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Black Friday ads leaking all over town, we've rounded them up

by Laura June Nov 11th 2009 @ 6:02PM


The holiday shopping season is really creeping up on us quickly this year... wasn't it just Halloween the other day? Regardless, Black Friday ads revealing the deals to come are leaking all over the internet, so we thought we'd round up a few of the less monotonous-looking bargains. So what's on offer? It looks like Sam's Club has an Acer Aspire One 10.1-inch netbook going for $197, and an HP G71 17-inch laptop with a Blu-ray player for $499, an Olympus FE-4000 12 megapixel digicam for $98, and a few other odds and ends. Meanwhile, over at Staples you can snag a 500GB Western Digital My Passport portable hard drive for $70 and a 23-inch Acer widescreen LCD for $140. If you're still up to it, you can head over to Target and grab a Nikon Coolpix S203 for $88 or a TomTom XL340S for $97. Finally, it looks like Kmart's going to have a 42-inch Panasonic 720p Plasma HDTV for $550 and a 10.1 megapixel Sony Cyber-shot W180 for $99. While you're there, don't forget to pick up a Jaclyn Smith cashmere sweater set for $30, too! Hit the read links for full ads.

Read - Sam's Club Black Friday Ad Leaked
Read - Staples Black Friday Ad
Read - Target Black Friday Ad
Read - Kmart Black Friday Ad

Ask Engadget HD: Where can I find Blu-ray movies for cheap on Black Friday and beyond?

by Richard Lawler Nov 4th 2009 @ 1:00PM

Prices on Blu-ray players continue to plunge, inducing more and more to make the jump, but what about the software? We've asked where you buy your discs before, but this time we're presented with a brand new adopter looking to stock up on titles during the holiday season. That's Sean's situation, where to look for Blu-ray discs over the next month if price is the only consideration.

"Instead of camping out for a big ticket purchase on black Friday, I already grabbed a new flat screen and Blu-ray player, but so far I only have a couple of movies to watch on it. I really want to upgrade my library with plenty of reference quality selections, and I figure holiday seasons will be a great time to do it. Any advice on where to look for the deepest discounts / bundles over the next couple of months?"

So, we know there's more than a few of you always on the lookout for a BOGO or better offer to come along whether buying for yourself or as gifts, any tips for our tightfisted friend here?

Got a burning question that you'd love to toss out for Engadget HD (or its readers) to take a look at? Tired of Google's blank stares when you ask for real-world experiences? Hit us up at ask at engadgethd dawt com and keep an eye on this space -- your inquiry could be next.

VIZIO keeps the LCD TV crown in Q2, but Samsung is closing

by Richard Lawler Aug 23rd 2009 @ 6:32PM


Injunctions, hail, sleet or snow, VIZIO kept shipping its LCD HDTVs in large amounts during the second quarter, enough of them to account for 21.7% of the market, according to iSuppli. That was enough to narrowly hold off Samsung, which saw its numbers rise sharply from 17.8% in the previous quarter to 21.3%, reportedly due to its introduction and marketing of new LED sets, which contributed to 2.2 percent of all LCDs sold during the period. The analysts also see a growing trend of customers coming back for their second flat panel television to replace an older one, just the kind of people it thinks might gravitate towards features like skinny, power efficient LED designs. We'll see if that's enough to swing the balance Samsung's way, or if customers stick with VIZIO's approach.

Read - VIZIO Again Ranked #1 in U.S. LCD HDTV Shipments
Read - Samsung Cuts Into Vizio's Lead in U.S. LCD TV Market in Second Quarter

Court injunction puts sales of RealDVD on ice, hopes and dreams in purgatory

by Darren Murph Aug 12th 2009 @ 2:02AM


Something tells us Kaleidescape has a man (or woman, to be fair) on the inside, else United States District Court Judge Marilyn Patel is just downright trifilin'. In every visible way, RealNetworks' proposed RealDVD player was exactly what Kaleidescape was, but for people with annual salaries far less than $9,854,392,220. Regardless of our opinion, a preliminary injunction has just been passed down from The Almighty in the robe, which blocks the sale of the RealDVD software here in the US. The six major movie studies filed the suit last September, alleging that it "illegally violated their right to restrict the use of their movies in digital form." Evidently those that matter agree. A RealNetworks spokesperson took the time to vent their feelings on the whole ordeal, and since we know you're curious, we've pasted it below for your convenience.
We are disappointed that a preliminary injunction has been placed on the sale of RealDVD. We have just received the Judge's detailed ruling and are reviewing it. After we have done so fully, we'll determine our course of action and will have more to say at that time.
[Via Electronista]

