Warner Bros. Catalog Blu-ray releases...? (1 Viewer)

[David Weicker]

With BD-R, I think the marketplace is hurting things.With the other two recordable mediums, CDs and DVDs, there were several years of unreliability and incompatibility when they were introduced. This worked itself out as the PC industry embraced burn drives. And they embraced them because they knew there would be high demand for these disks in home stand-alone players.But since Blu-Ray burners are few and far between (compared to CD/DVD drives) and not likely to change, there is less incentive for the BD-R industry to fix their issues.

 

[jcroy]

With BD-R, I think the marketplace is hurting things.

...
But since Blu-Ray burners are few and far between (compared to CD/DVD drives) and not likely to change, there is less incentive for the BD-R industry to fix their issues.

Besides data archiving which requires non-modifiability (such as for independent audits), and copying movies, what other purposes have BD-R drives been used for?

 

[Rick Thompson]

Sure, some titles will trickle out, but the trend will continue towards digital downloads and streaming. Farming titles out to TT, Olive and such might bring in some monies, but I don't think it's enough of a game changer for many studio executives. Case in point, Warner Archive Instant is relatively cheaper to operate and easier to manage than Warner Archive. The same applies to consumers too as it's cheaper to use WAI and it's easier to manage which titles you're going to view. The MSRP for those MOD releases are still too high as we all patiently await for our favorite titles to go sale, several months after their initial MOD release date. I have about 20 MOD titles on my wish list that I'm waiting on for sale pricing.

What streaming/digital download folks are forgetting is -- let's forget about infrastructure for a moment -- that the days of unlimited data contracts are in the middle phase of Going-Going-Gone. Verizon, for one, no longer offers unlimited data plans. My Verizon contract is at 14GB a month. Anything above that is $10/GB. If I'm to believe a previous post (#47), an 8GB download has real problems in any action scene; what I really need is one that takes 20GB. I'm going to pay $80 extra for a low-quality download, or $200 for an excellent one?

Ain't no movie I want 80 bucks worth, let alone 200. Don't see many others paying that much either. Don't see much income for the studios, but given the human ability to make stupid decisions, all-download just might happen.

 

[bruceames]

What streaming/digital download folks are forgetting is -- let's forget about infrastructure for a moment -- that the days of unlimited data contracts are in the middle phase of Going-Going-Gone. Verizon, for one, no longer offers unlimited data plans. My Verizon contract is at 14GB a month. Anything above that is $10/GB. If I'm to believe a previous post (#47), an 8GB download has real problems in any action scene; what I really need is one that takes 20GB. I'm going to pay $80 extra for a low-quality download, or $200 for an excellent one?

Ain't no movie I want 80 bucks worth, let alone 200. Don't see many others paying that much either. Don't see much income for the studios, but given the human ability to make stupid decisions, all-download just might happen.

Nobody is going to use a cell phone to stream/download a 4k movie. When Comcast and other cable provider start charging per GB, it's going to be much cheaper than $10 per GB.

 

[David Weicker]

What I don't understand about this is the money trail.Say I'm streaming. I pay my $xx to my ISP provider. How do the studios see any money from me? Or if I use a studio approved site and pay a monthly fee, does the studio know I watch 80% catalog and 20% new? And would my fee be different based on my viewing habits?From the arguments posited here, it seems that studio bean-counters run the show. So how does any kind of flat fee based program change things. They get their money whether they offer new or catalog

 

[Peter Apruzzese]

What I don't understand about this is the money trail.Say I'm streaming. I pay my $xx to my ISP provider. How do the studios see any money from me? Or if I use a studio approved site and pay a monthly fee, does the studio know I watch 80% catalog and 20% new? And would my fee be different based on my viewing habits?From the arguments posited here, it seems that studio bean-counters run the show. So how does any kind of flat fee based program change things. They get their money whether they offer new or catalog

Every title you stream is individually accounted for and reported to the appropriate studio.

 

[Worth]

If I'm to believe a previous post (#47), an 8GB download has real problems in any action scene; what I really need is one that takes 20GB. I'm going to pay $80 extra for a low-quality download, or $200 for an excellent one?

Streaming quality varies, of course, but VUDU has delivered consistently excellent video quality for me - not quite blu-ray quality, but only a notch below - and their streams are only around 4-5GB per two-hour film.

 

[Robert Crawford]

Streaming quality varies, of course, but VUDU has delivered consistently excellent video quality for me - not quite blu-ray quality, but only a notch below - and their streams are only around 4-5GB per two-hour film.

I have a 150GB limit so I can stream at least one movie a day.

 

[AnthonyClarke]

I have a 500 gb limit so I can stream as much as I like ... but there's a catch. There are, to my knowledge, no HD streams available for downloading here in Australia.
I'd give VUDU a go if I could, but (same as Warner's online site for physical discs) as soon as it detects I'm a foreigner living in far-off Australia, I'm denied the ability to buy.
And since the prime Warner titles are owned by other companies in other markets, there's no chance that these HD downloads will ever be available here, for the simple reason that our companies here are neanderthal, and don't even want to consider offering HD downloads. Too much trouble, I guess....
So a move by Warners away from physical to download in emphasis will effectively stifle appreciation of film culture everywhere except in the USA... well, will certainly slam down a Celluloid Curtain between here and the States.

