I'm a member of a Disney online community called the Blu Lounge. They ask questions and have a message board, and they bounce ideas off of us, and sometimes our feedback helps Disney make a decision.

Anyway, Disney wants consumers to upgrade their DVDs to Blurays, obviously so they can sell more Blurays, but anyhow, these are the 3 ideas they are bouncing off us.

1)Easily upgrade your standard DVDs to Blu-ray! Mail in a check or money order for $10 and a Proof-of-Purchase from a Disney DVD you already own. In return, you will receive a Blu-ray version of the same movie with a slot in the package to hold your original DVD.

2)Donate unwanted DVDs to a great cause and receive a free Blu-ray movie and a Blu-ray coupon book! Visit a special Disney website, then print and mail in a form with any (5) DVDs from your collection. In return, you will receive a free Disney movie on Blu-ray of your choice plus a Blu-ray coupon book ($50 value) in the mail. Disney will recycle or donate your old DVDs to a great cause.

3)Donate unwanted DVDs to a great cause and instantly receive a free Blu-ray movie with purchase of another Blu-ray! Bring in any (5) DVDs from your collection to a local retailer such as Best Buy while purchasing any Disney movie on Blu-ray disc, and instantly receive a free Disney movie on Blu-ray of your choice. Disney will recycle or donate your old DVDs to a great cause.

What do you guys think? I voted for idea 1 myself.

I like idea 1, because the Bluray they send you, has a slot for your DVD.

That is freakin' sweet.

Basically, your paying 10 bucks, for a Bluray+DVD Combo Pack Set.

I like idea 1, because the Bluray they send you, has a slot for your DVD.

That is freakin' sweet.

Basically, your paying 10 bucks, for a Bluray+DVD Combo Pack Set.

+1
Most parents will not want to get rid of the SD DVD because they are still used for the kids in the car, on the laptop, or in a bedroom that does not have a BD player.

Option 1 seem to be very nice. :)

Of course it will be alot more expensive on this side of the atlantic. :(

Hate to be Captain Obvious but doesn't this only work for titles that are on both DVD and BD?

This does not make much sense.

Would they do this through the kindness of their heart?
Are they worried people with DVDs will never buy the newer BD version?
Wouldn't they prefer people to buy the newer BD versions at a higher price?
Do they feel people who currently do not own Blu-ray will buy in if a deal like this is offered?

I am all for cheaper BDs, but there is always a reason for everything.

1)Easily upgrade your standard DVDs to Blu-ray! Mail in a check or money order for $10 and a Proof-of-Purchase from a Disney DVD you already own. In return, you will receive a Blu-ray version of the same movie with a slot in the package to hold your original DVD.

Bad idea.

First of all 10 dollars per Blu Ray is way too much. 5 dollars for a standard release, as was already done with Red2Blu, is about the maximum. 10 dollars is approaching the price you can already get when buying used copies.

Second, I want standard cases for standard releases. I don't want a slot for DVD's - if I get a Blu Ray why would I want to keep my DVD with it? The BluRay renders the DVD obsolete. Sounds like an excuse to send either gimped BluRay cases in return or no real BD cases at all. When I get the BluRay I give my old DVD to other family members, I don't want to take the DVD out of its case and put it with my new Blu Ray, that makes no sense.

2)Donate unwanted DVDs to a great cause and receive a free Blu-ray movie and a Blu-ray coupon book! Visit a special Disney website, then print and mail in a form with any (5) DVDs from your collection. In return, you will receive a free Disney movie on Blu-ray of your choice plus a Blu-ray coupon book ($50 value) in the mail. Disney will recycle or donate your old DVDs to a great cause.

3)Donate unwanted DVDs to a great cause and instantly receive a free Blu-ray movie with purchase of another Blu-ray! Bring in any (5) DVDs from your collection to a local retailer such as Best Buy while purchasing any Disney movie on Blu-ray disc, and instantly receive a free Disney movie on Blu-ray of your choice. Disney will recycle or donate your old DVDs to a great cause.

What do you guys think? I voted for idea 1 myself.

