Warner looks to expand 28 day release window beyond kiosks and online rental

This is such a bad idea imo. do they really think this would increase dvd sales? hahahahah

Once again the rental industry just needs to stop letting hollywood have their way... I'm sure there are a number of distributers that dvds can still be bought from while ignoring the strongarm tactics of warner. It might cost a little more than direct, but that can just be passed on to the customer. The biggest mistake ever was ANYONE in this industry agreeing to wait 28 days to rent titles. Give them an inch and they'll take a lightyear...

Jetted email to redbox to see if they have to comply with Warner's nutty crap. Most likely they do, I guess.

There is no longer a music or movie industry. Just a bunch of lawyers and greedy people.

Jeff

Eh...I don't mind waiting 30 days (or forever in the case of most hollywood movies). A few years ago we routinely waited 6-12 months for a VHS release...now we get bluray almost as soon as it is out of the theater. If I want to watch hollywood, I'll just watch the hollywood movies from last month that I couldn't watch then!

They're using your demand for Instant Gratification against you!




Don't let them.




Good things come to those who wait....





...usually




...except for that whole 200-year+ extension thing for Copyright, which was intended for works of art but which has been twisted to also protect Intellectual Property...forever.


[robotic voice]It's for your own protection. Nothing to see here. Move along.[/robotic voice]

"Eh...I don't mind waiting 30 days (or forever in the case of most hollywood movies). A few years ago we routinely waited 6-12 months for a VHS release...now we get bluray almost as soon as it is out of the theater. If I want to watch hollywood, I'll just watch the hollywood movies from last month that I couldn't watch then!"

Yes after the movie were released in the theater. Maybe I'm spoiled....
There is only a few movies I would love to watch anyway.

Watching a movie in the theater is the best way to do it..... If you don't mind spending $15.00 for a ticket, more for 3D and even more $ for IMAX 3D. $8.00 for popcorn and so on.

Sneak my own goodies in so it doesn't cost upwards of $25.00 to $35.00.

I was disappointed after watching Avatar in 3D. Still I will go if I want to see the movie.

Having a decent AV setup, blu-ray looks and sounds pretty good to me at my age.

Jeff

I have a HOME theater.
5.1 fully digital surround sound 12 inch powered sub woofer on a 62 inch screen...I can play as loud as I like. Free pop corn, I can butter my popcorn as much as i like (not the 1 or 2 tiny squirts they give), Free soda, free red vines, a couch i can lay out on in comfort (in my PJ's if i like) A girlfriend and a puppy snuggled on each side of me. I can pause if i have to pee, and I can do this as many times as I like for $11 a month.

Why wouldn't I wait 30+ days for a movie?

Because the greedy studios think that will make me buy it? If it instant gratification I want there is something called torrents. A high def 720p torrent of a movie they are making me wait for can be instantly gratified for free in a 3 to 4 hour download.

It's their choice, stop being greedy douches and release the movies to video outlets right away and make some money on rentals........or.......get no money at all and I STILL get to see it. Because I won't waste my time 30 days later renting something I already saw on a torrent a month ago. So they just lost a sale/profit by being stupid.

people still rent dvds? I havent in years, I also dont buy dvds. If I want to see a movie I just go the theatre and watch it, eventually it'll come out on cable, I'm in no hurry.
I think most people will just wait the extra month to rent it. Only dedicated videophiles will actually buy the dvd when it comes out, nothing has changed except to upset the renters who might go to "other" means to get the movie.

The theater sucks...bad food at high prices, no smoking allowed, and there are ALWAYS little annoying kids running around because their parents left them in the theater rather than getting a baby sitter. Plus the hours really, really suck...they are just opening about the time I go to bed and I miss closing time if I sleep-in on my days off. Plus, on the rare occasions that there is a new release that I would actually pay $20 to see sooner, it is never in the hollywood-owned theater and I can have the retail DVD imported for about the same price by the time it gets to the Indie cinema.

If it were not for the drive-in, I would say that the whole system is crap...but I can't really complain about the drive-in because I never get to watch the movie.

Until I can walk out of the theater with a legal copy of the movie I was fleeced to watch once, I steer clear.

I didn't mind so much the high food prices. I know that the movie studios take such a high cut of the profits from the theater that they have little choice but to charge crazy prices for food.

