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Technology Stocks : C-Cube -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Stoctrash who wrote (49666)	7/15/2000 1:55:13 PM
From: John Rieman	Respond to of 50808

$99 DVD players.............................................. e-town.com $99 DVD DECK BY CHRISTMAS? How lo-o-ow can disc players go? 7/12/2000 By Ethan McCarty NEW YORK, NY, July 12, 2000 -- There was a time when 4-head, stereo VHS VCRs could set you back as much as 900 bucks, while these days it's not uncommon to find them for under $130. Wouldn't it be nice if DVD hardware headed in that same direction? Well, DVD prices are on their way south. The only question is whether or not you will you press "play" on a $99 deck before sleigh bells ring. The cost of admission to the digital home theater is plummeting to positively proletarian prices. Already, bargain DVD decks can be had on the street for around $130, and even decks with progressive scan outputs are appearing for under $400. But chances are slim that you will see top-shelf names at sub-$100 prices. Though he joked that he'd hate to see cheapo DVD players cluttering the shelves, Robert Pleyer -- Product Marketing Manager (Video) for Sharp Electronics -- expects to see "no-name [players] out at that price by Christmas." Don't expect a feature set comparable even to Sharp's current entry-level machine, the DV600U. According to Pleyer, the $99 decks could lack universal remotes, zoom, bit-rate meters, optical or coax digital connections and multi-speed playback. Konka, maker of the price-busting KD1800U was the first manufacturer to introduce a DVD player for less that $200. Unfortunately it doesn't look like they'll be the first to limbo below $100. "The $199 model, the KD1800, was upgraded to do DTS -- that's the newest thing they've done. But the original is still listed at $199," said a Konka representative. Though he couldn't be too specific about pricing, Colton Manley, director of public relations and advertising for Apex, said the company would have another bargain player before this holiday season. Apex got considerable attention for releasing an inexpensive DVD player with a "loopholes" menu that would defeat copy protection and region coding. (On later production units, the loopholes menu was removed. Apex even recalled some players from store shelves and disabled the feature.) The upcoming AD-500 won't have MP3 CD playback capability or component video connections like its predecessor, the AD600A. However, it will be priced under $129; just how far below remains to be seen. Apex wasn't the only company hesitant to let the cat out of the bag. Both Best Buy and the Wiz declined to comment on whether or not they'd offer DVD players for less than $100 before the holidays.