Midnite Movies (1 Viewer)

[Nebiroth]

Pretty much all the studios will care about now is getting everyone on the damn BluRay bandwagon so that they can resell another 50 million copies of the big blockbusters just like they did on DVD.

We're at the start of the "new medium, restart the cycle" again.

I have little doubt that if hidef wasn't ready yet, the studios would be putting more of their resources into DVD, which would mean aside from the crop of this year's new films, they'd be digging further and further into their archives as they were a couple of years ago.

What a shame that the HD/BD war got resolved. I'd hoped that it would trail on for many years, keeping hidef in the bottle, leaving DVD as the only player...that would have forced the studios into their archives.

Sadly, that didn't happen: the studios will now put 95% of their marketing resources into getting everyone onboard hidef. There's far more profit to be had if only they can make hidef as big as DVD, because once it is, they can get everyone to doubledip on all the same tired old stuff. Rather than releasing movies that are only marginally profitable but which they do anyway because that's all there is left since everything else is already released.

 

[Bryan^H]

I'm a Hammer fanatic, and I would love to see some of the Anchor Bay titles re-released with new features. Town that dreaded Sundown has been on my must see horror list for years. I really wish it would be released already.

 

[cineMANIAC]

Nebiroth you echo my sentiments exactly regarding studios releasing the same tired old stuff to BooRay. Warners is releasing Creepshow to the format but they're not even gonna do a new transfer! The regular DVD looks like crap already and they expect people to spend $30 on this on top of the fact that its a bare-bones release? You can get Creepshow now for five bucks at any bargain bin. Also, wasn't a new transfer done of Incredible Melting Man? I'll be happy if this is the only title MGM releases this Halloween

 

[TravisR]

Where did you get that info from? Considering that the Creepshow DVD is from ten years ago, it seems nearly impossible that they haven't done a new transfer for the Blu-ray.

 

[AlanBrom]

Yes, but the fantastic plight of the Incredible Melting Man now seems more realistic then Fox/MGM releasing the film.

 

[Nebiroth]

It wouldn't surprise me in the least.

I bet you there are tons of hidef owners out there who only bought it "because it;s the thing to have" and are completely clueless about what it is, and wouldn't recognise the difference between a properly restored movie with a good transfer and a pan-and-scan job struck from an old VHS if you tied it to a mallet and beat them repeatedly about the head with it.

I further bet that millions upon millions of copies of the big blockbusters will get sold to people who already own solely upon the premise that that are "hidef" even if the owners would be unable to see the difference if you sat them in front of their two copies.

They are the perfect consumer as far as the studios are concerned - they buy what, in essence, they are told they need to buy to keep up with everyone else.

How else could the TV manufacturers all get away with flogging TV sets with "FULL HI-DEFINITION!" stickers on them? Essentially a completely meaningless phrase to gull the consumer.

One might as well put "NOW WITH FULL COLOUR" on them.

 

[Mark_TS]

watching a WIRED writer on CNBC yesterday and noting the article referenced elsewhere here in The LATimes

with rising unemployment-and it being summer-the industry is in trouble- somethings not right-CA about to collapse-
mortgage defaults up 300% yoy this month; "Offically" unemployment is near 10%-the real numbers from reading the U-6
indicators at BLS show 15%-the last time I looked-and those exhausting their UC and-the ex-self employed are not even counted
20%?
people are NOT flocking to buy new HT gear as was supposed to happen as "cheap entertainment" in "tough times"
And then the sheer stupidity of some of the companies ie WARNERS issuing a new BR-only release of CONTACT etc
-as far as I know-we non-BR ers will have to put up with the 1997 edition

they might sell few thousand-maybe even 100K of copies on BR- (doubtful)
yet they seem to want to kiss off the 100Ks to MILLIONS of copies they would sell on SDVD

financial suicide
---
wow-I even have an avatar

 

[JulianK]

Originally Posted by Mark_TS

And then the sheer stupidity of some of the companies ie WARNERS issuing a new BR-only release of CONTACT etc
-as far as I know-we non-BR ers will have to put up with the 1997 edition

they might sell few thousand-maybe even 100K of copies on BR- (doubtful)
yet they seem to want to kiss off the 100Ks to MILLIONS of copies they would sell on SDVD

financial suicide

Releasing a new DVD version of CONTACT alongside the new Blu-ray wouldn't be as smart a move as you seem to think.

For a start, the new Blu-ray version doesn't seem to offer any bonus features that weren't available on the DVD versions (the isolated music track isn't on the US DVD, but it has been released elsewhere). So, the only thing that a new DVD might offer is marginally-improved image quality. That's not something that's going to sell tens of thousands of DVD copies, let alone "MILLIONS".

The message from the industry to the consumer couldn't be much clearer: if you want improved video and audio quality, go Blu-ray!

Sales figures seem to indicate that many re-released titles are selling equally well on Blu-ray and DVD, so your estimated figures just don't add up. The balance will inevitably shift further towards Blu-ray as new owners enter the market, encouraged by cheaper hardware and more attractively-priced software.

 

[cineMANIAC]

Even in good economic times I wouldn't shell out $30 for a BluRay version of Contact, even though I love this movie, simply because of the fact that IT WOULD BE THE SAME OLD THING. Give me an extended version, deleted scenes, a REAL Making-of documentary then maybe I might consider buying a REGULAR dvd re-release. They're not gonna sucker me into buying the same tired old stuff-I don't care if it does look slightly better on that other format.

 

[TravisR]

Originally Posted by Luisito34

Even in good economic times I wouldn't shell out $30 for a BluRay version of Contact...

$30 is the MSRP and no one pays the MSRP. As of now, it's up for pre-order on Amazon for $19.

 

[cineMANIAC]

I recently saw a copy of Contact on sale for $4.99 - tell me the BluRay version will be worth every penny at $19 even without new bonus features and I'll get a player tomorrow and pre-order the new disc soon after.

 

[TravisR]

Originally Posted by Luisito34

I recently saw a copy of Contact on sale for $4.99 - tell me the BluRay version will be worth every penny at $19 even without new bonus features and I'll get a player tomorrow and pre-order the new disc soon after.

I don't see what that has to do with what I said but I would rather spend the extra $14 and get the higher quality copy of the movie. I'm certainly not saying that everyone has to do that though.