Thanks to sivartk for the correction. Only 1700 of 5000+ Blockbuster stores will be carrying BluRay and/or HD-DVD movies. So the mention of 5/6ths below should refer to 5/6ths of the 1700 stores carrying high-def movies, not the total number of Blockbuster stores. I left the original post intact, so as to point out the incorrectness for those who have already read it.



5/6ths of Blockbuster video stores to go exclusive with BluRay! I doubt this is a knockout punch for HD-DVD, since Blockbuster Online (their netflix equivalent) will continue to rent HD-DVD. Of course we are still months and months away from having an "affordable" stand-alone high-def dvd recorder, but it's interesting to see what's going on

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070618/ap_on_hi_te/blockbuster_blu_ray

Can't get either around my area from any rental places. This is stupid on BB part because their is more content available on HD-DVD ?

Can't get either around my area from any rental places. This is stupid on BB part because their is more content available on HD-DVD ?

Sometimes the justifications is the excuse for what they are doing. They use the data they have to justify their decision.

It is quite possible that they made a decision to go BluRay only (can charge/make more?) or made an exclusivity deal with the BluRay studios/BluRay lobbyists or because BluRay has higher capacity, or for whatever other reason. I think once they made a decision, then they decided which explanation would be the most beneficial to use :)

This is welcome news. I rent from blockbuster and have a monthly movie-pass with them so I say -- whatever the reason, good for them. This format war is consumer-unfriendly and hampering the adoption of the technology. The HD-DVD camp may call this short-sighted on the part of blockbuster, but what it really comes down to is a major distributer telling the industry that they are sick of the game and don't have the in-store shelf space to play host to 2 formats. I remember when bb switched from VHS to DVD. They had both formats on the shelf until they could see a clear winner in DVD, then booted VHS off the shelf and out the door.

I think most people could have predicted that when sony flooded the market with blu-ray players via the PS3, the war was coming to a close. My only regret is that the sony format is going to be the winner because of all the layers and layers of DRM blu-ray enables. I'll be very curious when BR is rented from my local bb. I'll be watching how rapidly the stock expands. It will give an idea of the penetration of players in my local area.

...but what it really comes down to is a major distributer telling the industry that they are sick of the game...I agree completely. If we can get a few major players to do this then the war will be over and we'll all benefit.

Well that puts another nail in Toshiba's coffin & as far as I'm concerned there never should have been HD-DVD in the first place :mad: But It might not be the best move for consumers looking for a lot lower prices on Blu-Ray but who knows if they sell enough maybe the price will come down :) instead of bleeding us dry.

A $1,000 for a Blu-Ray player is way out of wack & if they had lowered the price to around the HD-DVD price they could have killed the format a long time ago & been the only game in town.

Japan had better smarten up in the future or they might find Korea & China inventing formats as their fighting among themselves over formats.

I figured when Panasonic & Sony had gotten together finally on something that the rest would have fallen in line especially with Samsung thrown into the Blu-Ray camp.

While I agree that it is refreshing to see a major player in the industry taking a stand in an attempt to single up on HD optical disc formats, Blockbuster's move may in the best case be less influential than one might think and may be irrelevant in the long run for two reasons:

First, the Netflix online/mail-a-disc business model has been VERY successful (so much so that Blockbuster has attempted to imitate it), so the notion of the neighborhood video store and "shelf space" stock concerns to acommodate multiple format types may be moot. Note that blockbuster is still providing HD-DVD via its online rental division.

Relevant and intersting stats besides the 70% of all HD disc rentals are Blu-ray (paraphrasing from the referenced article) would be:

What percentage of total rentals are HD discs (Blu Ray AND HD DVD rentals combined divided by total rentals).

What percentage of total rentals are via online/mail vs. "walk-in-store".

An whether the relative percentage of HD disc rentals (Blu Ray and HD DVD individually and combined) vs. non-HD disc rentals is the same for the "online" crowd vs. the "walk-in-store"
crowd.

These stats would indicate whether HD optical distribution rentals are catching on in the first place.

I would also be interested in whether physical disc rentals are a growing or declining industry. Which leads to my second point. Specifically, on demand video distribution via the 'net or even through the cable/sat companies may render physical distribution mediums such as optical discs obsolete in the long run anyway.

