New target is DVD - What can BDA do?

[sphdle1]

Now that hddvd is out of the way from holding back high-def, what can the BDA, Sony et al, or We do to speed up the adoption of high-def to mass market appeal?

One thing that the hddvd guys continually say is that because the prices are so high on Blu-ray players, that adoption will take longer and downloads are on the rise. I don't think downloads will take off that fast for many reasons, but am concerned about not getting some players down to the magic $200 mark. Will we see some 1.0 players down to the $200 mark by September ? And will all these 1.0 players be problem free of at least playing the movie itself on newer future 1.1 & 2.0 capable titles?

Should we have a "DVD vs Blu-ray sales" thread sticky???

Any thoughts?

[greekjgg]

Originally Posted by sphdle1

Now that hddvd is out of the way from holding back high-def, what can the BDA, Sony et al, or We do to speed up the adoption of high-def to mass market appeal?

One thing that the hddvd guys continually say is that because the prices are so high on Blu-ray players, that adoption will take longer and downloads are on the rise. I don't think downloads will take off that fast for many reasons, but am concerned about not getting some players down to the magic $200 mark. Will we see some 1.0 players down to the $200 mark by September ? And will all these 1.0 players be problem free of at least playing the movie itself on newer future 1.1 & 2.0 capable titles?

Should we have a "DVD vs Blu-ray sales" thread sticky???

Any thoughts?

DVD is not the enemy YET!! Chill out and enjoy the victory!! For the next year Blu ray will continue to be the STEP UP format. Both can exist for a little bit, and besides not all things will look good on blu.

[Blue]

Fox likes Blu-ray for it's copy protection, Sony owns Columbia and other bits and pieces as well as having influence in MGM. All they have to do is release new titles on Blu-ray first and slowly drop DVD all together. I think most of the founding members will have some financial interest in Blu royalties. Would they prefer to get the royalties or pay them Toshiba (and Warner). I think this may happen faster than we think as there is no competition over this.

[BoomerKS]

DVD is not going to go away, especially since the average number of DVD players in a home is 3. Your dreaming if you think that BDA is going to stop studios from making DVDs. Thats where most films make their money, especially if they do poorly at the box office. Just be happy that HD DVD is gone and leave it at that.

[trey]

IT's about pricing on the players. This is different than the switch from VHS to DVD, cause we can still paly all of our old media on the new player (unlike before). Widespread adoption will not happen till 2009 when there is a large selection of sub $200 players. Once we get the people with the players, half of those people will buy blu just so that they aren't buying an out of date format.

[jw]

Originally Posted by BoomerKS

DVD is not going to go away, especially since the average number of DVD players in a home is 3. Your dreaming if you think that BDA is going to stop studios from making DVDs. Thats where most films make their money, especially is they do poorly at the box office. Just be happy that HD DVD s gone and leave it at that.

DVDs arent even a concern, get people buying blu and everything will fall into place. Blu-Ray could still fail, its not likely but possible so I am sure the BDA is primarily concerned on the adaption of the format. i.e. bringing all studios onboard and giving us ample titles.

I am not sure of the numbers, but I believe its a low percentage(dvd vs bd) so the goal is to gain at least 25% off discs sold BDvsDVD before they focus much on overtaking dvds

[camper]

The only way DVD's will be removed, will be if studios plan their obsolescence(as has been hinted at by an insider) or if you walk into BB or anywhere else and see a Standard DVD for $19.99, or a Blu Ray for the same exact price.

I don't think they'd have to lower the hardware costs so much, if the media was equal in price to its predecessor.

~Camper

[tron3]

Originally Posted by BoomerKS

DVD is not going to go away, especially since the average number of DVD players in a home is 3. Your dreaming if you think that BDA is going to stop studios from making DVDs. Thats where most films make their money, especially is they do poorly at the box office. Just be happy that HD DVD is gone and leave it at that.

Are you forgetting that VHS had like a 30 year jump on DVD? But I agree that DVD will be with us for a long time. At least until BD players drop enough in price for the masses. Maybe it will be 10 years before we see $100 BD players, maybe even 5. But the truth is technology always comes down in price.

It's not like a commodity items such as gas or gold. The value of the gas in your tank goes up in value when the price of gas goes up. We just don't use it to barter and trade, we consume it. But technically it is worth more. Don't you feel burned when you fill up your tank and see the price drop by a dime the next day? Same concept here.

Jesus said we will always have the poor with us. DVD now being the new poor man's technology, I believe that it too will always be with us for a LONG time.

[tiger roach]

They need to target the people that have HDTVs or will be buying one soon. Advertise on HD channels and in home theater mags. Continue with the promos liking giving a Blu player with the purchase of a new HDTV.

[Jimbo976]

Of course the members of the BDA (at least after Uni and Para come over) are the same companies that release their movies on DVD. It's not like it is 2 completely different sets of companies.

They could force a changeover in a few ways - delay DVD releases until later, extra content on Blu-ray, or just plain stop making DVD's some day.

[MrXpress]

Price, price, price. Not player price, either. Using WB's analogy, there's plenty of razors out there. It's just that the blades are too expensive.

