Blue Ray Association: High Prices Set in Stone (1 Viewer)

[CraigF]

^ Yup, this Thanksgiving/Christmas will be the big tell. Especially with the current economic situation. I admit I've got a fairly long list of the more expensive (Fox!!) BD titles I've been holding off on until November. I did suspect all these "announcements" (and not by "experts" BTW, but from studio/manufacturer sources) may have been to spur people to buy NOW, rather than to wait...I don't know. But again, I have been waiting for the holiday season in anticipation of significant price drops, so perhaps all these announcements are aimed at people like me??

Also, I do not detect any Blu buzz in the people I know. They know it's out there, but don't seem to care. That's a problem. Also would be nice to swap discs with them if they cared enough to have any...

 

[Rich Allen]

I thought it was talking about discs, not players.

 

[Jeremy Little]

I understood it to be talking about discs as well. I picked up quite a few BD's and HD DVD's when there was a battle going on . I was format neutral, so it was a win-win for me.

The competition was good, and the "I told you so" from the article doesn't sound like it HAS to be from an HD DVD supporter. It could be from someone like me who was buying a TON of movies last year in HD format and has bought less this year because the high prices, lack of 2FER specials, Buy1Get1's, etc, just haven't been there for me.

 

[Stephen_J_H]

I know that some of the B & Ms have kept prices high on profile 1.1 players (Best Buy, anyone?), but I was in The Sony Store today and saw an S300 for $249. That's better, but I'm not buying in until Profile 2.0 players are that price.

 

[Cees Alons]

Forget about that author, if you don't trust him: it's the BDA who first said it.

That's my opinion too.
Dropping one of the formats was in the studios' interest - not in the consumer's.

Like you, Jeremy, I bought several Blu-rays and HD DVDs last year and seldom did I pay more than $17.95 (a few times considerably less).

If Warner titles are now "coming down to $15 to $18", they're not really coming down: they are finally arriving almost at where they were before.


Cees

 

[Jesse Blacklow]

I have to admit I'm puzzled. Less than a year ago, $199-$299 players were awesome, and people were satisfied with $30-$35 MSRP movies, and content was all good. But now BD players and movies at the same and lower prices are mostly ignored, and if not, are criticized, while both depth and breadth of content has shot way up. The only difference is that the boxes changed color, yet somehow, magically, everything that was good is now bad.

Really, if it's so bad, why wasn't the same thing being said about pricing and content availability back then?

 

[Robert Crawford]

I think your first impression was wrong because not everyone was satisfied with those prices, otherwise, market penetration should've been greater, yet there was a lot of confusion among consumers due to the format war. IMO, the general marketplace is spoiled by low prices and that is something BR will have a hard time overcoming, unless, they reduce their pricing.

 

[Cees Alons]

Apparently, the idiotic "format wars" and over the top zealotry made some people hold their tongue.

And indeed, having critique on one aspect of the beloved format often elicited laughably harsh comments of being unfaithful to the cause. Not mentioning accusations of belonging to the "other" camp.


But, as I said before, I hardly ever payed more than $13-$18 for a BD in those days.
They've gone up since.


Cees

 

[ManW_TheUncool]

I don't know. That's about how much I've been paying *since* the format war ended. I rarely ever pay more than $20 for a title (after accounting for whatever discounts and rebates). Granted, I might not have the same buying pattern as many others here, but there are still deals to be had now and then -- just (if barely) often enough for me for the most part.

Of course, I'd love to pay less too just like everyone else, but I don't think it's quite as bad as what some are saying. And some folks do need to grow up a little, IMHO -- not pointing fingers here (and no, I'm not directing this at Cees). Also, as Crawdaddy said, many folks have become spoiled by the fantastically low prices that the DVD market trend brought about (and was extended temporarily to the HDM market due to the format war). But they are just not being realistic at all to expect things to continue as they had been (or to expect/demand prices to come down super fast following the end of the format war)...

