AfterDawn: Tech news

Amazon launches huge summer Blu-ray sale

Written by Andre Yoskowitz @ 28 May 2008 5:09 User comments (11)

Amazon launches huge summer Blu-ray sale Amazon has announced that it has begun its largest Blu-ray sale yet, a Summer Blu-ray Blowout promotion that will run through June 9th.
The latest sale has 116 titles on sales from all studio libraries and features a few of the best selling titles including 'Blade Runner,' 'Hellboy,' 'Independence Day,' '300' and 'I, Robot' among others.

All of the titles in the sale have at least a 38 percent savings off MSRP and many have 50 percent off. The gigantic e-tailer also added that for the week of June 2-9 their special "Gold Box" promotion would be having a high-definition week meaning there is the possibility of huge discounts on Blu-ray titles and standalone players.



For those interested, the full list of movies available for the Summer Blowout is here: Amazon Blu-ray Summer Blowout.

Previous Next  

11 user comments

128.5.2008 18:55

ermm let me guess - Amazon USA only right ? meaning we are still going to get ripped off around $ 35 for a blu ray title on Amazon UK etc ?

228.5.2008 19:22

naw, even amazon.ca has blu-rays on sale lots around the $13 mark...there always on sale somewhere futureshop/bestbuy has had a bogo sale where I live for like a year now...wal-mart has them on sale every couple weeks, really dont get why people complain every store I go in has a buy one get one free on selected titles.

329.5.2008 02:53

I'll save the other 62%! I don't BUY Blu-Ray...never will.....There's enough 2nd hand DVD's to furnish half the planet. Let them choke on their DRM.

429.5.2008 04:22
nobrainer
Inactive

Originally posted by JRude:
I'll save the other 62%! I don't BUY Blu-Ray...never will.....There's enough 2nd hand DVD's to furnish half the planet. Let them choke on their DRM.

i completely agree i will never own drm-ray and if that's the only choice for media i will download the blu-ray with the malware removed by a kind pirate from a p2p url. The worrying part about blu-ray is the phone home ability being introduced with profile 2.0, as this will allow studios to use the DRM server checks and only allow you to play movies you've registered on your player.

Something like sony's own DRM SecuROM, 10 day rolling check like what was going to be used on mass effect, spore. (Mass Effect DRM goes too far.)


RE: the films list, there are a few worth owning, and many i already own but there are more poor films than great ones, none that are worth purchasing if you already own the dvd though, but this is their licence to print money, make it illegal to format shift by laws to stop circumvention of DRM and add the DRM, then use region coding to block people from importing films so you can fix the prices.

good to see prices drop even if it is for old movies only and yes this is US only as usual the UK and Europe get screwed over as the global price fixing and sales data scam continues.

This message has been edited since its posting. Latest edit was made on 29 May 2008 @ 4:30

529.5.2008 12:10

Originally posted by JRude:
There's enough 2nd hand DVD's to furnish half the planet. Let them choke on their DRM.
haha its so true, my friend only buys used DVDs, and for the most part they $3 and under and usually in great condition...

629.5.2008 13:03

Quote:
i completely agree i will never own drm-ray
Yeah, we already know. You say that every time you post.
This message has been edited since its posting. Latest edit was made on 29 May 2008 @ 1:04

730.5.2008 12:11
emugamer
Inactive

It still boggles my mind how expensive these movies are. $30 for most movies. A movie as old as Castaway is $30. Nice to see a big sale, but it's still hard to not be taken back by what studios are expecting for these movies. I understand initial production costs, but the markup just seems ridiculous. I received an email from Amazon about a sale for 45% off bluray sets of 3. They all came out to $60 ($20/movie). I'd rather buy them individually for $14 each. I can't say that I would never buy a full price bluray movie. I have young kids, and if they want to own the latest Pixar Movie, and it's not on sale, then I would buy it as a treat once in a while.

