I jumped into blu ray about 3 months ago or so. I held off as long as I could. ive got the 1080p tv, i got the 350 dollar player, and about 25-30 movies in bluray.

But i just took a good look at the collection, and cant shake a feeling of regret - ok, there are some good ones in there , but about half of them just SUCK, and i bought them while I was in the rush of the "new toy" excitement.

I feel even more that way when i look at the blu ray library at any major store, or online. I look at the titles and think - who in the hell is paying $30 for Resident Evil, ... Wild Hogs, ... Rush Hour 3, etc.. Alexander, etc.. and many others that , well , they just suck. Cmon, lets admit it.

Where are all the good movies? The Aliens, the star wars, the LOTRs, the Saving Private Ryans, etc. etc.. The BIG ones, you know what I mean. (jaws, the Thing, braveheart, goonies, ferris bueller, etc. etc.)

Whats taking so goddamn long !? How long do we have to wait for these? years? 1 year? 2 years ? What is the specific reason for why things are released when they are, onto bluray?

I feel a sense of regret - anyone else? I have money to spend on this, and so badly want to, but i go to the store and cant find any new ones i want because the collection sucks so bad.



Please discuss.

To me, quantity isn't an issue, its quality. Why are none of the bigger name catalog titles coming out. I'm fine with new releases, but they need to come out with movies like:

LOTR Trilogy
Braveheart
Star Wars
Pixar Movies
Indy

To name a few.

The same thing happened with DVD. It took years for some of the most anticipated titles to be released ("Star Wars," anything directed by Spielberg). Certain studios were very sluggish to support the format for fear of piracy (Fox and Disney in particular).

With Blu-ray, the format war also slowed things down. Not all studios were onboard with Blu-ray until the last couple of months, and some of the ones that were were tentative.

There are only so many authoring facilities and only so much manufacturing capacity to go around. Things are gradually speeding up. You just have to be patient.

Personally, I'm glad I have something to look forward to, and I'm even more thankful that I can spread out my purchasing.

There's over 500 titles available. And the group we have is better than what DVD offered during its first 2 years. Not to mention, the quality is much, much higher. How many titles did you expect them to release so far? You have unrealistic expectations if you're thinking BD should have the same deep catalog that DVD has now. The market is growing, but still small. They're not going to flood the market with a bunch of titles right now. That will happen in 2009 after the user base has grown this year.

New releases are what's selling right now, so they are getting priority. Popular catalog titles will be released as well this year, but don't expect anything obscure for a while. There are only so many BD pressing plants available. They're making BDs as fast as they can. PATIENCE!

Discuss what? You are impatient and you want to put lots of plastic boxes on your shelves to lord over. Maybe you should contact the studios directly and demand that they hurry up just for you!

This is pretty much it... Do I wish there were more out there? Sure. But you know, its also nice to save a little bit of money so when they do come out, Im ready. Like its been said many times, just have to be patient.

I noticed this trend with DVD, the 'A' titles are held off for the first few years of the format. DVD came out in 1997, not until 2000 did we really start seeing the 'A' titles.

-Jaws (2000)
-Jurassic Park (2000)
-The Phantom Menace (2001) -Not an 'A' title,but it still wasn't day and date with VHS
-The Godfather Trilogy (2001)
-Back to the Future Trilogy (2002)
-Indiana Jones Trilogy (2003)
-Star Wars Trilogy (2004)
-Braveheart (2000)

I just don't understand why the studios don't release more of these 'A' titles earlier? I am still not buying a BluRay player until I see a couple of those titles released, because those are the movies I truly love. I guess I may be waiting til atleast 2009, but I can wait.

I agree. If they want the format to gain traction, they should be releasing at least one marquee title per month.....

For me, Master and Commander would qualify for May, but it keeps getting delayed, it's completely barebones, and the early reviews have pointed out issues with the transfer quality........

You're about as subtle as a bull in a china shop.


I seriously believe some of your questions are little more than attempting to cause a fire and fanning the flames...

Please do some research on this history of DVD and title releases. If everything came flying out right away, we'd have everyone (YOU leading the pack) bitching about the double- and triple-dips because of shoddy extras or bad picture/sound quality as time goes by and the technology continues to perfect. (We already have those problems and re-releases with titles you undoubtedly have already purchased!)

