Wasn't sure if this was known already but several of the Paramount Blu-Ray's are up for pre-order at Amazon and carry a $38.99 list, discounted to $27.95. Yuck!. Not a good way for Paramount to get back in our hearts.

http://dvd.themanroom.com/news/Paramount_Blu-ray_Pre-orders_at_Amazon_Cloverfield_and_More/2671

Wasn't sure if this was known already but several of the Paramount Blu-Ray's are up for pre-order at Amazon and carry a $38.99 list, discounted to $27.95. Yuck!. Not a good way for Paramount to get back in our hearts.

http://dvd.themanroom.com/news/Paramount_Blu-ray_Pre-orders_at_Amazon_Cloverfield_and_More/2671

simple solution, don't buy if you dont like this price. at $27.95 the only paramount titles i'd buy are Transformers and Iron Man. anything else needs to be below $20.00.

hopefully a lot of ppl held out on purchasing Fox titles like iD4 and Predator when it was $28. i'm glad i waited out and got both at $20 each. if many others did the same Fox should notice a significant increase in sales after price drop and hopefully learn from it.

I'll hedge my bet and hope Fry's does their usual Super cheap day of release price. $28 is about $8 more than I'd care to pay.

They aren't Fox because they price their catalogs properly. They follow the same pricing as Universal, Sony, and Lionsgate for the most part..

Studio Day&Date MSRP Catalog MSRP

Fox $40 $40
Warner $35 $30 ($35 on special releases)
Disney $35 $30 ($35 on special releases)
Univsl $40 $30
Paramt $40 $30
Sony $40($43 2 Disc) $30
Lionsgt $40 $30 ($20 on certain titles)

Just be patient. All of these ~$39.95 titles eventually go on sale for $19.95 (or less).

simple solution, don't buy if you dont like this price. at $27.95 the only paramount titles i'd buy are Transformers and Iron Man. anything else needs to be below $20.00.

hopefully a lot of ppl held out on purchasing Fox titles like iD4 and Predator when it was $28. i'm glad i waited out and got both at $20 each. if many others did the same Fox should notice a significant increase in sales after price drop and hopefully learn from it.

Don't plan to. Their new releases didn't interest me. I just don't want to see a title that i do want to get at that price. I just think it's a little arrogant for Paramount to come out at those prices after what they did in the past.

Yeah, the above table is about right. The article linked to in the OP shows pricing for all the new Paramount stuff. And although a few things like Bee Movie and Cloverfield aren't quite day and date, Paramount is pricing them like new releases and not catalog titles. Understandable given the small delay. Doesn't mean they'll be charging $40 MSRPs for all catalog titles.

Don't plan to. Their new releases didn't interest me. I just don't want to see a title that i do want to get at that price. I just think it's a little arrogant for Paramount to come out at those prices after what they did in the past.

It was all about money then, and it is all about money now.

They are going to charge as much as they think we will pay, and they will sell at that price, just not to me.

As somebody else has said, they more line up with the others guys, not Fox... the other guys all do $28 @ amazon prices for new releases, but catalog is at $20. Fox is $28 for EVERYTHING.

Cloverfield and TWBB aren't day and date. That means they're catalogues in my book.

And I say that, mostly because I paid $10 for that crappy TWBB packaging.:mad:

Cloverfield and TWBB aren't day and date. That means they're catalogues in my book.

And I say that, mostly because I paid $10 for that crappy TWBB packaging.:mad:

Well, its been like a month.. They are pricing Blades of Glory like a catalog because its several months old.

Being able to get some movies by bargain-hunting is not the point. All studios need to follow Warner's model...both in quality of releases and pricing. I know some question Warner's encodes, audio, etc., but they're the best overall studio for Blu-ray so far IHMO.

Being able to get some movies by bargain-hunting is not the point. All studios need to follow Warner's model...both in quality of releases and pricing. I know some question Warner's encodes, audio, etc., but they're the best overall studio for Blu-ray so far IHMO.

I'd say Disney is my favorite. They offer the same pricing, and 90% of the time the encodes are flawless.

I'll gladly pay $28 for stuff like There Will Be Blood or Iron Man. You still get new release DVD's hovering around $19-23, so it would seem silly not to pay $5-9 bucks more for the HD version. Because the list prices of DVD still can hit $30, just like HD version can be $40 dollars. And we all know that no rational person actually pays those prices. That's IMO of course.

Some new release DVD prices from Amazon:

TWBB = 22.99
Beowulf = 18.99
Nation Treasure: Book of Secrets 2 Disc = 22.99
Golden Compass 2 Disc = 21.99

So, in places like TWBB's case, no I don't think it's unreasonable to pay an extra $5 for HD. You could hardly expect them to sell the HD version for less than the 2 disc DVD.

Yep, as others have said, those are all considered new releases.

In fact, Paramount has even lowered the original new release pricing on titles that have been reissued, like World Trade Center and Dreamgirls. Other studios are still charging new release pricing for many such titles going back to 2006.

What's the diff? Fry's has Fox titles now on sale for $14.99. Wait until there is a sale and your price point is reasonable.

If the price is reasonable, I can be tempted to do blind buys.
When the price is high, I won't be.
I just put it in my Net Flix que...
And if it turns out to be a one-view movie, I'm not stuck.
If it is worth buying, then it goes on my "$19.95 or < List."

