AfterDawn: Tech news

Sony uses IFA to boast about Blu-ray sales

Written by Andre Yoskowitz @ 31 Aug 2007 8:38 User comments (34)

Sony uses IFA to boast about Blu-ray sales

At the recent IFA consumer electronics show in Berlin, Sony Pictures Home Entertainment used the show to boast about the company's Blu-ray movie sales across the world.
According to the company, sales for the studio's movies were near one million in North America and approaching 250,000 in Europe.

The numbers, although still small, are impressive considering Blu-ray movie sales only surpassed the million mark total in April. Sony expects there to be a sales boost at the end of October however when the Spider-Man trilogy gets released.

“These sales milestones across the world illuminate the positive reception from retailers and consumers alike for Blu-ray,”
said David Bishop, president of Sony Pictures Home Entertainment. “Our strong fourth quarter line-up will underscore the confidence in this format.”

Sony also took time to reiterate that Blu-ray "software now accounts for 69 percent of the total high-definition market in Europe." Although that number may seem overwhelming, many reports have put Blu-ray hardware at 90-95 percent of the market when including the PlayStation 3 thus making the 69 percent no longer so overwhelming.



Although Sony and the Blu-ray camp will be having blockbusters such as Spider-Man, POTC 3, and Ratatouille coming for the holidays, the HD DVD camp has been quietly and not-so quietly getting victories including signing Paramount and Dreamworks to exclusivity deals.

Source:
Dailytech

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34 user comments

131.8.2007 09:28
hughjars
Inactive

They're getting increasingly desperate.

Sadly it's all too little far too late.

There's little to brag about when (depending on the figures you prefer to use) Blu-ray has 15 - 25 times the number of players compared to HD DVD and yet only holds a (shrinking) sales lead of 60:40.

No wonder Viacom/Paramount dumped the Blu-ray format.

231.8.2007 09:58

When the new chinesse HD DVD players come, its all over!

This sales lead is purely based on the ps31 anyone who buys a standaloen is an idiot with the ps3 so cheap, but then persoanlly ps3 shouldn't be counted its a games consol. I reckon sony have included some ps3's in that 69%.

331.8.2007 10:10
24Lover
Inactive

Quote:
Sony also took time to reiterate that Blu-ray "software now accounts for 69 percent of the total high-definition market in Europe." Although that number may seem overwhelming, many reports have put Blu-ray hardware at 90-95 percent of the market when including the PlayStation 3 thus making the 69 percent no longer so overwhelming.
Thats real strong there looking at those numbers Sony is winning the U.S. & EU markets.Won't be long before HD-DVD formats be a thing of the past.Great job Sony !

431.8.2007 10:15
DC5R
Inactive

Originally posted by hughjars:
They're getting increasingly desperate.

Sadly it's all too little far too late.

There's little to brag about when (depending on the figures you prefer to use) Blu-ray has 15 - 25 times the number of players compared to HD DVD and yet only holds a (shrinking) sales lead of 60:40.

No wonder Viacom/Paramount dumped the Blu-ray format.
And once again Hughjars around the outside leading by a nose with more of his normal garbage fluff for the world to see. Do you have to see your name and words to feel better about yourself?
Does it ever get old to keep shoveling the same shite day in and day out?

531.8.2007 10:15
hughjars
Inactive

Originally posted by 24Lover :
Thats real strong there looking at those numbers Sony is winning the U.S. & EU markets.
- Er no.

In fact they have between 15 and 25 times the number of Blu-ray capable players out there and are holding a (shrinking) 60:40 lead over HD DVD.

Some 'win'.

No wonder Viacom/Paramount dumped Blu-ray.

Originally posted by 24Lover :
Won't be long before HD-DVD formats be a thing of the past.Great job Sony !
- I doubt even the sony fanclub really believe this stuff anymore.

HD DVD is set to get the very inexpensive players and exploit the much higher movie attachment rates HD DVD enjoys.

Blu-ray is stuck = PS3.
The sad truth for Blu-ray is that PS3 owners don't buy that many movies.

Hello PS3 proprietary format.

631.8.2007 10:19
DC5R
Inactive

Well this PS3 owner already owns 35 BD movies. And I have no intention of buying HD DVD and could care less about going online to see extra content or have PIP. When BD does adopt it, I will give a shite about it, because I won't utilize the feature. I watch and buy movies for movies, not all the extra garbage that the studios spends excess money on.