 

[Robert Crawford]

For every 50GB over my 150GB limit I pay $10.

 

[Rick Thompson]

Nobody is going to use a cell phone to stream/download a 4k movie. When Comcast and other cable provider start charging per GB, it's going to be much cheaper than $10 per GB.

You're assuming that Comcast and other cable providers have available service. Hard-wired cable is not available in anything beyond high- and medium-density areas (cities, suburbs and developments). It's not economical anywhere else, so it's not happening. I don't blame the cable companies for that. I wouldn't spend the company's money with virtually no possibility of showing a profit. What's left is a significant market where wireless is the only thing available. Do you think the studios will leave those millions on the table and just walk away? To quote Santa: Ho, Ho, Ho!

Remember, universal telephone service only happened because AT&T (a) had a monopoly and (b) was allowed to overcharge for some services so it could subsidize extending wires to sparsely populated areas. That can't happen today; I wish it could, but that's the downside of deregulation.

 

[Robert Crawford]

You're assuming that Comcast and other cable providers have available service. Hard-wired cable is not available in anything beyond high- and medium-density areas (cities, suburbs and developments). It's not economical anywhere else, so it's not happening. I don't blame the cable companies for that. I wouldn't spend the company's money with virtually no possibility of showing a profit. What's left is a significant market where wireless is the only thing available. Do you think the studios will leave those millions on the table and just walk away? To quote Santa: Ho, Ho, Ho!

Remember, universal telephone service only happened because AT&T (a) had a monopoly and (b) was allowed to overcharge for some services so it could subsidize extending wires to sparsely populated areas. That can't happen today; I wish it could, but that's the downside of deregulation.

It goes without saying that some people will have problems in this regard, but the majority of folks will not.

 

[bruceames]

Perhaps they may sell 4K digital copies of a movie in physical form to those that need it or desire it, so that it can be purchased and downloaded to an eligible device.

 

[Rick Thompson]

It goes without saying that some people will have problems in this regard, but the majority of folks will not.

So for the rest of us, tough luck?

Perhaps they may sell 4K digital copies of a movie in physical form to those that need it or desire it, so that it can be purchased and downloaded to an eligible device.

Now THAT's simple! Of course, you have to make sure you have an "eligible device," and go through the rigamarole of downloading to a hard drive somewhere, and God help you if it ever crashes -- which they will eventually. DVDs and Blu-rays aren't forever, but they're for a lot longer than hard drives.

Frankly, if that over-the-river-and-through-the-woods process is the only "solution," then I'd just stop buying movies (it's not like they're a necessity of life). I doubt I'm the only one. In fact, I'd bet the "forget it" group would be pretty large -- enough to make for a lot of coin left on the table. I just don't see the studios leaving that much coin on the table.

Of course, there are those who respond, "Some people will have problems in this regard, but the majority of folks will not." In other words, tough luck pal!

 

[Robert Crawford]

So for the rest of us, tough luck?

Of course, there are those who respond, "Some people will have problems in this regard, but the majority of folks will not." In other words, tough luck pal!

That's about it as there is nothing I can do to change your situation for the better. At times, life just isn't fair to any of us.

 

[t1g3r5fan]

That's about it as there is nothing I can do to change your situation for the better. At times, life just isn't fair to any of us.

It just seems that way doesn't it? Although this may be the case, we should be thankful for the great releases - MOD or otherwise - we do manage to get from the major and boutique labels.

 

[Robin9]

. . . . then I'd just stop buying movies (it's not like they're a necessity of life).

They are for me! And they will be even more so when I stop working and have lots of spare time.

 

[Anthony Neilson]

I accept the glum prognosis on catalogue releases but a few things confuse me if this is the case, and perhaps someone can enlighten me.

If catalogue sells so badly, how can Olive be making any kind of profit, given their release schedule and price point?

Why does WB not licence its movies to other distributors? Is some money not better than none?

How do the studios choose the few catalogue titles they do release? Why release the likes of ON THE RIVIERA or GRAND HOTEL yet sit on better-known titles from the 70s onwards? Not complaining that they do but surely logic would dictate that the older the film, the less likely it is to sell (with obvious exceptions like OZ, KONG, KANE etc). Is it simply about available materials?

How does WB decide which films get an Archive release and which get a retail release?

Your knowledge and opinions would be appreciated.

 

[TravisR]

If catalogue sells so badly, how can Olive be making any kind of profit, given their release schedule and price point?

My guess (and I emphasize that it's a guess) is that it's a matter of how much profit is worth their time. Apparently, the studios feel that their catalogs aren't making enough for them to be interested any more but the money is still good enough for an independent to release titles.

 

[Robert Crawford]

Olive is releasing their product in probably smaller batches due to their limited retailer outlet base. They're also charging a premium price. Furthermore, there are some in the industry questioning their profit margins, but it might be enough for a small company versus a large corporation like Warner.