I think BD studios should consider releasing BD Movies 1-2 weeks ahead of standard DVD versions. This would promote the new BD format to the average consumer. It would also allow for a new advertising slogan of having BD releases "Early". Really, DVD versions are late, but the consumer doesn't need to know that.

Start releasing titles in BD, watch title and player prices.

Art

Day and dates are absolutely important but I agree with the OP that first hdm release is an excellent idea. It makes it appear that it is now the medium of choice. Continue to hammer away at the already declining dvd market and aim at the growing hdtv crowd.

Lower prices on software, The average person will not buy discs at $30 a clip.I walk in to bby and the prices make me cringe lol. they should keep at $20 if the want hd discs to go anywhere before digital downloads take over.

Lower prices on software, The average person will not buy discs at $30 a clip.I walk in to bby and the prices make me cringe lol. they should keep at $20 if the want hd discs to go anywhere before digital downloads take over.

Digital download will not take over.

Technically, if you look at it, digital distribution is even less popular than the now near-dead HD-DVD. Also, there are several things that will keep it a very niche market.

1) ISPs implementing download caps. Even now, many ISPs are doing this because of bandwidth hogs.

2) Storage of movies. Either the movies would delete themselves after a week, or you would have to pay for numerous flash drives and hard drives to store your movies, which would be even more expensive than optical storage.

Digital download will not take over.

Technically, if you look at it, digital distribution is even less popular than the now near-dead HD-DVD. Also, there are several things that will keep it a very niche market.

1) ISPs implementing download caps. Even now, many ISPs are doing this because of bandwidth hogs.

2) Storage of movies. Either the movies would delete themselves after a week, or you would have to pay for numerous flash drives and hard drives to store your movies, which would be even more expensive than optical storage.

1. thebroadband companies are in a heated battle for customers rightnow, they will not imit it because they will lose customers to competition. verizon has been wiring up entire neighborhoods with new capacity that previousally wasnt there.

2. they will use hard drives which are very cheap. appox. 5 cents a gb. compared to .68cents blu-ray( from a retail blank).

I dont want to go to digital downloads but its hard to fight the trends, everything in electronics is about convergance and convienance

1. thebroadband companies are in a heated battle for customers rightnow, they will not imit it because they will lose customers to competition. verizon has been wiring up entire neighborhoods with new capacity that previousally wasnt there.

2. they will use hard drives which are very cheap. appox. 5 cents a gb. compared to $1.47Gb blu-ray( from a retail blank).

I dont want to go to digital downloads but its hard to fight the trends, everything in electronics is about convergance and convienance


1) Won't matter if the competition is using download caps as well. Even the small ISPs who used to have no caps are starting to implement caps because all the bandwidth hogs are going to them.

2) Not the type of Hard drives that would be suited for digital distribution. You would need external Hard Drives, something that is plug-and-play.

Digital Downloads are the future. In time, your shelves filled with DVD's will be replaced with servers at home that store all your media content. For now, the studios will not ignore regular DVD, but they have about a 5-7 year window to exploit Hig Def DVD format before downloads take off.

Theatrical = DVD
Unrated/SE = Blu-ray

That's a start. Slowly.

Digital Downloads are the future. In time, your shelves filled with DVD's will be replaced with servers at home that store all your media content. For now, the studios will not ignore regular DVD, but they have about a 5-7 year window to exploit Hig Def DVD format before downloads take off.

No... Digital Downloads are even less popular than the now near-dead HD-DVD. Also, ISPs are already implementing monthly download caps and extra fees for people who go over the caps. The cost of storage of digital downloads for movies would also be more expensive than optical storage.

Every HD TV sold should come with the cheapest possible BD player. DVD forum should unite with the BDA (bringing Paramount and Universal) for some compensation. Toshiba should release all players as DF players. Low price players should all be BD only where Mid to High should be DF in the next year. 2.0 players should debut at a 399-499 price tag and decode all advance audio. CHeap Funai players should be $199 MSRP by holiday next year.

As long as a DVD player can be bought at the price of a BD disc, there are going to be problems.

If the BD discs came out the same day the movies hit the theaters, I'd be willing to spend up to $50 for a movie I really wanted to see. If the BD movies are just 1-2 weeks before DVD and I have to pay more, I'll wait for any 'blind buys' and rent them on DVD before buying in any format.

