http://www.videobusiness.com/article/CA6674743.html?rssid=207

Warner Home Video has filed a $10 million lawsuit against disc destruction firm IWMB, accusing the company of selling inventory the studio had intended to be destroyed.

The studio argues that IWMB broke an agreement to destroy the studio’s excess title inventory, generally coming from retail returns of unsold product. Instead, IWMB has sold about 1 million Warner DVD and Blu-ray Disc units into retail channels at below market pricing, according to the suit filed July 28 in Los Angeles Superior Court. Stores have already sold to customers about 750,000 of those units.

One wonders what discs, and why, Warner is dumping in the trash. I can think of a few good candidates.

Warner probably needs to go through 100 pressings before a disc gets close to 1 manufacturing errors.:p ROFLMAO

WTF will WHV do with $10 Mil.? That seems like small change for them.

I guess I know where those $6 copies of Nip Tuck and Smallville that were sold at Big Lots came from. I bought Nip Tuck myself on ebay for $5.

Why would they destroy them instead of just selling them at a discount. They lose money both ways right? Or release them as part of a blu-ray bundle.

And do they need a company to do it. Why not have interns stand out back of the warehouse and step on them. Hell I'll break em for free. I want the cases though.

http://www.videobusiness.com/article/CA6674743.html?rssid=207



One wonders what discs, and why, Warner is dumping in the trash. I can think of a few good candidates.

All the ones with lossy audio. Then the one without the Oscar winning cut. Then the ones with terrible PQ. They are all in the parking lot with interns stomping on them. Before you know it, they need a parking lot the size of 10 football fields :D

$10M will be spent to release the holy grail edition of Speed Racer with lossless audio.:D

Destroying the discs doesn't devalue them, selling them at $5 does.

It starts a chain of consumer expectations that I'm sure the studios would like to avoid with BR.

SO basically Warner is destroying discs to keep prices/values artificially high. That's lovely. :rolleyes:

I don't know if that's fair DrCrawn. They're running a business and if no one want discs at the price they want to charge then it would be damaging if they cut costs. Eventually people would realise they could wait a few months and then get bargain discs.

SO basically Warner is destroying discs to keep prices/values artificially high. That's lovely. :rolleyes:

I doubt Warner is alone on this.

I don't know if that's fair DrCrawn. They're running a business and if no one want discs at the price they want to charge then it would be damaging if they cut costs. Eventually people would realise they could wait a few months and then get bargain discs.

True enough. On the other hand, if they lowered the initial prices, they would sell more, potentially see more profit from the release and wouldn't have to be destroying anything. It's also true that some of these titles should never have been released in the first place, but what's new.

I don't know if that's fair DrCrawn. They're running a business and if no one want discs at the price they want to charge then it would be damaging if they cut costs. Eventually people would realise they could wait a few months and then get bargain discs.

People already know this...

btw, I think I am going to call Warner and let them know that I will destroy any excess discs they have for FREE! Especially BDs. (evil laugh).:D

I doubt Warner is alone on this.

Sony just signed a deal with Redbox so that Redbox would destroy their discs when they were done with them rather then dump them on the market for $5 - $7 each 4 weeks after the release of a new title.

Sony just signed a deal with Redbox so that Redbox would destroy their discs when they were done with them rather then dump them on the market for $5 - $7 each 4 weeks after the release of a new title.

That's different than retail discs for sale that have been sent back to the studio for whatever reason. When I went to Big Lots to look at the selection - they were all brand new discs.

Netflix To Stop Selling Previously Viewed DVDs November 30th

http://www.hackingnetflix.com/2008/11/netflix-to-stop.html

That's different than retail discs for sale that have been sent back to the studio for whatever reason. When I went to Big Lots to look at the selection - they were all brand new discs.

Netflix To Stop Selling Previously Viewed DVDs November 30th

http://www.hackingnetflix.com/2008/11/netflix-to-stop.html

Netflix does a combination of destroying (or sending back) discs to studios and selling discs to wholesalers (who then sell them on the used market). They got out of the market of selling used discs to consumers as it is not their core business of providing a subscription service of movies by delivery (either by mail or streaming).

So who wants a used sd version of a disc you can buy in hd, new or used.

So who wants a used sd version of a disc you can buy in hd, new or used.

Someone who doesn't care if it's in HD or SD...

I love HD but for a non-action, dialog heavy title or for some guilty pleasure SD will do just fine if it is cheap enough. Would you shell out $20+ for Plan 9 from outer space in HD? I know I wont, but at $4.99 in the bargain bin I'll buy it on DVD (and did!).

Someone who doesn't care if it's in HD or SD...

I love HD but for a non-action, dialog heavy title or for some guilty pleasure SD will do just fine if it is cheap enough. Would you shell out $20+ for Plan 9 from outer space in HD? I know I wont, but at $4.99 in the bargain bin I'll buy it on DVD (and did!).

What you don't factor into your argument is that NF and RB aren't trying to sell copies of Plan 9. They are trying to sell recent releases that have run the rental course.

If you have a big display of some title like watchman that didn't sell, as a retailer you don't want it sitting in your backroom. You return it.
The studio already has enough to circulate so the smart thing is to destroy it.

