Same forces lowering DVD sales will force remaining studios to switch

[Kendall]

In the recent interview posted with Warner:

http://gizmodo.com/340956/interview-...e-with-blu+ray

One of the things noted (that I have seen elsewhere before) is that SD-DVD sales were really slacking off because more and more people were waiting to see how the HD media format war sorted out before going ahead and purchasing movies in HD or in the old DVD format.

Well, if you think about it those same forces are still at work - only now people will see there is a winner, and start to purchase Blu-Ray versions of titles so the Blu-Ray studios will see some relief in purchases. But on the HD-DVD side, the studios remaining will continue to see a slide in both HD-DVD and DVD sales. They will have to go to Blu-Ray very much sooner rather than later or sales for all formats they offer will vanish!

[RustyK94]

The price of a bluray at the moment is not low enough for the average consumer to take interest. First HD-DvD needs to give up for the bluray price to drop, when a bluray new release matches the price of a dvd then we will see a change.

[Downhere]

Originally Posted by RustyK94

The price of a bluray at the moment is not low enough for the average consumer to take interest. First HD-DvD needs to give up for the bluray price to drop, when a bluray new release matches the price of a dvd then we will see a change.

Ditto that. $29.99 for a Blu-ray movie is not going to gain traction compared half the price on DVD for a new release. When Blu-ray's hit the $19.99 point then you will see greater momentum.

[Cyan]

I don't think that the prices will need to be the same for people to start to switch over. When DVDs first were released, they cost essentially the same as BR discs do now, and the price gap between them and VHS was similar.

What needs to happen, essentially, is for retailers to stop giving a price break on DVDs for the first week of release, while still providing this price break for BR. At that point, there is about a 5 dollar difference, which is close enough for people to jump ship(with DVD vs. VHS, it was slightly different because CDs had warmed people to the importance of media being on a disk instead of a cassette, thus it was easier to pay a little more).

[Downhere]

Originally Posted by Cyan

I don't think that the prices will need to be the same for people to start to switch over. When DVDs first were released, they cost essentially the same as BR discs do now, and the price gap between them and VHS was similar.

The difference here is that the difference between VHS and DVD was bigger than DVD and Blu-ray. DVD and Blu-ray are disc based formats and Blu-ray requires the use of an HDTV to see the full benefits over DVD. Whereas with VHS and DVD, you had not only a huge increase in picture/audio quality, but better packaging (slick discs instead of bulky cassettes, no rewinding, etc.).

Prices on Blu-ray need to be similar to DVD for it to really take off.

[whoelse]

Another side people arent seeing is that directors who want to make a film will more than likely only choose a studio who is supporting the winner of the HD formats. So this puts more pressure on Universal and Paramount to switch.


Also please note that there probably is a release cause for paramount so they should come earlier than 2009 as contracted.

[mastertang]

I wonder what the execs at Para & Uni have been doing this weekend. Lots of yelling and cursing I suppose. It was beautiful to announce this on a Friday afternoon, so the others wouldn't have a chance to do too much before CES. I think after May, we'll see the end of the 60/40 weeks.

[Kirsty_Mc]

Originally Posted by mastertang

I wonder what the execs at Para & Uni have been doing this weekend. Lots of yelling and cursing I suppose. It was beautiful to announce this on a Friday afternoon, so the others wouldn't have a chance to do too much before CES. I think after May, we'll see the end of the 60/40 weeks.

Listening to a lot of their staff around the coffee machine saying they knew better (which they did).

[Razzy]

I haven't bought a new DVD since I purchased my PS3 January of last year. I still rent them once in a while though.

[Seretur]

Look, I can appreciate that the economy isn't doing all that great right now, but the price points are neither ridiculous nor prohibitive anymore, really. Not for people who are actually interested in high definition enough to buy an HDTV.

Let's not take up the torch of el cheapo from HD DVD the minute their format dies, okay? We're still a year or two away from mass penetration, although we've cleared a major hurdle. Blu-ray is quite affordable, and it's going to get even more so quite soon.

Just enjoy it.

[rwduke]

Originally Posted by mastertang

I think after May, we'll see the end of the 60/40 weeks.

I think 60/40 weeks are history already. Only fools will continue to buy WB titles on HD-DVD.