Movie studios have sued too many 12 year olds and dead people, and extort local business owners so much, though, that I've said "enough". I have no problem with waiting to rent any movie I watch and I'll continue to wait as long as blind, stupid greed drives the industry.

Theater blows for the most part. The only good thing they have over watching it at home is a huge screen. I for one love being able to watch a movie when I want and without peoples heads getting in the way or someone talking, the seats are also not that great at our theater. I also got a great speaker setup so when I watch bluray I can have the best sound with DTS-HD, Dolby True-HD or LPCM. I think they would have better sales if A - the price of admission to a theater didn't cost almost half the price of the movie when it comes out to buy. B - they released movies quicker and cheaper once it leaves the theater. I never buy new releases I wait a good month or two sometimes more and it will drop to half if not more in price.

I haven't been to a theater to watch a movie since 1993 (Jurassic Park) Cell phones, kids running wild, expensive goodies, the audio crapped out,etc. I don't buy DVD or Blu Ray. I rent from Netflix, Red Box or borrow from friends. I don't give a crap if I have to wait a year for a Hollywood release. Its just not that important to me to see any flick as soon as it hits the market. They don't get much $$ from me.

next thing you know they will get with MAXSPEED and other torrent uploader groups and ask that they delay their torrents of R5 releases 70 days lmao

Received email back from redbox.

"Redbox releases nearly every movie on the day it's released everywhere, with the exception of movies produced by Warner Brothers, Universal and Fox. Movies from these studios are released 28 days after they're available for sale. The delayed release is common in the movie rental industry and allows redbox to keep rental costs low."

I don't mind the 28 day delay, it's just the movie industries false hopes of trying to sell more DVD before they are released for rental.

If somebody is going to purchase a DVD they will do so. I imagine these people have a vast library of movies.

Jeff

I remember back in the day that you had to wait 9 months to a year for a vhs copy

Originally posted by jookycola:

---

I have a HOME theater.
5.1 fully digital surround sound 12 inch powered sub woofer on a 62 inch screen...I can play as loud as I like. Free pop corn, I can butter my popcorn as much as i like (not the 1 or 2 tiny squirts they give), Free soda, free red vines, a couch i can lay out on in comfort (in my PJ's if i like)

---

Yep, they're trying to go back to dinosaur ages of VHS and fleece everyone from their vendors to the customers that buy from the vendors.

How many different revenue streams do the studios have now? Let's see, there's theatrical release, DVD/Blu-Ray, rental, PPV and cable/network television. DirecTV now offers an "early" PPV window, where they charge in upwards of $30 for a movie that won't see DVD release for 30-60 days. How much does Warner bank from that deal? Then you have the window on Redbox and Netflix, designed to help the struggling Blockbusters of the world and/or force you to pick up a $20+ copy at the local retail store.

Personally, I have so many ways to consume video I really don't care if I wait anymore. If I must see it, I'll go the first two weeks of the theatrical release. Any longer, and I risk overpaying to see a movie that hits the cheap seats or DVD for less.

My second avenue is the cheap seats, which are the reduced admission theaters. After that, I'll hold out for Netflix, as I'm not much of a Redbox guy, except in cases of extreme urgency.

Beyond those, I can always hold out for HBO, Showtime, etc. which offer the films OnDemand, Netflix streaming, or the actual disc in the mail months down the road.

I've gotten so patient I actually have to go back a few months and see what movies were released.

What's missing from the above? Oh yeah, PURCHASING on DVD... well I purchase Blu-Ray now and only when they are on sale. Sorry Hollywood, I'm a patient guy and not going to drop $30 or more on whatever version you're hawking as "must-see". Chances are I'm not buying it unless it's something where I'll wear the disc out or if it's a gift to someone else.

The whole system is based on greed and squeezing as many pennies out of my pocket as possible. I figured it out Hollywood. So have many others. I don't steal your movies, I play by the rules, but chances are good that you're only getting however many cents per dollar Netflix and HBO pay you for my consumption of said film. Hope your gamble was worth it!

Originally posted by SProdigy:

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Yep, they're trying to go back to dinosaur ages of VHS and fleece everyone from their vendors to the customers that buy from the vendors.

How many different revenue streams do the studios have now? Let's see, there's theatrical release, DVD/Blu-Ray, rental, PPV and cable/network television. DirecTV now offers an "early" PPV window, where they charge in upwards of $30 for a movie that won't see DVD release for 30-60 days. How much does Warner bank from that deal? Then you have the window on Redbox and Netflix, designed to help the struggling Blockbusters of the world and/or force you to pick up a $20+ copy at the local retail store.