If you hired someone to shred your important documents only to find they didn't and used the documents for their gain, at your expense, you might be looking at legal action. Nothing more, nothing less.

What you don't factor into your argument is that NF and RB aren't trying to sell copies of Plan 9. They are trying to sell recent releases that have run the rental course.

If you have a big display of some title like watchman that didn't sell, as a retailer you don't want it sitting in your backroom. You return it.
The studio already has enough to circulate so the smart thing is to destroy it.

If you hired someone to shred your important documents only to find they didn't and used the documents for their gain, at your expense, you might be looking at legal action. Nothing more, nothing less.

You asked: So who wants a used sd version of a disc you can buy in hd, new or used.

I gave an honest answer. Your question had no mention of recent release.
And even then I would still buy some on SD if they are cheap enough and are of a genre that won't suffer that much from not being in HD.

You asked: So who wants a used sd version of a disc you can buy in hd, new or used.

I gave an honest answer. Your question had no mention of recent release.
And even then I would still buy some on SD if they are cheap enough and are of a genre that won't suffer that much from not being in HD.

You are correct about the question and your answer.

What you don't factor into your argument is that NF and RB aren't trying to sell copies of Plan 9. They are trying to sell recent releases that have run the rental course.

Even with recent releases, you are still looking at ~80% of the disc buying population purchasing it in SD.

The actual number may be higher when you factor in the used market (not sure how many rental BDs are hitting the market compared to rental DVDs hitting the market).

SO basically Warner is destroying discs to keep prices/values artificially high. That's lovely. :rolleyes:

No, selling the discs below wholesale brings disc prices artificially LOW. You have it backwards.


Also, WB can take a tax credit on destroyed discs. They have to pay taxes on inventory that's left unsold. It's pretty easy to understand why they destroy old stock that didn't move. And, WB isn't alone in this practice--not by a long shot.

Bottom line is that with a mature product market in a nationwide recession, virtually all titles, whether DVD or BD are overpriced. I think I have purchased less than 5 brand new DVDs at retail price in the past year (two of those TV series) but about three times that many from the $3 and $5 bins at Big Lots and K Mart. I have purchased almost all my movies from Amazon discounters or Half.com. Anyway, destroying discs is no different than dairy farmers dumping milk to keep prices high. Whether it violates any federal laws I don't know - probably not, as long as it is not done in concert with other studios, which it probably is, but even if true proving it would be difficult.

If it were food/crops being destroyed to hold pricing steady, I'd be rather upset. But since it's just shiny plastic discs, I only find it a bit irritating. :)

I wonder if the unauthorized resale (vs destruction) happened with HD-DVDs too... you'd think WHV would have some fear of ultracheap HD-DVDs devaluing DVD and Blu-Ray discs of the same titles, and would thus try to destroy stock rather than selling it.

If it were food/crops being destroyed to hold pricing steady, I'd be rather upset. But since it's just shiny plastic discs, I only find it a bit irritating. :)

I wonder if the unauthorized resale (vs destruction) happened with HD-DVDs too... you'd think WHV would have some fear of ultracheap HD-DVDs devaluing DVD and Blu-Ray discs of the same titles, and would thus try to destroy stock rather than selling it.

They can always burry the beside the Atari 2600 ET game in an unmarked location :D

If it were food/crops being destroyed to hold pricing steady, I'd be rather upset. But since it's just shiny plastic discs, I only find it a bit irritating. :)

I wonder if the unauthorized resale (vs destruction) happened with HD-DVDs too... you'd think WHV would have some fear of ultracheap HD-DVDs devaluing DVD and Blu-Ray discs of the same titles, and would thus try to destroy stock rather than selling it.

If that was the case - don't you think that WHV would have instituted a lawsuit a long time ago?

True - it could be as an owner of HD-DVD equipment, I have a heightened awareness for its existence. Since HD-DVD is now basically relegated to clearance sales, perhaps lost DVD/Blu sales due to cheap HD-DVDs is not a concern.

I guess I know where those $6 copies of Nip Tuck and Smallville that were sold at Big Lots came from. I bought Nip Tuck myself on ebay for $5.Thanks to your heads-up, I snagged Smallville: S7 for six bones (Big Lots). Not their best season, but hey, it was 6 bucks; take that, Warner! :p

Thanks to your heads-up, I snagged Smallville: S7 for six bones (Big Lots). Not their best season, but hey, it was 6 bucks; take that, Warner! :p

Was that on SD DVD's or on Blu-ray's?

Thanks

Was that on SD DVD's or on Blu-ray's?

Thanks

Probably BD. There were two TV shows available on BD as part of the inventory that were to be destroyed; Nip / Tuck Season 4 and Smallville Season 7...

Yep; BD.

Thanks for letting me know. My Big Lots didn't have anything in BD. But I did pick up a box set of Dukes of Hazzard Season 5 in SD. For 6 bucks that wasn't bad. My 4 year old will love it.:)

Why would they destroy them instead of just selling them at a discount. They lose money both ways right? Or release them as part of a blu-ray bundle.

I suspect the studio doesn't have to pay royalties on destroyed goods. Where as if they were sold, the contracted workers with royalty clauses would be owed money no matter how low the price of the discs were.