If BD is stuck, so is HD DVD when they won't have the full market share of movies as well. I love how some people spew garbage about HD DVD is going to take over, BD blows and whatnot, or BD is going to dominate, HD DVD is going down. Neither format is really going to win anything, consumers will lose out. The studios that recently went HD DVD exclusively are just money grubbing phucks that don't want to pay more to make a higher quality disc, yet still charge the same premium price. And people want to say Sony dicks over people...

The studios should just let it ride out for at least 2 years, completely drop DVD altogether and then see where the market goes, HD DVD or BD.

This message has been edited since its posting. Latest edit was made on 31 Aug 2007 @ 10:24

731.8.2007 10:21
hughjars
Inactive

Originally posted by DC5R:
And once again Hughjars around the outside leading by a nose with more of his normal garbage fluff for the world to see. Do you have to see your name and words to feel better about yourself?
Does it ever get old to keep shoveling the same shite day in and day out?
- How about instead of the ridiculous personal attacks you concentrate on what was said, huh?

How many sold PS3s are there in the world huh?

3.7 million, 4 million, 5 million or is it 6 million?

To how many HD DVD players?
200,000 plus another 200,000 XBox 360 HD DVD add-on drives?

We know from figures recently released that Blu-ray has sold 2.2 million discs to HD DVD's 1.5 million.
http://www.switched.com/2007/08/16/blu-r...-format-battle/

You do the maths.....Viacom/Paramount certainly did .....and dumped Blu-ray because of it. :D

831.8.2007 10:29
24Lover
Inactive

Quote:
In fact they have between 15 and 25 times the number of Blu-ray capable players out there and are holding a (shrinking) 60:40 lead over HD DVD.
Okay it don't take a math major to see 60% more than double 40% which mean BluRay is doing better in the U.S hardware sells.


Lets see 69% is better than 31% which is more than double what HD-DVD did in EU hardware sell.

I guess i am missing something because right now Bluray is winning.Give or take those numbers mite be off a little but not a lot like you claim just accept it Bluray winning now but that could change.

931.8.2007 10:29
DC5R
Inactive

Quote:
Originally posted by DC5R:
And once again Hughjars around the outside leading by a nose with more of his normal garbage fluff for the world to see. Do you have to see your name and words to feel better about yourself?
Does it ever get old to keep shoveling the same shite day in and day out?
- How about instead of the ridiculous personal attacks you concentrate on what was said, huh?

How many sold PS3s are there in the world huh?

3.7 million, 4 million, 5 million or is it 6 million?

To how many HD DVD players?
200,000 plus another 200,000 XBox 360 HD DVD add-on drives?

We know from figures recently released that Blu-ray has sold 2.2 million discs to HD DVD's 1.5 million.
http://www.switched.com/2007/08/16/blu-r...-format-battle/

You do the maths.....Viacom/Paramount certainly did .....and dumped Blu-ray because of it. :D
How many people, I guess all 3.7~6 million bought the PS3 exclusively for watching BD...dream on and keep thinking such. Some people that own a PS3 might not even have a screen capable of displaying 1080P so maybe they are not purchasing BD movies, ever think of that instead of BD sucks because it doesn't sell in proportion to the amount of BD players that are out there.

Personal attack, well why don't you stop shoveling the same garbage day in and day out? It's childish at best, oh was that a personal attack also? Damn somebody spank my bottom because hughjars felt attacked. I feel attacked when everyday I come on this board, sure enough there are your replies with the same thing said from the day before, the week before and the month before. Always the same garbage. You can't go a day, hell 2 days without posting on this site with your fanboyism comments, what are you a fanboy of you may ask, if you have to ask then you truly are clueless.
This message has been edited since its posting. Latest edit was made on 31 Aug 2007 @ 10:32

1031.8.2007 10:35
hughjars
Inactive

Originally posted by 24Lover:
Bluray winning now but that could change.
- It's just a matter of time.

The higher attachment rates HD DVD enjoys will come into play very soon.

Anyone looking at what is going on can see this.

Viacom/Paramount certainly did.

DC5R

Cry me a river.

"Fanboy". LMAO.

It's a debating board. Get used to it.

I'm sure the Sony/PS3/BD fanclub will be along soon to provide the kind of comment you like.

