How long will consumer demand allow for three competing formats?

[Strapped4Cash]

Originally Posted by Tenny80

I don't think so, if DVD goes people will switch to Bluray. The reason why DVD sells better is because people want The Joker, they see 3 options and buy the cheapest one. As more and more people switch to digital it's eventually only going to be the collectors left and they will want the best quality possible.

Your scenario makes some sense for those releases that get 3 options, though personally I suspect that a lot of DVD-only buyers won't want to upgrade, and will just abandon physical.

But also, a ton of stuff only makes it to 1 option: DVD. How can we buy a Blu-ray of something that is never released on Blu-ray? (Or 4K?). Personally, I want the titles that I want, and the more often those get no physical release then the more frustrated, disappointed and disgruntled I become.

Originally Posted by PhysicalMediaNut

It really boggles my mind that DVD still outsells Blu. Especially with how inexpensive Blu-ray players are and now that 4K TVs are the standard. I thought i was late to the Blu-ray party in 2010-2011. Where are all the DVD people located?

Some are on this very site. Looking at Joker, there are 16 members here who have either bought the DVD, or have it on their wishlist:

[meremortal]

DVDs are cheap enough and good enough for most people. As someone else said, 'not everyone is an enthusiast.' And that's perfectly OK. Blu's a refined technology with a lot of maturity at this point even if it does go back over a decade. It's nice that uhd features such as Atmos audio are also an option for blu. Diehard videophiles will probably opt for uhd, but they're definitely a niche minority of the pie. I like to see more uhds made like most folks here, but a whole lot of content will never be available on the format and there are many, many upscales as well. That doesn't paint the entire picture, however, and upscales can look really nice too. But all said, this community probably doesn't represent the average person who enjoys watching movies. Not everyone's a stickler for quality and wanting to pay more to 'collect' since it basically falls into leisure/disposable income. DVD is still pretty much the face of physical media and if it were to disappear overnight, it could have a drastic effect on the visibility of physical media in general. A lot of people might assume that dvds no longer being made would basically mean no more physical media. People love to talk about movies, not physical media. There have probably been thousands of mentions of Netflix in my social media feeds over the last year, but I can't recall anyone mentioning blu or uhd.

[Troy73]

Originally Posted by meremortal

DVDs are cheap enough and good enough for most people. As someone else said, 'not everyone is an enthusiast.' And that's perfectly OK. Blu's a refined technology with a lot of maturity at this point even if it does go back over a decade. It's nice that uhd features such as Atmos audio are also an option for blu. Diehard videophiles will probably opt for uhd, but they're definitely a niche minority of the pie. I like to see more uhds made like most folks here, but a whole lot of content will never be available on the format and there are many, many upscales as well. That doesn't paint the entire picture, however, and upscales can look really nice too. But all said, this community probably doesn't represent the average person who enjoys watching movies. Not everyone's a stickler for quality and wanting to pay more to 'collect' since it basically falls into leisure/disposable income. DVD is still pretty much the face of physical media and if it were to disappear overnight, it could have a drastic effect on the visibility of physical media in general. A lot of people might assume that dvds no longer being made would basically mean no more physical media. People love to talk about movies, not physical media. There have probably been thousands of mentions of Netflix in my social media feeds over the last year, but I can't recall anyone mentioning blu or uhd.

That’s exactly the point. If DVD goes physical media will surely die. It’s not even a question of “if” but “when”. I would like to think we have 10 more years before we see the severe decline/death of physical media but I’m probably being generous.

[rdodolak]

Originally Posted by Troy73

That’s exactly the point. If DVD goes physical media will surely die. It’s not even a question of “if” but “when”. I would like to think we have 10 more years before we see the severe decline/death of physical media but I’m probably being generous.

Physical media will not die if DVD goes, just like DVD didn't die when VHS went extinct.

[Troy73]

Originally Posted by rdodolak

Physical media will not die if DVD goes, just like DVD didn't die when VHS went extinct.

You’re comparing apples to oranges. DVD was a huge leap in technology that offered a superior entertainment experience to VHS. People embraced the format for its ease of use, superior PQ and as, special features, no rewinding, jump to a scene, and on and on. Also, no digital or streaming competition at that time. Really different climate out here now.