In CC, the cheapest BR player is a $500 sony; the cheapest HD-DVD player is a $350 toshiba. They have come down quickly and in another couple years will break the $100 mark -- especially if the format war is over. If they don't come down, people won't buy them and stick with standard DVD.

IMHO, despite the hype, BR/HD-DVD has a long way to go to make it into the market place. In order to fully appreciate the format and make the cost of adoption worth while, you really need to have a 1080p display. These are all relatively new within the last year so the numbers in the field are relatively low. Their cost is coming down fast and 1080 is pretty much the new standard. The point is, there is no pent up demand for BR/HD-DVD. The people buying 1080 sets today are the ones most likely to buy a companion hi-def DVD player. The market will grow, just slowly -- all those early adopters who bought into the 720p transition products of just a couple years ago are not going to be throwing them out any time soon to upgrade to 1080.

First, the Netflix online/mail-a-disc business model has been VERY successful (so much so that Blockbuster has attempted to imitate it), so the notion of the neighborhood video store and "shelf space" stock concerns to acommodate multiple format types may be moot. Note that blockbuster is still providing HD-DVD via its online rental division.Actually, blockbuster has trumped netflix with their new on-line rental model. I've had a movie-pass with blockbuster for several years. I live in close proximity to a bb and enjoy the convenience of being able to walk in on a tuesday after work and have my pick of all the new releases -- that is my version of on-demand. Next month I'll be giving up my movie-pass and switching to the bb on-line rental. It wasn't the cost reduction that got me, but rather the feature of being able to take my mail-delivered DVD into the bb store and return it by trading it for another release off the shelves. They log it into their computr which shows the movie as being returned so that my next selection is immediately sent out the next day. This is brilliant; bb is leveraging their zillion stores in with their on-line rental model. Netflix can't compete with this.

...the feature of being able to take my mail-delivered DVD into the bb store and return it by trading it for another release off the shelves. They log it into their computr which shows the movie as being returned so that my next selection is immediately sent out the next day.I'm a little confused. I've never used any of the netflix-style services so I'm not very conversant with the model. But in the case your'e describing, do you pick the new one up from the store, or get it by mail? (You mentioned "trade for another release off the shelves")

If you get it by mail, why wouldn't they let you just pick it up at the store? If you get it at the store, what's the point of having any on-line involvement?

This is how the exchange work: I choose 1 movie at a time for $9.99 a month, I get 1 movie in the mail, after watching it I go to a BB near by to pick up another movie to exchange for the one I just finish. They will enter their computer the new movie I just exchanged for the one in the envelop, the next movie on my online queue will be mailed no later than the next day. This requires that I have account with local BB to exchange mail DVD to local DVD. I also have one free coupon for DVD or game per month.

Exchanging DVD in an envelop to a DVD at local BB store enables me to get as many as 10-15 movies a month for only $9.99, which is not bad at all.

Well, if I mail my return movie to Netflix on Monday, I get the next one on Wednesday. Fast enough for me. ;)

I have had them both and they work great , But in Des Moines they have a Netflix PO box and the turn around is 2-3 days . Blockbuster is in Minnesota so the turn around is 3-4 days and while you can return it to store it didn't speed it up and of course i don't want to return it to the store.
Joe

Actually, blockbuster has trumped netflix with their new on-line rental model. I've had a movie-pass with blockbuster for several years. I live in close proximity to a bb and enjoy the convenience of being able to walk in on a tuesday after work and have my pick of all the new releases -- that is my version of on-demand. Next month I'll be giving up my movie-pass and switching to the bb on-line rental. It wasn't the cost reduction that got me, but rather the feature of being able to take my mail-delivered DVD into the bb store and return it by trading it for another release off the shelves. They log it into their computr which shows the movie as being returned so that my next selection is immediately sent out the next day. This is brilliant; bb is leveraging their zillion stores in with their on-line rental model. Netflix can't compete with this.

I agree Kelson. I use the Blockbuster online rental service, and it is indeed brilliant. We have the standard plan with Total Access, which allows for 3 rentals out at a time (unlimited a month), plus if we return the rentals at the store, we get 3 more free, and 1 more a month free!! Can't be beat.