1131.8.2007 10:39
DC5R
Inactive

Quote:
Originally posted by 24Lover:
Bluray winning now but that could change.
- It's just a matter of time.

The higher attachment rates HD DVD enjoys will come into play very soon.

Anyone looking at what is going on can see this.

Viacom/Paramount certainly did.

DC5R

Cry me a river.

"Fanboy". LMAO.

It's a debating board. Get used to it.

I'm sure the Sony/PS3/BD fanclub will be along soon to provide the kind of comment you like.
You are a fanboy of hatred towards Sony, just as you like to call people Sony fanboys. Accept it, the pot calling the kettle black. How is it debating when you're just so hypocritical. Any article that comes up with Sony in the title somewhere, you have to post your meaningless hate. If you don't like something, stay away from it. Do you think you are some sort of messiah and going to change the minds of the many sheep that roam about? I don't like reading your comments, but unfortunately I can't block them or I would and I like to read the news articles and see what people have to say, but for phucks sake, do you have anything else to say besides the same shite you pollute the boards with every single day? I'll cry you an ocean if you will do some of us a favor, jump in and drown.
This message has been edited since its posting. Latest edit was made on 31 Aug 2007 @ 10:44

1231.8.2007 11:17
morguex
Inactive

1st thing, @riotard, just because someone buys a standalone unit dosen't make them an idiot, some people just wanna pop in a flick and watch it. Not everyone plays video games (and no I don,t own a blu-ray player, if thats what your thinking)
2nd, As I've posted before in other forums, I'm really tired of this blu-ray vs hd-dvd thing, by time all is said and done there will be something else.

Peace all

1331.8.2007 11:24

just curious, whos the porn industry going with HD or Blu-ray. Why some of you may ask?? Beta Max. I may have my facts messed up, but didn't Beta Max (Sony *cough*) lose that because the porn industry went VHS instead of beta. Just a thought
LD

1431.8.2007 11:51
hughjars
Inactive

Originally posted by DC5R:
You are a fanboy of hatred towards Sony
- That's the most laughable comment of them all.

Yeah of course, anyone who puts a counter-point & challenges the torrent of Sony/Blu-ray PR propaganda & outright lies (especially wehen it comes to their claims about HD DVD) must "hate" that consumer electronics corporation.

I guess the flip side of such ludicrous notions is that you 'love' some of them.

Pathetic.
But sadly so true to type.

Originally posted by lawndog:
just curious, whos the porn industry going with HD or Blu-ray.
- All of the US porno industry studios have gone HD DVD.

The single exception is 'Vivid' who eventally found someone to do the replication for them.
They have said they will try out a couple of Blu-ray titles to see how it goes.
They also produce HD DVD titles so at best 1 US studio is format neutral the rest are HD DVD exclusive.

But as we know from what Viacom/Paramount had to say Blu-ray production costs a fortune.
I don't expect them to be 'format neutral' for long.

Things have moved on since the video tape wars but nevertheless DVD porno is a multi-billion dollar 'industry'.

1531.8.2007 13:29

I don't know about you guys but I personaly think that sony sucks big time I used to have sony dvd players but every time I try to ply a burned movie always said no disc or disc error not a problem with any other players

1631.8.2007 15:11

Originally posted by hughjars:
They're getting increasingly desperate.

Sadly it's all too little far too late.

There's little to brag about when (depending on the figures you prefer to use) Blu-ray has 15 - 25 times the number of players compared to HD DVD and yet only holds a (shrinking) sales lead of 60:40.

No wonder Viacom/Paramount dumped the Blu-ray format.
You are hilarious. Too little too late? But Blu-ray is leading 60/40 in sales. 60% is still 60%. It is still so early to even think about who wins what. You need a bowl load or something because you let $ony get you uptight.

1731.8.2007 16:34

its like the movie "300"
blu-ray = persian army
hd-dvd = 300 man(spartan army)

blu-ray as has way more units out there, but hd-dvd is doing more damage(movie sales) per unit than blu-ray

when the cheap hd-dvd players arrive, will be similar to the end of the movie when the entire spartan army joins the battle... >_<

8*)

1831.8.2007 16:52
Ludikhris
Inactive

I love this forum. Hughjars you are so outnumbered. People like you first say

"You can't count PS3 as hardware sales. ITS A VIDEO GAME CONSOLE!"
to make HD DVD hardware sales look better in comparison.