Theatrical = DVD
Unrated/SE = Blu-ray

That's a start. Slowly.

How about that one:

full frame: DVD
OAR: Blu-ray
;)

continue to lower price on players and more BOGOs.

It will happen guarantee it, but I hope it's sooner than later.

They need to penetrate the DVD side and become the norm for high definition.

Download = FREE...so i'm sure studio is aware of it....

More of the same, but on one format. Day and date releases and good catalog titles. And prices will come down and volumes increase. People will realize there is one next generation HD format and that it will play DVDs too. Downloads are years away for people on AVS, let alone normal people. By Holiday 2008, Blu-Ray will be a must-have gift, particularly since HDTV adoption rates will only increase.

If the BD discs came out the same day the movies hit the theaters, I'd be willing to spend up to $50 for a movie I really wanted to see. If the BD movies are just 1-2 weeks before DVD and I have to pay more, I'll wait for any 'blind buys' and rent them on DVD before buying in any format.

Then releasing a movie in theaters would be pointless. And for me, the "real" movie experience is still the theater. After all, that's why we build home theaters right ? ...That's why I think waiting a few months before the DVD/HDM release is necessary -> to make people actually BUY movies.

The real battle has just started. It is between Blu-Ray and SD.

The answer for me is to offer a package of one Blu-Ray and one SD disk together for a price that is $5 about the SDDVD. The film compaines worry that many will give away or sell the SD disk. I don't think this will be a big problem. The dual disk package would be very important for Disney and childrens films since they are often played on 2nd sets or on portable equipment. This, I believe, will also ease the transition to Blu-Ray.

I would also like to see some kind of incentive offered by the blu side to get the red side supporters to come over. It could be a trade in program for disks and players.

The real battle has just started. It is between Blu-Ray and SD.

The answer for me is to offer a package of one Blu-Ray and one SD disk together for a price that is $5 about the SDDVD. The film compaines worry that many will give away or sell the SD disk. I don't think this will be a big problem. The dual disk package would be very important for Disney and childrens films since they are often played on 2nd sets or on portable equipment. This, I believe, will also ease the transition to Blu-Ray.

I would also like to see some kind of incentive offered by the blu side to get the red side supporters to come over. It could be a trade in program for disks and players.

Eeew. No. Universal already tried this idea with "Combo discs".

As long as a DVD player can be bought at the price of a BD disc, there are going to be problems.

LOL! What an absurd statement but so-ooo true! Recently, I saw a DVD player advertised for $17.49 . Before the BOGO's, I'd never bought an HD disc that cheap.

1. thebroadband companies are in a heated battle for customers rightnow, they will not imit it because they will lose customers to competition. verizon has been wiring up entire neighborhoods with new capacity that previousally wasnt there.

2. they will use hard drives which are very cheap. appox. 5 cents a gb. compared to .68cents blu-ray( from a retail blank).

I dont want to go to digital downloads but its hard to fight the trends, everything in electronics is about convergance and convienance

Here in Canada most of the major broadband ISPs are putting caps on their packages with steep charges for exceeding the limit. I am on a legacy package so I don't have a cap; but then again my download speed is about half of what it could be if I "upgraded" to a newer package. I can't count the number of calls I have had from my provider offering a "free" upgrade to the highest speed service with a few months thrown in for free. They really want to get myself and all the other legacy customers onto a capped plan.

So long as these dumb caps are in place I can't see HD via download anytime soon. I think the speeds are coming to make it viable; but the caps won't help much. 3-4 movies and you would be over your cap!:eek: 60 Gigs is the typical cap now and to upgrade to a 100 Gig cap is like another $30/month.

No thanks! I would far prefer to get my HD via Blu-Ray and have easy access to my content. In over 20 years of owning CDs and almost 10 years of owning DVDs I have never had a disc fail on me. I had one PS1 game that wouldn't work and I simply exchanged it. That is music CDs, DVDs, PS1 games, and PS2 games working essentially flawlessly.

I am going to trade this for possible hard drive failures. computer failures, wife aggravation factors etc? No thanks, digital downloads will probably be the future (sigh); but for now I am very happy with physical media.

TO actually be on topic...

