The "uninformed" mom effect

[stockstar1138]

Please do not take the following to be sexist, as it is not intended to be. Ive had this theory for a while that when day and date childresn's movies come out they do better than I expected, espcially for a niche market that is geared towards 18-40 years old men. I think it is perfectly reasonable to think mom's are picking up blu-rays for their kids on accident without any knowledge whatsoever of the format. a lot of stores don't have that clear of a section marked off fo hd and a lot of stores have endcaps that blu-ray is one of the first things you see. i just can totally see a mom seeing the blu version first, picking it up, checking out, and continue shopping, completely oblivious to what they just bought. with more mature movies, mothers don't usually buy those for their kids and i feel like people who watch 300 over cars tend to be more tech savvy and would at least know the blu ones won't play on my dvd player. thoughts? once again i apologize if you found this to be offensive.

[atomik kinder]

But do you really think they are uninformed enough not to question why their DVD or Ratatouille rang up at $29.99 and not $15.99? That's almost twice as much, I think someone would notice.

[patrick99]

From the thread title, I thought you meant a mom in uniform.

[hanser]

I guess you mean uninformed in contrast to moms wearing uniform. sorry for the nitpicking, but I first really misunderstood the posting.

[pedigree]

Originally Posted by atomik kinder

But do you really think they are uninformed enough not to question why their DVD or Ratatouille rang up at $29.99 and not $15.99? That's almost twice as much, I think someone would notice.

+1
not to mention that a mother wouldn't randomly pick up a blu ray player "mistaking" it for a dvd player... the price of the system alone will be more than what she expected and she'll take something else... and if she just takes it like that and does see the price then walks 3 steps and finds a regular dvd player at a fraction of that price she will put that bd player back... people dont get into hd by mistake.... trust me

[Cyorg]

It's not just moms that are uninformed. I have some friends that asked if they needed a Blu-Ray player to watch Blu-Ray movies. So many people think that can watch the hi-def disc on their old DVD player because it looks like a DVD.

[ehorrell]

I like the idea. Blu logo'd uniforms for moms. I'll order one for my wife.

[Sonny]

I don't see this happening ( accidentally getting in to Hi Def ) sorry Most people don't no much if anything about HDM.

[stockstar1138]

Originally Posted by Cyorg

It's not just moms that are uninformed. I have some friends that asked if they needed a Blu-Ray player to watch Blu-Ray movies. So many people think that because it's a hi-def disc that they can watch it on their old DVD player because it looks like a DVD.

right, they are aware of the format and that they might need a different player for a movie, they would probably get their facts straight before purchasing a blu-ray movie. im saying there is a very good chance that a mom buying ratatouille for her 4 year old doesn't even know what blu-ray is and she thinks she is buying a dvd.

[savage1984]

I would say most people are aware of HD media, but don't know the differences between the two competing formats. The price differential is a big Red Flag. It seems like there is a possibility that this could happen, but what could happen is the kid picking it out for himself then giving it to his mom. This i think is even more likely because little kids don't really know what HD is (i'm talking 3-6). The mom might even realize it's blu-ray and put it back, replacing it with a DVD unless she's savvy enough to already own a BD player.

[bluperch]

Originally Posted by Sonny

I don't see this happening ( accidentally getting in to Hi Def ) sorry Most people don't no much if anything about HDM.

I think that's the point. They (and not just mom's) don't know anything about HDM and could pick up the wrong format version by mistake. I bet there are a lot of blu-ray and HD DVD returns either because they bought it by mistake or because they thought they could play high-def on their DVD player.

[stockstar1138]

Originally Posted by Sonny

I don't see this happening sorry Most people dont no much if anything about HDM.

thats the point of this thread! completely uniformed people would could easily pick up a blu-ray movie and simply think it was a dvd.

[stockstar1138]

Originally Posted by atomik kinder

But do you really think they are uninformed enough not to question why their DVD or Ratatouille rang up at $29.99 and not $15.99? That's almost twice as much, I think someone would notice.

at my wal-mart ratatouille on blu-ray is 24.99, ratatouille on dvd is 19.99, really not much of a difference IMO.

[bluperch]

Originally Posted by stockstar1138

at my wal-mart ratatouille on blu-ray is 24.99, ratatouille on dvd is 19.99, really not much of a difference IMO.