Well, if I mail my return movie to Netflix on Monday, I get the next one on Wednesday. Fast enough for me. ;)

True, but if I return 3 to a Blockbuster store on Monday, I get 3 immediately, and 3 more by Wednesday. That's 6 in 2 days. :D

But if you're a Netflix customer, you not only can get DVDs through the mail, but you can also watch movies on your PC that you download from their web site...no waiting for DVDs in the mail. Can't get that with Blockbuster.

Plus there's no advantage to being able to get DVDs from the B&M Blockbuster store for people like me, who prefer to rent DVDs other than movies...i.e. TV shows (new and old), older movies (i.e. black & white movies from the 40s & 50s, or even silent movies). It's nearly impossible to find ANY video/DVD rental store that has a decent selection of more obscure stuff such as I mentioned above. At least the selection is more diverse when renting online. So Netflix is just fine by us in this household.

Different people prefer different things, that's all. :)

Doesn't much matter at this particular time WHICH format wins out, HD or Blue-ray...the players for both are still too expensive. Maybe when they get cheaper it'll make more of a difference to the average DVD viewer like me.

DK

I don't have a player for either format (yet; one day I probably will... plus a TV to play 'em on), but don't congratulate Blockbuster for winning yet. Walmart is backing HD...

http://news.digitaltrends.com/talkback184.html

and like them or not, they're bigger than Blockbuster...

Doesn't much matter at this particular time WHICH format wins out, HD or Blue-ray...the players for both are still too expensive. Maybe when they get cheaper it'll make more of a difference to the average DVD viewer like me.One can always hedge the bets and buy the LG BH-100 dual format player for both BR & HD-DVD. Only $1200 at CC -- bet they're flying off the shelves as we speak. What sours me on this whole thing is that some studios only release in a single format. As long as that continues I'll not have any interest in spending money on it.

5/6ths of Blockbuster video stores to go exclusive with BluRay!

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070618/ap_on_hi_te/blockbuster_blu_ray

You're numbers (or article) is a little off. Of the stores carrying any HD format, 5/6ths will have Blu-ray discs only.

Blockbuster has over 5000 stores and only 1700 will carry any type of HD format (less than 1/3rd). While 1450 of those will have BD Discs only. The store closest to mine (I asked yesterday) will carry neither HD DVD or Blu-Ray.

Go over the BD / HD DVD forums and read the 7500 threads about this....if you need help falling to sleep.

...after watching it I go to a BB near by to pick up another movie to exchange for the one I just finish ... the next movie on my online queue will be mailed no later than the next day.I still feel like I'm missing something here. You take in the movie that was mailed to you, and you get to bring a movie home with you AND get one mailed to you as well? Isn't that 2 movies at the same time?

I still feel like I'm missing something here. You take in the movie that was mailed to you, and you get to bring a movie home with you AND get one mailed to you as well? Isn't that 2 movies at the same time?

Yes, the "in-store" rentals don't count as online movies that are "out"

So in essence, the one at a time program really ends up being 2 at a time if you return all of the movies to the store. You may also mail them back in, but you don't get the benefit of the free rental.

Your returned disc from BB online is like a coupon for a free store rental.

I still feel like I'm missing something here. You take in the movie that was mailed to you, and you get to bring a movie home with you AND get one mailed to you as well? Isn't that 2 movies at the same time?

Yes, you get one movie at the store when you return the DVD envelop there AND you get another movie by mail, it means 2 movies at the same time.

Normally, without returning to BB store to exchange for another movie you may get the movie as below:

You received first movie Monday by mail
Watched that movie Monday night
Mail back that movie Tuesday
BB get that movie Wednesday
BB mailed second movie Thursday
You received second movie Friday
Watched that second movie Monday night
Mail back that movie Saturday to get another movie next Monday

The total is about 2 movies per week

With in store exchange:

You received first movie Monday by mail
Watched that movie Monday night
Bring that movie to BB store to exchange for the second movie Monday
BB mailed third movie Tuesday
You received third movie Wednesday by mail
Watched that movie Wednesday night
Bring the third movie to BB store to exchange for the fourth movie Wednesday night
BB mailed fifth movie Thursday
You received fifth movie Friday by mail
Watched that movie Friday night
Bring the fifth movie to BB store to exchange for the sixth movie Friday night

Movies at BB store can be kept up to 9 days for new releases without penalty.

The total is up to 6 movies per week, but normally you should expect 4-5 movies paer week plus a coupon for free movie or game per month.

