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

[bruceames]

So until something changes, Olive titles will be out of reach for me. Knock off $10 and I'll stock up like there's no tomorrow.

Actually something has changed. Amazon's prices have come down on a lot of Olive titles. All you have to do for titles that are new is wait until they've been out a while and the price will come down.

Click on some individual titles to check out the price history and you'll see the price has recently dropped on quite a few of them (perhaps in response to competition from ImportCDs).

It looks like the average price is now under $18.00.

 

[JoHud]

The last two posts consider that Olive is making bundles of money off their Paramount deal. I don't think that we know how much profit the deal is generating or what the deal actually is. What we do know is that they increased the cost of the Blu and DVD's this year and that they lost a couple of people, per Mr Lime. I have also noticed that the number of releases per month has declined so for this year. IMHO, these small items do not lead me to believe the deal is as profitable as thought. I keep thinking about the Legend deal with Paramount about five years ago. It was a one time deal. I'm sure if it was successful for Legend them they would have worked on another deal.

Too early to say at this point. They could have had that extended delay because they needed more time to telecine some of the more troublesome Republic titles on their schedule yet maintain a monthly schedule once. They've also reported another batch of Republic titles just last month beyond what we already knew last year, so Olive still seems keen on dipping into that Republic library cookie jar and they easily have enough titles to last until 2015.

I don't mind the break personally. My wallet needed a break from those Olive blus.

On average across all it's Blu-ray releases, it's around $20. Of course, the titles that have been out longer are more likely to be under $20 than preorders or recent releases.

Their 2014 blu-rays have had an unusual price hike across the board (expect the most recent 2 for some reason). The April releases are the most expensive, oddly enough.

But, yes, we're talking new releases. Wait a few months and they can be had at cheaper prices below $20 eventually.

 

[Robin9]

If you don't live in a city or suburb, I quote our esteemed moderator: "There is nothing I can do to change your situation for the better. At times, life just isn't fair to any of us."

Or more simply: Tough luck, pal!

I do live in a city but I have zero interest in downloading etc. I buy DVDs and BRDs to ensure that I can indulge my movie hobby regardless of what the rest of the world does! Contrary to the panic merchants, my DVDs and BRDs have not deteriorated, and I expect them to outlast me.

 

[Keith Cobby]

I am with Robin on this. Interestingly of all the DVDs and blu-rays I've bought only 2 have deteriorated. Never Say Never Again turned yellow, and Daddy Long Legs just wouldn't load (subsequently replaced with the very good French blu-ray). There is something about selecting a title from the shelves to play which isn't the same as looking through a list. Not quite as good as selecting a VHS from the video shop in the early days!

 

[Yorkshire]

I do live in a city but I have zero interest in downloading etc. I buy DVDs and BRDs to ensure that I can indulge my movie hobby regardless of what the rest of the world does! Contrary to the panic merchants, my DVDs and BRDs have not deteriorated, and I expect them to outlast me.

Well, me too - I'd rather have the disc.

That's not the point. The point is, we can prefer disc all we like, if the studios don't make enough money from them, they're not going to release them.

The issue (for me) is this. If Warner have a number of films unreleased on Blu-ray Disc, held in HD on a server somewhere, and they can make risk-free money from that rather than pressing discs, why aren't they?

Steve W

 

[Robert Crawford]

Well, me too - I'd rather have the disc.

That's not the point. The point is, we can prefer disc all we like, if the studios don't make enough money from them, they're not going to release them.

The issue (for me) is this. If Warner have a number of films unreleased on Blu-ray Disc, held in HD on a server somewhere, and they can make risk-free money from that rather than pressing discs, why aren't they?

Steve W

They are through Warner Instant Archive.

 

[Yorkshire]

They are through Warner Instant Archive.

But there's only a limited number of films available there - and only to the US.

I look at it like this.

I have Warner's Wait Until Dark on DVD.

I'd like it on Blu-ray Disc.

They haven't released it on Blu-ray Disc.

They've scanned it in HD.

They sell it in HD, highly compressed to 8GB (I know, I have a copy).

The scan itself is clearly good, but it's so compressed that it's a tough watch when projected, or I suspect on a large flat screen display.

They could sell it to download in a more Blu-ray Disc-esque 20GB dopwnload.

They don't.

Why?

Steve W

 

[ahollis]

Actually something has changed. Amazon's prices have come downon a lot of Olive titles. All you have to do for titles that are new is wait until they've been out a while and the price will come down.Click on some individual titles to check out the price history and you'll see the price has recently dropped on quite a few of them (perhaps in response to competition from ImportCDs).It looks like the average price is now under $18.00.

