joshd2012

http://www.videobusiness.com/article/CA6305651.html

New Releases: $34.95
Catalog Releases: $29.95

Edit: I just found out that HD-DVD Catalog Releases from Warner will also be priced at $29.95

DthRdrX

I'm going to buy catalog releases and probably wait for the newer $35 titles to drop a little. I paid around 30-34 for DVHS so this falls right in line for what I expected to hear for the last year. So much for all the HD-dvd nonsense about how much more expensive Blu-Ray software will be to the end consumer.

Maxflier

That's only around $5 more than regular DVD new releases, right?

Adam Tyner

It's $5 more than their regular DVDs in a lot of cases. Remember, we're talking MSRP, not street prices.

joshd2012

Actually, its kind of scary how close they are to the real deal. Doom Unrated, which just came out today, has an MSRP of $29.98 and is in the stores at $16.98. Consider Sony is saying their new releases will be MSRP $34.95, that is only $5 more.

Adam Tyner

Amazon also doesn't sell brand new releases for 66% off MSRP, so you're not comparing apples to anything even bearing a passing resemblance to apples.

Adam Tyner

A catalog title that's being newly issued is still a brand new release. Show me some high-profile catalog titles released in the past month or two from Sony that are 66% off at Amazon.

I mean, I'm not arguing that $5 - $10 above the MSRP for DVD is a spectacular deal, but that sort of premium is not unexpected, especially this early in the game, and it's hardly ridiculous. Remember, HD-DVD/Blu-Ray aren't going to be mass-market out of the gate. You can't amortize your costs over as many users.

darkside

HD-DVD/Blu Ray titles seem to be priced right to me. I don't think we could expect them to be the same price as DVDs and $5 more is hardly an issue. Granted we may not see the huge markdowns on them right away, but the MSRP is right in line with DVD and a bargain compared to those overpriced UMD movies.

digitalfreaknyc

Is that what you were expecting?

T1000

Me too.

I haven't brought one DVD over $20. (I used your currency for that example )

speedy1961

Here's an article from our friends at HMR on the same subject:

Sony Prices Blu-ray, Plans Bundling
Author: THOMAS K. ARNOLD
[email protected]
Posted: February 7, 2006



Sony Pictures Home Entertainment Feb. 7 became the first major studio to put a price tag on Blu-ray Discs when they become available in U.S. stores later this year.

At the same time, the studio unveiled what many observers believe will be a key component of the next-generation, high-definition optical disc’s marketing strategy — bundling various formats together to give consumers more flexibility and mobility.

Catalog Blu-ray Disc titles will wholesale for $17.95, about the same as DVDs when that format came on the market in 1997. New-release Blu-ray Discs will wholesale for $23.45, a premium of about 15% to 20% over what suppliers were charging for new theatrical DVDs.

Feingold said the higher pricing structure for new releases is meant to accommodate both the sellthrough and the rental markets.

He added that Sony will not attach any suggested list prices to its Blu-ray Discs, at least not at this time.

“From the retail perspective, this is going to be a hot product, and retailers will no doubt determine their own margin structure,” he said. “We believe in a free market.”

Blu-ray Discs will likely start showing up in stores by early summer, sources say. In advance of that, Sony is bowing a bundling concept to DVD and the Universal Media Disc (UMD) that it may migrate to Blu-ray.

Starting March 28, consumers can buy DVD-UMD combo packs of The Grudge, Resident Evil, Underworld, Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon and MGM’s The Terminator for just pennies more than Sony typically charges for a new DVD.

A second batch of DVD-UMD combos — Ghostbusters, Mad Max, The Fifth Element and Snatch — arrives April 25, with a third wave slated to come on the market in May.

Each combo is priced at $28.95. Sony typically charges $24.96 to $26.96 for new DVD releases, while titles new to UMD generally list for $19.95.

Additionally, the Fun With Dick and Jane remake bows on DVD and UMD April 11, with the formats available individually for $28.95 each or bundled together for $39.95.