[moviegeek1992]

Originally Posted by Tenny80

I don't think so, if DVD goes people will switch to Bluray. The reason why DVD sells better is because people want The Joker, they see 3 options and buy the cheapest one. As more and more people switch to digital it's eventually only going to be the collectors left and they will want the best quality possible.

I agree with this. When you have three formats lined up with DVD being the cheapest, it's no surprise that that's the one most people will buy.

[rdodolak]

Originally Posted by Troy73

You’re comparing apples to oranges. DVD was a huge leap in technology that offered a superior entertainment experience to VHS. People embraced the format for its ease of use, superior PQ and as, special features, no rewinding, jump to a scene, and on and on. Also, no digital or streaming competition at that time. Really different climate out here now.

And going from SD to HD (UHD) doesn't offer a superior entertainment experience?

[steve_dave]

Originally Posted by rdodolak

And going from SD to HD (UHD) doesn't offer a superior entertainment experience?

VHS to DVD didn’t have technology that can truly shoot itself in the foot.

BD players upscale from 480 to 1080, UHD can upscale from 480 and 1080 to 2160.

Consumers who “can’t see a difference” do not care if a picture is upscaled. Especially when the salesperson makes it a key feature. The sound is better is a moot argument too if they are using TV speakers or a basic soundbar.

Samsung’s 8K TV is advertised as being able to upscale to 8K. So what is the point of native 8K if only a small minority of consumers truly care about it.

[Jay H.]

Whether or not you buy DVDs is irrelevant. Many people do. It's physical media and it's being purchased. If it's good enough for the people who buy and watch it, you shouldn't care. It isn't your money. You aren't the one watching it. DVD's existence doesn't affect the existence of Blu-ray and UHD.

[78deluxe]

Originally Posted by rdodolak

I would disagree that we'd miss out on SD content. SD content could still be put on Blu-ray and that content would still benefit from the better compression standards and audio formats. In addition, if the industry went away from DVD and Blu-ray became the standard, cost would decrease further due to economies of scale.

While I'd like to see DVD die an immediate death, the problem is licensing costs.

At this points it cost zero for the royalties to use the DVD format. Someone has to pay for every single disc on BluRay and 4K due to the agreements in place. It is unfortunate, but it is one of the reasons we don't see that decrease in cost.

[78deluxe]

Originally Posted by Jay H.

Whether or not you buy DVDs is irrelevant. Many people do. It's physical media and it's being purchased. If it's good enough for the people who buy and watch it, you shouldn't care. It isn't your money. You aren't the one watching it. DVD's existence doesn't affect the existence of Blu-ray and UHD.

Define affecting the existence.

Yes they co-exist. If DVD did not exist, would it impact the home media market? I'd put money down that it would.

I'm entitled to care as someone that supports film preservation as an art. DVD's existence is doing a disservice to mankind.

Bluray players can be purchased for the cost of a DVD, so money is not an object here.

[Troy73]

Originally Posted by Jay H.

Whether or not you buy DVDs is irrelevant. Many people do. It's physical media and it's being purchased. If it's good enough for the people who buy and watch it, you shouldn't care. It isn't your money. You aren't the one watching it. DVD's existence doesn't affect the existence of Blu-ray and UHD.

Blu-ray and UHD are a progression from DVD. Saying DVDs existence doesn’t affect them is inaccurate.
Now Blu-ray and UHD are premium formats of disc based media but ,make no mistake, DVD was the revolution that made possible where we are now with physical media.

[78deluxe]

Originally Posted by yellowcakeuf6

Not everybody is an enthusiast. The DVD people are everywhere, like next door, and they probably only sit down to watch them a few times a year. DVDs get more use as babysitters from what I've seen.

Let's be real. Blu-Rays are sold for $1 at the dollar store. They are also everywhere.

We are not talking about UHD. Blu-Ray is a billion + industry every year, it is common place and not a niche format and hasn't been for years, this isn't 2008.

[Troy73]

Originally Posted by rdodolak

And going from SD to HD (UHD) doesn't offer a superior entertainment experience?

Not as significant a leap as going from VHS cassettes to DVD discs. DVD wasn’t just a PQ and AQ upgrade. It changed the face of home entertainment. Please tell me you understand that?

