HDTV Television

That’s the verdict of market research firm iSuppli, which carried out a so-called teardown of the machine, picking it apart to determine what’s inside and how much it cost to build. iSuppli analyst Chris Crotty reckons the internal electronics cost about $674, bringing the total to more than $700 when components such as packaging and manufacturing are included. The players sell through retailers for $499, leaving Toshiba with a per-unit loss of $200 or more. This kind of pricing strategy has been tried before, most notably by Microsoft, which took a loss on its first Xbox gaming system and later the Xbox 360 in hopes of making a profit on associated games.