Which means they are not selling and discounting means less profit and less profit means it's not as successful as we may think. I want Olive to continue to release Paramount and Republic titles but they have to make a profit too.

 

[Robert Crawford]

But there's only a limited number of films available there - and only to the US.

I look at it like this.

I have Warner's Wait Until Dark on DVD.

I'd like it on Blu-ray Disc.

They haven't released it on Blu-ray Disc.

They've scanned it in HD.

They sell it in HD, highly compressed to 8GB (I know, I have a copy).

The scan itself is clearly good, but it's so compressed that it's a tough watch when projected, or I suspect on a large flat screen display.

They could sell it to download in a more Blu-ray Disc-esque 20GB dopwnload.

They don't.

Why?

Steve W

Because for a variety of reasons, they're not ready to do it yet. What you're asking for, the industry plus support industries aren't ready for those larger downloads. It's probably coming one day.

 

[Peter Apruzzese]

They are through Warner Instant Archive.

I'm surprised more people here (USA residents only, obviously) haven't tried this service. The 2-week free trial convinced my by the end of the third day to sign up for 10 bucks a month and to get a Roku for playback. Even if you could find the titles to rent, this is cheaper than renting if you watch at least four a month. The HD streams look very good (better than Netflix or Amazon, in general) when projected and there are so many titles there that will most likely never get a Blu-release. They've been making improvements to the interface based on customer comments - the recent update that included a Watchlist was essential - and more titles appear every month. Yes, some titles are only available for a limited time, but I've already seen some of them return after getting dropped.

 

[Robert Crawford]

I'm surprised more people here (USA residents only, obviously) haven't tried this service. The 2-week free trial convinced my by the end of the third day to sign up for 10 bucks a month and to get a Roku for playback. Even if you could find the titles to rent, this is cheaper than renting if you watch at least four a month. The HD streams look very good (better than Netflix or Amazon, in general) when projected and there are so many titles there that will most likely never get a Blu-release. They've been making improvements to the interface based on customer comments - the recent update that included a Watchlist was essential - and more titles appear every month. Yes, some titles are only available for a limited time, but I've already seen some of them return after getting dropped.

Peter,

I can't agree with you more. I watched The Wings of Eagles last week in 1080p and it looked very good. More and more titles are being offered in 1080p and the streaming quality has dramatically improved since they launched the program.

 

[bruceames]

Which means they are not selling and discounting means less profit and less profit means it's not as successful as we may think. I want Olive to continue to release Paramount and Republic titles but they have to make a profit too.

Could also mean that instead of making killing, that Olive will be simply making a nice profit. Anyway more units will sell now, which may actually increase profitability.

Besides, even with the price drop, they're still not that cheap, but rather more in line with prices from them major studio releases. And how much effort is Olive actually putting into these? Hardly no extras and just working with an existing master.

That said though, It's certainly not going to get any better and I expect sales of BD catalog to start falling this year (and BD as a whole as well).

 

[Yorkshire]

Because for a variety of reasons, they're not ready to do it yet. What you're asking for, the industry plus support industries aren't ready for those larger downloads. It's probably coming one day.

Your point is most certainly taken.

But you know what? So what!

Storage is cheap, cheap, cheap.

Downloads - look, I live in a really crap area for broadband, I get 1.5 megs. But I downloaded the 8GB version of Wait Until Dark overnight (I think it took 6 or 8 hours, despite having poor broadband.

In the UK they have a target of 95% of households being connected to superfast broadband by the end of 2017, and they're well on the way. That'd enable you to download a 20GB file very quickly.

And if some can't do it, so what. I don't mean that in respect of the customers, I mean it in respect of the studios, who are in this to make money. Some might have to wait a few years until their broadband is up to speed, but that's no reason in itself to not start now.

If Amazon offered 'Full Blu-ray Quality' versions of my favourite films (the ones not on Blu-ray already, of course), even for a couple of quid extra, I'd buy that - even if it took a day to download.

If I were the studios, I wouldn't be pressing Sony & Samsung to develop a 4K system that hardly anyone wants.

I'd be pressing them to develop a secure download system, which would maybe be implemented through existing players. And not a piecemeal approach, either - one where there was an industry standard and every manufacturer could develop the functionality.

There's money to be made!

Steve W

 

[Robert Crawford]

Your point is most certainly taken.

But you know what? So what!

Storage is cheap, cheap, cheap.