Then we here,
"Well BluRay have sold fifty bajillion units and only outsold HDDVD by double in software sales, so they are going under"

Seriously, you need to be a politician. Im guessing you would make a great president. Wait, you and the die hard HDDVDers probably are the politicians. That would explain the circles in which you argue yourselves around.

you've been burned by,
Ludikhris

1931.8.2007 17:59

If only toshiba and sony made rubber vagina's. Then all of the fan"boys"
could be preoccupied and make these news threads worth reading again.

201.9.2007 01:56

Quote:
Originally posted by DC5R:
And once again Hughjars around the outside leading by a nose with more of his normal garbage fluff for the world to see. Do you have to see your name and words to feel better about yourself?
Does it ever get old to keep shoveling the same shite day in and day out?
- How about instead of the ridiculous personal attacks you concentrate on what was said, huh?

How many sold PS3s are there in the world huh?

3.7 million, 4 million, 5 million or is it 6 million?

To how many HD DVD players?
200,000 plus another 200,000 XBox 360 HD DVD add-on drives?

PS3 sales are coming up 7 million right now, by March 2008 Sony expect PS3 sales to be higher than XBox 360 sales around the world.

So 7 million Blu-Ray players (this doesn't include stand alone Blu-Ray players)
Compared to 400,000 HD-DVD players (This number comes from HD-DVD themselves)

You work out the ratio.

You can pick up a Blu-ray player from Amazon for $399USD and 320 pounds in the UK.

Blu-Ray also have one of the largest DVD cheapie player maker in China, so expect Blu-Ray to drop majorly in price within months.

As the larger factories can do large quick production runs maybe 50,000 players in 1 week.

211.9.2007 03:43
hughjars
Inactive

No surprises at the (deliberate?) confusion between the 2 points here.

It is true that HD DVD stand-alones are out-selling Blu-ray stand-alones (in Europe as well as the USA) and it's also true that the PS3 is not a 'stand-alone' high def DVD player.
That's just a fact.

The day Toshiba or anyone else makes an HD DVD player that also plays games is the day that you get a comparison with the PS3 numbers included for that kind of player.

However, that does not exclude or alter the fact that PS3s (a Blu-ray capable machine) have sold in their millions (but rather less than Sony had hoped, no matter what guesses they might make for future sales).
No-one has denied that
(despite the rather laughable implications of some).

If it's 7 million PS3s sold then great, all the better, it simply makes the point even stronger.

PS3 = Blu-ray is not a winning strategy.
Too few PS3 owners bother buying Blu-ray movies as we can see with a pathetic attachment rate of less than 1:1.

The (wholly expected) short-term boost in sales that the Blu-ray format got from this (PS3 = Blu-ray) strategy has led to the situation where anywhere between 15 - 25 times the number of HD DVD players has merely opened a (now shrinking) 60:40 'lead' in movie disc sales.
Big deal.
That is not 'good' and it's hardly something to crow about.

That situaion will only get worse for Blu-ray as HD DVD enters the mainstream mass-market at prices far below anything Blu-ray can compete with.
The sub $200 HD DVD player is almost here now and sub $150 will be here by X-mas.

(BTW Chinese component manufacture is nothing new & it's something they all do, check out the insides of the PS3, most if not all of it is Chinese.
That is not the same as licencing the designs and production of the entire unit to China.
Anyone who imagines Blu-ray has done the same thing as HD DVD and are expecting a Blu-ray version of the Venturer is just kidding themselves or ignorant of how this works)

Viacom/Paramount saw this and understood the implications.
They knew that the expense of Blu-ray production (now that Sony had switched off the subsidy) out-weighed the sligtly higher sales Blui-ray was experiencing in the short-term.
They also knew that the Blu-ray format itself was unfinished and going to be a big problem......why should they go to the expense and trouble of producing discs with 'profile 1.1' features when not one Blu-ray player on the market can meet those specs?

It is also a very big blow to Blu-ray that HD DVD now offers the greatest amount of available content, the greatest amount of exclusive content and the largest potential catalogue of movies.

For those who once claimed 'content is all' then it has to be HD DVD, it is HD DVD that has the most content.

Hence Viacom/Paramount dumped Blu-ray......and they didn't just go from exclusive to format neutral as had happened before but for the first time a major Hollywood studio actually dumped a format, Blu-ray.

