to tape certain programs. CNet videos, and others - likely PPV (I don't use that anyway) and some premium content.

(Remind me to keep Brent from getting in my truck. He'd be heartsick to find no 8-track there either. )

[gshelley61]

Actually, most are returned when they find out they don't copy commercial dvds.

Good point. That, too.

[oldandinthe way]

Consumer demand for DVD recorders is low.

The Wall Street Journal identified the failure of DVD recorders to catch on with the consumer several months ago.

Given the slip in TV viewership and quick availablity of DVD sets of TV programs it isn't at all surprising. And the DVD recorder is not a pirates tool. They are best suited to amateur moviemakers.

DVD recorders do not generate high levels of returns. They never leave the store.

[lordsmurf]

quick availablity of DVD sets of TV programs

This is important for sure. Even among serious collectors of tv shows, self-recording is becoming less and less necessary as virtually all new shows are being released within a couple of months of completing the season, and many syndicated shows ("re-runs") are being released in droves as well.

There's no reason to record something yourself when an official product is available at a decent price ($25-35 per season, first week sales), and looks better than what you can do yourself.

Renting is also a big factor, where folks don't even have to buy shows, they can just rent DVDs to watch them, and for less money than it takes to have cable or satellite (monthly rates, comparatively).

[Seeker47]

Demand for DVD recorders is not that great, and many are returned shortly after purchase when buyers get them home and discover they are not as simple to use as VCR's.

I dunno . . . I've used a number of VCRs that were more complicated and much ess convenient to use than my Pioneer 520H.

[RabidDog]

Hmm .. all good points .. Pioneer is definitely getting out .. I thought that might presage a whole slew of cheaper (Chinese/taiwanese) makers getting into the market. Or maybe they were delayed by the earthquake?. I think its a combination of Hidef arriving, low consumer demand and technical complexity (two rotating bits, dvd and hard disc), I think Hard disk only recorders are quite popular tho.

[painkiller]

Heh.

Wait til solid-state flash drives come of age (capacity growth and prices fall).

Then no mechanically induced failures.

Unless you step on it of course.

[cocopugg]

Solid-state flash drives sound great, but just how many people will buy them when broadcasters continue to have complete control over what programming you can and can't copy? If sales of DVD recorders are down drastically, we can put alot of the blame on the broadcast industry (as well as DVD recorder manufacturers, who've put a million copy protection schemes in their machines), which has now turned what used to be an easy job of copying a program into a public nightmare.