-$25 for day and date releases/
-$20 for catalogue stuff
-$15 for older, or less popular, catalogue stuff
-A 2-4 week window where the BD title is all that is available before the DVD hits the streets
-Special features that is only on the BD
-Extended edition that is only on the BD

Just some thoughts from me...

To compete with DVD they need to sell players that actually work properly for less than $499.

As for digitial distribution, posters here are very ignorantly assuming Internet connectivity and bandwidth is required when it is absolutely not. Your local cable company has HD VOD, and 500Mbps + to every node on their network.

No... Digital Downloads are even less popular than the now near-dead HD-DVD. Also, ISPs are already implementing monthly download caps and extra fees for people who go over the caps. The cost of storage of digital downloads for movies would also be more expensive than optical storage.

I said 5-7 years away before downloads become a reality. I have said this before several times. The younger generation doesn't care about owning a physical asset. They download music, rather then buy CD's. The same will be true for movies. As this generation gets older, and starts to join the working world they will have lots of disposable income. And there children will be the same way. Investment experts always say watch what the younger generations do. They set trends. Look how many baby boomers own IPOD's these days. Do you think the IPOD was targeted at them? No, it was targeted at young people who are comfortable with computers. As older generations saw how cool it was to own there entire libary on one device, they started to come on board. Both of my parents have IPODS, of course I have to load the music onto it for them, but they love it for travel and even playing with it around the house. Look at how popular MySpace is? And you are saying there is no demand for Downloads.

Yes, there are several hurdles to overcome (improving broadband capabilties in the U.S.; Finding a consumer friendly device that get's online content into the living room; etc...). But technology moves fast. DVD took several years before it took off, the same will be true for the HD format. As HD sets continue to get closer to the $1,000 range, more people will consider HD sets. This will increase the demand for High Def discs. But like DVD, sales will eventually hit a plateau, and then start to decrease and that's when Hollywood will be ready to push the next medium, Digital Downloads.

TO actually be on topic...

-$25 for day and date releases/
-$20 for catalogue stuff
-$15 for older, or less popular, catalogue stuff
-A 2-4 week window where the BD title is all that is available before the DVD hits the streets
-Special features that is only on the BD
-Extended edition that is only on the BD

Just some thoughts from me...

This is a long way away. Hollywood will never give up on the current window pattern. There is way too much money being made.

Another thing I think is a great idea that was suggested to me by Dave Vaughn is to totally remove all extra features from the DVD version and make them exclusive to the HD versions.

In addition to releasing the HD version 2-3 weeks ahead of the DVD.

TO actually be on topic...

-$25 for day and date releases/
-$20 for catalogue stuff
-$15 for older, or less popular, catalogue stuff
-A 2-4 week window where the BD title is all that is available before the DVD hits the streets
-Special features that is only on the BD
-Extended edition that is only on the BD

Just some thoughts from me...

+1000000

Studios are their own worst enemies. They can start shifting the emphasis to Blu-ray and start downplaying DVD. They've done it with past technologies they wanted to push to the side like VHS, LD, cassette tapes, etc.

Start making fewer DVD players too and make more Blu-ray players. It can be done with some will power.

Dan

I wonder if they could get away with this

DVD releases - 4:3 pan scan aspect ratio only
Bluray - OAR

How about that one:

full frame: DVD
OAR: Blu-ray
;)

Or the other way around? Offer only OAR on DVD and both OAR and 4:3 on BD. Not quite sure if I'm joking or being serious.

i love all the talk about digital downloads heck we have packet loss bottlenecks at
servers now with 6 and 7mbs can't wait to see what happens when they try to tripple
that speed and if it gets corupted in the middle of a download do you get to try again
for free its not happening under the current infrastructure thats billions of dollars later
and at what cost to the consumer mine keeps going up on price with no improvement.

Studios are their own worst enemies. They can start shifting the emphasis to Blu-ray and start downplaying DVD. They've done it with past technologies they wanted to push to the side like VHS, LD, cassette tapes, etc.

Start making fewer DVD players too and make more Blu-ray players. It can be done with some will power.

Dan

Studios need to be careful however. The DVD market is huge compared to HDM, and the last thing they want to do is alienate their customers forcing them to look seriously at downloading or other distrubition formats.