The fanclub can dismiss this and make up stories about 'bribes' all they like (whilst choosing to ignore the facts about payments made for promote Blu-ray....Target end caps being the most recent and the now expired subsidy on Blu-ray disc production being the largest and most extensive 'bribe' if ever there was) but it makes not the slightest difference in the end, that is how it is.

I give it 12months until it is even beyond the most blinkered member of the Sony/PS3/Blu-ray fanclub to deny that Blu-ray is a PS3 proprietary format.

This message has been edited since its posting. Latest edit was made on 01 Sep 2007 @ 5:30

222.9.2007 00:08

You do know? that 1 million bluray standalone players have also sold in the USA.

Besides the 7 million PS3's sold as well around the world, each one a Blu-Ray meaning you don't have to buy a PS3 plus a Blu-Ray stand alone player just to play Blu-Ray movies.

You do understand that, yeah?

As for the adult video side of things you've broght this up in other topics.

Vivid the largest Adult studio in the world is Blu-ray, which also runs AVN the Adult Video Network.

On the 30th of augast 2007
DVDemon Adopts Blu-ray
Adult authoring house DVDemon has invested in a fully licensed Blu-ray production line, becoming the first U.S. facility to replicate porn on the Sony-backed high definition format.

DVDemon head Xtian told AVN that his company's move into the Blu-ray market has been in the works for several months. DVDemon is already gearing up to replicate Anabolic's forthcoming Blu-ray debut, Penetration 13 and expects to work with several other adult Blu-ray titles for fall release.

"We have received a tremendous number of inquiries about the Blu-ray Disc format," he said. "The tide is turning, and nobody wants to be left out. Blu-ray players are outselling HD DVD three-to-one. Prices on high definition players are dropping, and we feel this is the way of the future."

The majority of Blockbuster Video stores and the big eight Hollywood studios (Disney, Fox, Lionsgate, MGM and Sony) have all opted for Blu-ray over Toshiba's HD DVD format. Until recently, however, adult producers have encountered difficulties getting product out on Blu-ray due to the high costs and lack of authorized replication facilities willing to handle X-rated content.

Some technology anaylsts have questioned the viability of high-definition porn. But Xtian believes that new players debuting this Christmas will bring a strong consumer demand for adult movies on Blu-ray.

Another factor that Xtian said will hold major appeal for adult producers is the forthcoming BD-J (Blu-ray Disc Java) player, which will allow consumers while viewing a disc "to purchase [that company's] other titles instantly, via Ethernet connection. It opens a whole new way of commerce."

Formed in 2000, DVDemon has authored over 1,000 adult DVD titles, including such award-winning releases as John Stagliano's The Fashionistas and Jules Jordan Video's The Dark Side of Jenna Haze.

"A big part of the challenge involves the learning curve associated with such a new technology," Xtian said. "Our knowledge and experience allow us to adapt quickly to these changing standards."

I have posted the whole press relase here because it'd be better than doing a link I would think, it's on the AVN.com site.

They have already setup deals with a heap of the leading Adult production companies.

You said what Adult studios start making Blu-rays will win the war, I guess it's been won then?

232.9.2007 07:42
DC5R
Inactive

Sorry xtago, somebody will find some fault or call you a fanboy for sticking up for BD, but if you stick up for HD DVD you are not one for whatever reason, funny how hypocritical some are around here. It really makes no sense to me. They like to talk about version 1, 1.1, 1.2 and how BD can't do what HD DVD can already do and it doesn't compare, yet they fail to realize not everyone cares about the excessive extras that are not watched by the majority of people, at least almost everyone that I know when asked doesn't even watch the extras on DVD, so why all of a sudden would they watch on either format of HD? Though some here say this is a big deal, for who? Not I, out of my 500+ DVDs and now 35 BDs I own, I may have watched like 2% of the extra features and have many Director's cut DVDs with a 2nd disc that has never been out of the case. Maybe I am the BIG exception and everyone else watches or cares completely for the extras so the HD DVD should be their choice.(sarcasm) What else I don't get, these same people talk about BD+ and how bad it is, but yet they say the ability of HD DVD to connect to the studio to see extra features is a great thing, well to me that just says a big brother thing is going on as they can track what players are connecting to their content, but I'm sure somebody will rebuke this in some way. And what is so bad about having protection, do these people like to pirate shit or what? What really is the argument about having protected content, certainly with the protective layer of the BD, one would never really need a back-up copy, so again all I can see are more cheap ass people that don't really want to purchase content but make copies from friends or rented copies or whatever.

