Well, it's hard to quantify actual demand - at least for those of us who don't have access to any numbers to crunch - but it's my guess that the demand for the HVX is far bigger than the demand for the JVC or the Canon. I think if any of the HDV cameras had a lot of demand, it was Sony's camera, who was first out the gate, unchallenged in the marketplace for almost a year, and did a great job marketing it as the only "HD" solution for the time. Of course now that there are other options, it isn't even a blip on most people's radar because anyone wanting to use it for filmmaking purposes is going to demand 24p at this point, and that's where the Sony really comes up short.FullRez said:
I don't believe that companies are intentionally providing low quantities of product simply to create "hype." From a business perspective, especially for the HVX and the XBox, it just doesn't make any sense. In order to compete in this marketplace where there are many options, you want to sell as many units of your product as possible so that it becomes as widely adopted as possible. Sony is coming out with their PS3 in a couple of months - a machine that offers 1080p, games on Blu-Ray discs, and superior processing units inside. Compared to the Xbox 360, which maxes out at 720p (for the games that even offer it), distributes all of their games at this point on regular DVD (how much HD content do you plan to pack on a 4GB disc?), and is a slower, older machine, they will already have an obsolete system by the time Sony ships. The only thing that will keep it alive is exclusive software content (a very big variable with video games) and the fact that some parents will refuse to turn around and buy another console for their kid after they just shelled out $400 for one at Christmas time. Believe me, Microsoft knows all of this and they want as many people to lay down money for their product as possible. My guess as to why the supply could not keep up with the demand in '05 was that they rushed to get as many machines built before Christmas as they could to take advantage of that huge selling opportunity, and in doing so, they didn't have the time or resources to make the 10 million machines that were craved by people around the country wanting "the next big console."
Similarly, Panasonic has nothing to gain at this point in time by delaying the camera on purpose just to "create hype." Have you seen the flood of posts around this and other forums of people frustrated and annoyed by the mythical "December 29th" shipping date that saw a worldwide release of just a handful of cameras? My guess is that if anything, they released their camera ahead of when they really felt comfortable because they just couldn't sit on the product any longer. They made the formal announcement back at NAB in April, and didn't deliver until essentially January of the following year. There's your time period for the camera to "build hype" (and boy, did it). But in a market filled with Sonys and JVCs and Canons - not to mention promises of even superior technology right around the corner from new companies (Red) and even Panasonic themselves, there is nothing to gain by sitting around on a stockpile of cameras and saying, "look at all of the hype we're creating!" Time is money. Panasonic knows that, and the buying public knows that.
Don't forget that not only does Panasonic have to push the HVX, but they have to push P2 as well. The more people that use it, the more established it becomes. If only 4 people in the world are shooting to P2, it doesn't give the format a lot of hope for longevity.
I'm sure that in many cases, new products (espeically ones with little or no competition) come out that delay shipments to create hype for their product (even if the product is ready to be shipped) so that upon launch, there is bigger demand. But I would guess that even for products with little competition, there isn't much to gain by only shipping a few units out to the masses. The goal is to make money by selling as many units possible.
I'm pretty sure that Panasonic would rather have an HVX in the hands of every man, woman, and child in America as opposed to some "cool hype" that nets them no sales by the time they can actually deliver.
