RE: [ukha_d] £99 HDMI HD Media Player Bargain!?

["Paul Gale" <groups2@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Amazon staff must be avid readers of UKHA_D posts then ;)

Paul.



> -----Original Message-----
> From: ukha_d@xxxxxxx [mailto:ukha_d@xxxxxxx] On Behalf
> Of Gareth Cook
> Sent: 09 May 2007 12:07
> To: ukha_d@xxxxxxx
> Subject: Fw: [ukha_d] =A399 HDMI HD Media Player Bargain!?
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> Not =A399 anymore...
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>  Gareth Cook
>  IT Architect / Project Manager, SWG Sales Europe
>  Office: +44 (0)1784 445166 - Mobile: +44 (0)7980 445166
>  email: g@xxxxxxx
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> ----- Forwarded by Gareth Cook/UK/IBM on 09/05/2007 12:00 -----
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> Discussion
> Main Topic
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> ukha_d@xxxxxxx
> Today 09:20
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> .
> Subject:
> .
> RE: [ukha_d] =A399 HDMI HD Media Player Bargain!?
> .
> Category:
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> You miss the point.
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> These sorts of boxes are produced to meet a price point in a retailer,
> they
> are what I refer to as ?cost engineered? and built to a price, not a
> specification. Believe me, I've seen it happen and seen how it?s done,
> especially from Far Eastern companies but the Europeans and Yanks play
> the
> same game. So if the producer thinks that they can get away without a
> widget
> that costs $0.05 they will do so. You also have to remember that, as a
> rough
> guide, the cost on the production line will add approximately three to
> four
> times that at point of sale as everything is generally calculated in
> percentages on top of gate price.
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> Quite often with these low cost items what you get is a cheap DVD
> player
> or
> whatever knocked out at $20 landed, then sold in stores for $50 for a
> set
> period. Then the excess stock is sold off at a stupidly low price just
> to
> shift them. Even with a high failure rate on the initial ones of 30%
or
> more
> there?s still room to simply swap them out or repair them, customer
> satisfaction is just not on the agenda with these sorts of products,
> it?s
> all about margin and volume.
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> It?s the old story, you get what you pay for and if you buy cheap all
> too
> often that?s just what you get.
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> Consumerism, gotta love it.
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> K.
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> From: ukha_d@xxxxxxx [mailto:ukha_d@xxxxxxx] On Behalf
> Of
> Mal Lansell
> Sent: 09 May 2007 06:57
> To: ukha_d@xxxxxxx
> Subject: Re: [ukha_d] =A399 HDMI HD Media Player Bargain!?
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> Well it's only =A399 at Amazon - twice as much elsewhere. The
shortfalls
> I mention are frustrating because they could be addressed without the
> device costing very much more. The ifo/iso one in particular is just a
> software issue, and judging by the forums Netgear realise they have
> messed up, and are working towards new firmware (how long it will be
is
> anyone's guess, though).
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> As for HD playback, if you're going to the trouble of making a box
that
> can output at 1080p, it would seem sensible to make sure it can handle
> the bitrate. The extra horsepower would put the price up of course,
but
> it would still be very reasonably priced.
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> Mal
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> Kenneth Watt wrote:
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> > > I've done a bit more reading around, and unfortunately it
looks
> like
> > > this device has too many shortcomings to be useful.
> >
> > For =A399 did you really expect much else?
> >
> > K.
> >
> >
> >
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> [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
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> Unless stated otherwise above:
> IBM United Kingdom Limited - Registered in England and Wales with
> number
> 741598.
> Registered office: PO Box 41, North Harbour, Portsmouth, Hampshire PO6
> 3AU
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> [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
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