One of these people's biggest argument is that BD players counting the PS3 doesn't equal the sales of media per capita compared to HD DVD, but yet they also don't realize that not everyone with a PS3 uses it as a movie player, yet BD still has captured 60% of the HD content sold, regardless of how many players are out there, it still sells 6 to 4. They also seem to not ever want to admit that Sony itself holds 18% of the movie market and they champion HD DVD will win the market, how so if Sony never releases on HD DVD? Which most likely will never happen as long as they back their and other manufacturer's format. That's a large part of the market in my eyes. Why these assclowns want to keep bitching and get there panties all in a bunch all the time, it's beyond me, you would think they work directly for Toshiba or something, wait I forgot most of them don't even own either format and are waiting for the shitty Chinese players, the ones that are going to take over the market and make HD DVD win it all...(more sarcasm)

242.9.2007 10:29

Now they are gonna say you work for $ony.


DC5R, nice statment.

252.9.2007 10:42
DC5R
Inactive

Originally posted by jacsac:
Now they are gonna say you work for $ony.


DC5R, nice statment.
hahaha or worse yet that I am a FANBOI!!! Hardly one, but I guess since I own a PS3 and not a 360 and have BD movies and not HDDVD movies someone will say or think I am. I do own an original Xbox and occasionally still use it.

And reason for going PS3 and not 360, already had a small arsenal of games for my PS2 and it by far is the best buy in my opinion when everything is added up to get the 360 to do what the PS3 does right out the box. Oh shite, more fanboi talk I guess...hahaha

262.9.2007 12:14
hughjars
Inactive

Originally posted by xtago:
Vivid the largest Adult studio in the world is Blu-ray,
- You work away quibbling over what is or is not a 'stand-alone' player if you like, you're still just avoiding the lame performance of those Blu-ray capable players which can only manage to establish a (now shrinking) 60:40 'lead' in retail movie disc sales.

......and Vivid is dual format, actually.

Not Blu-ray exclusive.

But then like most of the Sony/PS3/Blu-ray fanclub facts are not exactly your strongest point.

.....and as for the 'extras' point?
Well it was something Blu-ray made such a big deal over, they claimed their new profiles along with their extra storage space gave them a major edge with this.

Interesting to see the Blu-ray support now dismiss it as of no consequence when their preferred format cannot even meet it's own specs.
Very funny.

But lies and distortion characterise this whole Blu-ray PR campaign.....and they really don't like it when people have the audacity to point out their lying campaign for what it is.

Whether it be fake websites
(another one outed today see here - http://valleywag.com/tech/sony/blu+ray-b...ite-278312.php)
or outright stupidity from the execs at the BDA.

It's been fun watching Frank Simonis (who is the chairman of the Blu-ray Disc Association and also the senior director of communications) getting torn a new one.

http://www.avsforum.com/...showthread.php?t=901388

He's the idiot who has publicly claimed POTC couldn't fit on HD DVD cos it's 143 minutes long.

Looks like he forgot King Kong is 181 minutes
and Batman Begins is 140 minutes.

.....and whilst he was at it forgot all about the Blu-ray movies on BD25 discs.
This message has been edited since its posting. Latest edit was made on 02 Sep 2007 @ 1:26

272.9.2007 12:36

Quote:
Our strong fourth quarter line-up will underscore the confidence in this format
Why wait till Q4? Release more quality titles now! If you flood the stores with the titles that everybody had to have on DVD, then this might sway public opinion towards the Blu Ray camp. The same logic can be applied to HD as well. Put more movies out there now.

@DC5R
Quote:
I watch and buy movies for movies, not all the extra garbage that the studios spends excess money on.
Amen to that. I've been saying that for years. Give me a movie that I can put in my player and start watching within seconds. I don't need to hit play on a menu or sit through endless previews for movies that I've never heard of or have no intention of even viewing, let alone buy.

Quote:
The studios should just let it ride out for at least 2 years, completely drop DVD altogether and then see where the market goes, HD DVD or BD.
If this happens, there will be at least one movie watcher in the world that will find something better to do with his time. I'm not buying into this mentality one bit. Why should I be forced to upgrade? Some people are happy with their little Kia’s; others can't ride in anything less than a Mercedes. Choices are laid out in front of people for a reason. We (the consumer) are the reason any of these companies exist in the first place. They are here to serve our needs, not the other way around.

