LG, Panasonic Jumping Into 3D TV Bundling Wars
LG and Panasonic are jumping into the 3D TV bundling wars, joining Sony and Samsung in what promises to be a promotional fall selling season, retailers said. Panasonic’s promotion, which launches Aug. 28, will package a 3D TV kit: two pairs of 3D glasses, a Blu-ray player and two movies, Universal’s Coraline and Fox’s Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs, with the VT25 series of 50 ($2,599), 54 ($2,999), 58 ($3,399) and 65 inch ($4,299) 3D plasma TVs. The sets are already being bundled with glasses, so three pairs will be available in the promotion, which runs through September, retailers said.
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But even with the promotion, Panasonic’s sets will remain more expensive than Samsung’s models. In 50-inch, Samsung’s set is $2,299 before a $170 instant rebate, retailers said. Sony launched similar promotions bundling two movies, a Blu-ray player and glasses with its 3D TVs. LG Electronics also recently entered the fray in the U.S. by bundling a Blu-ray player and active glasses with its 47-inch and 55-inch LX6500 and LX9500 3D LCD TVs, a spokesman said. Both lines are LED backlit, with the LX9500 stepping up to a 480 Hz frame rate from 240 Hz. LG has been promoting the LX6500 sets with $300 and $230 instant rebates, retailers said. Best Buy and Amazon were promoting the LX6500 47-inch and 55-inch sets on their websites Friday at $1,877 and $2,499 after about $800 in “savings."
Panasonic’s move “closes the gap” with its competitors, “but it doesn’t give them a leadership position,” said a video buyer at an East Coast chain. “There is a lot of promotion going on right now for the summer, so I can only imagine what it’s going to be like in the fall.” Panasonic officials weren’t available for comment.
In contrast to its approach in the U.S., LG is bundling the 47-inch LD950 ($3,899) and 55-inch LX9900 ($4,428) 3D passive LCD TVs in the U.K. with four pairs of passive glasses. Additional glasses cost about $1.55 each.
The promotions are partly driven by CE manufacturers’ battle with a slight oversupply of LCD TVs and by efforts to meet sales numbers, retailers said. “These bundles definitely help move product and consumers coming into a store are more easily sold on the 3D concept when they understand what’s available in addition to the TVs,” a West Coast retailer said.
Panasonic also is trimming the price on its new entry-level DMPBDT100 3D Blu-ray player to $249 from the original $299, retailers said. The deck represents Panasonic’s entry into “low-cost” Blu-ray players, a retail buyer said. It doesn’t have wireless technology, but there is optional dongle ($79), retailers said. The player has a 0.5-second boot time and VieraCast Internet service and allows for full HD playback. It also is DivX HD compatible and has a USB connector. It uses Panasonic’s UniPhier processor. The deck is a step down from the DMPBT350 Blu-ray player ($429), dropping two HDMI connectors, a 7.1-channel analog output and Wi-Fi. The model will still be priced above Samsung’s BDC5900 with similar features ($229). Samsung, meantime, is luring consumers to 3D with a free starter kit -- including four 3D movies and two pairs of glasses -- with a purchase of both a Samsung 3D TV and Blu-ray player (CED Aug 12 p1).