I don't like those ideas either. So basically I'm giving them back the DVD (so either Disney or Best Buy could resell them) I already paid retail for back in the day for a chance to get one BluRay free when I buy another BluRay at full price? Or, even worse, send them 5 DVD's, five!, that I paid full retail for in exchange for 1 BluRay and a crappy coupon book? Great.


None of these ideas are anywhere near as appealing as the Red2Blu program. I'd rather send them the UPC and 5 bucks, give the old DVD's to family members, and get a new standard retail-packaged BluRay in return.

Red2Blu already set the precedent for BD exchange programs, these all sound like huge steps down from that exchange program.

So, for me, all of those are a "Thanks but no thanks."

Hate to be Captain Obvious but doesn't this only work for titles that are on both DVD and BD?

For option 1, yes. You have to have the DVD, and it has to have been released on Bluray.

But for options 2 and 3, you have to bring in "Any" 5 DVDs, not Disney DVDs.
So if you have 5 DVDs that are nothing but trash to you, then its an awesome deal.

Bad idea.

First of all 10 dollars per Blu Ray is way too much. 5 dollars for a standard release, as was already done with Red2Blu, is about the maximum. 10 dollars is approaching the price you can already get when buying used copies.

Second, I want standard cases for standard releases. I don't want a slot for DVD's - if I get a Blu Ray why would I want to keep my DVD with it? The BluRay renders the DVD obsolete. Sounds like an excuse to send either gimped BluRay cases in return or no real BD cases at all. When I get the BluRay I give my old DVD to other family members, I don't want to take the DVD out of its case and put it with my new Blu Ray, that makes no sense.



I don't like those ideas either. So basically I'm giving them back the DVD (so either Disney or Best Buy could resell them) I already paid retail for back in the day for a chance to get one BluRay free when I buy another BluRay at full price? Or, even worse, send them 5 DVD's, five!, that I paid full retail for in exchange for 1 BluRay and a crappy coupon book? Great.


None of these ideas are anywhere near as appealing as the Red2Blu program. I'd rather send them the UPC and 5 bucks, give the old DVD's to family members, and get a new standard retail-packaged BluRay in return.

Red2Blu already set the precedent for BD exchange programs, these all sound like huge steps down from that exchange program.

So, for me, all of those are a "Thanks but no thanks."

1)People like having the Bluray/DVD combo pack, so they can use the DVD in their cars or own their laptops, or in a kid's room. So Disney offers you a place to put the DVD in the Bluray packaging, just like their Bluray Combo Packs. Its actually a pretty thoughtful idea.

2)Warner knows that many people when buying HD DVDs, spent $25 to $30 on a HD DVD. So wanting an additional $5 is adequate for them.

When people bought DVDs, they were not more than $20.

Plus, keep in mind, its ANY DVD. You can use Junk DVDs that you bought at Walmart for a couple of bucks.

1)People like having the Bluray/DVD combo pack, so they can use the DVD in their cars or own their laptops, or in a kid's room. So Disney offers you a place to put the DVD in the Bluray packaging, just like their Bluray Combo Packs. Its actually a pretty thoughtful idea.

2)Warner knows that many people when buying HD DVDs, spent $25 to $30 on a HD DVD. So wanting an additional $5 is adequate for them.

When people bought DVDs, they were not more than $20.

Plus, keep in mind, its ANY DVD. You can use Junk DVDs that you bought at Walmart for a couple of bucks.

For me it's convenient when the DVD and BD are separate, like Disney did with Sleeping Beauty (gluing a separate envelope to the front of the BD case rather than putting another "holder" inside the BD case to stick the DVD on.)

I gave my brother the envelope with the DVD version so his Daughter could watch it, I kept the BluRay. It makes much less sense to have the BluRay and another lesser quality version along with the BluRay in the same case. If you couldn't use the BluRay in your car, the kid's room, or when on the laptop why would you want to bring the BluRay with you? Wouln't you rather just bring the DVD in a separate case into your car, or wherever it can be played, and keep the BluRay at your house in its own case where it can actually be played?

It still seems like 5 DVD's for 1 BD and a crappy coupon book it not a good deal. I paid full retail for the vast majority of my DVD's. Trading in 5 things I paid 10 - 20 (or sometimes more) dollars for in exchange for one Disney BluRay is not a good deal.