Feingold said that’s a taste of what consumers can expect when Blu-ray Discs appear in stores.

“With the launch of Blu-ray, we’re going to try to introduce the managed-copy concept, where if you buy Blu-ray you’ll be able to get additional versions [of the same title] to use in your home,” Feingold said. “Ultimately, we might even get to the point where we’ll offer consumers the ability to have different versions of the same movie on different devices in the home — that’s something we’re working on.”

For now, Feingold said, “we’re experimenting with UMD,” the tiny optical-disc format playable only on Sony’s handheld PlayStation Portable (PSP).

“A lot of people have DVD players and also have PSPs, and this way for one price they can get one movie and play it back on both formats,” Feingold said.

Feingold would not specify whether future Blu-ray bundling would be electronic or physical, as is the case with the DVD/UMD combo packs.

raven56706

yawn..... tell me the price of the ps3 and then we can talk

Adam Tyner

Since you clearly have no interest in high-definition, you're wasting your time (and ours) by reading and posting in this forum.

Anubis2005X

The prices seem quite reasonable, considering that we're talking MSRP and a brand new format. What's with all the ?

T1000

How come I can't pm you?

Adam Tyner

Private messaging is disabled, and some users don't want to receive e-mails.

OldBoy

aren't you the one that got yanked (pun intended) and paid way over MSRP for "Police Academy"?

joshd2012

Cleary you have no understanding of MSRP vs Retail pricing.

Spiky

Sounds just about right to me. Assuming one format survives, in 5 years they'll be selling for the same as DVDs do now.

joshtown

Does anyone know if all these formats / HD players will be compatible with regular DVD's?? That would make it so much easier for the transition.

mbs

I think the pricing is smart and makes total sense. I was worried Sony/Toshiba would price the HD discs at somewhere near double MSRP of DVDs. Glad to see that we can get the discs at a slight premium, even early on.

"Unfortunately", they will be priced low enough that I will feel compelled to replace much of my collection. Woe is my wallet.

Adam Tyner

All of the Blu-Ray and HD-DVD players that have been announced so far will play your regular DVDs. (I remember reading that CD playback is problematic.)

There's talk of 'hybrid' discs that you can watch in high-definition or on your existing DVD player. How many of those wind up being released, I have no idea. I'd assume you could also use the managed copy features these formats offer to copy your HD-DVD/Blu-Ray disc onto something your DVD player could use.

At least the rollout will be a little slow at first. Hopefully by the time the studios start really digging into their back catalogs and unleash a torrent of titles, prices will have eased back a bit.

Terrell

I'd say it's higher than $5 more, based on my buying experiences with street prices. I get the vast majority of my new DVD releases for less than $20, or around $20 for 2-disc releases. Every now and then it's more, but most of the time I pay about that price, give or take. So based on actual prices on the street, I'd say it's about $10 more. I'm merely guessing, but I imagine street prices for Blu-Ray to be around $30, give or take a dollar or two.

Not a big deal to me, considering I won't even think about HD until we have a winner. But prices will come down the more popular it becomes.

Adam Tyner

Oh, absolutely. I was strictly talking about MSRP. I'd expect the percentage discount per-title to be higher with DVD than with HD-DVD/Blu-Ray. We're a small group of premium customers, so we're not going to be targeted by the loss-leaders...yet.

Although it might be worth noting that despite what was originally going around, Sony apparently isn't specifying an MSRP -- they're doing what Paramount has done on occasion by just specifying a wholesale price and leaving it up to stores what to charge from there.

From The Hollywood Reporter:

The $29.95 - $34.95 prices were guesstimates based on that. Realistic expectations, maybe, but who knows...? That's a pretty big mark-up from wholesale, and maybe they'll come in lower than analysts are expecting.

fitprod

I had to rattle my brain a bit, but I think Sony did the same thing with DVD.

I was working at an independet home theater shop during the first few years of DVD, and at the time and I think $17.XX was the cost for $24.98 titles and $23.XX was the cost for $29.98 titles.

fitprod