Although Blu-ray movie sales have tripled since the same time period in 2008, according to The Digital Entertainment Group, movie studios still aren’t happy with the amount of Blu-ray Discs sold so far.
The struggling economy is the main scape goat for Hollywood, although a film producer and former Fox Filmed Entertainment head believes there is something else that is negatively hurting Blu-ray sales.
"I think it’s one part recession, but there are bigger factors," Bill Mechanic recently said during an interview with The Wrap.
Movie sales in general have struggled, with Viacom reporting its filmed entertainment profit has dropped 81 percent during its last quarter, dropping to $22 million. Fox Filmed Entertainment dropped 72 percent down to $112 million, with DVD sales falling 15 percent. Time Warner’s DVD sales dropped 24 percent, even though The Dark Knight proved to be the most popular movie last year.
Lionsgate, Sony, GE and Disney also suffered a drop in sales and analysts are not convinced the movie studios will be able to help generate enough buzz for movie sales to increase throughout 2009.
Although most companies are saying it’s because of the economy, there is a growing concern regarding DVD undercutting the cost of Blu-ray movies.
That’s a misreading of consumer behavior as well as a misreading of the economic environment,” Mechanic continued. “It’s devalued the libraries. If you can buy ‘Titanic’ for $4.99” versus $19.99 for a new, but lesser, movie on Blu-ray, consumers will say, “‘Well, wait a minute…’
39 Comments
Maybe they should try actually releasing some catalog films on BD if they want to sell something. 
There are still many times more DVDs released each week than BD.
There are still many times more DVDs released each week than BD.
I see I'm not the only who made that reasoning.
Why buy a Blu-Ray of an old movie? Your Blu-Ray player can still upscale a DVD fine. It's not real HD, but far from the screen your eyes will have a hard time noticing a difference.
Blu-Ray's futur is with the new movies being released, not the old ones. Movie directors know their movie will be released in HD now, so they will take that into account as well when shooting scenes.
Why buy a Blu-Ray of an old movie? Your Blu-Ray player can still upscale a DVD fine. It's not real HD, but far from the screen your eyes will have a hard time noticing a difference.
Blu-Ray's futur is with the new movies being released, not the old ones. Movie directors know their movie will be released in HD now, so they will take that into account as well when shooting scenes.
I was just walking through the Blu-ray aisle at Target Store this afternoon, and the new movies were $29.99. Some older ones were $24.99 and there was a home movie of a trip to the Himalayas or something, taken with some guy's hand-held video camera for $19.99. No wonder nobody wants to buy them.
- guest
- Posts: 15288
- Posted on: 19 Feb 09 05:59
If Titatnic is $4.99 on DVD then the BluRay should be $9.99. These corporate execs still don't understand the concept of volume. Why sell one item for $20 when you can sell 10 for $10?
@Dave
The reason why is because they calculate what price and quantity will get them the most profit. Selling more doesn't necessarily mean more profits. There is a point in the curve where more is bad just like less is bad.
The reason why is because they calculate what price and quantity will get them the most profit. Selling more doesn't necessarily mean more profits. There is a point in the curve where more is bad just like less is bad.
- guest
- Posts: 15288
- Posted on: 19 Feb 09 07:54
Old movies look better on bluray too. People seem to forget that the source is film, and that dvd's are compressed. I've got a few older movies on bluray and they look great on bluray.
The problem is, the dvd's from old movies are in the bargain bin at walmart for 4.99. Then they try to sell the bluray for 20 or 30. To me bluray is worth 5 more dollars per disc, maybe 10 on the odd disc I really want. By offering the dvd's so cheap, their outpricing themselves on bluray. VHS tapes weren't this cheap when DVD's came out. DVD's are stupidly cheap now (on old releases), it'll be hard for bluray to compete with that.