Personally, I have so many ways to consume video I really don't care if I wait anymore. If I must see it, I'll go the first two weeks of the theatrical release. Any longer, and I risk overpaying to see a movie that hits the cheap seats or DVD for less.

My second avenue is the cheap seats, which are the reduced admission theaters. After that, I'll hold out for Netflix, as I'm not much of a Redbox guy, except in cases of extreme urgency.

Beyond those, I can always hold out for HBO, Showtime, etc. which offer the films OnDemand, Netflix streaming, or the actual disc in the mail months down the road.

I've gotten so patient I actually have to go back a few months and see what movies were released.

What's missing from the above? Oh yeah, PURCHASING on DVD... well I purchase Blu-Ray now and only when they are on sale. Sorry Hollywood, I'm a patient guy and not going to drop $30 or more on whatever version you're hawking as "must-see". Chances are I'm not buying it unless it's something where I'll wear the disc out or if it's a gift to someone else.

The whole system is based on greed and squeezing as many pennies out of my pocket as possible. I figured it out Hollywood. So have many others. I don't steal your movies, I play by the rules, but chances are good that you're only getting however many cents per dollar Netflix and HBO pay you for my consumption of said film. Hope your gamble was worth it!

---

I didn't really get into it, but I used to be a manager for Hollywood Video back when VHS was king. We used to pay $100 a copy for our "rental grade" videos, which were supposed to be manufactured differently and hold up to the rigors multiple plays (ie. multiple rentals.)

Always thought that was BS. I remember we would recoup some of that cost as a company by selling the excess off as "previously viewed" movies. We were only allowed to do so after the street date for retail was met, typically 60 days after a movie's first release on VHS.

When DVD came around, it was cheaper and more convenient, but also abolished the old window where rental chains had the movie in circulation for 60 days before it could be purchased at a store or on PPV. Eventually all those windows vanished and as a result, the cost of operating video chains increased, which wasn't good for Hollywood, whom had aggressively borrowed to expand their company.

Netflix was the ultimate nail in the coffin; they discovered they could profitably operate within this module through a subscription based service. This is the bug up Warner's butt now, as the revenue they had from places such as Hollywood has disappeared with those companies.

Somewhat off topic, but easy to see they are trying to "recover" their "losses" by putting these fake window periods in place. It's the opposite now than it was with VHS. Instead of waiting to buy, people would prefer to rent than buy.

Maybe if Hollywood would stop flooding the release schedule with filler (Zookeeper anyone?) then the general public would happily open up their wallets and spend money. Rather, the studios will gamble a few million to make a few million; if 1 in every 5 movies becomes a hit, they easily sustain the losses of the other 4. Investors are also more keen to produce movies as the return on investment is higher than in other industries.

Almost forgot about Laser disks which I still have a collection of. I rented them from several outlets or just purchased them. No copy protection. Who is going to copy a Laser disk to VHS except for 90 year old uncle Harry who cannot see or hear?
12", too big.. Too expensive as were the players. People didn't like the horizontal black bars because they thought they were getting cheated when just the opposite was true. Pan and scan vs. wide screen. If the audio was available in 5.1 instead of 4.1 (actually 3.1 the surround channel is mono) I'd pick up an old player.

Okay enough, back to the thread..

Jeff

Quote Jef p
Speaking about VHS.. I'm taking a little trip down memory lane today.
Dusted my Mitsubishi HS-U70 SVHS machine off. Bad investment on my part.

I don't remember one movie being released on Super video. The recorder cost upwards near $1000.00. Blank SVHS tapes cost an arm and a leg. Took some pretty good vids with a SVHS camcorder and TV shows looked a little better. Drilled the extra hole to convert VHS tapes into SVHS. The tape coating is different so I got mixed results.

Maybe I'll watch some old SF 49er playoffs and Super Bowls games after I finish watching The Allman Brothers live.

VHS->SVHS evolutionary. VHS to DVD revolutionary. Blu-Ray quite an improvement with audio and video over DVD.

Sorry for going off topic.

Jeff
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Don't be sorry, we all do it once in a while, besides, The Allman Bros? best damn band on the planet.