The Time has come to say goodbye to Blu-ray…

[masob98]

I love movies and I love bluray. Im patient enough to wait for some of title's prices to drop. There are a few I can name that are coming out these next few months that I will get immediately, but other than that, I wont buy a bluray unless I can get it for less than 20. I want to build my collection as well, but Im not in that much of a hurry and I know as time progresses the prices will drop even more.

[sfmarine]

I love movies. Blu-ray is great. For those who are still "in the dvd stage" god bless them. I saw @ Walmart that the 2 disk edition (dvd) of Ironman was $24.96......I got the blu-ray edition @ Best Buy for $2 more. So, the pricing isn't bad when you think about it. WB has come down in price as well as Fox....only a matter of time before Universal does.

[Elandyll]

Erm .. why stopping buying now, when the prices -are- going down ?

http://www.engadgethd.com/2008/09/30...blu-ray-discs/

[SpaceDog]

If you don't think Blu-Ray isn't worth more than DVD, perhaps Blu-Ray isn't the right choice for you.

[Bolaar]

Sadly I have stopped buying the over priced blu-ray's at this time.

This was something I had been wanting to ask in this forum at some point...just never got around to i.


Sorry but $25+ for a disc...I don't care what "extras" or how "pretty" it is...no worth it.

I would really enjoy seeing the new releases...just not for that price. And they seem to be getting pricier...slowly.

[PowellPressburger]

To be honest I hate these threads they are pointless. I am ignoring further posts completly and concentrate on other posts that seem positive.

[gtmorgan23]

I have around 40 blu-rays, i rent the ones that i know i wont watch more than once and I buy ones that i consider to be classics or multi watch movies per say. But with my setup, dvd's and their audio cant shake a stick at a good blu-ray film. There is just no comparison. Funny thing is even my wife can tell a difference in the quality between the two experiences.

[Deadset]

Originally Posted by Grant Matrix

If I want to buy “Good Luck Chuck” and “The Game Plan” on Blu-ray I would spend $50. To get both on DVD would set me back about $25 leaving room to get another movie or two.

You could easily get these used from amazon sellers or half at cheaper prices. I understand your dilemma and I'd say 80% of my bluray collection are new titles to me, I still have by DVD collection. While the new blockbusters roll out, I'll continue to pick these up at cheaper prices, but hope that I can upgrade my dvd's below 12-13 bucks.

Keep checking the deals and used blu-rays, that's what I do. I've only paid full price for a couple of them, and those were either must haves for me, or right when I got my player, I bought like 4 blurays at best buy

I try to pickup a few titles a month that are must haves. I've been collecting them ever since I got the launch PS3 just weeks after it was released and I still haven't hit 100. That's ok with me b/c I only buy movies that I really want - or get an exceptional deal on.

[prerich]

I bought LD's for $50+ back in the day - this is nothing compared to that. It's the price of early adoption and being on the cutting edge. The prices of movies will come down eventually - I haven't paid over $29.00 for a movie.

All of my movies have great audio quality. (Lionsgate knows how to do it and so does the early Disney stuff)!!! I only own 2 Warner Brothers Movies on BD
(Blue Planet and I Am Legend). Granted my collection is not huge but its in the 30ish range (2 out of 30 something...that's saying something)

[Grant Matrix]

I do seach for deals, but they are few and far between, those who have something like a Frys or JR near them, have larger access to sales then those of us who do not. Ebay, is hit or miss and can sometimes be risky, although I have and do get BD's on ebay. There are still movies that I will get on Blu, the Dark Knight is a no brainer and cost will not be an issue for the one, but something like Forgetting Sarah Marshall, which is a movie I want, I am not paying $29.99 when it has a first weeks SD discount of $15-16. While most people here seem to think that BD pricing is allright, there are those who do agree. If there are less BD being bought, increasing their supply, then prices will drop, not increase, it is the most basic enconomic principal of supply and demand.