Personally I can say I'm happy I waited for titles like the Star Wars set (the original trilogy) when I saw what a great job they did with the release as opposed to titles like Wizard of Oz which seem to require upgrading ad nauseam.

Realize the double-edged sword of your demands yet?

And as far as what I quoted from you, I have to wonder how much you're intending to "discuss" yourself.

There are many fantastic movies on Blu-ray already.

I can't tell if this is a rhetorical question, but obviously, these decisions are almost exclusively driven by money. Many of the titles you want need to be remastered for Blu-ray, because the existing masters aren't up to snuff. That costs money and takes time, as does amassing/developing new extra features, authoring, etc. When the consumer market for Blu-ray is larger, the "A" catalog titles stand to make a much bigger splash and rake in a lot more profit. They would be terrible businessmen if they showed their hand now when the pot is still so small. Blu-ray will grow primarily on the strength of day-and-date titles and then the studios will start bringing out their bigger catalog guns more frequently when the profit will be maximized. In short, studios don't release movies to appease your desires, they release them to make money.

Nope. No regret here.

Sounds like a great opportunity to make some charitable contributions. It might just change your perspective altogether.

I heard Logan's Steakhouse has an excellent selection of Blu-ray titles. Perhaps try there? (Someone MUST get this joke)

I do agree that there is a double edged sword, but if you go by the way Standard DVD's were released, there was point in early 2000, probably after the figures for Christmas '99 came in, that DVD Players were really selling well, and it wasn't going to be a niche market like Laserdisk. At that point, that is when the floodgates opened, and every few months it just seemed like you had one great movie released after another, all the way up to the Star Wars Trilogy in 2004.

If you look at the history of VHS and Laserdisk, they had to get people to buy into those formats, and the 'A' titles were there from the beginning. I see BluRay releases being the same as Standard DVD, as we'll have to wait for one Christmas season where BluRay catches on with the mainstream, and then you will see the 'A' titles come out in a 2-3 year period. I just don't think we have hit that mark yet.

It seems like my definition of "A list" titles is very different than this forum's. I couldn't care less about getting Star Wars or the Indiana Jones movies on Blu-ray.

Thats fair and everyone does have their opinion of 'A' movies, but if you look at the Top Selling DVD's titles that are not current movies releases, Star Wars, Indiana Jones, Lord of the Rings, Back to the Future, etc, are all the top selling in their respective years, so there is a demand for them from the general public out there.

My point is that in 2004, all of these titles were released in the movies, except The Star Wars Trilogy & Lion King, so that means this was an older 'A' title that sold well among DVD owners.


DVD Sales Chart
2004
Rank Title Units* Release Gross*

1 Shrek 2 18.20 Nov. 05 316.00
2 Return of the King 12.50 May. 25 257.00
3 Star Wars 4.70 Sep. 21 215.00
4 The Passion 10.50 Aug. 31 189.00
5 Prisoner of Azkaban 9.40 Nov. 23 171.00
6 Spider-Man 2 9.90 Nov. 30 162.00
7 Matrix Revolutions 6.40 Apr. 06 116.00
8 Elf 6.20 Nov. 16 114.00
9 Lion King 1 1/2 6.00 Feb. 10 113.00
10 Brother Bear 5.90 Mar. 30 112.00
11 Day After Tomorrow 6.50 Oct. 12 110.00
12 American Wedding 5.50 Jan. 02 104.00
13 The Last Samurai 5.60 May. 04 99.00
14 Bourne Supremacy 5.40 Dec. 07 93.00
15 Van Helsing 4.90 Oct. 19 88.00
16 Cheaper by...Dozen 4.90 Apr. 06 84.00
17 50 First Dates Jun. 15 72.00
18 Open Range Jan. 20 70.00

I think it is tough to demand studios release better titles, when you won't buy what is out there. I mean DUH! It does all come down to money...Blu-ray doesn't sell, titles don't get released, much like the TV shows on DVD market. It's also a lot like a sports team, why spend money on good players when no one is showing up to the games? If the Yankees had a bunch of minor league wash outs and cast offs that don't play well, their attendance will be down. Then management would make the argument, well no one is coming so why bother? That same logic applies here.