You're numbers (or article) is a little off. Of the stores carrying any HD format, 5/6ths will have Blu-ray discs only.

Blockbuster has over 5000 stores and only 1700 will carry any type of HD format (less than 1/3rd). While 1450 of those will have BD Discs only. The store closest to mine (I asked yesterday) will carry neither HD DVD or Blu-Ray.

Go over the BD / HD DVD forums and read the 7500 threads about this....if you need help falling to sleep.

Thanks for the correction! I thought those were their total number of stores, but apparently they are only the number of stores with high-def. I'll fix the original to avoid spreading confusion-myth-information!

On the Walmart front, it's no surprise they are going for the cheapest shiny-disc high-def format.

Maybe they'll come up with a $99 480i hd-dvd player to bring even more people in the store ;-) (joke attempt!).

The HD-DVD camp may call this short-sighted on the part of blockbuster, but what it really comes down to is a major distributer telling the industry that they are sick of the game ...

(Disclaimer: I haven't read this whole thread in detail. I also think it was a shame there is/was the "high def DVD war" at all.)

My immediate thought upon reading the above quoted section was that it's funny that at least one person thinks it's good that "a major distributor [is] telling the industry.." something.. Yet a whole ton of other people are outraged that Blockbuster "edits movies". (Which is a lie, since (1) you can actually buy the movies other places, including online, if you want the regular version, and (2) it's the movie studios making the edited versions anyway.. and (3) as long as it's not the Federal Government doing the censoring, it's legal.)

btw, I do not personally support the "editing" of the movies, it was just the thing that popped immediately to mind.

This went on a tangent real quick....and shouldn't this be in the HD/BR section?

I have tried BB mail service when they first started, the problem then was that the DVD you got at the b&m had to go back to the b&m. Is this still true?

Not that the answer makes any difference to me, I like my NetFlix service. My location, if I want next day DVD's, I just return them to the main USPS office before 8am (only 4 miles and on the way to work). By that afternoon I have email saying they received them and my next ones are on the way. Next day's mail, they are at my house.

Your returned disc from BB online is like a coupon for a free store rental.Yes, you get one movie at the store when you return the DVD envelop there AND you get another movie by mail, it means 2 movies at the same time.Ok, thanks guys for taking the time to explain it. It does sound like a bit of a steal...

...it's funny that at least one person thinks it's good that "a major distributor [is] telling the industry.." something.. Yet a whole ton of other people are outraged that Blockbuster "edits movies".It's fine as long as they're telling the industry something that I agree with... ;)

This went on a tangent real quick....and shouldn't this be in the HD/BR section?

I have tried BB mail service when they first started, the problem then was that the DVD you got at the b&m had to go back to the b&m. Is this still true?


Yes, the DVD I got at the b&m had to go back to the b&m within 7 days after due date. Also, the DVD I got by mail go back to b&m so that I have another DVD the same night and get another DVD two days later by mail.


Not that the answer makes any difference to me, I like my NetFlix service. My location, if I want next day DVD's, I just return them to the main USPS office before 8am (only 4 miles and on the way to work). By that afternoon I have email saying they received them and my next ones are on the way. Next day's mail, they are at my house.

The postal service in your area is faster than average, I was Netflix member for a while and it took 3-4 days to get another DVD from the day I put the envelop in the mail box.

Don't give Blockbuster too much credit. They have never been an economic force. They were on the verge of bankruptcy at least once in the past.

Mom-and-pop chains pushed VHS in the 1980s, and retail stores pushed DVDs in the 1990s. It was well into the 2000s before Blockbuster stocked more than a couple DVDs in a store full of VHS. Then Netflix carried the DVD rental market, dwarfing Blockbuster.

Only recently has Blockbuster received some reprieve, but at what cost? Their online/in-store program has got to be complex and costly to maintain. You'll note they recently changed prices, giving discounts to those who rent online-only and don't mess with stores. Although that directly counters their marketing plan of "rent in store and online both for one low cost". Well, online-only has a lower cost.

Blockbuster could go belly-up and other stores would quickly fill their gap. They only represent a portion of the rental market, not a majority.

We'll always have Hollywood Video. :D

"... but what it really comes down to is a major distributer telling the industry that they are sick of the game..."


No, it is a major studio backing BD pulling strings to influence the format war:

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=864024