The problem is, the dvd's from old movies are in the bargain bin at walmart for 4.99. Then they try to sell the bluray for 20 or 30. To me bluray is worth 5 more dollars per disc, maybe 10 on the odd disc I really want. By offering the dvd's so cheap, their outpricing themselves on bluray. VHS tapes weren't this cheap when DVD's came out. DVD's are stupidly cheap now (on old releases), it'll be hard for bluray to compete with that.
The compression use on DVD-video is MPEG-2: the best one ever made by the Fraunhoffer Institute !
All the other compressions used these days on Blu-Ray are
MORE DESTRUCTIVE than MPEG-2.
So my choice is to stay on DVD for along time … until eventually things evolve.
And I am not talking about all the good movies and documentaries that you do NOT find on Blu-ray …
All the other compressions used these days on Blu-Ray are
MORE DESTRUCTIVE than MPEG-2.
So my choice is to stay on DVD for along time … until eventually things evolve.
And I am not talking about all the good movies and documentaries that you do NOT find on Blu-ray …
- guest
- Posts: 15288
- Posted on: 19 Feb 09 13:40
To say that older movies look better in blu-ray is nonsense. The movies were not film in HD, and nor have they been remastered to take advantage of HD. Studios are not releasing catalogue titles because blu-ray isn't selling - not to mention the fact that putting out a blu-ray version is an expensive process. People are going to wait and wait until the price is as low as DVD before they buy hi-def, as the actual benefit just isn't worth it. I've said it before but it's going to take YEARS before hi-def to take off (whether it is then blu-ray or something else is another debate).
As the owner of a blu-ray player, I'll tell you the one thing that makes me reconsider every time I think abut dropping $20 on a Blu-ray: compatibility.
If I buy a new Blu-ray, I can watch it in high-definition, but it must be on my living room TV. However, if I want to watch it in my bedroom, at my girlfriend's place, at my parents' house, or at the houses of any friends or relatives, I have to rent or buy the DVD. And that DVD will at least be upscaled in my living room.
The one thing that would make me buy more Blu-rays is including a DVD version in the same package. None of this "Digital Copy", DRM-riddled crap. It's not hard to do - they make standard double Blu-ray cases. I think just a week ago I saw a commercial for some Disney movie where they finally did that, and they should keep it up.
If I buy a new Blu-ray, I can watch it in high-definition, but it must be on my living room TV. However, if I want to watch it in my bedroom, at my girlfriend's place, at my parents' house, or at the houses of any friends or relatives, I have to rent or buy the DVD. And that DVD will at least be upscaled in my living room.
The one thing that would make me buy more Blu-rays is including a DVD version in the same package. None of this "Digital Copy", DRM-riddled crap. It's not hard to do - they make standard double Blu-ray cases. I think just a week ago I saw a commercial for some Disney movie where they finally did that, and they should keep it up.
I disagree and I am a broadcast engineer and work with these formats. Actually MPEG4, VC-1 are very good codecs and formats, AVCHD is fantastic ! I wish all BR's used AVCHD.
Of course any movie will look better in Blu Ray. 35mm is pretty much HD when you scan it at 2K. Any film, old or new, can be scanned to HD with the same results. If the movie was filmed in HD then it may loook a little better but some purists will argue the opposite.
Studios stagger the release of their classics over the lifertime of the formats, they did with DVD. Look how long Star Wars took to come out on DVD.
I agree, prices need to drop but HD in general is getting cheaper pretty fast and becoming common place (meaning soo you won't be able to buy a TV that cannot display HD resolution).
Studios stagger the release of their classics over the lifertime of the formats, they did with DVD. Look how long Star Wars took to come out on DVD.
I agree, prices need to drop but HD in general is getting cheaper pretty fast and becoming common place (meaning soo you won't be able to buy a TV that cannot display HD resolution).
Thanks ivid for your opinion !
