If retailers aren't selling as many Blu-rays as they like, it's because they are charging too much. Why would I buy a Blu-ray at Best-buy when I can get the same thing $10-$15 cheaper on Amazon.com?
Has Blu-Ray failed?
- Thread starter 23skidoo
- Start date
I only buy $10 blu-rays. There are tons out there.
Interesting. Personally, I don't have a Blue-Ray player, otherwise I'd probably be buying Blue-Rays, but it seems to me there's still a lot of confusion on the format for the customer. Customers still don't really know what they're getting. With the HD-DVD format, at least the name was straightforward. But with the Blue-Ray format, there are things that aren't standard across machines, like the fact that you need to use memory cards or usb drives as expansion in order to play them, so for the consumer, it's not so convenient.
Netflix has been the biggest purchasing killer for our household, and even before that we mostly just bought used DVDs. Since getting Netflix I now find myself passing on even cheap used DVDs since I can just rent or stream them.
We do have a PS3, but also to play PS1 and PS2 games plus be a Bluray player. And I don't just buy any old title on Bluray, it has to really stand out. One place where I will buy a Bluray is if the original DVD never got a 16x9 release, but even then I wait for the price to drop to the $15 and below range.
We do have a PS3, but also to play PS1 and PS2 games plus be a Bluray player. And I don't just buy any old title on Bluray, it has to really stand out. One place where I will buy a Bluray is if the original DVD never got a 16x9 release, but even then I wait for the price to drop to the $15 and below range.
Exactly, even The Dark Knight is $10 on blu on amazon.
Heck, a lot of new Blu-Rays can be found for $19.99 on release week, which I think is great.
Yea, with all of the VOD systems out there the casual movie media purchase is on it's death knell. I would guess that most people will eventually reserve physical media purchases for especially endearing movies/tv shows.
Who's going to need a 10,000 dvd/vhs collection when your cable company/internet service can serve it to you on demand?
Who's going to need a 10,000 dvd/vhs collection when your cable company/internet service can serve it to you on demand?
Hell, I bought The Dark Knight for $10 at Best Buy! It's not their regular price, but they often have really good movies on sale.
I bought Spider-Man 3 used for $6. Apparently nobody but me wanted it.
Blu-ray is great.
I've finally picked up a few but only at that price as well.
For me, it wasn't Netflix but a realization of how rarely I dig out my DVD's to watch. I amassed quite a collection because I used to watch my favorite movies a lot when I was younger but I don't tend to rewatch films very often these days. I'm more careful now about my purchases.
In the past 18 months I've sold or given away about 50 DVD titles. I've bought or received as gifts perhaps 20 Blu-Rays in that same period. My consumption of home video is definitely down, though I'm watching more movies now than ever (this year I've seen over 200 already).
I bought a lot of my DVDs in high school, many because I couldn't rent them at Blockbuster or because they were cheap. As a result of blind buying, some of those titles simply weren't worth the purchase, and I finally started letting go of some last summer on Amazon (which I find easier than ebay). It helps that I now have access to Netflix's much broader library of titles, as well as easy access to most titles that can be found in University Libraries in southern California (either directly or through interlibrary loan). There's simply no reason to own some movies (and television series) now.
And then there's the Blu-Ray format itself. Many releases, in the rush to get them to market, have bare bones features or substandard transfers (sometimes previously released DVD transfers are actually better). I have my eye on a few releases for Christmas this year. But a couple of box sets, and less than ten feature films is far cry from what I would buy or ask for in previous years.
All of which might only be cursorily related to Blu-Ray technology itself, though I suspect my experience that has led to reduced buying is not so unique, judging from reactions here. The Blu-Ray format is certainly not dead, and it is (slowly) supplanting DVD, but I doubt it will be of comparable market size to the pinnacle of DVD when it peaks.
I bought a lot of my DVDs in high school, many because I couldn't rent them at Blockbuster or because they were cheap. As a result of blind buying, some of those titles simply weren't worth the purchase, and I finally started letting go of some last summer on Amazon (which I find easier than ebay). It helps that I now have access to Netflix's much broader library of titles, as well as easy access to most titles that can be found in University Libraries in southern California (either directly or through interlibrary loan). There's simply no reason to own some movies (and television series) now.
And then there's the Blu-Ray format itself. Many releases, in the rush to get them to market, have bare bones features or substandard transfers (sometimes previously released DVD transfers are actually better). I have my eye on a few releases for Christmas this year. But a couple of box sets, and less than ten feature films is far cry from what I would buy or ask for in previous years.
All of which might only be cursorily related to Blu-Ray technology itself, though I suspect my experience that has led to reduced buying is not so unique, judging from reactions here. The Blu-Ray format is certainly not dead, and it is (slowly) supplanting DVD, but I doubt it will be of comparable market size to the pinnacle of DVD when it peaks.
I have yet to purchase a BR player of my own, mainly because we started having kids in the last three years, and so money is obviously redirected elsewhere. In saying that, I didn't get into DVDs until 2001, despite the format being available since 1995. It was the Alien Legacy DVDs that did it, and now with Alien due out on Blu-Ray next month it may be the kick to move into that territory too. 
