Looks like DVD+R/-R prices are set to bottom or rebound.

[chas0039]

According to this source prices may start to rise next quarter, especially with expansion in production slowing down. Good old capitalism at work.

http://www.cdrinfo.com/Sections/News/Details.asp?RelatedID=5774

[Nilfennasion]

Given that DL and 8X-speed media are expected to hit the market any day now, I somehow doubt prices are going to go up for long. If anything, they should be going down. Simply because more and more people are adopting the drives/set-top recorders.

[chas0039]

Nilfennasion: I agree with you but I think the article didn't take into account that DVD media is like the hard drive. For a few years now the price has stayed around $100. What keep changing is the capacity and access time. My guess (as you infer) is that 4X will keep going down as 8X and DL start to drop as well. The only anomaly I see is a number of sources still selling 2X and 1X media for ridiculous prices.

[Nilfennasion]

Well, if that were a bricks-and-mortar store in an isolated area, I would not be surprised. Their shipping costs are generally higher, and the competition they face is usually a hell of a lot lower. I wasn't even aware that 1X/2X-only media was still available.

8X-speed media will be expensive at first. That's how they make back their wholesale costs - by gouging the early adopter. Said early adopters don't mind this, for some reason, and therefore are the bread and butter of the computer industry. So a wise man who doesn't need the latest and greatest waits until each media type has been out for a while.

I'm still wondering how many people have actually bought DL drives, honestly. I'm guessing not many from the lack of compatibility reports.

The comparison to hard drives is a good one, although drive prices in Australia have not yet reached the bottom. They will eventually be available here for about $100 (in Australian funds), and that will send media prices crashing down as demand goes through the roof. Hard drive prices, as you put it, stay fixed while the capacity increases. In this case, I think it will eventually be the media that stays fixed in price while the speeds and capacity increase.