So I will stay with DVD only for the second reason:
" all the good movies and documentaries that you do NOT find on Blu-ray …"
So I will stay with DVD only for the second reason:
" all the good movies and documentaries that you do NOT find on Blu-ray …"
Yeah! Why not Blu-ray/ DVD discs? Oh, I forgot, people wont pay 30 bucks for a DVD. Might as well sell them separate. Never mind....http://www.cdfreaks.com/jochem/../im...ies/2/puh2.gif
For the people that say old films on Blu-Ray look no better than DVD, are these people that have actually watched some old films on Blu-Ray, or are they just speculating?
I have watched, just off the top of my head, The Omega Man, The Searchers and Adventures of Robin Hood in Hidef and they look superb and its like night and day differences from the DVD, which I also have owned.
I have watched, just off the top of my head, The Omega Man, The Searchers and Adventures of Robin Hood in Hidef and they look superb and its like night and day differences from the DVD, which I also have owned.
Do you put the screen on top of your head and look at yourself in the mirror, or what?
(Sorry, I couldn't help myself.)
(Sorry, I couldn't help myself.)
People aren't buying into Blu-ray because they don't want to spend $$$ on replacing the DVD titles they already have. I have a 42" HDTV and don't care about Blu-ray right now as it makes no economic sense. My Pioneer DV 410 does a great job upscaling DVD tiles via HDMI.
I mow have both blueray wirter on my PC & standalone for TV, have now also purchassed older titles upscaled to HD, these titles are alot better visual, as well as audio, I'm all for the Blueray, keep it coming.
Bring Blu-Ray down to a rspectable level $20 and then Ill bite.. Ill bite even more when you could make affordable backups. I hate to bring up a dead format, but I have a few HD DVD titles that actually the DVD version on the flip side of the disc.. Why cant Blu-Ray do this?
If you like documentaries, have you seen Planet Earth on Blu Ray or HD DVD ? Jaw dropping fantastic. It may change your mind.. 
- guest
- Posts: 15288
- Posted on: 20 Feb 09 13:13
For people who say that upscapled DVD looks almost as good as Blu-ray I suggest a visit with an optometrist--you need to check your eyesight. Blue-Ray looks superb no question about it.
- guest
- Posts: 15288
- Posted on: 20 Feb 09 13:57
Upscaling DVD`s ARE just as good as Blu-ray ( almost ) ... for those people who disagree, maybe your upscaler just isn`t good enough. OK, my DVD player and upscaler cost me around US$5000.00, but considering that I have about 1500 DVD`s it was worth it. If I had to buy my library on Blu-Ray it would cost me more that 50K here in Europe.
- guest
- Posts: 15288
- Posted on: 20 Feb 09 14:54
As a Senior Citizen, I've seen the "industry" change...reinventing itself every ten years in order to have something new to sell. Frankly, I'm tired of "up-grading" my collection every few years to accommodate the greed of others. Many Seniors who buy Blu-Ray now find it more convenient to "rent" than to own. They just don't want to replace their collections "again". And, again. And, again. And, what's more, entertainment isn't "science". We don't want to be able to count the hairs on someone's bare bottom - thanks but no thanks! Please leave us some room to use our imaginations - Blu-Ray is simply a case of too much information for some of us. If we wanted stark reality - we can watch the news! We want entertainment! And, not to see the pimple on Spiderman's face! Not that the industry cares what we "want". They are too busy telling us what we want by obsoleting what we've already bought!
- guest
- Posts: 15288
- Posted on: 20 Feb 09 16:09
That's a valid opinion on blu-ray, or technology for that matter. But, truthfully this is why technology exists, to improve and eventually supplant current tech. The good thing about blu-ray players is, they're backwards-compatible and wouldn't require strictly blu-ray discs, so re-compiling a movie collection towards blu-ray is unneeded. This isn't "forced" and the only thing neededupgraded is the player itself. As for seeing Spidey's pimples...I'm ok with it. 
- guest
- Posts: 15288
- Posted on: 20 Feb 09 17:15
whatever, if that was the case, why go with DVD?? Let go back to VHS--that's good enough isn't it????