Studios need to smarten up.;)

A great many cities have no Frys. The only hope is this area for a good local price is Wally-World and they seemed to have raised their prices. There is now no good local shopping option in Knoxville.

The BDA might as well cancel building more pressing plants if they demand $25-$35 at B & M retailers. There's not much of a market for video discs at these prices, especially in the midst of a recession. The windfall profits that these studios desire out of HD are not gonna happen. If the suits get their jollies price-gouging 1% of the market, hey have fun minimizing Blu's relevance.

Myself, I'm no longer excited about release days. I spend my effort tracking down substantial sales. If a disc costs more than $20, I'm not very intrested at this point.

The BDA is driving potential customers away wholesale with their prices. Outside of audio-vidiot circles, Blu-ray is disc non grata.....

i don't know what's more mind-boggling....

that in this day and age people will pay $40 to buy a crummy movie or that studios will try to put it on shelves priced like that.

oh well, laserdisc part 2 seems to be aiming toward every obstacle in sight.

Myself, I'm no longer excited about release days. I spend my effort tracking down substantial sales. If a disc costs more than $20, I'm not very intrested at this point.

The BDA is driving potential customers away wholesale with their prices. Outside of audio-vidiot circles, Blu-ray is disc non grata.....

I am not sure why but I am acting the same way. In the old DVD days, I bought everything that was even remotely worth buying, some of those I never took the wrapper off. Maybe the novelty has worned off, or I dislike knowing that Sony is making any money off me, or maybe it is the pricing, or a lack of movies I want. But whatever the reason(s) is, I have become very selective in what HDM I buy.

But I know it is not the economy. I have more money allocated to "non-essentials" than I have ever had.

A great many cities have no Frys. The only hope is this area for a good local price is Wally-World and they seemed to have raised their prices. There is now no good local shopping option in Knoxville.

The BDA might as well cancel building more pressing plants if they demand $25-$35 at B & M retailers. There's not much of a market for video discs at these prices, especially in the midst of a recession. The windfall profits that these studios desire out of HD are not gonna happen. If the suits get their jollies price-gouging 1% of the market, hey have fun minimizing Blu's relevance.

Myself, I'm no longer excited about release days. I spend my effort tracking down substantial sales. If a disc costs more than $20, I'm not very intrested at this point.

The BDA is driving potential customers away wholesale with their prices. Outside of audio-vidiot circles, Blu-ray is disc non grata.....

There's a lot of SD DVD prices at $24.95 to 29.95 at retailers and have been for years. Evidently they sell, though I don't see how.

A great many cities have no Frys. The only hope is this area for a good local price is Wally-World and they seemed to have raised their prices. There is now no good local shopping option in Knoxville.

The BDA might as well cancel building more pressing plants if they demand $25-$35 at B & M retailers. There's not much of a market for video discs at these prices, especially in the midst of a recession. The windfall profits that these studios desire out of HD are not gonna happen. If the suits get their jollies price-gouging 1% of the market, hey have fun minimizing Blu's relevance.

Myself, I'm no longer excited about release days. I spend my effort tracking down substantial sales. If a disc costs more than $20, I'm not very intrested at this point.

The BDA is driving potential customers away wholesale with their prices. Outside of audio-vidiot circles, Blu-ray is disc non grata.....

No doubt the prices can be a jip, esp FOX. Fox has not gotten a SINGLE dime out of me unless I can get catalogs for under 20.

Having said that, the BDA does not control the prices, its up to the studios.

Its all rubbish! Its time for blu-ray software to drop in price.
$25 max for a new release.

The price points are a bit disappointing.

I know the companies are looking to maximize profit on each title in the format's early stage but they may be cutting short growth with that kind of pricing. There are several FOX titles i'd like but won't get unless I get them used or there is some extreme discounting going on.

i have to buy Fox titles at costco (which surprisingly is the only ones they seam to carry). normally their fox releases are $26. Thats what i bought Juno for when it came out. the rest i try and buy at wally world or amazon.

Oh how quickly people forget the outside of some heavily discounted popular titles there are many DVD's that have never been cheap including some catalog titles. Companies won't be held price hostage and the days of the big box stores loss leadering titles may be coming to close. If W--- tries to play hard ball with the studios then the studios don't need them. Nobody wants to pay certain prices for discs, housing, gas, food, it could be said everything is over priced. Now which one among you will take a pay cut so that the company you work for can sell something us something for less. After all if they pay you less and sell for less they should make the same profit. We'll all be paying less and be happy and you'll be...not so happy. Welcome to capitalism 101.

Prices will come down...well,,,when they come down.

We are held hostage to them by our own devices.

You guys don't know how lucky you are....Over here it's common for new releases to be up to $50 ( Twentieth Century Fox recommended retail prices are about $55.98 over here taking the exchange rate into account although they tend to be discounted lower than that )

We can go online and get new releases for about $34....Take into account the fact we are now paying about $10 a gallon for petrol and you can see that a trip to the cinema or a trip to buy a new film soon adds up.

A lot of people now use the phrase rip off Britain and we shop online ( You can see why )

I don't think pricing them as loss leaders will come to a close. I think the issue is that loss leaders have to be bought and sold in large quantities. With DVDs, they get hundreds of copies, and the low pricing brings in lots of traffic to the store. With BDs, some places only get 10-15 copies, maybe 25-30, and that's not enough to justify loss leader pricing. If they try it, they'll wind up selling all of their allotment to savvy buyers in a day or two, and have nothing left until they get more. If they can eventually sell them all at "regular" pricing, why lower it?

