Why, up today, is a DCC & sound decoder so expensive? The manufacturers made hundreds of thousands decoders, but still are expensives. There in USA, which´s the price of a home DVD reader? Just to compare prices between a chip, and a whole and complex machine. Thanks
A manufacturer must ammortize the start up, design, tooling and marketing costs. He does this by dividing that total by the number of units to be produced. Then he marks it up for profit and dealer discounts, if any. It is possible that there are so few DCC operators who want, or who can afford, those items compared to the many more thousands of DC operators that the numbers just aren't there yet.
The overall model railroading market is so Puny compared to the electronics market's billions of dollars comparisons to DVD readers is an exercise in futility. If the day should ever come, and don't count on it, that there was a market for a million decoders, the price woud decrease dramatically, as has been historically the case in the electronics industry. Dream on.
doc managoWhy, up today, is a DCC & sound decoder so expensive?
However I totally disagree that DCC and sound are expensive. When I first started using on-board sound the base unit was $750 - that was in 1983, so by today's dollar that would be more like $1100. The first DCC onboard sound decoder I purchased was $295. 1 function Non-sound decoders used to be $50 each (probably closer to $75 in today's dollar). So now when I can buy good sound for $95 and plain decoders for $12 I think that they are not expensive at all.
DCC Prices have come way down.
It is much less expensive for much better equipment than it was just five years ago.
When I first ventured into the realm of DCC, a one function decoder that accepted only a short address and 14 speed step was close to $75 each, MSRP. Today you can get a 6 function, long address, 28/128 speed step decoder for under $30.
Sound was out of the question back then.
Today you can get a highly detailed Blue Line engine with sound already installed for less than $100. And yes, there are still some sound decoders that still cost that much, but you must realize the thousands of dollars of R&D that goes into them. Advertising, packaging, stocking, distributing, and other expenses also enter into the equation. If you know how and where to shop on line, you can save a significant amount.