Price threat to Blu-ray is coming?

[yodah03]

It seems to me that the prices of blu-ray discs are staying too high for too long and that Sony (who loves high prices) is going to get screwed again (like with beta tapes) because Netflix and Redbox HD streaming is going to undercut the price. A survey went out to Redbox customers recently (so I heard) asking what they thought of a $3.95 per month subscription fee which would include unlimited streaming. Essentially they were considering halving Netflix's price. Not only is Blockbuster going to be out of business (with their buy all the mom and pop movie rental stores - jack up the prices - and then screw people with late fees business model), but they will undercut Blu-ray if it doesn't get established as a mainstream medium. Sony has the same (high price monopolistic attitude) and they are going to pay a big price again. BTW, they are NOT too big to fail and the U.S. is not going to give a $#!+. They have made some progress on BD players, but they need to get the price point to $99 asap. The MSRP of movies at $35-40 is also way too high. It needs to replace the regular DVD price at $30 and be discounted at launch to $19.95. From that point the major of the movies need to be in the low teens. I like collecting movies but with a obsolete collection of laser discs and DVDs (and being really concerned about the BDs I have purchased recently), I think it may be time to just stream HD movie content on demand, save the environment, and just move on! I see it coming soon! Maybe placing multiple movie titles on one BD for the same price like the TV show collections or just pricing them below $10 so they can just be thrown away is the only way to save the format?

[kpkelley]

Here, you might need this.

[rpneuss]

Originally Posted by yodah03

It seems to me that the prices of blu-ray discs are staying too high for too long and that Sony (who loves high prices) is going to get screwed again (like with beta tapes) because Netflix and Redbox HD streaming is going to undercut the price. A survey went out to Redbox customers recently (so I heard) asking what they thought of a $3.95 per month subscription fee which would include unlimited streaming. Essentially they were considering halving Netflix's price. Not only is Blockbuster going to be out of business (with their buy all the mom and pop movie rental stores - jack up the prices - and then screw people with late fees business model), but they will undercut Blu-ray if it doesn't get established as a mainstream medium. Sony has the same (high price monopolistic attitude) and they are going to pay a big price again. BTW, they are NOT too big to fail and the U.S. is not going to give a $#!+. They have made some progress on BD players, but they need to get the price point to $99 asap. The MSRP of movies at $35-40 is also way too high. It needs to replace the regular DVD price at $30 and be discounted at launch to $19.95. From that point the major of the movies need to be in the low teens. I like collecting movies but with a obsolete collection of laser discs and DVDs (and being really concerned about the BDs I have purchased recently), I think it may be time to just stream HD movie content on demand, save the environment, and just move on! I see it coming soon! Maybe placing multiple movie titles on one BD for the same price like the TV show collections or just pricing them below $10 so they can just be thrown away is the only way to save the format?

What in gods name are you talking about?

[FendersRule]

Blu-rays are actually pretty cheap now days, barely above DVD pricing.

Some people will still rent. Others will still buy...like it has always been.

Your post is an epic fail.

[Rblu-Dblu]

I would keep my physical media over streaming any day.

[STARSCREAM]

I do see some of his points. The average consumer who goes to buy some blu-rays at the store and who doesn't take the time to shop around best prices will pick up something like The Princess and the Frog at Target and see that it is $34.99 right now and they are gonna think blu-ray's are outrageously priced. If they would have bought release week with coupons it could be had for like $18 or so but the op's point is that they need to be priced this all the time. That way the consumer picks it up and sees $18.99 or something and thinks blu-rays are affordable after all and worth the price over the dvd version that is priced only a few dollars less. However, the $34.99 everyday price now IS outrageous and I wouldn't pay that either if it would have been priced that on release.

[kpkelley]

Originally Posted by Rblu-Dblu

I would keep my physical media over streaming any day.

I can only imagine how much hard drive space I'd need to fit all the movies I have now, let alone any I might want in the future. Just part of the hidden costs of hd downloads.

[Batman1980]

Originally Posted by STARSCREAM

I do see some of his points. The average consumer who goes to buy some blu-rays at the store and who doesn't take the time to shop around best prices will pick up something like The Princess and the Frog at Target and see that it is $34.99 right now and they are gonna think blu-ray's are outrageously priced. If they would have bought release week with coupons it could be had for like $18 or so but the op's point is that they need to be priced this all the time. That way the consumer picks it up and sees $18.99 or something and thinks blu-rays are affordable after all and worth the price over the dvd version that is priced only a few dollars less. However, the $34.99 everyday price now IS outrageous and if I wouldn't pay that either if it would have been priced that on release.

Blu-ray's been out for 4 years now but is still considered a luxury media, I guess. I will say pricing has gotten a lot better, especially if you wait for sales or the holidays. Oh and on the $100 players? You can get good ones for about $130 and for the average movie collector, I would think that is good enough.

[jonsmith369]

Originally Posted by yodah03

I like collecting movies but with a obsolete collection of laser discs and DVDs (and being really concerned about the BDs I have purchased recently), I think it may be time to just stream HD movie content on demand, save the environment, and just move on!

LOL. It would be really sad if real people actually felt this way.

[butler]

With hard copies you don't have the breakup or pauses or other hiccups you do with streaming (as long as you take care of your discs). Until that goes away 100 percent I'm not giving up my BD's.

Also, you may get a good deal from a streaming service but if streaming traffic goes up and up and up your Internet bills are probably going to go up and up and up. We've already seem Time Warner Cable et al make noise about this. What happens when everyone's streaming?

[Another_Dude]

Originally Posted by yodah03

HD streaming is

No.

[Blu-Benny]

I really don’t think I can take this thread seriously!!!