- guest
- Posts: 15288
- Posted on: 20 Feb 09 17:25
First of all ,I don't care if you'll buy the best upscaler in the world-it will NEVER be as good as Blu-ray--that's like saying that Toyota Camry is just as good as LEXUS SC400(or whatever model it may be). Well they are both made by Toyota but are they the SAME?????Give me a brake here. I agree with a fact that if you do have a large DVD collection already re-purchasing it in Blu-ray makes little sense, however adding new titles to it would strictly be in Blu-ray format.
Wrong point of view which ultimately makes your argument moot. Blu-Ray players can actually play and even improve a bit the image quality of DVDs. You don't need to replace your collection.
Just buy new movies on Blu-Ray, that's it.
Just buy new movies on Blu-Ray, that's it.
It's not the DVD pricing that's hurting Blu-ray sales, it's the Blu-ray prices.
- guest
- Posts: 15288
- Posted on: 20 Feb 09 19:50
You seem to not see the valid point, every thing no matter how much you don't want it to, will evolve to be faster, cleaner and greater, so in this case prices are slowing down the proccess dramatically, but this will not last forever, and it has already been stated, blueray players are yes backwards compatible, I have both blueray movies and DVD, no problem, all can be played back on same system, go blue today?
ferd I want to thank you for your "off the top of the head" reply. I laughed so much my manager asked me what was going on.
OK first of all if you think blu-ray and a up converted dvds look the same well you must have a 32' tv or something. Try watching a up converted dvd compared to a bly-ray on a 65" TV. Big difference.
Some of us also have a extra added incentive to buy blu because of Dolby True HD and DTS Master HD. For those of us who have sunk a lot of $$$ into our audio systems we would like to get all we can out of it.
That being said Blu-Ray disc are way over priced and need to drop.
I only buy blu on discount, sale,clearance or special buy. I'm NOT paying $29.99 for a F#^#% blu-ray disc. NO WAY.
Here is the (plan)
I have a LOT of dvds I will NOT be replacing them with blu-ray (except a special few) LOTR when it comes out. NOW that WILL be replacing my sd dvd's and will happily do so.
I'll keep all my old dvd's watch them upconverted, purchase the new titles I really like on blu-ray, and will rent a lot also with my Blockbuster and netflix online as I'm not convinced blu will survive all that long.
That's the plan anyway.
Some of us also have a extra added incentive to buy blu because of Dolby True HD and DTS Master HD. For those of us who have sunk a lot of $$$ into our audio systems we would like to get all we can out of it.
That being said Blu-Ray disc are way over priced and need to drop.
I only buy blu on discount, sale,clearance or special buy. I'm NOT paying $29.99 for a F#^#% blu-ray disc. NO WAY.
Here is the (plan)
I have a LOT of dvds I will NOT be replacing them with blu-ray (except a special few) LOTR when it comes out. NOW that WILL be replacing my sd dvd's and will happily do so.
I'll keep all my old dvd's watch them upconverted, purchase the new titles I really like on blu-ray, and will rent a lot also with my Blockbuster and netflix online as I'm not convinced blu will survive all that long.
That's the plan anyway.
- guest
- Posts: 15288
- Posted on: 21 Feb 09 03:17
Nothing against You master but you took the words out of my head!!!
Now the kiiler rumur is INTEL on the PS4 and new Xbox we will see !!!
Now the kiiler rumur is INTEL on the PS4 and new Xbox we will see !!!
Hammer nail head. Excellent post. I agree 100% with everything you said. 
Bluray would do well if they tackled the PC market instead of consumer settop boxes. The PC world needs some kind of storage medium to replace DVDR's that are as cheap as current DVDR's or near to it. If it took over the PC market, the rest would follow naturally.
I have, its jaw droppingly good and that was on a 26" TV. I can't wait to try it on my 1080P 37" TV!
(my dads borrowed it!
)
(my dads borrowed it!)