[rdodolak]

Originally Posted by 78deluxe

While I'd like to see DVD die an immediate death, the problem is licensing costs.

At this points it cost zero for the royalties to use the DVD format. Someone has to pay for every single disc on BluRay and 4K due to the agreements in place. It is unfortunate, but it is one of the reasons we don't see that decrease in cost.

Licensing costs have and are lower when compared to Blu-ray or UHD Blu-ray, but DVD is a much older format and costs for all formats have decreased over time.

When did the per disc license cost go away for DVD?

Originally Posted by Troy73

Not as significant a leap as going from VHS cassettes to DVD discs. DVD wasn’t just a PQ and AQ upgrade. It changed the face of home entertainment. Please tell me you understand that?

Yes, I do understand your point.

[plateoshrimp]

I found a copy of the remake of The Beguiled at a Dollar General this morning for $3.95. The lady at the register held it up and told me "This is a blu-ray, okay? I just wanna make sure you know so you're not disappointed." She didn't notice it was also the DVD but apparently shoppers there don't want blu-ray at all. I know most people don't go to Dollar General for movies but that one was cheaper than the DVDs they had there. My sister prefers DVD because she says she likes the menus better. I just don't get it.

[8traxrule]

Originally Posted by Jay H.

If it's good enough for the people who buy and watch it, you shouldn't care. It isn't your money. You aren't the one watching it. DVD's existence doesn't affect the existence of Blu-ray and UHD.

It sort of does, especially with stores giving less space to movies in general. Having to carry THREE editions of new releases certainly doesn't help, and on smaller titles I've seen just the DVD in stock with no blu-ray even if one was released. If there's going to be fewer shelves for movies, why should the obsolete DVD format waste any of that space?

The people who care about quality will buy the BEST format, even if it costs more. If those who don't care about quality are going to streaming, then it makes no sense for the oldest physical format, whose picture quality is even WORSE than HD streaming, to keep getting new titles released on it. (A really sad thing was a recent Showtime series that was released on DVD only- the YouTube clips of it, including one made to promote the DVD release, looked far better than the DVD did! I remember when the picture quality of YouTube was atrocious, so it's really an insult when that ends up looking better!)

[slimdude]

Originally Posted by plateoshrimp

I found a copy of the remake of The Beguiled at a Dollar General this morning for $3.95. The lady at the register held it up and told me "This is a blu-ray, okay? I just wanna make sure you know so you're not disappointed." She didn't notice it was also the DVD but apparently shoppers there don't want blu-ray at all.

Maybe the reason why the clerk made that clarification is because, they probably had returns from customers who've purchased the blu-ray movies and thought they were DVDs, and couldn't play it when they've got home. You'll be surprise at how many people still don't know the difference between a DVD and Blu-ray packaging, even when they're in a blue case with the Blu-ray logo at the top. Heck, some people call blu-rays DVDs, which really irks me.

[rdodolak]

Originally Posted by plateoshrimp

I found a copy of the remake of The Beguiled at a Dollar General this morning for $3.95. The lady at the register held it up and told me "This is a blu-ray, okay? I just wanna make sure you know so you're not disappointed."

LOL, I wonder why they would be disappointed? I could understand not knowing it was a DVD and then finding out after it was purchased and opened.

Originally Posted by plateoshrimp

She didn't notice it was also the DVD but apparently shoppers there don't want blu-ray at all.

Was that an assumption or did she mention it; if it's the latter did she expand on a reasoning?

Originally Posted by plateoshrimp

My sister prefers DVD because she says she likes the menus better. I just don't get it.

I certainly can understand that as there was once a time effort went into creating Blu-ray menus leaps and bounds above what DVD could offer. Picking on Warners they switched to putrid menus with some cheap looking, generic icons for their releases. I'll give them credit though for the current icons which are much better looking than what they were using.

I'm trying to find a screenshot to show off their original creativity, but I'm having a hard time finding one at the moment on this site. However, here are the examples after their creativity crawled under a rock and died.

Cheap style:

[Show spoiler]

Revised style:

[Show spoiler]

[Jay H.]

"I don't like/buy DVD, and those that do are wrong."

Rubbish.