Blu-rays are 8 years old and DVDs still cling to them like a cancerous tumor. Why?

[rdodolak]

Originally Posted by DustnBones001

Around $60- $80 if possible

Sony and Panasonic have pretty good players in my experience as I've never had a problem with them.

There are limited options in that price range but you can currently get Panasonic's DMP-BD91 (2014 model) at Best Buy for $79.99 or Sony's BDP-S1500 (2015 model) at Amazon for $67.00 or Best Buy for $69.99.

EDIT: BestBuy also has several 2014 Sony models on sale. The BDP-S1200 for $59.99 and the BDP-S3200 for $79.99.

[roundasapound]

This is why I think people stick to DVD over BR:

1) They don't have a BR player and unwilling to upgrade

2) They don't know or see the difference because none of the other sources come close to BR quality (Sky, Cable, Streaming, DVD). No one has actually taken a BR player and a BR, sat them down and played the film to show them how much of a difference there is between DVD and BR.

3) They have misconceptions about the price of BR. They don't know where to buy them at good prices.

4) DVD's are sold very cheaply and people are often willing to sacrifice quality for cheap.

5) Retailers are still promoting DVD's far more than BR.

[rdodolak]

Came across this post on Facebook and another interesting reason why someone doesn't upgrade or at least pick up new titles on Blu-ray.

Will these three movies be available on DVD? Suddenly everything turned Blu-ray and I guess I'm not in the game anymore. Sucks. Just too tired having to replace my movie collection yet again. Adding Blu-ray movies to my DVD collection just doesn't look good as well.

[eiknarf]

Originally Posted by rdodolak

Came across this post on Facebook and another interesting reason why someone doesn't upgrade or at least pick up new titles on Blu-ray.

So that guy can forget 4K Blu-ray

[bobbydrugar]

Looks like one of our more Serious collector (see OCD) members here that worry more about slipcovers and case color and size on shelf then the actual film they bought . Just to be clear there is nothing wrong with that but it is definitely not my thing.

[renegadeviking]

DVD are still here, because Laptops and PCs still use DVD-ROMs! RVs using DVDs. I still use DVDRs for home video, because the FFMPEG 2.2 encoder is really nice.

Its somewhat hard to tell between bluray 1080p and FFMPEG 2.2 encoded DVD on my tv.

[SilentNoise]

The situation in the US may be very different but here in the Netherlands it looks like Blu-ray has a good market share.

I have absolute no data to support this but visiting Mediamarkt last weekend, one of the largest electronics retailers over here, Blu-ray occupied the majority of the movies section.

I am not a regular visitor of this retailer but I was also surprised how large the movies section was, much larger than I expected, they must have hundreds of different titles.

Does anyone have numbers on DVD/BD sales in Europe?

Would be nice to know if there are huge differences in this regards between the various regions.

[Coenskubrick]

Originally Posted by SilentNoise

The situation in the US may be very different but here in the Netherlands it looks like Blu-ray has a good market share.

I have absolute no data to support this but visiting Mediamarkt last weekend, one of the largest electronics retailers over here, Blu-ray occupied the majority of the movies section.

I am not a regular visitor of this retailer but I was also surprised how large the movies section was, much larger than I expected, they must have hundreds of different titles.

Does anyone have numbers on DVD/BD sales in Europe?

Would be nice to know if there are huge differences in this regards between the various regions.

That's interesting for two reasons. One, blu ray only takes up about a quarter of the retail space here in Australia, and two, even with that said, we have thousands of titles on the shelves, not hundreds. Is the physical media variety in the Netherlands really tiny?

[SilentNoise]

Originally Posted by Coenskubrick

That's interesting for two reasons. One, blu ray only takes up about a quarter of the retail space here in Australia, and two, even with that said, we have thousands of titles on the shelves, not hundreds. Is the physical media variety in the Netherlands really tiny?

No, if you buy online there are thousands of titles available, same regular stuff as in many other countries plus some local content.

Retailers are usually more selective, they sell to the mainstream consumer so they stock mostly recently released titles (be it new or backlog titles).