Yep, now that Blu-Ray has won, EVERYONE has decided to price their stuff at Fox prices, even WB, which truly pisses me off. PRICES ARE SUPPOSED TO GO DOWN NOW THAT MORE PEOPLE ARE ADOPTING IT!!!

Oh how quickly people forget the outside of some heavily discounted popular titles there are many DVD's that have never been cheap including some catalog titles. Companies won't be held price hostage and the days of the big box stores loss leadering titles may be coming to close. If W--- tries to play hard ball with the studios then the studios don't need them. Nobody wants to pay certain prices for discs, housing, gas, food, it could be said everything is over priced. Now which one among you will take a pay cut so that the company you work for can sell something us something for less. After all if they pay you less and sell for less they should make the same profit. We'll all be paying less and be happy and you'll be...not so happy. Welcome to capitalism 101.


Several of your examples are quite flawed. Like it or not Wally-Mundo does hold companies hostage. They have the Mu-sick companies by their balls. On occasion they'll insist on censoring content and/or cover art. I'm confident they have some say about videodiscs if only on their prices. When you're neogiating from their position, you have SAY. That's Wally's capitalism.

Plenty of airline employees have taken pay cuts in the past decade. Gawd forbid it should happen to a movie company! ;) It wouldn't it be a travesty if Brad Pitt had to work for peanuts, like a mere million dollars? That would be tough, very tough.

You're sure right as rain about some catalog DVD's being X-pensive.....I'm the kind of potential buyer who gets shocked about how expensive some of the moldy oldies I wannna collect are. You must be too....?

Apparently, Fox has to discount their BD's every so often to unload them. This seems to be their pattern. Maybe Paramount will have to do the same? That's capitalism too....;) Love those invisable hands!

Rachael,

I hate say it...but one of your examples is flawed.:)

Brad Pitt donates a helluva lot of his $$ and time to charity.
As does his wife.;)

Rachael,

I hate say it...but one of your examples is flawed.:)

Brad Pitt donates a helluva lot of his $$ and time to charity.
As does his wife.;)

They aren't married.. yet!

I'd say Disney is my favorite. They offer the same pricing, and 90% of the time the encodes are flawless.

Agree 100%. I want disney quality encodes and disney pricing.

If and when The Alien Quadrilogy comes out it better be flawless like Blade Runner. Alien is my favorite all time flick. I don't care how much it costs I am going to buy it for even $100 for that one movie alone. That is how damn much I want them to make sure it is flawless.

Rachael,

I hate say it...but one of your examples is flawed.:)

Brad Pitt donates a helluva lot of his $$ and time to charity.
As does his wife.;)

I'm sure it is. Flaws are my specialty. Brad was just the first star to come to mind.

This thread has got me thinkin' how DVD and Blu-ray's price/value overlap and how hard the lot of 'em are workin' to keep those price-points up for both. I suppose it's hard to lower Blu prices without also lowering DVD prices too.....

I'd also like to point out that Paramount released Shooter on Blu-Ray about 1 month after the DVD release and also charged $40 MSRP (typical new release pricing). This isn't anything new, nor is it likely to led to changes in Paramount's normal pricing structure.

Yep, now that Blu-Ray has won, EVERYONE has decided to price their stuff at Fox prices, even WB, which truly pisses me off. PRICES ARE SUPPOSED TO GO DOWN NOW THAT MORE PEOPLE ARE ADOPTING IT!!!Do you have an example of higher Warner MSRPs? I always look forward to the Warner and Disney BD releases on Amazon, because I know they will be right around or below $20 with Amazon's 30% off across the board.

No matter how great these discs may look, I refuse to pay these ridiculous prices.

http://www.austinarticles.com/images/friends/jack_woltz.jpg

Do you have an example of higher Warner MSRPs? I always look forward to the Warner and Disney BD releases on Amazon, because I know they will be right around or below $20 with Amazon's 30% off across the board.

The book style cases are $5 higher in MSRP, which is $4 higher on Amazon.

A great many cities have no Frys. The only hope is this area for a good local price is Wally-World and they seemed to have raised their prices. There is now no good local shopping option in Knoxville.

The BDA might as well cancel building more pressing plants if they demand $25-$35 at B & M retailers. There's not much of a market for video discs at these prices, especially in the midst of a recession. The windfall profits that these studios desire out of HD are not gonna happen. If the suits get their jollies price-gouging 1% of the market, hey have fun minimizing Blu's relevance.

Myself, I'm no longer excited about release days. I spend my effort tracking down substantial sales. If a disc costs more than $20, I'm not very intrested at this point.

The BDA is driving potential customers away wholesale with their prices. Outside of audio-vidiot circles, Blu-ray is disc non grata.....

Great post Rachael.
I'll also add that when people go into the store and continuously see Blu Ray movies priced at $25 - $35 day after day... month after month, Blu Ray will have given it self the stigma of being a format for the rich only. Thus the Blu Ray alliance will have ensured Blu Ray a status of Laser Disc.
Hopefully prices will fall and Blu Ray will have an opportunity to have a life span as lengthy as SD-DVD.
Right now... this pricing is limiting the growth. :(

They aren't Fox because they price their catalogs properly. They follow the same pricing as Universal, Sony, and Lionsgate for the most part..

