Bay Area retailer believing FUD, reducing Blu-ray InStock

[chinabeach]

Originally Posted by WickyWoo

More likely there's an HD fanboy in the pipeline

Re: Amoeba Records/Bay Area: No, I'm not a fan of HD, since I've just purchased a Sony BDP-S300 and am invested in the format. What makes me cranky are ignorant sales associates who couldn't find their rear ends with both hands passing out information as if it were "truth" and then giving you grief when you challenge them.

One needs to understand the weight of the decision by Amoeba here in the Bay Area. Since the passing of Tower Records, there are few retailers here that carry the depth of product (besides Amoeba, there's only Rasputin, again in Berkeley and SF). Yes, they are both primarily record stores (buy/sell); but their buyers search out the quirky titles that the majors (i.e., Best Buy, et al) can't be bothered with - and they both stock thousands of titles (especially the SF locations). Virgin Records (Union Square) is doing a great job of stocking Blu (and HD, unfortunately!) but they do not discount at all; they are were I purchased "Immortal Beloved" (which is what got this whole search started when the dude at Amoeba told me that he couldn't - and wouldn't order it for me).

In my humble opinion, it will be us "early adapters" who will drive BD (just as we drove DVD years ago when Paramount and Fox refused to join Warner Bros over fears of piracy and then eventually had to dive in as they saw that the potential for the market had more upside than down), as most consumers are too ignorant/cheap to care. (VHS was "good enough".)

What established DVD as a "medium whose time had come" was the issuance of key titles that had broad appeal, such as Paramount's issuance of "Star Trek - the Original Series" on DVD. Here was a title that both the early adapters and consumers in general could all agree was worth owning (and Paramount made gobs of money, issuing two episodes on one disc for a $14.95 retail price). And with Paramount's issuing "Star Trek - the Original Series" on HD come November, my concern is that the availability will tip the undecided into the HD camp (especially at a $299 price-point for an HD deck). It will generate buzz and people like my co-workers who only have passing knowledge of high-def will be interested enough to check it out. And, those same ignorant sales associates won't know the difference between BD and HD and will sell them HD because the customer is there to buy it. Let's face it, this is a business driven by titles and the BD camp needs to get their act together and start issuing popular titles as well as seminal titles that have broad appeal as well as "classics". "Lawence of Arabia" and "Close Encounters" are a good start, as these are movies that will truly show off the advantages of the format.

OK. Enough for now. Enjoy your Labour Day!
CB