Is that SD or upscaled though? It is almost as good, but not quite! I've got two copies of black hawk down, and they almost look the same on a HDTV, but Bluray does look slightly better!!
if anyone wants to know the difference between SD and HD and claims it all looks the same, go to someone with a PS3, put a DVD on and toggle the upscale DVD to on/off, you will be amazed!
if anyone wants to know the difference between SD and HD and claims it all looks the same, go to someone with a PS3, put a DVD on and toggle the upscale DVD to on/off, you will be amazed!
- guest
- Posts: 15288
- Posted on: 26 Feb 09 16:46
Blu-ray will have the same fate as MiniDisc. Better technology that nobody cares much about or is willing to pay more for.
Most cell phones have cameras for videoconferencing. How many times have any of you held your mobile, arm in front of your face to talk to somebody? Probably never.
And you know what? Blu-Ray is a just a DVD with better resolution and 7.1 sound (not all sources). That's right... if having 5.1 surround is hard enough to accomplish because of the "spouse factor" (considering a "spouse" as our love partner who doesn't give a rat's behind about Home Cinema)... imagine surround sound with MORE SPEAKERS BEHIND YOU THAN IN FRONT OF YOU.
DVD is and will be, in my opinion, the last of the tangible formats, until maybe Flash cards can be manufactured at the price DVD discs are.
Aside from that, the Internet will be our present and future source for non-tangible content.
Most cell phones have cameras for videoconferencing. How many times have any of you held your mobile, arm in front of your face to talk to somebody? Probably never.
And you know what? Blu-Ray is a just a DVD with better resolution and 7.1 sound (not all sources). That's right... if having 5.1 surround is hard enough to accomplish because of the "spouse factor" (considering a "spouse" as our love partner who doesn't give a rat's behind about Home Cinema)... imagine surround sound with MORE SPEAKERS BEHIND YOU THAN IN FRONT OF YOU.
DVD is and will be, in my opinion, the last of the tangible formats, until maybe Flash cards can be manufactured at the price DVD discs are.
Aside from that, the Internet will be our present and future source for non-tangible content.
- guest
- Posts: 15288
- Posted on: 26 Feb 09 18:51
The differences between VHS and DVD were night and day, the difference between DVD and blu-ray are not that big of a deal to most consumers, I own a movie store, so yes I deal with it on a daily basis, it's not just the price point, it's the consumers general opinion of blu-ray, one that I agree with, they (the studios) should have stuck with HD DVD, they would have won over the consumer in the long run, instead of being "fooled" into believing Sony because of their inflated PS3 sales lies, the majority of PS3 owners that come into my store still get regular old DVD, the installed base of set top blu-ray players is pretty pathetic.
To the poster who said the differences between the price of VHS and DVD were not that big of a deal... the average VHS tape back then was upwards of $75, you couldn't even buy most of them in stores, only specific "sell-thru" titles were available in stores at a reasonable price... so to get DVD titles for $20 was a huge turn on for consumers... and the 2nd huge reason why DVD because as big as what it did as fast as it did...
To the poster who said the differences between the price of VHS and DVD were not that big of a deal... the average VHS tape back then was upwards of $75, you couldn't even buy most of them in stores, only specific "sell-thru" titles were available in stores at a reasonable price... so to get DVD titles for $20 was a huge turn on for consumers... and the 2nd huge reason why DVD because as big as what it did as fast as it did...
- guest
- Posts: 15288
- Posted on: 27 Feb 09 10:06
That last line was supposed to say "and the 2nd huge reason why DVD became as big as what it did as fast as it did" sorrry for the typo.. my wife started puking earlier today and I had to end it quick.
There's a line from an older movie "Used Cars" with Kurt Russell & others - "See these prices...they're too f***ing high!" He the takes a shot at one of the cars with a shotgun.
I see the same thing with Blu-Ray... "See these prices......."
I see the same thing with Blu-Ray... "See these prices......."
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