282.9.2007 18:07
DC5R
Inactive

Quote:
Quote:
The studios should just let it ride out for at least 2 years, completely drop DVD altogether and then see where the market goes, HD DVD or BD.
If this happens, there will be at least one movie watcher in the world that will find something better to do with his time. I'm not buying into this mentality one bit. Why should I be forced to upgrade? Some people are happy with their little Kia’s; others can't ride in anything less than a Mercedes. Choices are laid out in front of people for a reason. We (the consumer) are the reason any of these companies exist in the first place. They are here to serve our needs, not the other way around.
I understand that one shouldn't be forced to upgrade, but why are movies pretty much unreleased on VHS anymore. Wasn't the consumer forced to go DVD eventually? It's just natural progression, the same way music went from 8-track, to cassette, to CD and now to MP3 or whatever digital format one prefers. There's no reason why the movies can not be sold at the same price current DVD releases go for, except for studios just milking the consumer. DVD has had its time and now the new thing is here. Though if they really want to end a format war, I think this is pretty much the only way it can go away, to kill off DVD altogether and let the consumer choose what format wins by sales numbers. The studios at the same time would be happy that the pirating will not be as prevalent as it is today which should see them rake in more money. Eventually it might get to the same level as it is now. If prices are set the same, most people will not have a problem upgrading to the higher quality movies. Your old movie collection on DVD can still be used with the newer systems, much better than how everything progressed in the past.

Have you owned a cassette player and/or VCR, what happened to them? And your analogy of Kias for some and Mercedes for others can still be accomplished, same as DVD machines sold today. The consumer has everything from $29 Chinese garbage players to what some would call asinine out of this world pricing players. It's already going to happen shortly with the less than $200 HDDVD machines. Prices will drop further in the years to come, just as DVD players have. Again natural progression.

There really is no need to have 3 formats to choose from. As I said ride it out 2 years, during that time start to weed out DVD, the same way cassettes were weeded out of music stores and then just have the 2 HD choices, if they are both still around in 2 years time.

Well if they won't kill off DVD, the least they could do is kill off 4x3 fullscreen presentations of the movie. Because if and when I rent a movie and the place I can rent from only stocks full screen, the studios lie to me when it says, "This movie has been formatted to fit your screen." No it hasn't, my screen is a 16x9 screen.
This message has been edited since its posting. Latest edit was made on 02 Sep 2007 @ 6:10

293.9.2007 06:44

Originally posted by DC5R:

It's just natural progression, the same way music went from 8-track, to cassette, to CD and now to MP3 or whatever digital format one prefers.
That is the point. Progression is ok, as long as it is gradual and the old design is phased out. In your proposed scenario, you say that the studios should just stop producing DVD's. If that was the case, there would be a major upset in consumer confidence in either of the new formats. If the studios stopped producing on DVD today, what does that say about the future prospects of HD and Blu Ray?

Quote:
There's no reason why the movies can not be sold at the same price current DVD releases go for, except for studios just milking the consumer.
Fully agreed there. Many would claim that the current prices of DVD's are too high to begin with. I don't mind paying $12 to $18 for a movie, but when it comes to $80 or so for a boxed set (Sopranos) that is where I have to draw the line.

Quote:
DVD has had its time and now the new thing is here.
I feel that DVD will still be with us for a few more years to come.

Quote:
kill off DVD altogether and let the consumer choose what format wins by sales numbers.
There are a lot more people out there who can not afford either of the new formats than people who can. The only real problem with High Def is the large initial investment (library, player, TV) where as DVD embraced existing technology as far as displaying the content. Granted, initial DVD player and disc prices were expensive, but you did not need a new TV or surround sound to enjoy the benefits.

Quote:
The studios at the same time would be happy that the pirating will not be as prevalent as it is today
If they outright stop producing DVD's, pirating would advance to a level previously undreamed of by the MPAA.

Quote:
Have you owned a cassette player and/or VCR, what happened to them?
Yes, I have, but gradually over time all analog media has been replaced with digital media. This was a slow drawn out process for me. I have about 1,500 DVD's. I'm not even going to entertain the idea of replacoing my entire collection with a new format.

