mattysemo247

Pricing is still a huge factor. There are rarely sales where 4K discs hit $10, yet it's pretty common for blu Ray's to hit $5 to $10 all the time, which seems to be the price range most people are comfortable with.

morriscroy

I use a similar argument ^ as this, largely as an easy way of tricking myself into NOT buying a particular title on dvd or bluray. I keep a mental list of which older catalog titles are being re-released on 4Kbluray, also largely as a guide of "what NOT to buy".

(For reasons I don't understand yet, this ^ mindfuck argument is only effective for 4K for me. It doesn't seem to work at all for me, if I'm guessing a title only has a convention generic 2K HD transfer available).

With many current/recent titles now having 4K transfers from the start, it makes it very easy to NOT buy anything on dvd/bluray/4Kbluray that is current.

Doing this ^ mindfuck on myself over the past few years as a way of "squelching" my cd/dvd/bluray OCD compulsive completionist collecting mindset, it turns out I end up watching many of these recent/current movies when they eventually show up on basic cable channels (such as Marvel movies). In the end, it turns out many of the 4Kbluray releases are movies which have no replay value for me. I end up only watching them once or twice on basic cable channels.

In hindsight, I'm glad I didn't waste any cash/effort on 4Kbluray titles which turned out to be mediocre movies with very little to no replay value for me.

orangerunner

I'm not sure if we'll see 4K follow the predictable sales strategies that may have worked for DVD and Blu-ray. I don't think there's any illusion among the studios and distributors that 4K will reach anywhere near the sales figures that DVD and Blu-ray did, no matter how cheap you price it.

Much like 3D Blu-ray, I don't think you'll see them in the $5 bin at Wal-Mart or players selling for $49. I think they'll leave it as a high-margin/low volume format aimed at the collectors.

After 12 years of selling side-by-side with Blu-ray, DVD still does a very good volume and I don't see it going anywhere. The format is too ingrained in the marketplace.

A lot of DVD buyers are still intimidated by downloading/streaming with not having the technological know-how, passing their credit card numbers to strange websites, fear of not reading the fine print and finding themselves obligated or "signed-up" for something they don't want.

That unknown factor is a definite deterrent for a lot of older consumers which will cause them to stick with what they know and trust; going to a store and buying a disc that plays in a machine they are familiar with.

orangerunner

I remember trying to apply a bunch of rules for Blu-ray when I decided to switch but most of it went out the window. Things like "If the DVD I already have is mastered in High-Def, I don't need the Blu-ray" etc.

Once Blu-rays were randomly found for $1-$4 on the used market, it was hard not the buy them. I have lots of titles I wish I never saw on the cheap because for a couple bucks I could retire the old DVD... except the DVD had more extras and cool packaging that the Blu-ray didn't have. The insanity ensues.

I already have about ten 4K UHD titles that I bought for cheap on the used market simply because they had the Blu-ray as well. I respect the advancements of the 4K format but I just don't want to get a 4K player or a 4K TV and start the cycle again.

Adam Tyner

Believe it or not, some Walmart locations had the LG UP870 for $49. At least one went down to $25 (!). But I get that that's a rare exception.

BuckNaked2k

FWIW, I'm happy with 1080p and 5.1 surround. My set up still works great, and I have no interest in upgrading at present. At some point, enough is enough.

morriscroy

Another possiblity is cable tv companies offering VOD/streaming services over the cable line. They show up as additional fees on the monthly cable bills (ie. something familiar looking).

morriscroy

The only way I've been able to keep such "insanity" in check, was completely abstinence.

Basically I don't walk through the dvd/bluray section anymore at nearby retailers.

This is the only way I've been able to get around this "problem". All other previous methods I tried, were complete utter failures for me.

orangerunner

With most cable companies charging between $4-$7 per title with a mere press of a button it's easy to get that sticker-shock at the end of the month when you find that you owe another $50-$60 for several movies you've probably forgotten about.

If you spend the same amount on discs, at least you have something tangible in your hand at the end of the month.

rw2516

I think all the individual streaming services will end up on cable eventually. Just like premium channels. You can already stream Netflix through the cable box. Others will follow.

JimRochester

With Family Video a few miles down the road, it's pretty easy for me to grab a couple titles on Friday afternoon and I have them until Wednesday. I know a lot of people who get that bill with 6 - 10 movies at $5.99 on them then bitch at the cable company. The rentals are half of that and because it's change out of my pocket, no sticker shock all at once. I'm enjoying the 4K format but the days of owning everything and anything are long gone. For everything I buy I pull an old one off the shelf and donate it. So I'm still old fashioned in terms of preferring a tangible media but hate having shelves and shelves of dust collectors.

morriscroy

$1/$2 dump bin stuff is pretty much what ruins any and all "rules" I've ever had for selectively buying cd/dvd/bluray titles in a strict manner. With the exception of total abstinence, such buying "rules" only really worked if cd/dvd/bluray titles were still priced at regular or sky high prices (ie. over $10-$20 a pop).

I don't know about other folks, but I find I have very little to no self-discipline when it comes to dump bins for cds/dvds/blurays. This is the primary reason why I currently don't walk through any cd/dvd/bluray sections at any nearby offline retailers, especially when there exists $5 (or less) dump bins.

The only way to keep the insanity in check, is to never have it triggered at all in the first place. Basically for me, this means complete abstinence.

DJariya

FYI:

PhantomStranger

Interesting numbers, UHD is actually doing a little better than I suspected. The UHD sales have helped those figures.

fumanstan

People wanting major releases like Infinity War and Deadpool 2 in 4K probably helps.

orangerunner

It would be interesting to see how the formats split among a single title such as Deadpool 2.

I'm guessing the percentage of 4K Deadpool 2 would be higher than the 12.2% overall figure.

bruceames

Week 1 Deadpool 2 unit sales:

UHD 17%
Blu-ray 59%
DVD 24%

Week 1 Avengers Infinity Wars:

UHD 19%
Blu-ray 57%
DVD 24%

orangerunner

That's actually pretty good for a format in which a decent player is still north of $200, at least in Canada.

Iron_Giant

I do not have a 4K HDTV yet, but I have been buying my new "Action" movies in 4K/BR combo packages...this way I can have my NEW Favorite movies 4K ready when I finally buy my first 4K TV.

BuckNaked2k

Alan Smithee

Well, good to see regular DVD sinking. With stores reducing space for media, it would be nice if so much of it wasn't wasted on DVDs that are already on Blu-Ray and/or 4K.

bruceames

Blu-ray/UHD up to 45% revenue share this year. I'm sure next year DVD will be finally less than 50% since DVD's decline rate is accelerating (down 20% this year vs. the norm of 15%).

PhantomStranger

Regular movie fans are largely giving up on DVD now that streaming is becoming more mainstream. Streaming has really started eating into the bottom of the market. Collectors have all migrated to UHD/BD by this point.

morriscroy

Wonder what % of the dvd versions were library or other "institutional" purchases?

mig0

Has that translated yet into reduced DVD releases? I remember they were still releasing hundreds of dvds weekly, even if many of those titles moved few discs.