At TVpredictions.com they do what they are asked to do - Predict our future, one of their writers, Swanni, has the ability to look in a crystal ball and decided to bring us his HDTV predicitions for 2008.
Will Microsoft unveil an Xbox equipped with Blu-ray player? Yes, Swanni says. Ofcourse we did some discussing on this ourselves and many came to the same conclusion, but others believe that Microsoft might plan to fight Sony by selling more and more movies through download services like their own Xbox Live. Maybe Microsoft believes that they can fight the format together with services like TiVo and Apple TV. Swanni says that Microsoft will reach an agreement with Sony later this year for an Xbox that includes a Blu-ray player, "because there is no way that Microsoft will let Sony and the Playstation 3 have the Blu-ray category to itself".
Secondly the man predicts that plasma TV prices will shrink further. Everybody knows that plasma manufacturers are alarmed that LCD sales are dominating the flat screen category, so it's pure logic to expect plasma prices to drop. Swanni expects this price drop will mainly be targeted at the 720p sets. 'A 42-inch 720p plasma set will cost $799,' he said.
The final prediction of Swanni is probably the most interesting one. He says that Blu-ray players will cost less than $200 during this year's holiday season. Yesterday we already announced that the prices are actually rising, but Swanni thinks this is a 'temporary hike'. We all know that Sony has been promising new Blu-ray players in different price categories by this year's fall, but I am not really sure if they will sell the players for less than $200 by December. Although it's definitely not impossible... Or is it?