Quote:
the least they could do is kill off 4x3 fullscreen presentations of the movie.
Amen. I love seeing the reaction of all the people who couldn't stand the black bars on the top and bottom of the screen when they watch their 4:3 shows on a widescreen and GASP, the bars are on the left and right!
This message has been edited since its posting. Latest edit was made on 03 Sep 2007 @ 6:48

303.9.2007 07:11
DC5R
Inactive

Originally posted by Unfocused:

Quote:
kill off DVD altogether and let the consumer choose what format wins by sales numbers.
There are a lot more people out there who can not afford either of the new formats than people who can. The only real problem with High Def is the large initial investment (library, player, TV) where as DVD embraced existing technology as far as displaying the content. Granted, initial DVD player and disc prices were expensive, but you did not need a new TV or surround sound to enjoy the benefits.
Granted not everyone can afford hi-def equipment, but they don't need to have all the bells and whistles, I'm sure there are still quite a few people without a true surround system and they probably still watch rented or purchased DVDs. Well like you said above, people can still watch hi-def movies in the same manner, because you don't necessarily need a surround system or tv, unless you really want the full experience. DVD was that way somewhat, watch a dvd somewhere where the person only has a tv and uses that for sound output, then go back and watch at your place, which would you prefer? Don't answer that, because I'm assuming you have a decent setup if you have a 1500+ DVD collection. So to fully enjoy the DVD benefits one would need a surround system. :) I'm just pointing out, people can still watch content on non-hidef tvs and without surround sound.

Quote:
The studios at the same time would be happy that the pirating will not be as prevalent as it is today
Originally posted by Unfocused:
If they outright stop producing DVD's, pirating would advance to a level previously undreamed of by the MPAA.
Damn, I see what you mean and I completely overlooked that...whoops.

Quote:
Have you owned a cassette player and/or VCR, what happened to them?
Originally posted by Unfocused:
Yes, I have, but gradually over time all analog media has been replaced with digital media. This was a slow drawn out process for me. I have about 1,500 DVD's. I'm not even going to entertain the idea of replacoing my entire collection with a new format.
Oh I'm like you, I definitely will not be replacing my entire DVD collection, but that's the joy about the new formats, they can still play what you currently have. I'm up to 35 BDs right now, some were definitely DVDs I owned, I have given those DVDs to a friend, but mostly I will just purchase new releases and grab some old flicks that I think will be worthwhile on HD format and part way with the DVD if I have it. About the analog, think of the movie collections people had on VHS, that was a dump on the consumer when no longer produced, but then again not really as the market was moving to digital like you said, but still consumers were forced to upgrade. People may have been sore that they purchased a bunch of movies in that format, but at least once DVD is gone, the format is not dead like VHS was because you can still watch your library on either of the new formats. So that's a definite plus as compared to the past.

And I should have worded differently my first post you quoted, I didn't quite mean just stop production of DVD right now, as I fixed in the second post you partially quoted, let it phase out over the next 2 years just as cassette tapes phased out and consumers were forced to purchase CD players if they wanted to buy and listen to new music. The same can be done for the HD formats. Neither format is really going to win, of course this is my opinion, as long as DVD is still in existence. Studios should just change pricing now for HD content to that of DVD pricing (granted old titles can be had for $20) and watch if the market will adopt and accept it in a quicker fashion than what is happening currently.

313.9.2007 10:44

I don't know how to do that quote ting but Hughjars said "Things have moved on since the video tape wars but nevertheless DVD porno is a multi-billion dollar 'industry'."

True we have moved on since beta and VHS but the players or indutries that were involved in the dedission making are still here. I would would bet that porn has gotten more popular these last couple years.
Don't get me wrong I own neither, blu-ray or HD. So I could care less. Frankly I would like them to stay with regular DVDs a little longer, cause I can't afford to buy new stuff every 10 years, please I'll go out and buy whoever may win and in 10 years their gonna make something bigger and better, thats if they haven't allready made it and their just waiting to suck more money outta us.
LD

329.9.2007 23:54

Back and forth we go in the HD Definition war.

3315.6.2008 05:50

Vivid has begun releasing all adult DVD titles simultaneously on Blu-ray.
That means about 1 titel per week

url=http://www.homemediamagazine.com/news/html/breaking_article.cfm?article_id=12921]VIVID BLU RAY press release[/url]

And at there are already 96 Adult blu rays on sale but only one gay blu ray

3415.6.2008 11:02

Please try not to bump up articles that are this old.

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