Studio Day&Date MSRP Catalog MSRP

Fox $40 $40
Warner $35 $30 ($35 on special releases)
Disney $35 $30 ($35 on special releases)
Univsl $40 $30
Paramt $40 $30
Sony $40($43 2 Disc) $30
Lionsgt $40 $30 ($20 on certain titles)
Where are you guys buying your SD-DVD discs from??
I was just in BB today and they had (as an example) the Indy trilogy for about $35 in SD-DVD.
You can constantly find new SD-DVD releases for $14.99 - $17.99 on the week of the release.
Older movies can be had regularly for $10.
Blu Ray is way overpriced.

Yep, now that Blu-Ray has won, EVERYONE has decided to price their stuff at Fox prices, even WB, which truly pisses me off. PRICES ARE SUPPOSED TO GO DOWN NOW THAT MORE PEOPLE ARE ADOPTING IT!!!

Yes... that is what we were told wasn't it. ;)
Don't tell me you drank the Koolaid!!! Say it aint so!!! :D

I'd also like to point out that Paramount released Shooter on Blu-Ray about 1 month after the DVD release and also charged $40 MSRP (typical new release pricing). This isn't anything new, nor is it likely to led to changes in Paramount's normal pricing structure.

$40 for shooter!?!?!? Where the heck do you live??

I'll gladly pay $28 for stuff like There Will Be Blood or Iron Man. You still get new release DVD's hovering around $19-23, so it would seem silly not to pay $5-9 bucks more for the HD version. Because the list prices of DVD still can hit $30, just like HD version can be $40 dollars. And we all know that no rational person actually pays those prices. That's IMO of course.

Some new release DVD prices from Amazon:

TWBB = 22.99
Beowulf = 18.99
Nation Treasure: Book of Secrets 2 Disc = 22.99
Golden Compass 2 Disc = 21.99

So, in places like TWBB's case, no I don't think it's unreasonable to pay an extra $5 for HD. You could hardly expect them to sell the HD version for less than the 2 disc DVD.ughh...I wish nobody was willing to pay $28 for any movie. As long as there are enough that are willing then they will continue to line their pockets for movies that have already more than paid for themselves at the box office...or should if they are great enough to command nearly $30. Personally I am holding off buying any Blu-rays that are over $15...waiting for holiday 08 sales to begin. (I don't expect they will be as good as last years bogo's though:( )

Just an FYI if people didn't know . . . Wal Mart has Cloverfield for preorder @ 19.97.

I bought Cloverfield, TWBB and 2 other Paramount titles from dvdempire using the $15 coupon code for $96 including shipping to Japan. Stateside people can grab them for $82.

Where does one find this coupon code?

I have posted the coupon codes umpteen times in all forums but no one cared to peek at it.

New Code:

Enter the code 1407254 at checkout to save $15 on your next order of $95 or more

There seems to be some technical issues while applying this coupon code. Got this sorted out with dvdempire over email.

Current Code:

Enter the code 1406277 at checkout to save $8 on your next order of $55 or more (Not valid on used, VOD or with any other offers, expires 05/19)

ughh...I wish nobody was willing to pay $28 for any movie.

Sorry - I used to pay $49 - $129 each for LaserDiscs.

By comparison every Blu-Ray is a steal.

Sorry - I used to pay $49 - $129 each for LaserDiscs.

By comparison every Blu-Ray is a steal.

Jesus. No wonder my parents never bought me a laserdisc player. I always wanted one when I was a kid because I was so irritated I could only rent some new releases when they came out to buy on laserdisc the same day.

Just out of curiosity, what's an example of a disc that would cost 130 bones? Is that retail?

I keep hearing stories of people paying $20+ for blu-rays and I'm not sure why. It doesn't take very long for deals to appear. With amazon, half.com, blu-ray boxsets, etc, there is no need to pay $20+ for a movie anymore. Some recent examples of movies I've bought on blu-ray:

Commando: $16
Shoot'em Up: $16
Juno: $16
Predator: $16
Resident Evil Extinction: $10
Superbad: $12

...all brand new and still sealed. Seriously, why are people still paying so much for blu-rays when they are available online for so much cheaper? Paramount can say whatever they want about their pricing. In no time, I'll have the movies I want from them for $16 or less, all online.

Per Nielsen Video Scan week ending 04/27 Market Share:

DVD: 94%...........Blu-Ray 6%..

So far Hi def has barely made a dent in overall sales..
I recall recently when Transformers came out that Trans DVD
outsold ALL Hi-def sold for the year..

When you go to your average, BB,CC, or any retail store in general
they want 24.99 to 34.99 per Blu-Ray Disc.....It's just too much for the
average consumer, when regular Dvd's are 4.99 to 19.99..

For years now when a new movie release comes out tradionally on
the first week of release you can get the Dvd from 12.99 to 15.99.
Why is it with new Blu-Ray releases you never see a sale price the
opening week of a new release..