Blu-ray celebrates 91 percent sales increase for first half of 2009

by Ross Miller Jul 16th 2009 @ 5:54PM

Remember back in May when Blu-ray sales were reportedly up 72 percent for 2009? Turns out the high definition disc business is doing even better than that. The Digital Entertainment Group is reporting a 91 percent sales increase year-on-year, totaling $407 million, for the first six months of this year -- an impressive feat, especially in this recession climate. Blu-ray rentals, too, saw a 61 percent increase, and on the less tangible side of things, digital distribution rose 21 percent. Despite all this, the report noted that overall consumer spending on prerecorded entertainment dropped 3.1 percent, and net profit down 2.2 percent... come on UMD, pick up the slack.

UK Blu-ray sales up 231% over last year

by Richard Lawler Jul 3rd 2009 @ 4:12PM


The British Video Association is back with some more happy stats on how well Blu-ray is doing, claiming 3.1 million discs sold since the start of 2009. Still, even with a claimed 231% jump over last year's YTD figures, that hasn't offset a 9.5% drop in sales of DVDs. that should move the needle well past last year's figures, where only 1.5 million were reportedly moved by October, but we doubt that's much comfort to employees of the nearly 900 retailers that have closed this year. Even with consumers "continuing to spend money on the product" once they've experienced it, according to BVA director general Lavinia Carey, expect a greater focus on downloads to offer an alternative to piracy, though no word on when that can be expected.

LCD sales expectations raised for the rest of '09

by Richard Lawler Jun 19th 2009 @ 10:48AM


Same old same old, despite the screams of plasma fans, LCD sales are expected to reach higher than ever this year, as DisplaySearch has raised its estimate to 127 million units worldwide in 2009. Total TV sales are expected to drop, as well as those of plasmas, but even in the liquid crystal world all isn't pretty. As a result of the ongoing price war, even with higher sales manufacturers are raking in less cash, with revenue projected to be down as much as 6 percent. We doubt that will result in the long predicted LCD price spike, but we do have to wonder how much lower we'llssee sales go later this year around usual bargain hunting times like Black Friday, there may not be much room left.

Analyst: Blu-ray can't stop video sales slump, sees modest growth in 2010

by Richard Lawler Jun 15th 2009 @ 6:06PM


As frequently predicted, Blu-ray hasn't been enough to make up for sagging DVD sales, as a new Screen Digest report indicates a 4.8 percent slide worldwide last year, falling more than $2.6 billion. After plateauing approaching 2007, disc sales have been falling ever since and even Blu-ray's $482 million contribution can't hold up the slack. Still, it's looking at online rentals like Lovefilm and Quickflix to make up for some of the rental losses internationally, but don't expect Blu-ray to help grow the market at all until at least 2010. Of course, the company did also predict the format war would remain stalemated just weeks before Warner ended the whole thing, so we'd keep a grain of salt handy while reading.

[Via Financial Times]

iSuppli sees TV sales continuing to expand despite the economy, Samsung keeps the overall lead

by Richard Lawler May 28th 2009 @ 9:08PM


Even the economy can't keep HDTV sales down, according to iSuppli's research. In lieu of travel and going out, we're buying bigger TVs to stay home and watch, with sales of flat panel displays in the $600 - $999 range rising the fastest, while Wal-mart is very close to catching Best Buy in marketshare. Samsung's plasma sales kept it narrowly in the overall lead over upstart (and new LCD champ) Vizio, but we'll have to wait and see how long that lasts.

[Via Yahoo Tech]

Flat-panel TV sales jump 23% over last year, Vizio leads the way

by Donald Melanson May 11th 2009 @ 5:38PM


We'd already heard that Vizio has vaulted back into first place among LCD TV manufacturers, but a new series of numbers compiled by the folks at DisplaySearch is now shedding a bit more light onto how much the flat-panel TV market as a whole has surged over the past year. Apparently, about 7.2 million flat-panel sets were moved during the first quarter of 2009 alone, which represents a sizable 23% increase over the numbers from the first quarter of 2008. DisplaySearch also expectedly reconfirms Vizio's number one status, although its figures are a tad more conservative and peg Vizio's market share at a still impressive 18.9% (as opposed to the 21.6% found by iSupply), which is well above the 8.5% earned by the likes of rival Funai (producer of TVs for Sylvania, Emerson and other low-cost brands). As you might expect, higher-end brands like Sony and Samsung weren't as able to buck the economic downturn quite so easily, and they actually saw their sales decrease compared to the same period last year.