I obviously didn't count them but I think it was a healthy selection.

I shared this information as it seems a lot of the US guys are reporting declining shelf space for Blu-ray and it being overtaken by good old DVD.

Just wondered if this is a US only thing as my personal experience is different. DVD still has a good portion of the market over here as well but based on what I saw last weekend it would guess 60-40 in favor of Blu-ray.

[rdodolak]

Originally Posted by Steedeel

This isn't a trend. Mobile is a way of life for Millenials now.

I'm sure you'll get a kick out of this article which is a pretty sad state of affairs; granted it's just one article.

3 On Your Side: Many Millennials Would Quit If Not Allowed To Do Personal Tasks At Work

Sixty percent of workers 18-34 say if their boss prevented them from using a mobile device to take care of personal tasks, they would quit!

I've seen it first hand where some of the younger generation are addicted (tethered) to their smartphone and social media. It's pretty sad really, maybe they could learn something from a good ole fashion firing given there are so many people currently unemployed that would love to work.

[spectre08]

Originally Posted by rdodolak

I'm sure you'll get a kick out of this article which is a pretty sad state of affairs; granted it's just one article.

3 On Your Side: Many Millennials Would Quit If Not Allowed To Do Personal Tasks At Work



I've seen it first hand where some of the younger generation are addicted (tethered) to their smartphone and social media. It's pretty sad really, maybe they could learn something from a good ole fashion firing given there are so many people currently unemployed that would love to work.

I don't have a problem with this. I would quit a job if my boss wanted that much control over me as well. It's not that I care about checking social media and what not, it's that I want to be judged on the work I do, not some perception of how I do it.

It's not a difficult request to make. I work in IT for one of the largest financial institutions in the world, none of my management would give a shit if I check my phone or anything else on company time so long as I get my work done. I apply the same to people under me. We're all on salary, so it's not like "company time" means anything.

[octagon]

Yeah, I gotta say, I might be with the whippersnappers on that one too.

Obviously quitting would be a bit extreme but I completely understand the sentiment.

[Cevolution]

Originally Posted by Coenskubrick

That's interesting for two reasons. One, blu ray only takes up about a quarter of the retail space here in Australia, and two, even with that said, we have thousands of titles on the shelves, not hundreds. Is the physical media variety in the Netherlands really tiny?

If you don't include TV sessions, but rather just compare shelf space dedicated to movies, it's close to 50/50 between the formats at the JB HiFi stores I visit regularly here in Sydney.

[bluearth]

Maybe we spent too much time blaming this on the casual consumers.

I think manufacturers are the most responsible for bluray's failure to completely replace DVD, and the reason might not be what you think.

At my local WalMart Sony has a pile of 200 DVD players in the middle of the electronics area.

What does that mean?

These companies LOVE the continued sales of DVDs.

All these companies had to do was simply stop selling DVDs. Just stop. Just like how when Best Buy and others stopped selling HD-DVD the format shriveled up and died very quickly. The same would have happened to DVD and EVERYONE would be on bluray by now.

DVDs are still way cheaper then bluray to produce and they can sell them for a fraction less then the much more expensive bluray. That is why DVDs are still around. Because the manufacturers CHOSE to keep them around.

And the adoption of a new physical format like bluray isnt that important to these companies because they all want streaming to be the future. Remember when Microsoft tried to water down the HD disc format with HD-DVD as an underhanded way to push streaming? In many ways the continued support of DVD as a rival to bluray is meant to hurt the format enough to push people towards streaming.

[JasonHensley]

Originally Posted by octagon

I sit about 8 feet away from a 55" lcd so maybe you're right. Maybe GoT via digital cable does look like shit and I just can't see it.

Then again, if you have to blow up an image to the size of a wall in order to see its flaws maybe those images aren't that terrible to begin. Maybe 'digital cable looks like shit' is a bit an overstatement.