For me it's the principle of the matter, I love Blu-Ray but refuse to pay
these kind on prices for a piece of Blue plastic...I continue to shop
for them on-line , or used, but won't pay these kind of retail prices

Bob

I tried to warn the people that wished for the quick death of HD-DVD that the bogos and great sale prices would go away if that happened, and got soundly laughed at and ridiculed by fanboys saying that "BOGO's aren't going away silly" and that "prices would actually drop once there was only one HD format"...well, even I didn't forsee the studios having the gall to actually raise the MSRP of their titles.:rolleyes:

I understand that movies these days are very expensive to make...but that isn't the fault of consumers. How did studios survive back before there was a way to continue to make money on movies 50 years after they originally ended rotation in theaters? Did studio execs/stars/directors back in the 40's, 50's 60's...not have large estates and fleets of expensive cars?

Yes, the HD war was expensive to wage...but not so much for the studios who have already made profits from many of the movies they are rehashing. I really see no other reason for the high BD pricing than pure, old fashioned greed.:rolleyes:

I agree since Hd-DVD is almost gone where is the competiton..

Why would the Movie Production companies lower the price of
blu-rays to Dvd prices, if they already get most of there
earning from regular DVD's.. There is no incentive to lower
pricing for Hi-Def

Bob

Sorry - I used to pay $49 - $129 each for LaserDiscs.



Yeah, and that was back when $49 - $129 was a lot of money! :eek:

well there are stores out there that carry used bd's in perfect condition.
so if a title books for 34.00 you pick it up used for 19.00.

Great post Rachael.
I'll also add that when people go into the store and continuously see Blu Ray movies priced at $25 - $35 day after day... month after month, Blu Ray will have given it self the stigma of being a format for the rich only. Thus the Blu Ray alliance will have ensured Blu Ray a status of Laser Disc.
Hopefully prices will fall and Blu Ray will have an opportunity to have a life span as lengthy as SD-DVD.
Right now... this pricing is limiting the growth. :(

Thanks for the praise. :) Your point is a good 'un too. I think they've already poisoned the well with the high prices. I think it'll take a whole lotta' TV ads to get folks to take another look. Of course, several of these studios control major networks. Maybe they think that'll be E-Z but all the king's men couldn't put Pinnochio back together again and they had super glue. ;) Maybe they think they can flip the switch at their networks and change things up.....good luck on that.

Sorry - I used to pay $49 - $129 each for LaserDiscs.

Granted, LD's usually cost atleast $39 a pound but Blu-rays are more like $1000 a pound and up.... ;)

Sorry - I used to pay $49 - $129 each for LaserDiscs.

By comparison every Blu-Ray is a steal.

that's crazy....why anyone would throw away that much money on a MOVIE is beyond me - but this is the reason that the studios can get away with this outrageous pricing.

They're still in early adopter mode, and want to milk the people that are willing to pay.

I'll stick with renting. $8.99/month from blockbuster.

There's a lot of SD DVD prices at $24.95 to 29.95 at retailers and have been for years. Evidently they sell, though I don't see how.

that stuff sits on shelf more than you think make a little mark on price tag go back weeks later, it'll be there

Thanks for the praise. :) Your point is a good 'un too. I think they've already poisoned the well with the high prices. I think it'll take a whole lotta' TV ads to get folks to take another look. Of course, several of these studios control major networks. Maybe they think that'll be E-Z but all the king's men couldn't put Pinnochio back together again and they had super glue. ;) Maybe they think they can flip the switch at their networks and change things up.....good luck on that.

Fully agree. We just moved and my friend (who works in marketing) who was always big into HT just declaratively said, "Blu-Ray is tanking, man!" and has no interest in buying in at this point even with the format war decided. I started to argue but have seen the recent sales figures.

:(

I'll hedge my bet and hope Fry's does their usual Super cheap day of release price. $28 is about $8 more than I'd care to pay.

Their "usual" may be dead as I haven't seen a D.o.R. low price on BDs, just SD DVDs. When I asked one of the floor salesmen he told me the same thing - BDs never have a lower price than their usual prices. So ID4 and iRobot came in at $28 (or was it $29.99?). A month later they went on sale for $14.99
each.

Now that we're being programmed to wait for the sales the problem which will probably rear up is that we'll save our monies towards upcoming sales, instead. For example, Fry's may put up a sale today but we may not buy because we know that National Treasure and National Treasure 2 will soon come out on Amazon as a combo cheap price. On the Amazon side, now that the sales have lost some 'quality' we may be purchasing from individual Amazon listed vendors rather than from Amazon directly.

We'll hem and haw on certain titles, then cry that we've missed a sale. But the fact that many of us are spending over $200 a month on movies seems to be lost on the manufacturers. Two weeks ago Fry's had a sale and I bought $100 worth of movies at $15 a piece. Those same 7 movies would have cost $200 at their regular prices. We still have two weeks left in May... And I still haven't bought "Ratatouille"...

that's crazy....why anyone would throw away that much money on a MOVIE is beyond me - but this is the reason that the studios can get away with this outrageous pricing.

They're still in early adopter mode, and want to milk the people that are willing to pay.

I'll stick with renting. $8.99/month from blockbuster.That's the thing...standard dvd's are cheap enough to make these days that even at bargain prices (compared to BD) they are still making money even if the same movie on Blu-ray doesn't exactly sell like hotcakes. Early adopters paying the high prices are enough to offset the lack of sales volume. Standard dvd's may be the only "competition" that BD's have....but the money for sales of both SD/BD is going to the same place.;)

Just out of curiosity, what's an example of a disc that would cost 130 bones? Is that retail?

