mdnitoil

I know a couple of people who have one and they really seem to like it. Of course, compare that to the fact that every last person I know has at least one DVD player, and it's a drop in the bucket.

pro-bassoonist

Actually, the way things are going (this would include declining revenue and unit sales for DVD), I don't think that the majors will keep pumping money into DVD (the recent string of independent DVD-only labels going belly up should explain why); it will be phased, starting with the 2DVD SE sets, in favor of a higher-margin product.

Pro-B

Kurt D

First off, don't stop buying anything. We survive by being consumers. Does that fact make any sense? Yes, in the sense that we must consume food. New electronics every two years? Not so much. Plus, my tongue is in cheek. But - my local Mom 'n' Pop x 10 video joint just expanded their BR shelving by a factor of 3, so there you have it. It may take a while, but it looks like things are goin' Blu. (Don't fret, everybody, vinyl is still around .)

But yeah, if DVD prices are indeed going up, it's probably a small conflation of post-holiday sales disappearing and studios just trying to stay afloat on their current raft of bread and butter.

OK - no more drunk posting for me. Happy St. Patty's day, all!

C_Fletch

WE survive by being SMART consumers. Not cattle. I don't like being steered anywhere besides where I WANT to go. Period. Companies trying to change my buying habits by increasing the prices of items that cost them pennies to produce. It's just the studios trying to bend us over and serve them another helping for our pocket books. The sad fact of the matter is that I have spent thousands on their 'new' ultimate super versions and it's getting old. So now rather then give THEM any more money I would rather give it to my local pawnshop, at least they have more morals.

Off soapbox.

An4h0ny

higher margin doesn't equal more profits...

if you only sell 1/100th the amount you would with the lower margin alternative then that's not a good plan.

studios are looking to move the most UNITS of whatever item they are selling. if you can sell 500,000 units of a product with a 2% margin, that's a lot better than 5,000 units at a 5% margin.

imo, bd and ALL disc formats will eventually be eroded by digitally distributed versions of content, be it music, movies or whatever.

discs will still be around but mostly for backup purposes.

pro-bassoonist

I did not argue that it does.

You theory would be fine if the lower margin product sustained its current performance levels, as did its higher-margin competitor - a quick look at the yearly sales data via HMM indicates that sales and revenue from DVD continue to slide while sales and revenue from BD continue to increase.

I am going to have to disagree with you on this one. Studios are looking to generate more revenue. Moving more units has absolutely nothing to do with their planning. Hence, the reason why you would see that very soon 2DVD SE will start disappearing and and a larger catalog of BDs will start appearing.

On this one I am also going to disagree with you. Physical media will always be around, certainly as far as my and your lifetime is concerned.

Pro-B

pro-bassoonist

So do I. Hence the reason why I feel very strongly about HD physical media and what it is capable of offering us over DVD.

Pro-B

madcougar

Just because you go out and buy these doesn't mean you can afford them! Take it from me. After years of doing just that I realized that I had invested thousands of dollars into my DVD collection. A collection that in reality I would NEVER be able to fully enjoy completely as I had way to many movies.

madcougar

Wow. When you think the local pawn shop has more morals than the studios, you know things are bad! I'm with you brother. I pretty much only buy used DVDs now - for no more than $5 or so tops. Last year I purchased maybe six new DVDs.

Gizmo

Ahh, I see someone posted something negative about Blu-ray, no wonder why Pro-B posted in a thread in the DVDTalk forum. Color me shocked!

Gizmo

Except you didn't care about the HD physical format that came in Red cases - only Blue. So you actually only really care(d) about Blu-ray media.

mdnitoil

Meh, the color of the case hardly matters...just ask the recording industry what the hell happened to their disc-based sales. To believe that video will somehow escape this fate is, ummm, wishful thinking at best.

Besides horrific timing for HD media, how many folks do you think are out there that got drunk on DVDs and now have amassed huge (by their standards) collections? Now, does anybody really believe they'll go through this all over again? HD may eventually become the default disc-based media, but it will never be able to equal SD at it's height because the appetite for this delivery system is declining. Cripes, people are trying to figure out how to watch movies on their phone!

pro-bassoonist

The discussion in this thread revolves around DVD vs. Blu-ray - present vs. future. Therefore, it should be fairly clear that when I refer to physical HD media I mean Blu-ray. I don't see where HDDVD come into play, given that it is no longer in existence.

This being said, yes, I did not care about Toshiba's product.

No.

But, I don't think interest in cinema and owning films ends with the generation you mention above.

Pro-B

Gizmo

Yes, we all know anytime something negative about BD is posted you swoop in to defend it.

tonyc3742

* Less competition in retailers.
* Less room to "lose money" via loss-leaders.
* Less chance of people impulsively buying other stuff when picking up that loss leader.
* Off-season (no holiday, relatively few big name releases)
* People are slowing down their purchases of "luxury" items.

I think there is a bit of the thinking "Let's not work too hard on the DVD release, let's put that energy toward the BD that costs 8-12$ more and brings in more profit".

If things are "going Blue" over the next few years, it's an interesting question - is it because people are voluntarily and willingly upgrading, or because that's predominately what the retailers and producers are pushing? Can you get a 4:3 non-portable TV anymore?

I do think BD sales will never be, in terms of dollars or units, what DVD sales were at their peak. By the time enough of the consumer base is interested in BD, there will be other methods of delivery like DD or on-demand via set top boxes or PCs, etc.. I personally like disk formats, I don't like moving toward all-digital delivery, but I do see it moving that way.