Report: Blu-ray Sales Falling Short Of Expectations Even As Prices Decline. Are you still buying? (1 Viewer)

[Shane D]

i think to they need to stop jacking up the price by giving us 'free' dvd and digital copies. drop the price 5 to 10 dollars and give me what i want, a blu ray, not a blu ray that comes with dvd, a digital copy, 3d copy, or scratch n sniff. (ok made up last one but see my point). i want a hi def movie with hi def sound for around 15$. if its a very technical movie that i'd love to see some how to's on visual effects and what not, then maybe 20.


example: i'd love to get highlander on dvd, but with all the versions in the past i've had and the the way the highlander store has treated its customers, i do not feel like this movie is worth more than 10 bucks for me to buy again for a 3rd time. its not that i can't afford 13 or 15 i've seen it for, i've just set a self barrier to 10 bucks for it. or even the pirates of the carribean movies. they are 20 bucks at wal mart right now, but to me they are 15$ movies.

 

[DustinPizarro]

Why are these results a surprise to anyone???


I've become very selective when it comes to my Blu-ray collection this year. Give me more packaged classics like Taxi Driver, The Hustler and Apocalypse Now and I'm hooked. The manner these films were packaged go a long way in proving that studios care about their films. Please STOP the 3D, Blu-ray, & DVD combo crap!!! True Grit unfortunately became a casualty as I refuse to submit to this crap, and I really wanted to buy it! Give me more DNR-free and quality transfers. Just look at The Ten Commandments or The Sound of Music as perfect examples of a quality transfer. Moreover studios should know by now that true film fans understand between directors vision and their presentation. The Thin Red Line and A.I. Artificial Intelligence are another perfect examples of this. Both were very well done but obviously have different visual styles. Quality counts!!


Unfotunately the lack of quality transfers are just part of the problem. The major problem is the quality of the film itself. So far the 2011 big screen releases leave alot to be desired. I understand movies are a subjective form of art but it is no surprise why I'm glad I streamed The Green Hornet. If that is what studios have in store for us they might as well stream all their future films.

 

[TravisR]

Please STOP the 3D, Blu-ray, & DVD combo crap!!! True Grit unfortunately became a casualty as I refuse to submit to this crap, and I really wanted to buy it!

True Grit is currently $18 on Amazon. I can't imagine a current movie being much cheaper than that on its week of release.

 

[Cinescott]

I swear I believe the studios are waiting for the Blu-ray market to "mature." Lucas waited with Star Wars for a bigger player base. Steven Spielberg waits and dribbles out one or two titles a year. It's a vicious reality that the market isn't going to grow much faster until we get some more quality product. Personally, there are a lot of titles to keep me interested, but I'm not a mainstream buyer. The general public wants the blockbuster titles and they're not interested in buying a player until they are there. Nor are they the least bit interested in excuses.

I know some of these have been rumored, but they're not on the shelf yet 5 years after the format's inception: Jaws, Raiders of the Lost Ark (never Indiana Jones and.........please), E.T., Lawrence of Arabia, The Sting, etc., etc., etc. People are used to having these titles available to them. There is no excuse, none, for them to still be holdouts 5 years later...........................

 

[Kevin EK]

Lucas and Spielberg are absolutely waiting. They will not release any of their "big guns" until they know that there's a large enough market to make a big splash. Which is understandable - they want to hit the maximum number of households rather than just the early adopters. They aren't looking to build the base of Blu-ray watchers - they're hoping to capitalize on an existing large base. That said, Spielberg did participate in the early release of Close Encounters, which likely helped a little and is a very good Blu-ray title.

 

[Rick Thompson]

My DVD purchases are mainly television, and Blu-ray is mainly catalog (which explains why my BD buys dragged for quite a while). My BD purchasing has picked up in pace recently because of a catalog flurry (Superman, 1969 True Grit, The Big Country, Quigley, etc.), but when it comes to current releases, not much. Bought the two National Treasures, 2012, Red and The King's Speech, but that's about it. Most of the current crop of flicks just don't do much for me.

Give me a picture I want to see again, and I'll buy. Don't -- and I won't.

 

[Towergrove]

The article states Blu Ray and DVD are down over 9% but that total includes both. Factor only BD I believe BD numbers are actually higher this year.

 

[Cinescott]

I am sure that producers of Blu-ray who have no relationship with Lucas or Spielberg feel at least in a small way that they have an obligation to push the boundaries of a business (home video) that has been so profitable to them over the years. "With great wealth and power comes great responsibility," that sort of thing. I'm sure at least some of their fans feel let down and their business is a fan-based business.

If the "big gun" titles have a less-than-mature base now, they'll still sell well over the longer term as people continue to buy. Why does the profit have to come overnight? The fact that Star Wars is being released soon tells me that Blu-ray must be doing alright, because with every other video format, Star Wars never saw the light of day until the formats had reached at least some level of maturity.

