Be Kind Rewind to, um, debut on Blu the same week as the DVD
 

Awesome news from blu-ray.com:

Warner Bros. Warner Home Video has revealed that they will bring the Jack Black and Mos Def comedy 'Be Kind Rewind' to Blu-ray on June 10th, a full week before the DVD release. This will be the first time any major studio makes the Blu-ray release available prior to the DVD release, providing an interesting experiment to see how consumers react to only seeing the Blu-ray version on store shelves.

The DVD release was initially scheduled for June 10th, but updated information from the studio now indicates an availability date of June 17th. No word if this was done intentionally, or if production problems caused the delay.

Video will be presented in 2.35:1 1080p VC-1 on a BD-25. No audio specs have been announced at this time. Extras, while not currently announced, will most likely mirror the DVD release.

AWESOME!!!! Could it be?... Are they going after DVD?

It's not really a movie I want though. Too bad they aren't trying this out with a big time release.

They need to do this type of stuff on a large scale to achieve what they want. Kudos to them.

Urgh. I had really been hoping for something more with this release, like a Gondry commentary and/or deleted scenes.

Maybe someone at Warner reads these forums? I recall another poster bringing this up this type of strategy recently.

YES! I was hoping for this!

They need to do this more often. An alternative which might be confusing to retailers is to release Blu-ray discs on Fridays.

Oh and where is The Science of Sleep in HD? :mad:

Nice. I loved this movie.

If "the extras mirror the DVD release", won't that just mean one lousy featurette? If so, both formats should just wait for the double-dip.

It's already out in HD. Check Amazon France for La science des rêves on Blu-ray.

No English subtitles for the French or Spanish dialogue in the movie, unfortunately.

I know I mentioned this in the past but I'm quite sure I'm not the only one who had the idea.

This is a good start, but they need a higher profile release to really see what can happen. Imagine if they did this with The Dark Knight.

Release The Dark Knight a week early and price it at $19.99 in stores. I'd be curious to see how many they would sell with that scenario.

I hope I'm wrong, but I just don't see this increasing sales by a noticeable amount. Will getting a title, that wasn't even a hit, a week early really inspire people to run out and buy a $400 player? The only thing I think it will do is maybe convince those who already have BD, but still buy DVDs sometimes (for titles they don't think are worth it, like comedies), to go ahead and get the BD in this case - like how some of us might spend more for a title if we see it on the shelf before the street date. So it might have a small effect.

On the other hand, if they keep this up, even for popular titles, the prospect of getting every new release a little early might cause some to get into BD sooner than they would have otherwise. Though, I still think they'd have to be on the verge of getting a player in the first place. We'll see what happens.

They are undoubtedly testing the waters with a lower profile release.

Hopefully this means we'll start seeing better first week sale prices at the B&Ms.

But isn't the whole purpose of this to encourage people to choose Blu-ray over DVD? Very few people are going to be influenced by a low profile title. It seems like for this to have an affect, it would need to apply to all new release titles, because then the DVD-only people would have a clearer perception that they're at a disadvantage.

Don't get me wrong, I think this is a good sign, but I don't understand how this one title will be a worthwhile indicator of anything.

I've been calling for this since Hd-dvd came out! About time.

You've got to start somewhere.

My question is, if this becomes the norm, how much of a backlash will there be from DVD buyers when they have to wait an extra week for The Dark Knight or the new Indiana Jones?

Will it be a backlash or some grumbling accompanied by purchases of Blu-ray players? That's what WB needs to find out.

I agree. I guess my point was that starting with a low profile title isn't nearly as effective at "testing the waters" as starting with a high profile title.

Good question. It will be interesting to see what the retailers think of this, even before it becomes the norm (if it ever does). I can imagine consumers seeing the movie in BD on the shelf and asking where the DVD version is and then getting upset that it's not available yet.

I think the studios can get away with an extra week wait for the DVD. 2 weeks or more would probably be pushing it right now.

It doesn't really matter. There is not much of a consumer choice (at the moment), and that window is closing. But in reality they will still get the $$$ no matter what the media format.

But still, this title? :lol: Nobody is going to care.

Most people purchase because of price.

I care :(

Can't wait for this one.

Yeah, if you're going to "test the waters", then uhh, maybe pick a few movies which can really flush the consumer addiction out in the open. I usually wait for most titles to be on the shelves for a few months before I purchase due to sales. If I purchased everything as soon as it was released, my purchases would be depreciating so fast, I'd might as well invest in mortgages. So, releasing HD titles weeks before the DVD, is not phasing me at all. And I'm sure many others agree.

How about just release a stellar version on Blu-ray, make SURE it's properly framed and problem-free of all the other issues we've seen and discussed, and has extra features on it the DVD does not (I'm not talking about a fucking video game as a feature or a Blu-ray plush toy, thanks. I mean commentaries, featurettes, in-depth interviews, etc.).