Yes quality is better on BD, but the way everyone talks they make SD seems like a throwback to the 8 track era which it isn't. I love Blu-ray, and if the price was right, there would be no questions that every new release I get would be Blu. And yes there are a lot new SD two disc special editions that cost a couple dollars less, but these are just as overpriced as well and they never used to be. Sure I can admit that Blu-ray is a "luxury," but any money spent outside of shelter, food, clothing, medial, eduction and transportation costs is a luxury. However, for the studios who are banking billions of dollars on the formats success, it is not a luxury, but an integral cost figure. If you want people to buy more, you lower the price. We are all early adopters for our own reasons, but BD WILL NOT survive in the long run unless studios lower their movie prices sooner rather than later.

[fighthefutureofhd]

Originally Posted by Powell&Pressburger

This is actually WRONG! I have a friend who works at Best Buy corporate and one thing I learned was that the STUDIOS pay and choose the prices listed in the advertisements!

So when you see CC or BB having different pricing and or listed item in one ad but not the other this was not the retailers doing it was the STUDIO choosing in how they wanted to pay to sale the release. So when you don't see certain blu rays advertised etc, it is because the studio chose not to go thru the trouble.

When they do the sunday ads most legal depts from studios have to sign off and this means when they place images from a film on their TV screens in the ad sometimes even the star has to sign off! This was the case with Disney Johnny Depp and the pirates films!

So the studios do set those ad. sale prices.

(Retailers can sale them for any price they wish at any time obviously, but the advertisements prices are ok'd and price points directed by the studio.

actually it is the retailers who set the prices. at least it was years ago back when cassettes were still big. i remember when circuit city got in big trouble for pricing their new release cassettes at $4.99. many other retailers got mad and raised a ruckus. congress stepped in and passed some new guidelines or laws forbidding that practice. i can't remember the exact details as this was happening long before the internet is what it is now. there was an article online about it, but i can't seem to find it now. i'll keep looking.

Originally Posted by Grant Matrix

Many of you make the very valid point that DVDs were also expensive upon initial release in the mid 90's. However at the same time that DVD came into being, online shopping was taking it's first steps to becoming something big. Amazon was still relatively young, Buy.com was just getting started and Deepdiscount.com didn't even exist back then.

Online sellers had the most incredible deals, buy 2 for $20. Spend $30 get $10 in credit, etc. Shipping prices were insanely cheap. The online retailers in a bid to establish themselves really raised the bar on sales and deals. B&M stores were very very slow to adopt DVD leaving online as the place to turn to build your movie collection. Obviously they were still making profit even while offering these deals and it wasn't until about 3-4 years into the format that B&M stores finally began to competivly match prices with etailers.

The problem is that deals are now few and far between. Last year's BOGOs were awesome, but then again Blu was trying to win a war. There were a couple awesome BOGOs earlier in 2008, but for the most part those days are gone. Now you get B2G1, where the etailers raise their prices for the sale.

The Blu-ray camps thinks that thay have won the war, but they really haven't. They won a single battle in the larger war for our entertainment dollars. VOD and digital downloads are still in it to win. While all of us here have a great appreciation for the physical media and its superior everything, there is a larger segment of society who will be happy with the quality of streaming media, somthing I am vehemently opposed to.

Price is an issue and the way the Blu-ray camp is going I can't help but feel they are pricing themselves in the same direction as the music indisutry. $18-20 CDs is one small reason the recording industry is in such disarry. Movie pirating is on the rise and the stuidos feel it is becomming a bigger and bigger issue. Prices on Blu-ray movies need to decrease and until that happens the adoption rate will remain steady and not at levels that the stuidos and hardware manufactutures would like to see.