Here in NZ Blu-Ray has taken off to a degree, with the local Warehouse (our version of Wal-Mart) stocked with Blu-Ray almost as much as DVDs. Prices vary from box sets (Planet Earth for NZ$99) to single movies (NZ$10). I couldn't believe all the Star Trek movies are that price! The BSG seasons seem to be around the NZ$70 mark, but when they first came out they were NZ$99 too, so the price is definitely being shaved off.
Here in NZ Blu-Ray has taken off to a degree, with the local Warehouse (our version of Wal-Mart) stocked with Blu-Ray almost as much as DVDs. Prices vary from box sets (Planet Earth for NZ$99) to single movies (NZ$10). I couldn't believe all the Star Trek movies are that price! The BSG seasons seem to be around the NZ$70 mark, but when they first came out they were NZ$99 too, so the price is definitely being shaved off.
The idea of not having physical media in front of me is appalling. I don't want to have some on-line queue of movies and TV shows that I have to access through a device to watch and pay a monthly fee for the privilege of having them stored somewhere, of if they're stored in an at-home device (something that'd need a couple terrabytes of space to contain my collection) I don't want it to all be at risk of vanishing in an errant lightning strike or if the hardware goes out of date.
No. I want a physical copy. I want to sit back, look at my bookshelf full of boxes and admire my collection. I want to go up to it, open a box, and slide in a disc. I don't want to scroll through a menu to watch something. In terms of movies and TV series? Long-live physical media!
I think Blu-Ray is slowly going to get a bigger and bigger chunk of the market, it's just too soon for a new format to come in and replace an old one and I doubt very many people realize the difference between DVD and BD and I doubt many people right now are willing to toss out a DVD player that's five years old to buy a new $200 (or whatever) Blu-Ray player esp, again, if they don't realize the difference or think the difference is worth it.
But as a huge fan of collecting DVDs/BDs I always want to have physical media. I do not feel that movies and TV series are anything like music where stuffing 300 songs in an iPod is better than carrying with you an entire folder full of discs. Big movie collectors want physical media, boxes, cases, bookcases, etc. Downloading a video and storing it somewhere isn't the same. And don't get me started on the constantly shifting quality of a video when you stream it. Oy!
No. I want a physical copy. I want to sit back, look at my bookshelf full of boxes and admire my collection. I want to go up to it, open a box, and slide in a disc. I don't want to scroll through a menu to watch something. In terms of movies and TV series? Long-live physical media!
I think Blu-Ray is slowly going to get a bigger and bigger chunk of the market, it's just too soon for a new format to come in and replace an old one and I doubt very many people realize the difference between DVD and BD and I doubt many people right now are willing to toss out a DVD player that's five years old to buy a new $200 (or whatever) Blu-Ray player esp, again, if they don't realize the difference or think the difference is worth it.
But as a huge fan of collecting DVDs/BDs I always want to have physical media. I do not feel that movies and TV series are anything like music where stuffing 300 songs in an iPod is better than carrying with you an entire folder full of discs. Big movie collectors want physical media, boxes, cases, bookcases, etc. Downloading a video and storing it somewhere isn't the same. And don't get me started on the constantly shifting quality of a video when you stream it. Oy!
Agreed. I love the idea of instant streaming rentals and subscriptions (like Netflix), but if I actually buy a movie, I damn well better be able to hold it in my hand.
If it comes with a digital copy that I can install on a machine, like the new Star Trek movie had, fine, but I still need to have a back up just in case.
And I don't think it's really going to be worth until the companies decide to dedicate themselves to Blu-Ray. At some point, they will need to stop making standard DVDs in favor of the new format.
Yeah, streaming is good for "rentals" or those movies you just want to see once again, or missed in the theater, etc. But, yeah, if I buy something I want something physical to go along with it. I don't want it to have to rely on a server on the otherside of the country that I have to pay a monthly fee to in order to keep my collection. (Let's face it, any system where you simply buy a movie and only have the "file" that movie is going to be kept off-site on a server. No household device is going to be able contain the collection that most people aspire to get. And any off-site server is going to need to be maintained and need a subscription service.)
If I buy a movie I want a disc. Simple as that.
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Amaris
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I was tickled pink when I picked up "The Arrival" on Blu-ray for $5 on Amazon. Buying any movie, though, is a rarity, as I have to be conservative with my money, which is why I haven't expanded my blu-ray collection very much. Plus, on a 22" (720p) HDTV, there's really not much of a difference between DVD and Blu-ray when you're sitting 7 feet away like I am.
Digital storage capacity is growing by leaps and bounds every day. Give it 10 years, and you'll be able to hold your entire collection of classic Blu-rays on a partition of your home server with tons of room for whatever else you store there.
In 2000, a single hard drive could go up to 160 GB.
Right now, you can go to Newegg and by a 2TB hard drive.
In 10 more years, 2TB is what you'll have on your USB key.
I still want physical media. A disc, a box, and something I can have sitting on my shelf to admire.
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