I think my CAV copy of Toy Story (the original, though some Pixar shorts are included as extras) was around that price, as were my CAV editions of Jaws and Phantasm. I think my Criterion LD of The Rock was around $80.

I think my LD copy of the A&E/BBC Pride and Prejudice was near $100 as well, but at least it was six hours long.

that's crazy....why anyone would throw away that much money on a MOVIE is beyond me - but this is the reason that the studios can get away with this outrageous pricing.

They're still in early adopter mode, and want to milk the people that are willing to pay.

I'll stick with renting. $8.99/month from blockbuster.

Well that's what movie cost in those days. And so you were much more selective. You didn't blind buy all of the new releases every Tuesday like we do now. I remember buying 'Empire Strikes Back' on VHS in 1983, and it was $79.99.

For me it's the principle of the matter, I love Blu-Ray but refuse to pay these kind on prices for a piece of Blue plastic...I continue to shop for them on-line , or used, but won't pay these kind of retail prices


Consumers won't go to all that trouble, such as seeking out the the recent one day Fry sale, or the 2 day Amazon sales. For them, $30 is the normal price.

I agree that it is the principle of the matter. If Blu-Rays are marketed as up-scale similiar to laserdiscs were, I will pay $100, since I will be the only person in my neighborhood that will have such great PQ and AQ. But it is being marketed as mass-market, and I expect to pay accordingly, which for me is a maximum of $15.

I agree that it is the principle of the matter. If Blu-Rays are marketed as up-scale similiar to laserdiscs were, I will pay $100, since I will be the only person in my neighborhood that will have such great PQ and AQ. But it is being marketed as mass-market, and I expect to pay accordingly, which for me is a maximum of $15.

This is a bit confusing. You'll pay $100 if you will be the only person in your neighborhood with that quality, but not if others in your neighborhood could/would purchase as well? Is it about the value of the movie, or is it about having an elite status?

My take on pricing differences come down to the position of prerecorded media in the home now as compared to 20 years ago. LaserDisc was not a terrible value because there was not a cheaper way to own these movies at any level of quality. Now, we have 5.1 digital sound, OAR, and clean transfers available for $4.99-$19.99. With prices like these for SD titles, I can't see why anyone would be willing to spend more than $35 for a title they really want.

When it comes to the mass market, the value of a movie in the home has been set at these low prices. How far people are willing to go up for the added value of HD media is a question the movie studios will have to answer. As for now, we have Fox, Lions Gate, and Disney all saying they have hopes for Blu-ray because of the increased margins. Margins that line their pockets while taking more percentage-wise from us, the consumers. Not sure how many will be willing to give more to the studios for what HD media is offering.

This is a bit confusing. You'll pay $100 if you will be the only person in your neighborhood with that quality, but not if others in your neighborhood could/would purchase as well? Is it about the value of the movie, or is it about having an elite status?


Putting it another way, I will pay $100 today for a movie if it is a 4K-3D-Superbit-Blu-Ray. But a regular Blu-Ray is only worth about $15 to me, because it is just a commodity.

I understand that many people don't want to pull the trigger on Blu-ray just yet for the lack of wide-spread media and adoption and the overall high cost. However, if most poeople feel this way, the format will never go anywhere unfortunately.

I for one WANT the format to succeed and become the next DVD. I want everything to become high definition. Upconverted DVDs and HD downloads aren't "good enough" for me. Sadly, my efforts mean nothing in the long run. :o

Fully agree. We just moved and my friend (who works in marketing) who was always big into HT just declaratively said, "Blu-Ray is tanking, man!" and has no interest in buying in at this point even with the format war decided. I started to argue but have seen the recent sales figures.

:(


Part of the problem is a severly declining US economy. The US economy was booming when DVD was just getting started.

Also, I remember the old high priced LD days. I will not go back to paying $100+ for a single movie. The studios have to realize especially with barebones catalog product that most consumers won't pay more than a $5 premium for HD content.

With the high priced FOX titles, I did purchase a single one at even at Amazon prices, but when the price dropped between $15 and $20 I purchased roughly 15 of their titles.

I think if prices were always $30 for Blu-ray from the beginning, I wouldn't have a problem with picking up the titles I wanted. The main problem is that from last summer through January, I could pick up just about any title I wanted for less than $10 from Frys or Amazon. How can I justify spending $28 for a catalog movie today when I know for sure it'll be on sale soon, maybe a couple weeks, or maybe a couple months. I picked up Gattaca for $15 from Best Buy, feeling good for myself, then I find out later it was $12 at Frys! Thankfully it was only $3, but still, that stuff rubs me the wrong way.

Well that's what movie cost in those days. And so you were much more selective. You didn't blind buy all of the new releases every Tuesday like we do now. I remember buying 'Empire Strikes Back' on VHS in 1983, and it was $79.99.

Can't put the toothpaste back in the tube for a little extra resolution. Prices have steadily decreased for owning movies since VHS and LD were young. You got a whole generation that never experienced that kind of pricing and won't be impressed know "once upon a time" people tossed $50 at a film.

$39.95 list is going to tank Blu-ray if the studios insist on it for too long, I don't even want to pay a hell of a lot over $20, and I'm pretty invested in it.