I would love to be able to afford the best quality all the time, but given a choice of having 2-3 wants and being able to buy them all vs only being able to buy one, I am going with the more is more option.

i agree with you about the prices of blu-rays and the lack of deals lately. it has gotten higher it seems. i don't agree with you though about the price of cd's. understand that to produce a cd costs upwards of $500,0000 and sometimes even 1,000,0000. to be able to make any kind of profit off of the cd the price would have to be relatively high. i'm sort of surprised it's not higher actually. for blu-ray it's usually different. the movie has usually already made its money back at theaters and doesn't need to recoup its initial costs except for the expense of making the blu-rays.

but that usually is covered by the money they made in its theater run. for example the dark knight has pulled in so much money it doesn't need to worry about the costs of producing the blu-ray. with a cd though the money hasn't been made before the cd is put out. the music and the cd is the product. a blu-ray isn't the actual product. the movie is the product and the blu-ray is just another version. i think cd's are very reasonable for the price and well worth it. anyway, those are my thoughts. didn't mean to take up so much of the thread with it.

[neos_peace]

I can personally say this about my collection. Even though its very small . I have a wapping 17 titles, of which 15 of them were failry new titles that I got of of ebay (yes I'm an ebayholic ) for $15 and thats including the shipping cost. I agree wiht most on here that you just got to find the deals. I my self are in the middle of converting my ENTIREE collection over to bluray. But what I personally do is this when I get a few titles on blu, I take the DVD titles and trade them into my local FYE and get store creidt and buy another blu title and only end up spending another $5-$10, if that. I persoanlly always look for deals, I'm cheap I know I'm proud of that. I am a hardcore believer in blu and will never go back to DVD. I can remember when DVD came out it was the exact same way that blu is now. No offense but people that go against Blu for cost reasons, and availablity, are exeptecting to much to soon. IS blu costly yes, but not if you look for deals like eveyone else says. Just give it time.dude.

[Ernest Rister]

Originally Posted by stockstar1138

im not really boycotting as much as i want a fair value. if i feel like its worth it, i will gladly pay for it.

The price premium for the ability to see films in High Definition isn't worth it? The extra five to ten dollars over the S-DVD verison isn't a fair value? Are you serious?

[Steelmaker]

Honestly, I believe the issue with price is moot. If you do your research, you can find great deals on blu rays. I have not paid more than 24.99 for a blu ray movie and even that was back when it first came out. For the last year or so, the most I have paid is 20.00. If I cannot find something I want at that price, I simply wait. For example, I just found I, Robot at Target for 19.99. That title has consistently listed for 29.99 to 39.99 at most other places. Sure I have been wanting it for a while now but I decided to be patient and look for a good deal.

Some advice, avoid mall stores like FYE. They are entirely overpriced on their blu rays. Places like Circuit City, Best Buy, Wal Mart, Target, etc can sometimes offer decent deals on titles. Half.com is your best friend! You can get amazing deals on there. I got The Patriot and Spiderman 3 for like 6 bucks each brand new!

[Bolaar]

1. No clue why people think this is "pointless". Either they have more money then the rest of us or don't care and will end up with the next betamax. IN this economy and nothing is going to change for years...the only way to succeed is price. Asking 25% to 40% more for something...and you won't sell it. This is why Walmart is so huge and other stores fail. Does not matter if the product is subpar it is cheap, and that is what people see, dollar signs.
Yes I know that Blu-ray is a luxury...but so is a DVD...One is just more luxurious then the other.

2. Because you bought movies years ago for $50 or $100 does not mean we should or you should have. I NEVER paid that much for a movie. I did buy one TV series for to much BUT that was it.
Things are different now, of that there is no question. The TV we buy today for $1000 will be $800 next month and half that next year IF they still even make it. Everything is cheaper to make in the technology world and big business knows it. They just don't want you to know it.

3. Does boycotting work...damn straight. Look at the auto industry. When is the last time you could buy a truck for 40% off MSRP? Never. You stop buying...they take notice and take action. Blu-ray is growing...but barely, not "quickly". Wrong time, wrong market for higher priced items.