[iam1bearcat]

i find it humorous i just read this thread after being on amazon and seeing the following...

mad men season 1 DVD: $30.49
mad men season 1 BD: $26.99

so... BD isn't really big bucks over its DVD counterpart. sure, not all prices are like this, and some people like streaming shows / films over buying them... but that's probably like 5% of the population.

[lobosrul]

Originally Posted by kpkelley

I can only imagine how much hard drive space I'd need to fit all the movies I have now, let alone any I might want in the future. Just part of the hidden costs of hd downloads.

It really depends. The average BD movie is roughly 25-30GB at most (I'm not counting extras here). Now if your talking about typical 720p HD video downloads with lossy audio, from Apple for instance, I think your looking at around 4GB for a 2 hour movie, which is rather bit starved even for 720p.

1TB HDD's have become dirt cheap, a quick search at newegg shows a 1TB seagate drive @ $80. That come to 8 cents per GB. So even an BD movie can be stored for only a couple of bucks, or a 720p download under 50 cents. Of course disks fail so you'll need to factor in cost for setting up RAID or a backup disk.

And I agree prices need to come down at the big box stores. Deals can be had online that are far better than retail, which leads me to the conclusion that the high prices are the retailers fault.

While I would (and I think all of us), love to see prices come down, I can remember when the average DVD cost as much if not more than a BD does now, and that was 1990's money.

[victorvondoom88]

Originally Posted by Rblu-Dblu

I would keep my physical media over streaming any day.

+1,000,000

I live in the sticks and a friend of mine has been telling me blu-ray is dead for the last 2-3 years. To which I reply, really? How so? He then proceeds to tell me how digital downloads and streaming is the future. That's when I say well your theory is sound but until you can stream full 1080p and 7.1 uncompressed audio @ around or up to 36Mbps how is it likely to succeed or surpass a disc based format that that only requires a 120v outlet, player and a HDTV? Because I have all that blu-ray requires but what I don't have access to is a 50 Mbps internet connection for under 50.00 a month.

He always says that I'm one of the few people he knows that will watch a movie more than once. I say that's what netflix is for, people who only want to watch something once. He does say that people having access to big time internet connections is the downfall but no real answers on how they are going to overcome that very real and significant obstacle.

Here is the real kicker 8-track was supposed to obsolete LP's and cassette tapes did obsolete 8-track and cd was to obsolete them all. MP3's and downloads supposed to be making cd's obsolete. But guess what my best buy has in the store now, popped up a year or so ago?

An ever expanding area of LP's. So if LP's can hang on I really don't see the issue here. If there is something actually worth owning people will buy it period. Like Avatar for example look at the bd sales figures. Not to mention Hollywood thinks this movie only grossed what it did because of 3D but the reality is Cameron made a pretty original world that was interesting. Something most films nowadays can't manage to do (remake after remake). It would have been a huge hit without 3D IMO.

There will never be a replacement for physical media not for me anyway. I like to read who the band thanks and who produced the album and what they play and lyrics and photos of the band. Besides I like popping in a new cd and jamming the album on the way home.

Oh yeah and HD's fail period it's not if it's when. Yeah you can run raid and blah blah but is it really better than popping a disc in and pressing play?
No hiccups no lossy audio no "just good enough 720p". Just plain ol' pure 1920 X 1080p with Lossless 7.1 Audio.

[Blu Titan]

Prices for Blu-ray movies are very reasonable now days. There are dozens of Blu-ray movies that you can buy for $9.99 or less. Sometimes they are pricey on release day, but if you are patient, you can always get a good price.

[kdo]

Originally Posted by Blu Titan

Prices for Blu-ray movies are very reasonable now days. There are dozens of Blu-ray movies that you can buy for $9.99 or less. Sometimes they are pricey on release day, but if you are patient, you can always get a good price.

this is true...and I agree, especially if you're purchasing movies online. Also, in agreement with what some others have said, I too think store prices need to come down...Best Buy usually has great deals on many titles, but not everyone lives near one, and many of the other stores, while pricing their Blu's decently (mid to upper teens and lower 20's), are so overstocked with $3-$5 DVD's, it just makes it that much of a harder sell for Blu, especially when Blu is only comprising about 25% of the inventory to begin with (not including Best Buy)...

Plus, when the average cost-conscious & middle-class Joe is shopping at Wal-Mart, Target, etc... with his wife and kids, and sees a shelf full of compilation dvd's, each of which include 4 titles for only $10, it makes it an even harder sell for Blu, $2.50 a movie as compared to $15...Obviously, there will always be the die-hards who will want Blu's, but I'd agree the format really needs to step it up and start working to get prices on new-releases down a bit, not to mention bringing more titles to the format in general...I have a very small collection of both Blu's and DVD's, and right now, only about 1/3 of my collection is Blu, because the other titles I own on DVD aren't out, and most likely won't be anytime soon...What is there, like 90,000 available DVD titles, as compared to about 3,000 Blu? The format has got a long way to go, but I'm still hopeful nonetheless...

[Q?]

Wow...

Here in Greenland Blu-rays costs 35 dollars, that's the norm, one video store sells them for 46 dollars!!!!

You guys have it good here, so don't complain!

[kdo]

Originally Posted by Q!

Wow...

Here in Greenland Blu-rays costs 35 dollars, that's the norm, one video store sells them for 46 dollars!!!!

You guys have it good here, so don't complain!

That's awfully expensive friend...If that was the average cost here in the U.S., I wouldn't be buying many Blu's...question though, do you buy them at the store, or do you get them online cheaper?

[Atreyu]

I find buying blus online is cheaper than the brick and mortar stores. Also I sometimes wait a month or two to buy the new release blus because by then they sometimes have a tendancy to go down a bit in cost. Also I do buy used blus off of Ebay and the Amazon sellers and have yet to get a bad one, as I read the descriptions on each one and ask questions if necessary.