And I also agree that the definition of A list is selective. I consider Fight Club A list, but I don't consider Star Wars. In that respect, to each his own. No problems there.

I don't want to guys to think that I disrespecting your opinions of what is a great movie. Even though I am a Star Wars fan, I don't say that meaning 'the greatest movie ever.....'

My whole point is that I know alot of friends who probably won't get a BluRay player until they see the 'bigger selling' older movies. I will use that term instead of 'A' titles so I don't seem bias. I have one friend that said, "Put out Lord of the Rings' and I am there, myself, I am waiting for Star Wars, Back to the Future, The Godfather, other friends who love Jaws.

I am just saying there are movies that are loved by the masses, and they are the big ticket sellers whenever you have one of these video formats come out. I for one would love to have Heat by Michael Mann come out to BluRay, as I consider this an 'A' title in my opinion, but I know a movie like Heat is not going be a top seller compared to a popular movie series like Star Wars will.

That makes sense to me.

I would spontaneously orgasm if My Dinner with Andre was ever announced for Blu-ray. That should be all you need to know about my biases.

No offense taken.

Put in essence you proved my point. You want Star Wars, Back to the Future, Lord of the Rings and such, you need to support the format. Granted I have yet to go Blu (waiting for a few things money wise...but I plan on buying titles before I get the player), but I will support to get my titles released.

now thats not true, im not trying to cause a fire or a fight here. I just wanted to know why the blockbuster titles are held in reserve for so long, while we are flooded with week after week of sub-standard or garbage titles.

Sure i dont mind waiting, but ive allready BEEN waiting since they announced the format, which was years ago.

I for one, feel like the reason the format is off to a sluggish start is because of the catalogue of movies released so far, not the transfer quality. the disc quality is stunning - thats what makes me want the good movies so bad.

Do not discuss anymore.

I happen to think the selection is pretty good. I also think people forget how long it took Indiana Jones, Star Wars, Back to the Future, etc... to get to DVD. Not that DVD is that great a comparison. DVD wasn't competiting too much with VHS in terms of sales (more rentals) and VHS had very few day and date titles. But stuff will come, and it is still coming. It's not just going to come all at once.

For a reference point, go back to May of 1999 and see what was and wasn't on DVD. A lot of stuff wasn't on DVD back then.

Catalog releases don't sell that well. Reds, for example, has probably sold a total of 5000 copies, if that. Each studio only has a small handful of truly "A" titles (Universal = Spielbergs, BTTF; Fox = Star Wars; WB = Lord of the Rings; Paramount = Godfather, Indy; Sony = Bonds). They release these now, they sell to a tiny market. Since software prices are expected to drop as time goes on, by the time a lot of people have the hardware, the $150 BD box set will run $45. And they'll make less money.

Wait until stand-alone players number in the millions. Then you've got a reason to complain.

Not only that, they also sell when their margins-per-disc are not nearly as good as they will be once Blu-ray has greater penetration and infrastructure. There is really no reason for the OP to expect the most widely-appealing movies on BD right now, if he takes a moment to consider the business implications.

Don't produce movies, but put huge money into incentives for studios and advertising. Then you hope to get people to notice you, and they do, but they don't like your lack of selection and high prices. So you don't release movies because you want to wait until there is a lot of players to make a lot of sales on franchise titles. But without the franchise title releases, the masses won't adopt.

It worked with DVD because the product was vastly superior to VHS. I don't think BD will ever take over the place of DVD. And we will be lucky to get a lot of older movies.

Enjoy what we get, but I wouldn't hold your breath for most stuff.

I don't think that's necessarily true. Sales of day-and-date titles pretty much always destroy sales of catalog titles, so a steady stream of day-and-dates can certainly lead to enough adoption to eventually make franchise catalog releases sensical.

The only reason is stupidity on the part of the studios. They piss and moan about piracy, but when there's a new format not currently being pirated on a noticeable scale, they don't run out and support it. I think they're leaving money on table.