The Red2Blu program had the right idea. 5 bucks and a UPC in exchange for the corresponding BluRay, that's what Disney should do.

None of these plans seems as good as Red2Blu to me.

Just giving you my personal input, if these were made available I wouldn't participate in any of them. Just being honest, I don't have anything against Disney or anything (I love Disney,) these are just lackluster exchange programs.

Number 1 makes sense...but only if the title is released on Blu-ray. As it stands, Disney is one of the slowest studios re-releasing titles on Blu-ray with only 3 or 4 titles released in 2009.

This does not make much sense.

Would they do this through the kindness of their heart?
Are they worried people with DVDs will never buy the newer BD version?
Wouldn't they prefer people to buy the newer BD versions at a higher price?
Do they feel people who currently do not own Blu-ray will buy in if a deal like this is offered?

I am all for cheaper BDs, but there is always a reason for everything.

This provides someone who has no blu-ray player incentive to buy into the technology & help them get their blu-ray collection started with little cost.

Then their future movie purchases will most likely be BD over DVD.

I don't care what the studios and blu-ray manufacturers do to help phase out DVD. Just get it done at their expense. :)

For me it's convenient when the DVD and BD are separate, like Disney did with Sleeping Beauty (gluing a separate envelope to the front of the BD case rather than putting another "holder" inside the BD case to stick the DVD on.)

I gave my brother the envelope with the DVD version so his Daughter could watch it, I kept the BluRay. It makes much less sense to have the BluRay and another lesser quality version along with the BluRay in the same case. If you couldn't use the BluRay in your car, the kid's room, or when on the laptop why would you want to bring the BluRay with you? Wouln't you rather just bring the DVD in a separate case into your car, or wherever it can be played, and keep the BluRay at your house in its own case where it can actually be played?

It still seems like 5 DVD's for 1 BD and a crappy coupon book it not a good deal. I paid full retail for the vast majority of my DVD's. Trading in 5 things I paid 10 - 20 (or sometimes more) dollars for in exchange for one Disney BluRay is not a good deal.

The Red2Blu program had the right idea. 5 bucks and a UPC in exchange for the corresponding BluRay, that's what Disney should do.

None of these plans seems as good as Red2Blu to me.

Just giving you my personal input, if these were made available I wouldn't participate in any of them. Just being honest, I don't have anything against Disney or anything (I love Disney,) these are just lackluster exchange programs.

Unlike Red2Blu, where HD DVD titles were very limited. In the case of DVD a person could easily have hundreds of DVDs to trade!

#1 definitely!!

But would this be for the same title or other titles?

#2 sounds the best to me. I don't even have a lot of DVDs, but I know I have 5 I could part with.

#1 is the best one i think. Although $10 might be a bit high. Hopefully unlike the Red2Blu exchange. things will be open for Canadians

I'm a member of a Disney online community called the Blu Lounge. They ask questions and have a message board, and they bounce ideas off of us, and sometimes our feedback helps Disney make a decision.

Anyway, Disney wants consumers to upgrade their DVDs to Blurays, obviously so they can sell more Blurays, but anyhow, these are the 3 ideas they are bouncing off us.

1)Easily upgrade your standard DVDs to Blu-ray! Mail in a check or money order for $10 and a Proof-of-Purchase from a Disney DVD you already own. In return, you will receive a Blu-ray version of the same movie with a slot in the package to hold your original DVD.

2)Donate unwanted DVDs to a great cause and receive a free Blu-ray movie and a Blu-ray coupon book! Visit a special Disney website, then print and mail in a form with any (5) DVDs from your collection. In return, you will receive a free Disney movie on Blu-ray of your choice plus a Blu-ray coupon book ($50 value) in the mail. Disney will recycle or donate your old DVDs to a great cause.

3)Donate unwanted DVDs to a great cause and instantly receive a free Blu-ray movie with purchase of another Blu-ray! Bring in any (5) DVDs from your collection to a local retailer such as Best Buy while purchasing any Disney movie on Blu-ray disc, and instantly receive a free Disney movie on Blu-ray of your choice. Disney will recycle or donate your old DVDs to a great cause.