Downloads - look, I live in a really crap area for broadband, I get 1.5 megs. But I downloaded the 8GB version of Wait Until Dark overnight (I think it took 6 or 8 hours. In the UK they have a target of 95% of households being connected to superfast broadband by the end of 2017, and they're well on the way. That'd enable you to download a 20GB file very quickly.

And if some can't do it, so what. I don't mean tht in resperct of the customers, I mean it in respect of the studios. Some might have to wait a few years until their broadband is up to speed, but that's no reason in itself to not start now.

If Amazon offered 'Full Blu-ray Quality' versions of my favourite films (the ones not on Blu-ray already, of course), even for a couple of quid extra, I'd buy that - even if it took a day to download.

Steve W

Except for one small detail, it's not your decision to make so we wait and that's the short of it.

 

[Worth]

I have Warner's Wait Until Dark on DVD.

I'd like it on Blu-ray Disc.

They haven't released it on Blu-ray Disc.

They've scanned it in HD.

They sell it in HD, highly compressed to 8GB (I know, I have a copy).

The scan itself is clearly good, but it's so compressed that it's a tough watch when projected, or I suspect on a large flat screen display.

While I don't dispute that the quality of the download is questionable, 8GB is is plenty large enough to offer a very good 1080p image if the compressionists know what they're doing.

 

[cineMANIAC]

Sorry, but I will NEVER accept a download-only system, no matter how efficient is it. I guess I'd better stock up on physical discs now before the turnover. Like someone pointed out, I'd rather pick a disc off a shelf than a title off a list.

 

[JoHud]

And how much effort is Olive actually putting into these? Hardly no extras and just working with an existing master.

These are new masters, mostly because 99% of the Republic library had never been transferred into HD and have previously just been derived from VHS video masters if they had ever been made available at all. Some of the more recent titles had never been released on home video ever and they've even got a 3-D blu-ray planned in the future.

But yes, for whatever reason, they are usually as-is "dirty" transfers straight off the film elements with no additional clean-up. So their quality is determined on the print they have available. They either don't have to budget to do the extra work or Paramount isn't granting them that extra service (or they just don't care). I believe the transfers are actually done at the Paramount facilities.

 

[TravisR]

Sorry, but I will NEVER accept a download-only system, no matter how efficient is it. I guess I'd better stock up on physical discs now before the turnover. Like someone pointed out, I'd rather pick a disc off a shelf than a title off a list.

I'm a huge luddite (I'm in my 30's and I don't have or want a cell phone or an MP3 player or a tablet or any of the crap that people are addicted to) but even I don't see a difference between having 1's and 0's on a disc and having 1's and 0's saved on a hard drive. I love physical media as much as anyone but when it dies, I will switch over to saving (not streaming) copies of movies on a hard drive and backing them up. If the studios don't want to sell me a quality digital copy that I can save and own then I will start stealing movies online.

 

[Ed Lachmann]

What really gets my goat about the whole damned mess is that if the studios won't press media for those who really want it why can't a person download the movie in HD, perhaps through Amazon Instant Video or the Warners download site or whatever source, after being charged for a PURCHASE of the film rather than a rental. A usual price at Amazon, who do offer this, is about $20 per title (which is more than many BDs cost). Then, there could be some sort of code the seller furnishes which would allow the customer to burn a BD-R disc of the film to add to his library. When I look at the dozens of titles I'd kill to own that are available from these sites, I know that my only recourse is to surrender and give in to this rather annoying future. But, I'm old fashioned. I WANT a wall of titles that I can pull off a shelf and put in my Oppo (which will probably enhance the picture to boot). I'll learn to create cover art and buy BD snap cases. I can live with all that. But, without a PATH OF OWNERSHIP (and NOT just data on a hard drive or a Tivo) count me out of this hobby or pastime or whatever it is. I'll spend my time and money on something else. Perhaps the studios could explain why this is so impossible to hope for.

 

[Robin9]

Well, me too - I'd rather have the disc.

That's not the point. The point is, we can prefer disc all we like, if the studios don't make enough money from them, they're not going to release them.

It is the point for me - or at least it is to some extent. At present, I buy discs they do release - assuming of course that I like the film - because I accept that it may soon be impossible to do so. In other words, I'm stocking up for that future rainy day.

Luckily for me, I'm not a resolution snob. I will be content to watch standard definition if no Blu-ray disc is available, and I have a large DVD collection. In the past week I've watched Laura and A Letter To Three Wives on Blu-ray. I'm pleased with the upgrade but the respective DVDs were more than watchable.