And just to be clear, I'm not trying to talk anybody into liking digital cable (or satellite or OTA HD broadcasts). I'm suggesting that reasonable people can enjoy watching a stream of 0s and 1s.

I'm also suggesting that people who proclaim their undying opposition to all things digital while watching digital cable or satellite or OTA HD broadcasts are perhaps being a wee bit hypocritical.



That's okay, my opinions were plenty right to begin with

You're really grasping at straws with your argument. I feel sorry for you, seriously, if you can't distinguish the difference between someone watching cable TV and someone not wanting the film industry to go download only....

[octagon]

Originally Posted by JasonHensley

You're really grasping at straws with your argument. I feel sorry for you, seriously, if you can't distinguish the difference between someone watching cable TV and someone not wanting the film industry to go download only....

I have no quarrel with people who want physical media to continue to thrive. I'm one of them.

My quarrel here is with some of the more ridiculous hyperbole people trot out when decrying the evils of streaming and with the hypocrites who routinely watch streams of 0s and 1s while declaring at the top of their lungs that streams of 0s and 1s are unwatchable garbage.

[steve1971]

Originally Posted by bluearth

Maybe we spent too much time blaming this on the casual consumers.

I think manufacturers are the most responsible for bluray's failure to completely replace DVD, and the reason might not be what you think.

At my local WalMart Sony has a pile of 200 DVD players in the middle of the electronics area.

What does that mean?

These companies LOVE the continued sales of DVDs.

All these companies had to do was simply stop selling DVDs. Just stop. Just like how when Best Buy and others stopped selling HD-DVD the format shriveled up and died very quickly. The same would have happened to DVD and EVERYONE would be on bluray by now.

DVDs are still way cheaper then bluray to produce and they can sell them for a fraction less then the much more expensive bluray. That is why DVDs are still around. Because the manufacturers CHOSE to keep them around.

And the adoption of a new physical format like bluray isnt that important to these companies because they all want streaming to be the future. Remember when Microsoft tried to water down the HD disc format with HD-DVD as an underhanded way to push streaming? In many ways the continued support of DVD as a rival to bluray is meant to hurt the format enough to push people towards streaming.

bluearth, so what makes people think 4K Blu ray is going to do any better? If Blu ray is struggleing against dvd how do you think 4K Blu ray is going to fare against regular Blu ray discs and dvd? We are going to have a log jam of of discs at the retail shops that for sure!

[spectre08]

Originally Posted by steve1971

bluearth, so what makes people think 4K Blu ray is going to do any better? If Blu ray is struggleing against dvd how do you think 4K Blu ray is going to fare against regular Blu ray discs and dvd? We are going to have a log jam of of discs at the retail shops that for sure!

I don't see it competing with regular blu ray any more than 3D competes against regular blu ray.

Some films are available in 2D blu ray, or for a little extra 3D blu ray.

Likewise, some films will be available in HD blu ray, or for a little extra UHD blu ray.

For the time being the overwhelming majority of films will still only be available in 2D HD blu ray, as that is the limitation of "modern" 2K DI.

Unlike 3D however UltraHD blu ray MAY eventually cannibalize a larger portion of 2D HD blu ray sales, because the number of films available for UltraHD will be larger than the number of films available for 3D.

[octagon]

Originally Posted by spectre08

Likewise, some films will be available in HD blu ray, or for a little extra UHD blu ray.

We can certainly hope it will only be a little extra but at this point we can't rule out some sort of premium pricing plan. Part of me says some sort of laserdisc pricing is unlikely but part of me can see the appeal.

If enthusiasts are going to make up the bulk of the UHD-BD market then it might make sense to write off more casual buyers in return for a significantly higher price point.

I'm not saying that will happen, I'm saying it's plausible.

Time will tell though.

[ps3bd_owner]

Whenever the next video disc format is released (that's if there'll be one which is possible) DVD'll still be alive while Blu-ray reaching its end. DVDs is just far more popular and known than Blu-ray. A lot of people out there still don't know what a Blu-ray is.

Comparing DVD's popularity to Blu-ray is like Microsoft to some small time company. lol