What do you guys think? I voted for idea 1 myself.
Are those options only valid for DVD releases, or will they accept VHS,CED,VHD,Laserdiscs, too? Has this topic been discussed on the Blu Lounge?

Unlike Red2Blu, where HD DVD titles were very limited. In the case of DVD a person could easily have hundreds of DVDs to trade!
There are hundreds of Disney BDs out there?

Wake me when they decide to do an even swap of BD for DVD.
J

This does not make much sense.

Would they do this through the kindness of their heart?
Are they worried people with DVDs will never buy the newer BD version?
Wouldn't they prefer people to buy the newer BD versions at a higher price?
Do they feel people who currently do not own Blu-ray will buy in if a deal like this is offered?

I am all for cheaper BDs, but there is always a reason for everything.

I guess you don't remember Disney (and a few others) doing the same thing with VHS to DVD. I remember sending in quite a few VHS proof of purchase tabs and getting the same title on dvd.

I think it's a good way to get people to jump on over to the better format. Too bad a few (the usual few) think it's some kind of conspiracy.

#1 seems like the best option. You get a shiny new BD and you get to keep the DVD. Might have to look into this a bit more.

Seggers

Do they feel people who currently do not own Blu-ray will buy in if a deal like this is offered?
I think it's a good way to get people to jump on over to the better format. Too bad a few (the usual few) think it's some kind of conspiracy.
Glad to see you agree with me, but is everything with you a conspiracy?

#1 right now is the best bet. I would be curious to see what the limitations are on #2 and #3. As was mentioned, what is stoping someone from buying the $1 public domain DVDs that Walmart sells and using those?
Also, I doubt the average DVD owner is willing to render all of his DVD players useless buy giving away his DVDs.

#2 will never happen. "mail in 5 DVDs. In return, you will receive a free Disney movie on Blu-ray of your choice plus a Blu-ray coupon book ($50 value). Sure I buy 5 of those $1 DVDs at Walmart and trade them for a free BD and $50 of coupons (I would love to see the terms on the coupons though. Will they be 10- $5 off MSRP?:eek:).

#3 is bad. "Donate unwanted DVDs to a great cause and instantly receive a free Blu-ray movie with purchase of another Blu-ray!". That is a BOGO which happens all the time without losing you DVDs.

The other issue I am sure they are considering is that if the offer is too good, some will buy the cheap BDs and sell them on ebay. That ould be great for us (cheap new BDs!), but not so great for Disney.

Are those options only valid for DVD releases, or will they accept VHS,CED,VHD,Laserdiscs, too? Has this topic been discussed on the Blu Lounge?

A Fecilitator confirmed its for DVD only.

Which only makes since, VHS at this point is dead.

If you had any VHS tapes, Disney did offer a convert to DVD a while back, but that deal is long dead.

Disney really wants to Kill off DVD.

I haven't seen a single studio push Bluray as hard as Disney does.

Now, a negative person would say they are doing this because they make more money from Bluray, but thank you very much for that one Captain Obvious.

A positive person, like me, will welcome Bluray, because of the increased quality, and if Disney wants to give me a break on Blurays at the same time, I'm all in.

This does not make much sense.

Would they do this through the kindness of their heart?
Are they worried people with DVDs will never buy the newer BD version?
Wouldn't they prefer people to buy the newer BD versions at a higher price?
Do they feel people who currently do not own Blu-ray will buy in if a deal like this is offered?

I am all for cheaper BDs, but there is always a reason for everything.

They are doing this because they are in the business of selling their product.

This is an incentive program for their current customer base to upgrade their existing DVD movies to Blu-rays. Disney probably thinks that there are a lot of people out there that already have their movies on DVD who won't upgrade them to Blu-ray at full price. They are probably right. For $10 though, a lot of those same people might say "what the heck" and go for it. This is a way for Disney to make a sale where there otherwise would not have been one. And it will probably work.

Disney really wants to Kill off DVD.

I haven't seen a single studio push Bluray as hard as Disney does.

Now, a negative person would say they are doing this because they make more money from Bluray, but thank you very much for that one Captain Obvious.