 

[Towergrove]

I am sure that producers of Blu-ray who have no relationship with Lucas or Spielberg feel at least in a small way that they have an obligation to push the boundaries of a business (home video) that has been so profitable to them over the years. "With great wealth and power comes great responsibility," that sort of thing. I'm sure at least some of their fans feel let down and their business is a fan-based business.

If the "big gun" titles have a less-than-mature base now, they'll still sell well over the longer term as people continue to buy. Why does the profit have to come overnight? The fact that Star Wars is being released soon tells me that Blu-ray must be doing alright, because with every other video format, Star Wars never saw the light of day until the formats had reached at least some level of maturity.

Great post Scott 100% agree!

 

[robbbb1138]

I probably buy an average of 1 Blu-Ray per week. I'll never spend as much on Blu-Rays as I did on DVDs though. The perceived collectibility of DVD enticed me to buy a ton of movies that I only watched once and a lot of blind buys that I ultimately didn't care for. I rely much more on Netflix for this generation than I did for DVD.

 

[Douglas Monce]

At this point I'm buying maybe 3 or 4 blu-ray movies a year. There just aren't enough films being released that I'm truly interested in to justify spending the money. So far this year I've bought Apocalypse Now, and Blow Out. Doug

 

[Osato]

I still buy blu ray titles quite regularly. I answered on release date. Of course it depends on the title too. At times I'll wait for a price cut on some.

Most of the time if it's a title that I really want I tend to pick it up the first week it is out and on sale / store ad.

 

[Paul_Scott]

Bill Hunt sez

Quote:

We think that's a pretty damn serious list of great films ! And we also think it firsmly crushes and puts the lie to these silly reports

that have appeared in the "mainstream" media in recent months that the Blu-ray format either hasn't hit its stride yet,

has failed to go mainstream,or is soon to be relegated to the great format graveyard.We'd bet the titles listed above are going to sell a LOT

of discs and a LOT of players over the next 12 to 24 months.Niche format,my ass. ; )

So I can only conclude the report is misleading


No, I didn't need a report to tell me things aren't all that rosey with this format. If they were, the release schedules would speak for themselves, and you wouldn't have to wonder why titles that have been whored out multiple times on multiple formats over the last 30s years are now being held back like they were vestal virgins.



as far as my buying habits go-

I've bought 91 optical discs this year.over 70 of those were Blu-rays.

Of those, less than 10 were new releases, the rest were catalog.

Of the catalog titles, about 30 were purchased as pre-orders or as they streeted.

For all the purchases, almost every single one was "on sale". bought with a coupon, or due to a generous store discount.

My buying philosophy usually breaks down to

If it is a favorite movie (all time, essential, top ten favorite) then I will try to get the best deal at the time- but I will usually buy as soon as it streets if not pre-order (for instance I paid $27 for Blow Out to get it on street date, had I known it would be $10 cheaper a week later I would have waited)

If it is a movie that I do not already own on DVD, depending on how badly I want to see it, I'll pay up to $20 (i.e. the cost of a Criterion on sale)

If it is a movie I already have and want to upgrade, I will wait until I can get it for $15 or less.

Any Bd under $10 will usually be an immediate impulse purchase, if it is a title I am interested in.

 

[Chuck Anstey]

NPD played up the fact that 15% of all consumers used a Blu-ray player in the six month period, up from 9% last year.

I think this kind of says it all. Only 1 in 7 consumers (not sure exactly how that translates to households) used a blu-ray player in the last 6 months. Not bought a movie or rented a movie but simply used one. And that is up only 9% from last year so last year it was 14%. If it had been 6% to 15% (9 percentage points) they would have said in nearly tripled. That indicates Blu-ray still has a long way to go and it is going slowly, which I would not have thought.

 

[John L]

The only DVDs I buy now are TV show seasons I'm still collecting. I just wish the studios would hurry up and finish some series instead of keeping people hanging. CBS/Paramount is probably the worst in this respect as shows like Streets of San Francisco, Happy Days, Becker and Family Ties have been stalled indefinitely. I can't see this situation improving anytime soon given that DVDs are in the sales decline stage and BDs are moving upward in momentum.


As for Blu-ray Discs, I'm slowly buying catalog titles which interest me but I'm more cautious when doing so. I've noticed some titles not living up to their claimed Hi-Def status and are merely quick ports from DVD. Other BDs are DNRed to death (eg. Predator) and look absolutely appalling. Generally I buy about one BD a week and often it's a title which I greatly admire or one with outstanding cinematography that would benefit from a Hi-Def transfer. Kubrick and Lynch titles are high on my list but I've also recently purchased a 2-disc version of Red Cliff by John Woo which has a simply stunning transfer.