_Man_

 

[ManW_TheUncool]

RE: the cliched bit about "competition is good", yes, it's good *IF* it's a naturally/normal occuring kind of competition. But I'm not so sure the HDM format war qualified after a certain point. Healthy competition should mean a format war can last a long time, but I don't see how the HDM format war could've been healthy for the market as a whole over the long haul -- at least not as it was anyhow.

Just because there's some good principle/theory out there floating about, doesn't mean it applies perfectly well to whatever favorite situation one feels warm-and-fuzzy about.

Besides, competition is not actually gone. Only the specific kind of (IMHO, unhealthy) competition that was happening is gone. BD has not monopolized the home video market, and competition still exists between studios and CE companies trying to sell us their product -- you know, the same studios and CE companies that fought the artificial HDM format war. And if anything, the economic downturn will probably force them to work harder to sell to us one way or another. If there is real $$$ for them to make, you can be pretty sure they'll try. If there is *not*, then what can you really do about it? Force them to sell you product w/ no benefit (or even at a loss) to them indefinitely?

_Man_

 

[Cees Alons]

Agreed, totally. It wasn't realistic at all.
Yet, when some people predicted this when Warner went single-format, the opinions were howled away by certain others.


Cees

 

[RickER]

I agree with Man, i never pay over $20 for a Blu-ray. Warner gets a ton of my business. FOX, not so much. I do own FOX Blu-ray discs, but ONLY on a good sale. Has to be better than buy 2 get 1.

Blu-ray still has competition, its called DVD. Its a tough battle with all the $5 DVD bins.

 

[Robert Crawford]

You have to be very patient and don't buy any recent theatrical releases that come out on BR because so many of them are priced 27.99 or higher.





Crawdaddy

 

[Nick Martin]

From what people have said here, American Blu-rays are around $20, with new titles around $30.

Here in Canada, new and old titles are pretty much the same price, hovering between $25 to $36. Only Lionsgate titles are less, each around $14 or so.

Keep in mind that our dollars aren't that different with the exchange rates either.

 

[Jesse Blacklow]

And your point is? Those same theatrical releases are going to be $22.99 or higher on DVD.

 

[Cees Alons]

Oh, come on, Jesse. Cut the aggressively defensive attitude a bit, please.

Robert is replying to RickER who says that he never pays more than $20 for a blu-ray disc, and points out that you have to wait some time before releases of new movies are available for that price.

His point is exactly what he writes. Really no need to ask for a further explanation.
Also no need to see that as another attack on blu-ray, and certainly not by Crawdaddy.


Cees

 

[Robert Crawford]

What is your problem? I was responding to Rick's post about him not paying over $20 for a BRD. In order to do that you have to be being patient and wait for a sale for those BRD releases of recent theatrical releases.

Stop looking for agendas or confrontations, when it isn't necessary to do so.




Crawdaddy

 

[Mark Talmadge]

Bad News is in store for blu ray fans:

Nielsen VideoScan High-Def market share for week ending September 14th, 2008 - Engadget HD

According to the article, latest Nielson market reports suggests that the blu ray format is losing ground and that if something isn't done by Sony and the market to lower the cost of the hardware and the software that the format may be marked for the same bargain bin as HD-DVD.

Bad signs for Blu-ray: Free discs, cheap players, and declining market share | The Industry Standard

 

[Kevin. W]

I just feel like laughing at Sony et al for producing an overpriced, confusing format. At the same time crying that I may in the end get stuck with watching my HiDef on cable because BluRay will never take off the way it could have. The selection of titles available just doesn't make it worth replacing/repurchasing titles I've previously owned.

 

[Scott-S]

According to the Blu-Ray stats website the Market Share of Blu-Ray is growing. Blu-Ray Market Share

I don't know how Engadget is able say the trend is downward. I made a graph of Blu-ray market share over time since the war ended.



I don't see a downward trend at all. If the writer of that article doesn't know the difference between up and down, why even bother reading his "articles"?