A positive person, like me, will welcome Bluray, because of the increased quality, and if Disney wants to give me a break on Blurays at the same time, I'm all in.


You're talking about Disney, right? They are the slowest releasing major studio out of all of them...

I think it's a good way to get people to jump on over to the better format. Too bad a few (the usual few) think it's some kind of conspiracy.

I have no idea what you're talking about, but I don't think it's any kind of conspiracy - I just think none of the three choices are particularly good deals. I think all of them fall short of the precedent set by Red2Blu.

I think a better plan for Disney to get people to the format would be to release more BluRay titles, and to heavily (and effectively) advertise these releases on the new format rather than putting money/resources into launching any of these lackluster exchange programs.

The Red2Blu comparison is not a valid one, IMHO. HD DVD is a dead format. Red2Blu is Warner's way of helping their customer base switch any HD movies they have from a dead format to a viable one.

DVD, OTOH, is very much still alive. This program proposed by Disney is to get their customers to upgrade their movies from DVD to Blu-ray. Going from HD DVD to Blu-ray is not really an upgrade. Going from DVD to Blu-ray definitely is an upgrade, thus it has more value.

In order for this idea to work, it should be for HW. Trade-in a Sony DVD player get a BD player for $10. Trade-in a Panasonic DVD and get a Panasonic BD player for $10.

That would get people to switch. With Disney's plan people will still keep buying DVDs for their 5 or 6 DVD (only) players, and they will still have to keep offering BDs with an included DVD.

Hate to be Captain Obvious but doesn't this only work for titles that are on both DVD and BD?
Hey Captain,

How many BD titles are not also on DVD?

Put me down for choice...

#1
.

I don't care what the studios and blu-ray manufacturers do to help phase out DVD. Just get it done at their expense. :)
OT

Does anyone still think DVD will ever be phased out... I mean... prior to blu-ray? I've been away for awhile, but for a long time now I've been figuring that we will have these 2 video formats until they are both replaced by the next.

Thread Jack Off... until someone replies. :)

Hey Captain,

How many BD titles are not also on DVD?

Put me down for choice...

#1
.

That appears to be a case of moving the goal posts! :p

The issue at hand is DISNEY DVD's/BD's.;)

That appears to be a case of moving the goal posts! :p

The issue at hand is DISNEY DVD's/BD's.;)
OK. How many DISNEY BDs are not also on DVD?

Thread Jack Off... until someone replies.

I took that to mean hi-jack is turned off. I hope everyone else does too.:D

Should I put the baby oil away?

A Fecilitator confirmed its for DVD only.

Which only makes since, VHS at this point is dead.

If you had any VHS tapes, Disney did offer a convert to DVD a while back, but that deal is long dead.
thx for confirming what I already expected. regardless, a proof-of-purchase would probably be hard to provide as most owners have thrown the sales receipts away, especially if the sale is a while back. Sending in the physical media would be an option to proof ownership, so one could upgrade the picture quality for a small fee.

Put my vote in for number 1! A $10 Blu Ray not good? Did I miss something?

Jeff

I took that to mean hi-jack is turned off. I hope everyone else does too.:D
You'll take any chance at a jab you can get, won't you dog.

If you're going to quote someone, please be considerate enough to use the entire quote. There is a pertinent part at the end. I'll post it here for your reference.

;)

Thread Jack Off... until someone replies. :)

I propose option 4:

Allow us to buy a BD only (no DVD or digital copy included) for a lower price. I think price is what will get people to upgrade, not added formats or trade-in programs.

I just find it interesting that they say they really want us to upgrade to BD, while trotting out a $44.99 MSRP for Race to Witch Mountain.

Option 1 for trade-in... I think $10 is a good upgrade price. I've already bought over 40-50 titles on blu-ray that I already owned on DVD. I spent about an average of 15-17 for the "upgrades". $10 would have been better.

In general, if they just lowered the prices, they wouldn't have to deal with "upgrades' or trade-ins... Bug's Life, will have a street price between $28-$30. That's just insane.

Sony Pictures CEO Michael Lynton (http://www.forbes.com/2009/04/21/sony-pascal-lynton-business-media-sony.html), about 3 weeks ago.