What Paramount is doing besides turning off non-BD owners, is making people like me say "I'll wait for a sale." The longer I wait, the longer I have to decide I didn't need CLOVERFIELD BD after all.

The longer I wait, the longer I have to decide I didn't need CLOVERFIELD BD after all.

A friend brought over the DVD last week and the way it's shot, it will benefit from HD treatment much less than the average movie. I had to close my eyes and just listen several times because the shaky cam stuff was giving me motion sickness. This is the shakiest movie I've ever seen because that's part of the plot....

A friend brought over the DVD last week and the way it's shot, it will benefit from HD treatment much less than the average movie. I had to close my eyes and just listen several times because the shaky cam stuff was giving me motion sickness. This is the shakiest movie I've ever seen because that's part of the plot....

Sh!t, that's what DIARY OF THE DEAD was like for me, I had to move to the back of the theater to not get pukey. I wish they could convey this aesthetic with a little more mercy on the viewer.

I'm tempted to just go DVD with what they're asking for CLOVERFIELD on BD, because I know dam well I can snap it up for $7 at any used disk store in a week or two.

28 DAYS LATER had such a great soundtrack that I bumped up to BD on it even though the image wasn't helped much from the HD, but that was back in the days of BOGOs.

Can't put the toothpaste back in the tube for a little extra resolution. Prices have steadily decreased for owning movies since VHS and LD were young. You got a whole generation that never experienced that kind of pricing and won't be impressed know "once upon a time" people tossed $50 at a film.

$39.95 list is going to tank Blu-ray if the studios insist on it for too long, I don't even want to pay a hell of a lot over $20, and I'm pretty invested in it.

What Paramount is doing besides turning off non-BD owners, is making people like me say "I'll wait for a sale." The longer I wait, the longer I have to decide I didn't need CLOVERFIELD BD after all.

Remember, its $40 MSRP only for new titles (except Fox). And yes, Cloverfield is still a new title, even if it's not quite day and date (just like Shooter last year). DVDs often have $30 MSRPs and many 2-disc DVDs are going to $35. SO it's not like the difference is that much.

The problem is people are comparing Blu-Ray to DVD's bargain bin prices. But those prices took years to come around. Remember that two years into DVD was mid-'99. There were no $5 DVDs bins back then. That would take a few more years. Heck, few stores even carried DVDs, and the ones that did charged a high price. If you wanted cheap movies, you bought online with all the crazy deals. You never went to Best Buy, and I don't think Walmart or target really carried anything.

I'm not saying Blu-ray will repeat DVD's success. I don't think that's realistic. The leap forward isn't as significant and the climate of movie buying in general has changed. But let's not forget DVD wasn't lighting any fires in the middle of 1999 either.

Remember, its $40 MSRP only for new titles (except Fox). And yes, Cloverfield is still a new title, even if it's not quite day and date (just like Shooter last year). DVDs often have $30 MSRPs and many 2-disc DVDs are going to $35. SO it's not like the difference is that much.

The problem is people are comparing Blu-Ray to DVD's bargain bin prices. But those prices took years to come around.

Well, that's kind of my point, DVD may have started off higher, but do you really see Blu-ray as the kind of advance that DVD was from what had previously existed? I think people now have a sum in mind they will pay for a movie, and it ain't $39.95 or even 29.95 (out-of-pocket). IMO $20 or less it is, and $20 or less it will stay.

New releases are the bread-and-butter of the industry, so for them to be unfordable is suicide. Day-and-date special-edition DVDs may be climbing in price, but they are still heavily discounted the first week of release as all the brick & mortar stores compete with one another. Which they can do because the installed base of DVD is huge. So your $35 DVD set comes out at $17-$20 right out of the gate, most people have come to believe the MSRP is just some ******** figure pulled out of the air.

Well, that's kind of my point, DVD may have started off higher, but do you really see Blu-ray as the kind of advance that DVD was from what had previously existed? I think people now have a sum in mind they will pay for a movie, and it ain't $39.95 or even 29.95 (out-of-pocket). IMO $20 or less it is, and $20 or less it will stay.

New releases are the bread-and-butter of the industry, so for them to be unfordable is suicide. Day-and-date special-edition DVDs may be climbing in price, but they are still heavily discounted the first week of release as all the brick & mortar stores compete with one another. Which they can do because the installed base of DVD is huge. So your $35 DVD set comes out at $17-$20 right out of the gate, most people have come to believe the MSRP is just some ******** figure pulled out of the air.


Obviously no one should pay MSRP, so the MSRPs are only a baseline to compare. Actual cost is less. And maybe people don't want to spend more forthe same movie on a different format, I don't know. I'm not expecting people to rush out and replace their existing DVDs. New releases are where it matters. But, I don't think there's a drop dead price threshold that people won't cross.

I'd also disagree that Day-and-date special-edition DVDs are heavily discounted. Usually it's the bare bones version which is heavily discounted, meaning consumers pay even more of a premium for the special editions. That's if there are two versions of a movie (something WB, Universal, and Fox were doing a bunch of back when I still bought new release DVDs).

Still, the point was that DVD grew as a format even before B & M stores began to heavily discount new releases. That really didn't start until 2001-2002. DVD began in 1997. It took four years to get to the point where Walmart had the newest release for $15 dollars. So a format can grow even without the heavy discounts. Not that I expect Blu-Ray to mirror DVD and grow at that rate. But it can still grow, even at a smaller rate.

