How long will consumer demand allow for three competing formats?

[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.

[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?

[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 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.

[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!)

[Spotty]

Originally Posted by 8traxrule

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!)

Last I checked (2018), it was estimated that 162 million Americans (about 50% of the US population) don’t have access to fixed line “high-speed” internet, so it makes sense to me that there still is a high demand for inexpensive DVDs despite the rise of streaming.....I mean for a lot of families on a budget, the cheapest option is the best option and when your community doesn’t have DSL or cable or fiber - that means going with DVDs.

The lack of shelf space devoted to bluray or 4K in big box stores doesn’t bother me at all, since I can still order pretty much any bluray I want from Amazon or make an order for in-store pickup from Best Buy/Walmart.

That being said, I absolutely do agree with you that it is atrocious that so many current TV shows don’t get a bluray release at all. That is the fault of all the streamers who prefer to ditch physical media altogether though. I don’t think you can really blame the DVD buyers for that. Hey at least DVD buyers are still supporting some form of physical media.

[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.

[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.

[Troy73]

Originally Posted by Jay H.

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

Rubbish.

So if there is no HD alternative, like STS9, you feel I am wrong to have purchased the DVDs? Really? Are you so absolute that you would live without something you love as it doesn’t meet the current standard. Sound “elitist” when you put it the way you did there.

[starsteam]

Originally Posted by Troy73

So if there is no HD alternative, like STS9, you feel I am wrong to have purchased the DVDs? Really? Are you so absolute that you would live without something you love as it doesn’t meet the current standard. Sound “elitist” when you put it the way you did there.

They were calling that statement rubbish. Hence the " " around it.

[Troy73]

Meant to type ST-DS9

[drush9999]

Of course it's becoming more niche etc.
Glad I hung onto my 4000 strong DVD collection, as around a third of that isn't even on Blu-ray and good portion of that never will be. I would gladly upgrade everything I could to 4K, but that will be impossible probably, given it's a niche of a niche.

[SleazyForWeasley]

I don't need any movie bad enough to buy a DVD in 2020. I want the format to die. They look subpar on a 4k tv, even with a great upscaling player and tweaked picture settings. Companies didn't keep making VHS tapes because "poor people." They killed the format because it was subpar, and people moved on. People would do the same here if studios stopped producing DVD. If people want physical media, they'll buy blu-ray. Blu-ray discs aren't much more expensive than a DVD and I'm not sure they even make standalone DVD players anymore since Blu-ray players are so cheap. Yeah, yeah... I know DVD outsells Blu-ray, but that's only because people still have the choice. People who want physical media will buy Blu if it's their only option.

[orangerunner]

Originally Posted by SleazyForWeasley

I don't need any movie bad enough to buy a DVD in 2020. I want the format to die. They look subpar on a 4k tv, even with a great upscaling player and tweaked picture settings. Companies didn't keep making VHS tapes because "poor people." They killed the format because it was subpar, and people moved on. People would do the same here if studios stopped producing DVD. If people want physical media, they'll buy blu-ray.

VHS being "sub-par" had less to do with the audio/video quality and more to do with the size of the cassette and the rewinding/fast-forwarding clunkiness of them.

We have relatively cheap 55" to 65" 4K TVs and yet younger folks would rather curl-up on the couch and watch their 5.5" phone screens - in 4K of course!

Originally Posted by SleazyForWeasley

Blu-ray discs aren't much more expensive than a DVD

At the retail price level there isn't too much of a difference but from a cost-of-production perspective, DVD provides much more lucrative profit margins.

[meremortal]

Originally Posted by orangerunner

[Show spoiler]VHS being "sub-par" had less to do with the audio/video quality and more to do with the size of the cassette and the rewinding/fast-forwarding clunkiness of them.

We have relatively cheap 55" to 65" 4K TVs and yet younger folks would rather curl-up on the couch and watch their 5.5" phone screens - in 4K of course!

At the retail price level there isn't too much of a difference but from a cost-of-production perspective, DVD provides much more lucrative profit margins

It probably doesn't matter to most people that you can often get the blu with digital copy for only like $2-3 more than the dvd. A lot of folks might shop for movies the same way they do at the grocery store and go with the lowest price in mind. So that extra $2-3 for a movie could be considered a 'luxury' purchase in a similar vein as spending a few extra dollars for name a name brand product over the generic brand.

[meremortal]

'Younger' folks can be just as clueless with the differences between physical media as well. A little while back I was in a used media store when a couple college kids had a conversation between themselves like this:

Guy 1: "Do we have a dvd player?"
Guy 2 "I dunno. Does PS4 play dvds?"
Guy 1: <shrugs shoulders> "It may be on Netflix."
<both walk off>