 

[Ethan Riley]

Originally Posted by John L

The only DVDs I buy now are TV show seasons I'm still collecting. I just wish the studios would hurry up and finish some series instead of keeping people hanging. CBS/Paramount is probably the worst in this respect as shows like Streets of San Francisco, Happy Days, Becker and Family Ties have been stalled indefinitely. I can't see this situation improving anytime soon given that DVDs are in the sales decline stage and BDs are moving upward in momentum.


As for Blu-ray Discs, I'm slowly buying catalog titles which interest me but I'm more cautious when doing so. I've noticed some titles not living up to their claimed Hi-Def status and are merely quick ports from DVD. Other BDs are DNRed to death (eg. Predator) and look absolutely appalling. Generally I buy about one BD a week and often it's a title which I greatly admire or one with outstanding cinematography that would benefit from a Hi-Def transfer. Kubrick and Lynch titles are high on my list but I've also recently purchased a 2-disc version of Red Cliff by John Woo which has a simply stunning transfer.

I'm only really interested in catalog titles; I'd buy far far more of them, but...there ain't that many. So there we stop. I usually bought about 2 or 3 dvds a week back in the day, and there's dozens of them that I'm willing to upgrade, but they don't exist on blu. So whatever. The only dvds I'm buying nowadays are stuff I get on the cheap, like the $3 B movies they sell at Big Lots.


I'm also trying desperately to finish up a couple of older tv dvd releases but I either have all the ones I want, or they're slowly dribbling out from Paramount (I'm hoping they finish Dynasty. Other than that, the heck with them). I am continuing on with about 10 current tv dvd releases; stuff that's still on the air. The only one I get that seems to come out on blu is Supernatural and South Park. The rest of my shows are all standard def.

 

[GMpasqua]

I wonder how Blu-ray sales compare to sales of everything else during the recession. Are auto sales lower than expected, housing sales are, how about other luxuary items? Are furniture stores doing better than expected? How about clothing? Everything's relative

 

[Towergrove]

Originally Posted by Paul_Scott [/b]


No, I didn't need a report to tell me things aren't all that rosey with this format. If they were, the release schedules would speak for themselves, and you wouldn't have to wonder why titles that have been whored out multiple times on multiple formats over the last 30s years are now being held back like they were vestal virgins.



as far as my buying habits go-

I've bought 91 optical discs this year.over 70 of those were Blu-rays.

Of those, less than 10 were new releases, the rest were catalog.

Of the catalog titles, about 30 were purchased as pre-orders or as they streeted.

For all the purchases, almost every single one was "on sale". bought with a coupon, or due to a generous store discount.

My buying philosophy usually breaks down to

If it is a favorite movie (all time, essential, top ten favorite) then I will try to get the best deal at the time- but I will usually buy as soon as it streets if not pre-order (for instance I paid $27 for Blow Out to get it on street date, had I known it would be $10 cheaper a week later I would have waited)

If it is a movie that I do not already own on DVD, depending on how badly I want to see it, I'll pay up to $20 (i.e. the cost of a Criterion on sale)

If it is a movie I already have and want to upgrade, I will wait until I can get it for $15 or less.

Any Bd under $10 will usually be an immediate impulse purchase, if it is a title I am interested in.

It is odd that other media outlets have a more positive take on BD from reading the NPD report than the headline and article used as the topic for this thread:


NPD: Blu-ray Sales Begin to Cover DVD Losses

Recent growth in sales of Blu-ray Disc players and content has prompted CE market analyst The NPD Group to issue a report showing evidence that Blu-ray sales are beginning to offset declines in consumer DVD player and content sales.

Blu-ray buyers are also beginning to buy more discs than they did in 2009 or 2010, including both new releases and older catalog content, according to the report.

"Because fewer hot titles came out of the theatres in time for first quarter release, the physical video-disc market was a bit disappointing -- especially coming off of a good first quarter last year; but consumer response to the Blu-ray format remains strongly positive," stated Russ Crupnick, NPD entertainment industry analyst.

[url=http://www.twice.com/article/469413-NPD_Blu_ray_Sales_Begin_To_Cover_DVD_Losses.php]http://www.twice.com/article/469413-NPD_Blu_ray_Sales_Begin_To_Cover_DVD_Losses.php



This includes the original NPD Press release (the people who wrote the original report):

Fifteen percent of U.S. consumers reported using a Blu-ray player in the first quarter of 2011, a 6 percentage point increase since 2010; the number of Blu-ray disc buyers has increased and they are buying more.

Even looks like BD may be starting to offset DVD losses...

According to NPD's "Blu-ray Disc Report," there is evidence that Blu-ray is beginning to offset the loss of DVD customers.

http://www.npd.com/corpServlet?nextpage=corp_welcome.html

 

[Towergrove]

Originally Posted by GMpasqua


This all has some effect.

 

[ahollis]

In the past two weeks, Disney, Fox and Lionsgate have announced layoffs in their Home Entertainment Divisions.