I know I can buy things on "sale" and find a slightly better price every so often...but some of us are fooled in what a sale looks like. Buying 2 blu-rays for $27.99 and getting 1 free is a decent deal BUT not the sale that they lured us in with one year ago. Those movies should have been priced at $19.99 or maybe $22.99 at most...thus a better deal.

I don't remember the last "new" release I bought on blu because they wanted $25+ for it. Can I afford it...yes. But that does not mean I should and nor will I.


I chose blu not because of the hype...not because of the capacity...not because of it was "better"...but because over time...I thought that I would save money. Higher priced player with cheaper movies.

Now we have...a higher priced player...and higher priced movies.

Ended in the lose / lose scenario.

So now I sit...no Iron Man, no Transformers, no Hulk, no Dark Knight, no Indiana Jones, no Wall-E, no Matrix (...nada. Why? Simple, Overpriced.

I refuse to feed the beast.

If they lower it...I will buy. Till then...I guess I wait.

[stockstar1138]

Originally Posted by Ernest Rister

The price premium for the ability to see films in High Definition isn't worth it the extra five to ten dollars over the S-DVD verison?

i will gladly pay $5 to $10 more for a high quality blu over a DVD. i don't expect Blu to be the same price for a DVD.

What I do expect is that for a premium, I get a high quality product, that means a good movie, a quality transfers, loseless audio and exclusive extras that i can't get from a dvd.

and I absolutely will not pay more than $20 for a catalog title on blu, unless it is of supurb quality. Close Encounters and The Nightmare Before Xmas are good examples.

and its not fair for me to broad brush blu-ray out there, because there are really two studios that really piss me off and are the culprits of most of my issues with this subject: Fox and Warner Bros.

[Mr. J]

Originally Posted by CheapChildren

It's a very new, superior and more expensive to produce technology. So if you want DVD prices you're kind of being unreasonable. If you want DVD comparable prices you need to wait after release week until they go down on eBay or Amazon marketplace.

+1! Well put! I agree 100%!

[Wingman1977]

Originally Posted by Powell&Pressburger

To be honest I hate these threads they are pointless. I am ignoring further posts completly and concentrate on other posts that seem positive.

Agreed. The op doesn't realize there are other alternative to paying high prices:

1. Shop around online for sales. There are always online retailers who will have blu-ray titles on sale (keep check the hot deals forum on here). I personally will not pay over $20 for a blu-ray title (unless it' part of a BOGO or BTGO promo or if it's a box set).

2. Buy used. Yes, people sell used blu-ray titles (check out the buying/selling forum on here as well as ebay, craigslist or any classified/auction site).

3. Have patience (this part of #1). You don't need the movie right away if you feel that the price is too high. Just wait awhile, it'll be on sale sometime (me for example, I want Transformers but I'm not paying $25 for it. It'll be part of amazon's B2G1 promo eventually or it'll be a $19.99 promo for a week at some b&m and the same applies for me with Iron man).

If you still feel the same after these three points, then you're better off selling off your blu-ray player and movies and go back to buying DVD.

[Kyo28]

Regarding the price, I believe that the suggested retail price for a BD is about the same as the suggested retail price for a DVD, taken in the same time-frame after their respective launches and taking into consideration inflation.

So in that regard, I don't see a problem with the price, personally, but I can understand others do. But as Blu-ray gets more and more adopted, prices will drop like it happened with DVD.

The only price-related issue I have is that domestic Japanese releases are too expensive, but that's another story ...

[bdrex28]

Originally Posted by Bolaar

Sadly I have stopped buying the over priced blu-ray's at this time.

This was something I had been wanting to ask in this forum at some point...just never got around to i.


Sorry but $25+ for a disc...I don't care what "extras" or how "pretty" it is...no worth it.

I would really enjoy seeing the new releases...just not for that price. And they seem to be getting pricier...slowly.

How much do you pay for your PS3 games?

I think these are the funniest posts of all, you hve two XBR's a PS3 and don't want to pay $25 for a movie to make those items you have actually be fully functional.

ha-ha-ha.