I don't know if the studios are too daft to realize this, but setting disc MSRPs at ridiculous levels like $43.98 and having brick and mortars selling the discs for equally outrageous prices (I went into CC to buy Shoot Em Up the other day, and it was $35.99. Needless to say, I left without buying it) not only does nothing to persuade the movie-buying customer to buy the BD instead of the DVD, but it also is putting it around the same price bracket as the $1.18 billion/month video game industry.... which when your most-used 'razor' also happens to be a video game console, doesn't exactly spell a recipe for success.

Feasible or not, I don't see BD disc sales taking off until you can walk into a Best Buy and get a day-and-date blockbuster BD for $19.99, and catalog titles for even less.

[hc666]

Pricing of course and they better get on it quickly.

[jw]

Originally Posted by MrXpress

.............
Feasible or not, I don't see BD disc sales taking off until you can walk into a Best Buy and get a day-and-date blockbuster BD for $19.99, and catalog titles for even less.

Thats the way it should be, FOX rapes us on catalog titles(27.99Amazon), I dont think Wall st(for example) is worth that, sorry , my opinion. The pricing is so out of whack from studio to studio as well.

Maybe this will be dealt with in the coming months

[SpaceDog]

BOGO.
I think HDTV broadcast and witnessing BD on 1080p displays will do the job just fine. DVD isn't really an enemy though... it's there for now for the those who think it's good enough. Eventually CE manufacturers will cease manufacturing standalone DVD players in favor of BD players. Since they are backwards compatible, it'll be a logical replacement for the old DVD player.

[Beta Man]

Look at the VHS selection at your local video store sometime..... DVD is gonna be around for a LONG time, especially since this "new format" also supports it..... I don't own a VCR/VCP but there are still some titles you can't get on DVD, let-alone Blu-Ray.... so I'm guessing a lot of obscure titles will never be available on Blu-Ray.

Everyone is saying "drop the price of Blu-Ray" but all that will do is further drop the price of DVD. A lot of people don't even own HD televisions yet, so the "jump" to High-Def video format is gonna be a big one, and when standard DVDs are cheaper, it's just one more reason to not make the jump.

[MrXpress]

Originally Posted by Beta Man

Look at the VHS selection at your local video store sometime..... DVD is gonna be around for a LONG time, especially since this "new format" also supports it..... I don't own a VCR/VCP but there are still some titles you can't get on DVD, let-alone Blu-Ray.... so I'm guessing a lot of obscure titles will never be available on Blu-Ray.

Everyone is saying "drop the price of Blu-Ray" but all that will do is further drop the price of DVD. A lot of people don't even own HD televisions yet, so the "jump" to High-Def video format is gonna be a big one, and when standard DVDs are cheaper, it's just one more reason to not make the jump.

Right, but Blu-ray is a superior format, just as DVD was to VHS. Thing is though, DVD took off when it kinda eased into the price range that VHS formerly occupied. People were fine with paying the same that they had been paying, and got a superior product in return, and continued to do so despite what kind of firesales there were for VHS. It's when you make them pay more for the superior product that the problems come up and people just stick with what they have, but I think there's enough of a 'comfort zone' at the prices DVDs reside at right now for Blu-ray to be successful as long as they can get the discs out there for similar prices, no matter what becomes of DVD prices after that happens.

[sphdle1]

I guess the big thing might not be to rush to take over DVD right away, but that we will now be able to get ALL studio's titles on one format! Let adoption just take its course...?

[chasarms]

DVD will fade away with time just like any other old technology.

It will be a steady process. We are likely only a few months away from every new release being available on Blu-ray, but it will take a long time for the older releases to back fill. There are films that were out on VHS for years that never made it to DVD.

I do think the backwards compatibility will expedite the process. It's nice to be able to play my DVD collection on the BD and honestly, a lot of the films look very good.

The prices will ease on BD media, but don't expect the prices to match DVD. You'll always pay a little more for the better fix. CDs were more than cassettes when they came out. DVDs were more than VHS tapes when they came out. Why would BD be any different?

I am confident the BD players will come down once second-tier makers get in the business. There'll be a Blu for the masses machine out there before we know it.

[Dragonraine]

As it was previously pointed out, as long as DVD costs less than a BD movie, it will be hard to convince the "average" person to switch. When they are the same price, or very close like =/- $2 or so, it will be easier. But like said, when you go in to buy Generic Action Movie 3 and its 14.99 on dvd, and 29.99 on BD, the average person is not going to spend the cost of 2 movies to buy 1.

[sphdle1]

Originally Posted by Dragonraine

As it was previously pointed out, as long as DVD costs less than a BD movie, it will be hard to convince the "average" person to switch. When they are the same price, or very close like =/- $2 or so, it will be easier. But like said, when you go in to buy Generic Action Movie 3 and its 14.99 on dvd, and 29.99 on BD, the average person is not going to spend the cost of 2 movies to buy 1.

I kinda agree, especially on titles that aren't action, sci-fi instensive, like some comedies or chick flicks..