Bargain hunters make Vizio LCDs most popular in US -- for now

by Tim Stevens May 8th 2009 @ 7:29AM

Bargain hunters make Vizio LCDs most popular in US -- for now
In these difficult times people are looking to buy what's cheap, a state of mind that Vizio's iSuppli's latest press release isn't ashamed to apply, lauding the company's status as the current most popular brand of LCD television in these United States. It owned a 21.6 percent chunk of the US LCD TV market in the first quarter, up from 13.8 in the quarter before and beat out Samsung to be king of the liquid crystal hill -- largely thanks to prices that were, on average, between $150 and $400 lower than the competition. Kudos to the brand and we hope that it enjoys this moment, because with imports of new sets banned out on bond it must be tough paying an extra $2.50 on each one coming through Customs. Full press release after the break.

Update: To be clear: this is actually a press release issued by iSupply talking about Vizio, not by Vizio.

Continue reading Bargain hunters make Vizio LCDs most popular in US -- for now

Blu-ray making greenbacks, sales up 72% to start '09

by Richard Lawler May 6th 2009 @ 8:12PM

Congratulations Blu-ray, you might be ready to step into the zone of mass market acceptance, as NPD's retail tracking service found Q1 sales of standalone players up 72 percent over last year, moving over 400,000 units with a 14% increase in dollar sales. Last year sure the format survived mad fights but high prices were a setback; fast forward to March when an online survey of 6,994 people found awareness has reached 90 percent in the last six months, with customers fascinated by its updates. Although BD-Live is looking more and more like an unneeded gimmick, the real facts are people care about cost and average player prices dropped from $393 last year to $261 in 2009. The "Blu-ray report" suggests the magic number is $214 for folks like Shawn Marion, so more room might be needed to breeze, and could come as soon as this fall around the time Vizio's player finally appears. It might be tragic for Vudu, CBHD and others trying to get a foothold, but Blu-ray's magic wand is word of mouth - so while much talked about, but much lower selling tech like Kindle is happy as hell to get a record deal, right now Blu-ray's unique skills can't be compared.

Runco sticking by plasma displays

by Steven Kim Apr 28th 2009 @ 7:48PM

Runco plasma
With companies heading for the exits at chez plasma, smaller vendors -- most of whom do not have in-house plasma manufacturing -- are left in a precarious position. In what may well be the waning hours for plasma TVs, high-end brand Runco is staying in the game for one last (high margin, we imagine) round. LCDs are catching up to the image quality of even top-tier plasmas, but there's still a performance gap in areas that some consumers value. Somehow we didn't envision Runco outlasting Pioneer in the plasma game, but it's "business as usual" for Runco plasma TVs spanning the 50-inch to 103-inch range; perfect for that "secondary" TV for guests who don't want to watch what's on your $40,000 Runco VideoWall, don't you think?

Continue reading Runco sticking by plasma displays

Analyst: '09 YTD Blu-ray sales double those of '08, 10.5 million Blu-ray households in the U.S.

by Richard Lawler Apr 16th 2009 @ 11:07AM

Adams Media Research hasn't always had the most positive outlook on Blu-ray numbers, but its latest report indicates that despite the current state of the economy and the still-high price of Blu-ray discs the format is continuing to grow, with year to date numbers that nearly double those from last year at around 9 million compared to 4.8 million at this point in 2008. As usual, Andy Parsons of the BDA had a positive quote to give Video Business, since he was "delighted" by the figures, which also included an estimated total of 10.5 million Blu-ray households (including dedicated players and PS3s, no word if laptops played into that figure.) It's another year later, and there've been many more Blu-ray players sold so the growth isn't surprising, but there's also a lot more competition looking for the 1080p crown,but it looks like most are still hopping on the Blu bandwagon.

Twilight tops the DVD charts while Blu-ray sales lag behind

by Richard Lawler Mar 31st 2009 @ 11:56PM

In a shocking development, Twilight's mostly tween girl audience may not have quite bought into this Blu-ray thing yet, since despite selling 5.2 million copies of the weekend, the movie only managed to move less than 5% of that total on Blu-ray. Making the HD edition available only at Target and Best Buy likely didn't help, but earlier reports pegged the director as extremely pleased about how the vampire's sparkling effect turned out in HD, so Summit Home Entertainment and the BDA may have missed a great opportunity to expand their audience. Well, there's always Twilight 2.




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