Q. Do you think Blu-ray will make up for lost DVD revenue?

Lynton: That's the hope, but I'm a little skeptical. The question is whether people will really replace their libraries. Plus it would appear there's already price erosion in Blu-ray, so we're not making the price point we originally hoped for. The entertainment industry at large has pretty much given away high definition to consumers. They haven't really charged a premium for it on television. That makes consumers more likely to buy Blu-ray but less likely to pay a premium for it.So if Sony Pictures CEO desn't believe in blu-ray, why would I buy into Disney's "vision"?

I find it facinating that Disney is willing to throw all this money at blu-ray remember the magic blu-ray bus tour?), and yet the CEO of Sony Pictures is not making much money from it.

Amazing what subsidies (or an IP position) can do for a company's attitude.

Speaking for myself, option 1 is the only one that interests me at all. There's no blu-ray in either of our family vehicles, and the portable isn't BD yet, either.

However, I will not participate in ANY more Disney BD purchases unless they get rid of the stupid $%^&ing forced previews. If I'm paying the money they're asking for the movie, I expect to be able to watch it on MY terms. I want to put the disc in and have the menu show up with a direct link to start the movie.

And yes, I'm serious. I have stopped buying Disney movies for this reason. I let my kids wait until they can get them free at the library.

You'll take any chance at a jab you can get, won't you dog.

If you're going to quote someone, please be considerate enough to use the entire quote. There is a pertinent part at the end. I'll post it here for your reference.

;)

I changed it for you. You have to admit it was funny...as was Stinky-Dinkins comment. Sometimes it nice to have some humor around here.:)

Option 1 sounds pretty reasonable. I agree that the Red2Blu comparison is a bit unfair; $10 is a decent price.

Option 2 is pretty terrible if you're sending in DVDs you bought new from your collection. But it has a lot of room for exploitation. You could probably spend ~$50 and scrape together enough DVDs (via eBay, garage sales, etc.) to get a dozen Blurays, if you found good deals, and they accept a wide enough range of DVDs.

Thus, I wouldn't expect option 2 to be chosen. Option 3 seems more likely, since you have to give them some money. But if they introduce Option 2, I would be all over that deal.

Speaking for myself, option 1 is the only one that interests me at all. There's no blu-ray in either of our family vehicles, and the portable isn't BD yet, either.

However, I will not participate in ANY more Disney BD purchases unless they get rid of the stupid $%^&ing forced previews. If I'm paying the money they're asking for the movie, I expect to be able to watch it on MY terms. I want to put the disc in and have the menu show up with a direct link to start the movie.

And yes, I'm serious. I have stopped buying Disney movies for this reason. I let my kids wait until they can get them free at the library.

I'm not positive on this, but it seems the newer ones allow you to hit the menu button (for PS3, the square button) and it skips all of them.

I'm not positive on this, but it seems the newer ones allow you to hit the menu button (for PS3, the square button) and it skips all of them.http://www.******************/storage/411.jpg

Really?
I don't know that but I'll check it out too.

I changed it for you. You have to admit it was funny...as was Stinky-Dinkins comment. Sometimes it nice to have some humor around here.:)
It now appears that I missed your point. You and I were not always friendly back in the war days, so it sounded like more cries of "Wolf" to me. And I also figured that double entendre of that nature were so commonplace that no one would notice, let alone expand upon it. Well good work!

And yes, I've long been an advocate for humor around here and just about anyplace I visit. In fact, I only added the word "Thread" in an attempt to keep from going too far on this AV "Science" forum.

Cheers

Speaking for myself, option 1 is the only one that interests me at all. There's no blu-ray in either of our family vehicles, and the portable isn't BD yet, either.
I don't know why anyone would want to take jewel cases in the car with them anyway. A decent quality book is the way to go in my "book."

So option 1 is perfect! Get the BD... use the extra slot for the DVD if you want or put it in a book for the car, RV or whatever!

Glad to hear that

1)Easily upgrade your standard DVDs to Blu-ray! Mail in a check or money order for $10 and a Proof-of-Purchase from a Disney DVD you already own. In return, you will receive a Blu-ray version of the same movie with a slot in the package to hold your original DVD.