Plus there are the special edition DVDs that are as much as a blu-ray. I could see people (especially in Walmart where the one I went to had blu-ray mixed in with the DVDs ... not set up in its own area) pick it up assuming it was just another of them special edition DVD things.

[atomik kinder]

Originally Posted by Cyorg

It's not just moms that are uninformed. I have some friends that asked if they needed a Blu-Ray player to watch Blu-Ray movies. So many people think that can watch the hi-def disc on their old DVD player because it looks like a DVD.

It probably happens, BUT not that much to make a difference, maybe a few people bought it thinking they could play it. You just know it doesn't happen as often with Blu-Ray (most people would question what it is first) as say HD DVD. (Oooh, a Hi Def DVD, this should look good on my Hi Def TV using my Standard Def DVD player) How many people complained about this on Amazon for the HD DVD? I don't recall ever seeing that in any of the reviews for the BD version.

[stockstar1138]

Originally Posted by pedigree

+1
not to mention that a mother wouldn't randomly pick up a blu ray player "mistaking" it for a dvd player... the price of the system alone will be more than what she expected and she'll take something else... and if she just takes it like that and does see the price then walks 3 steps and finds a regular dvd player at a fraction of that price she will put that bd player back... people dont get into hd by mistake.... trust me

im not saying she is going to pick up hardware on accident. she has a dvd player, her 4 year old wants ratatouille, she goes to wal-mart and (at least at my wal mart) the hdm is the first thing you see. im saying i can totally see a mom seeing ratatouille there, picking it up and checking out. she gets home and it doesn't work, its opened, she can't take it back. its not like shes going to go on the internet and blog about this new fangled blu-ray disc that won't work, we'd never hear anything about it.

[Vonscoot]

Originally Posted by bluperch

I think that's the point. They (and not just mom's) don't know anything about HDM and could pick up the wrong format version by mistake. I bet there are a lot of blu-ray and HD DVD returns either because they bought it by mistake or because they thought they could play high-def on their DVD player.

It does happen. Transformers week alone my store had 3 copies come back for that exact reason.

[stockstar1138]

Originally Posted by bluperch

I think that's the point. They (and not just mom's) don't know anything about HDM and could pick up the wrong format version by mistake. I bet there are a lot of blu-ray and HD DVD returns either because they bought it by mistake or because they thought they could play high-def on their DVD player.

look at amazon.com reviews under PE HD DVD a lot of ppl bought this thinking it would play hd through a dvd player. once its opened it can't be returned. this is most stores policy.

[Intamin]

I was working line queue at best buy last week when a couple was buying 6 or so movies. They had rat and blood diamond on blu, and then everything else was on sd. I told them they should pick up cars on blu too b/c it looks great, and they were like what? I explained they had two blus in their hands and they were like oh, what's that, we wanted the regular. Had to get them the sd versions, but had I not stopped the couple on accident, they would have bought 2 blus. This leads me to believe that there are a lot of uniformed moms, or anyone for that matter, out there that would probably do the same thing. One of my roomates bought 300 this summer on hd because he thought you just had to have an hd tv. So it works for both sides I guess.

[Disturbed350z]

Originally Posted by stockstar1138

right, they are aware of the format and that they might need a different player for a movie, they would probably get their facts straight before purchasing a blu-ray movie. im saying there is a very good chance that a mom buying ratatouille for her 4 year old doesn't even know what blu-ray is and she thinks she is buying a dvd.

that again goes back to her noticing at check out. She sees the sale tag of 14.99 and picks it up...then when ringing out notices 29.99 and puts a hault to it. coming to find out she didn't pick up the dvd version...(then if they were checking out with a smart person....which usually isn't the case at any store)...the employee could've told her the benifits and talked up disney...(as she is buying the movies for her kids)...and she could've said no thanks...and got the dvd instead....or walked out with a blu-ray player and the blu-ray movie.

I've had a similar situation happen with me at work. A woman was buying Meet the Robinsons and asked what the blu case was for....told her about it and showed her the demo stations we have. She was so excited saying that her husband would love 300 and such on their hdtv...(on which they only had a standard dvd player on)...and that it would be a perfect xmas present for him and her kids. She ended up getting a ps3, few more disney titles, and a few others.