Disclaimer: off-topic, read at your own risk :P

The DRM issue slightly bothers me, not to the point where I am totally anti-DRM. I'm just aware that it may not affect me, or it may be a nightmare for me. If it actually does come down to only being able to play a movie on a registered player, I'm not sure how I would feel. It depends on how much it affects my personal lifestyle. My movies have always been just mine. I don't share them or lend them to friends. They are kept in their cases and are in mint condition. The same with bluray. I will only ever have a single bluray player in my house (my PS3) just like I've only ever had a single DVD player in my house. Based on those 2 factors, there is a possibility that any DRM they implement won't have much of an impact on my viewing habits. If I buy my kids a bluray movie and I don't have a way to back it up, then I'll probably resort to downloading a pirated copy to locally stream for then so that they don't get their dirty fingers all over the disc.

I think a major concern of the proposed DRM scheme would be the impact on the existing rental model. And then you have the corporate-funded government considering passing controversial Copywrite Infringement laws that woud pretty much destroy the life of the middle class working man for even thinking of taping a song off the radio and playing it on his iPod. There's no doubt about it that unreasonable DRM and strict Copywrite Infringement laws will destroy many businesses and families, while lining the pockets of the select few at the top of the food chain.

This message has been edited since its posting. Latest edit was made on 30 May 2008 @ 12:17

830.5.2008 12:22
varnull
Inactive

/me "YAWNS"

93.6.2008 10:37

Oh for the love of god, you guys/gals are simply unbelievable... DVD PQ sucks! If you want to buy my used dvds for $3? Be my guest! If you want to DL HD contents, fine, DL then. You know leaving your computer on days and nights is not exactly smart. If you're happy with DVDs, good for you! Life is short, if there's a better format within reach (HD TV and a BD player), why settle for inferior technology? You know you can rent the BDs right? Ask your self this, when is the last time you watch anything for the 2nd or 3rd time? People collect, because it's an anal habit/hobby (very thin line there). Same thing with downloaded contents... You just kept downloading downloading, but you don't really do anything with the files other than just check them play or not, am i correct?

103.6.2008 16:56

*cough* My PC stays on 24/7 for a variety of reasons. I have not found it ''unsafe''. I host a private site that needs access to info, communication, and solutions. I would happily buy DVD's for $3 all day. Which is the same as rental rates for DVD or Blu-Ray at the local rental brick & mortar store. I DO notice that the Blu Ray titled discs remain with their covers/cases, indicating NO RENTALS! This is not a low rent area. It is a middle class bedroom community outside a large city.
Are you familiar with The Law of Diminishing Returns?
*Happy Happy Happy!*

114.6.2008 09:44

Computer on 24/7 for you, no problem there, it's your computer and your style. Buying $3-$5 dvds, good for you, want to buy? Check Amazon marketplace, that's where i sell (i'm not selling anything at the moment, b/c it cost me more money to list them than selling them in terms of opportunity cost).

I rent from BBV on-line and Netflix, both of them at the lowest cost package (i can't watch a lot anyway, the total for both services is about $15 a month). I use to buy BDs under $15, but now, even at that price, i still think too expensive (dvds are not cheap either, i find it ridiculous that new releases priced at $19.99 after first week of sale).

B&M rentals are okay (especially with the BBV's total access plan), but with high gas prices, no thanks.

Diminishing Return in a nutshell means that if you have a lot of the same stuffs, you gonna get bored/tired of them eventually. Each dvd/BD/downloaded files are all different, so i don't see how diminishing return comes in play. Of course, if you mean getting all of those stuffs and not enjoying them, that's a different story. If that's the case, then you won't be buying dvds at $3, cause you're fed up, bored and sick of them at this point... Same as your computer, you don't even want to leave it on any more, cause the Return is really small, you have been leave it on so long that you're not enjoying the outcome as much as you use to.

Comments have been disabled for this article.

News archive