How many people have actually kept around their receipts for all their Disney DVDs?

I sure as heck haven't and don't know anyone else who does.

The only proof of purchase you need is the tab by the UPC symbol.

You don't need the receipt.

Obviously Disney doesn't expect people to mail in receipts for DVDs that were bought years ago.

oops...makes sense.

Well, aren't those "Buy, Sell, and Trade" chains like FYE already offering upgrades from DVD to Blu-ray versions of movies? I'm hoping that there'll be more places that do this later on. For Disney to be the first studio to do this, not just a store, that's certainly gonna be a trend now... We'll see what happens later on this year.

Sony Pictures CEO Michael Lynton (http://www.forbes.com/2009/04/21/sony-pascal-lynton-business-media-sony.html), about 3 weeks ago.

So if Sony Pictures CEO desn't believe in blu-ray, why would I buy into Disney's "vision"?

I find it facinating that Disney is willing to throw all this money at blu-ray remember the magic blu-ray bus tour?), and yet the CEO of Sony Pictures is not making much money from it.

Amazing what subsidies (or an IP position) can do for a company's attitude.

Saying that he is skeptical that Blu-ray revenues will totally replace lost DVD revenues is not the same as saying that he does not believe in Blu-ray.

Thats a complete failure in logic.

What he said was totally reasonable. What you said is not.

I guess in your mind, that Sony is going to give up on Blu-ray now since an executive said an totally logical statement that its an open question if Blu-ray will totally replace DVD or totally by itself make up for DVD sales attrition.

Thats really silly.

agree with Stinky-Dinkins.

And wth with Number 1.. so I'm paying them additional $10 for the same movie just to get it on Blu-ray? Why would I want to do that? Just so I get the same movie watched a million times now with a bit higher resolution? That's just stupid to me personally or as you call it a ripoff.

Red2Blu is the ONLY program that is a good deal and actually is worth upgrading. DVD to Blu with $5 for upgrade would be perfect program and I would upgrade all of my DVDs, under the condition they even have these on Blu-ray which they most likely won't.

I think they are just concerned that people simply won't upgrade any of their titles to Blu-ray so they are coming out with these ideas. I don't think that any of my friends that have kids would pay $10 to get the same movie. Their kids simply don't see or care about the difference between DVD and BLu-ray. So to them it's a waste of money.

agree with Stinky-Dinkins.

And wth with Number 1.. so I'm paying them additional $10 for the same movie just to get it on Blu-ray? Why would I want to do that? Just so I get the same movie watched a million times now with a bit higher resolution? That's just stupid to me personally or as you call it a ripoff.

Red2Blu is the ONLY program that is a good deal and actually is worth upgrading. DVD to Blu with $5 for upgrade would be perfect program and I would upgrade all of my DVDs, under the condition they even have these on Blu-ray which they most likely won't.

I think they are just concerned that people simply won't upgrade any of their titles to Blu-ray so they are coming out with these ideas. I don't think that any of my friends that have kids would pay $10 to get the same movie. Their kids simply don't see or care about the difference between DVD and BLu-ray. So to them it's a waste of money.

Then maybe they should stick with DVD. With option #1, $10 is a lot less than the $20 or more that you would pay for the BD. They are not going to just give you the BD because it's "the same movie."

The Red2Blu thing is good, but it's not really an "upgrade." It's a cross-platform trade-in. They're not charging as much, because 1) they presume you paid more for the HD DVD than you would for a DVD, and 2) they're doing this to make up for pledging support for HD DVD and then pulling out. They're certainly not obligated to do this, but it is nice.

I don't really like option #2, because I imagine the coupons would only be valid for B&M stores, who tend to charge more than online retailers.

Then maybe they should stick with DVD. With option #1, $10 is a lot less than the $20 or more that you would pay for the BD. They are not going to just give you the BD because it's "the same movie."

On Amazon something like Pinocchio (to use a Disney movie as an example) is sold for 17 dollars. Also, anything over 25 bucks on Amazon goes with free shipping, so taking into consideration you're spending shipping and 10 dollars for the upgrade, it isn't exactly a massive savings (especially considering how few Disney Blu Rays there are compared to other major studios.)