Still, the point was that DVD grew as a format even before B & M stores began to heavily discount new releases. That really didn't start until 2001-2002. DVD began in 1997. It took four years to get to the point where Walmart had the newest release for $15 dollars. So a format can grow even without the heavy discounts. Not that I expect Blu-Ray to mirror DVD and grow at that rate. But it can still grow, even at a smaller rate.

I just don't want to see BD flop out of studio greed and unrealistic expectations, it's pretty clear to me that it's going to need fall in line more with DVD's pricing structure, because for many it's just a better-looking DVD, and pretty easy to ignore.

I really wouldn't mind owning THERE WILL BE BLOOD & CLOVERFIELD the week they come out, but do I want to spend $60 bucks on them? Hell no, and the idea of $80 is practically insulting. Around $40 or slightly over sounds more like it. Call me cheap, but I'm spoiled by DVD too.

Remember, its $40 MSRP only for new titles (except Fox). And yes, Cloverfield is still a new title, even if it's not quite day and date (just like Shooter last year). DVDs often have $30 MSRPs and many 2-disc DVDs are going to $35. SO it's not like the difference is that much.Thank you, I was waiting for this point to be made. The problem I continually see is that people are comparing "DVD" to "Blu-ray" prices in total, rather than on a per-title basis. Take a look at actual new release MSRPs and you may be shocked. Disney seems to be pricing their day-and-date BD the same as the collector's edition DVD! Current Example: National Treasure 2 @ $34.99 MSRP, at Amazon $23.99 for BD, $22.99 for DVD. Also available for $20 as part of the National Treasure BD 2-pack.

Part of the problem is that Blu-ray doesn't yet draw enough traffic for most stores to justify running loss leaders on new releases, so you'll see a $34.99 MSRP movie selling for $20 on DVD, while the store leaves the BD at $30 or so. I think this will pass too, however. Fry's seems to be running some decent loss leaders on catalog titles lately, and as more people get into Blu-ray we'll probably start seeing loss leaders on new releases.

I agree, overall, that it's the general consumer who needs to be convinced. I think that by the time the mass market is starting to take notice of Blu-ray (say, holidays '09), there will be a very large, decently priced catalog of BDs for them to choose from.

I don't see what people are complaining about, Face Off was 19.99 at my Wally World. Do you really expect a new disc technology that has more detail than what we see at the theatre to be less than that?

I still follow the same rule:

Never buy an absolute must-have new release for more than $26. Never buy anything else for more than $22.

BOGO discs for around $15 are OK for titles I wouldn't normally buy (as I'll be E-baying them later, anyway and won't lose much). Try to buy everything else used for as little as possible. In all reality, the number of discs I've purchased for over $22 are very, very few.

I really don't care if blu-ray dies anymore if they choose to never reduce prices (and you're talking to a firm blu-ray supporter here). People who say, "Gee, I paid $100 for LD years ago..." can also tell us what happened to that format. It went nowhere.

By the way, there is a thread similar to this one at bluray.com, but it has been "hidden" from the general public, and doesn't show up on the main thread notifications front page. So many people are pissed/moaning about high prices but they don't want to even acknowledge that it's seriously hindering the format.

Part of the problem is that Blu-ray doesn't yet draw enough traffic for most stores to justify running loss leaders on new releases, so you'll see a $34.99 MSRP movie selling for $20 on DVD, while the store leaves the BD at $30 or so.

Right, although Wal-Mart will often price the $35 MSRP titles at $25. That's what they had No Country for Old Men and Enchanted at. However, for some reason they have Narnia: LWW at $30.

It used to be that we would get 2-disc DVD sets for under $20 as loss leaders, but then they went to 2-tiered releases. The single-disc edition became the loss leader and the 2-disc version stays above $20.

How do online entities make money on DVDs if their prices are considered "loss leaders" at the retail level? It's not like you going to buy milk, towels and a waste-basket at DEEP DISCOUNT just because your picking up THERE WILL BE BLOOD for $16.88 when it's $29 list.

I'd also throw out the idea that if Blu-Ray doesn't catch on, we'll probably see what happened with Laser Disc. Which means studios licensing out their movies to independent companies like Criterion for Blu-Ray production. That may mean higher prices on those titles, but it will also allow for titles to be made. It's not like studios have to support the format for discs to come out.

How do online entities make money on DVDs if their prices are considered "loss leaders" at the retail level? It's not like you going to buy milk, towels and a waste-basket at DEEP DISCOUNT just because your picking up THERE WILL BE BLOOD for $16.88 when it's $29 list.There really isn't a "loss" per se....just reduced profits. Online retailers can afford to charge less for most items because they don't have the massive overhead of B&M stores...or obscenely overpaid executives/CEO's.;)

I don't see what people are complaining about, Face Off was 19.99 at my Wally World. Do you really expect a new disc technology that has more detail than what we see at the theatre to be less than that?

I hate to break it to you, but the film at the theater has more detail than any BD because a copy can never look better than the master. That's why 30-year-old films can look better on BD than they do on DVD, because the film contains more detail than the DVD could display. The same is true of films transfered to BD. In a few years you will see 3-D Optical Disks of some film with higher resolution than the current BDs and they will look better.