I'd go for 5... 10 is a bit steep.

On Amazon something like Pinocchio (to use a Disney movie as an example) is sold for 17 dollars. Also, anything over 25 bucks on Amazon goes with free shipping, so taking into consideration you're spending shipping and 10 dollars for the upgrade, it isn't exactly a massive savings (especially considering how few Disney Blu Rays there are compared to other major studios.)

I'd go for 5... 10 is a bit steep.

The Pinocchio BD is $24.49, so with this program you'd be saving $14.49 (although there may be shipping). That doesn't seem bad to me.

Then maybe they should stick with DVD. With option #1, $10 is a lot less than the $20 or more that you would pay for the BD. They are not going to just give you the BD because it's "the same movie."

And the fact that I already paid full retail price for DVD doesn't count? They just gave me that for free yeah?

The point is that I really don't need to upgrade all my previous movies to Blu-ray. That's the whole point. You are paying additional $10 premium on the same movie you already paid to them for increased resolution. That to me doesn't justify additional $10.

HD DVD is the same as this. The fact their DVD depreciated is not really a concern of mine. I still gave them $20+ bucks for previous DVD. If they want, they can charge $5, I'll send them the DVD and they can send me the Blu-ray with the same movie. Me paying them extra $5 for a movie including the price I paid for the DVD in the first place seems fair enough for just increased resolution not that it matters anyways to the kids (they certainly won't say, WOW what a difference now when I'm watching this cartoon in 1080p :) ) and it's kind of questionable how much improvement I even get with Blu-ray versions.

I certainly have no intention on paying more money for the same movie and again, $5 for increased resolution is more then fair.

How much are their movies anyways after a few weeks or a month or two on Blu-ray. $19.99? less? Just doesn't make sense.

This is really a two fold answer to this problem they are having. A promotion from the company will help but it won't do what they want it to.

1. All the new blu rays that are being released from Disney are also being released on DVD. Disney and all the other movie houses should stop releasing dvds. Its the quickest way to solve their problem, but they will take a hit. Dvds still sell more.

2. The hardware should be cheaper. A lot cheaper. DVD has been around for while, but didn't really take off until around 2004 or 2005 when sub $50 players were released. Before that when DVD players were $200 or 300 only people like us were buying them. The masses are always late in the game.

Why would anyone that makes less than $50k a year with two kids and a mortgage be able to buy hundreds of titles on blue ray when the price now is still over $20 a disc and players are still expensive? That's the general population of America and who they are targeting. Make blu ray players $70 or less and sales on players will jump 3x what they are now. Drop prices on software to $15 or less and stop selling dvds completely. This is the road they need to look at and not some promotion that will help out a few.

And the fact that I already paid full retail price for DVD doesn't count? They just gave me that for free yeah?

No, but there was no guarantee that you'd get future editions of the movie at a reduced price. I don't like double dipping either, but they're not obligated to give a discount to current owners of another edition.

The studios are in a tough spot.

The whole reason they got behind Blu-Ray was to make money and improve video sales dollars. Not out of any benevolent desire to bring higher resolution movie experiences to the masses HTs.

The way they make money is reselling their libraries on BR (Cost to actually make the movie is a sunk cost and they only need to spend the money to migrate it to the Blu-Ray format, market and distribute) and to sell new releases at a premium on BR.

Reducing the price of BR new releases to near DVD prices makes absolutely no financial sense to them unless it is a short term thing in order to try to help drive adoption. If they cannot sell BRs for a reasonable (from their perspective, not necessarily the consumers perspective) uplift over DVD then they might as well just do the DVD and forget BR all together.

Its just simple math from the studios perspective.

Whatever Disney is planning and Studio X's next promotion at this point is really geared to either getting you to buy a player or to get you hooked on the improved movie experience so that purchase "next" is BR instead of DVD.

Red2Blu was more of a olive branch to those who already went HD DVD (too bad they won't do it in Canada and elsewhere), but it also enables the to get more Blu-rays into those homes in the hopes of future sales and good will.

My 2 cents,

Cheers