Studio need to be careful however. The DVD market is huge compared to HDM, and the last thing they want to do is alienate their customers forcing them to look seriously at downloading or other distrubition formats.

Got that right. Stats for 2007 . . .

HDM - about 8 million discs sold

DVD - about 800 million discs sold

I make HDM as being 1% of DVD.

So who is going to concentrate on 1%?:confused:

i love all the talk about digital downloads heck we have packet loss bottlenecks at
servers now with 6 and 7mbs can't wait to see what happens when they try to tripple
that speed and if it gets corupted in the middle of a download do you get to try again
for free its not happening under the current infrastructure thats billions of dollars later
and at what cost to the consumer mine keeps going up on price with no improvement.

I guess you were too young to know what the internet used to be like.

I guess you were too young to know what the internet used to be like.

thanks i'm 50 and yes i remember time outs with very slow dial-up.

Got that right. Stats for 2007 . . .

HDM - about 8 million discs sold

DVD - about 800 million discs sold

I make HDM as being 1% of DVD.

So who is going to concentrate on 1%?:confused:
Remember when DVD was 1% of the VHS market?

Remember when DVD was 1% of the VHS market?
i also remember paying 27.00 for them and they came down in price.

To compete with DVD they need to sell players that actually work properly for less than $499.

As for digitial distribution, posters here are very ignorantly assuming Internet connectivity and bandwidth is required when it is absolutely not. Your local cable company has HD VOD, and 500Mbps + to every node on their network.

Hope it isn't high-DRM infested like MovieBeam ... they are now history.

http://www.engadget.com/2007/12/05/moviebeam-shutting-down-operations-on-december-15th/

Can you "save" a downloaded movie for future use or is it time limited ... time limited and you got nothing.

Also, B&M stores like Best Buy aren't going to like downloads either. DVD sales are a significant part of their business. I doubt B&M stores will promote and display end-caps of AppleTV-like devices if that hardware threatens their movie sales (I'm sure they've learned that lesson from music). Stores sell video game consoles at cost because they make money on games and accessories, and if need be, they may cut their markup on Blu-Ray players in order to sell movie disks. Download devices like AppleTV and LG's Netflix box could be marginalized without store support, and downloads need those devices in order to become mainstream.

Also, B&M stores like Best Buy aren't going to like downloads either. DVD sales are a significant part of their business. I doubt B&M stores will promote and display end-caps of AppleTV-like devices if that hardware threatens their movie sales (I'm sure they've learned that lesson from music). Stores sell video game consoles at cost because they make money on games and accessories, and if need be, they may cut their markup on Blu-Ray players in order to sell movie disks. Download devices like AppleTV and LG's Netflix box could be marginalized without store support, and downloads need those devices in order to become mainstream.

It may not matter what stores want if consumers rally in significant numbers behind a certain tech. Do you honestly believe B&M stores will forgo any hardware sales because they no longer have the ability to sell the software to go along with it?

Nobody is saying downloads are here en force tomorrow or even the year after, but to think they will never happen is nonsensical. They are already happening now but on a very small scale, same way iTunes started out...

10 years ago if people told you you could buy music that had DRM and whose quality was lower than that of the most common form of music sales (CDs) and at a price no better (album wise) than what you can currently obtain and you bet against it you'd have lost money.

In the same vein, nobody is saying HD on optical discs is going anywhere any time soon... after all we still have CDs do we not? (we still have SACD/DVD-A for that matter)

Having choice is a good thing.

Got that right. Stats for 2007 . . .

HDM - about 8 million discs sold

DVD - about 800 million discs sold

I make HDM as being 1% of DVD.

So who is going to concentrate on 1%?:confused:

Dvd sales have hit a plateau and are going to decline. HDM sales are on the rise and will be growing exponentially as HDTV prices fall faster and faster.

I've been saying for quite a while that studios should release on HDM before DVD. It would be a form of viral marketing that IMO would be incredibly persuasive with the disk buying and renting public.

They wouldn't have to change their marketing strategy at all, other than a tiny change to the tag line: "Available Jan 8 on Blu-ray and Jan 15 on DVD". You'd see the HD disks at Best Buy and say "damn, wife, I needs me one of them Blu-ray players."

It would cost virtually nothing to implement.

I don't think they're going to try to push it. I think they're just going to let it grow naturally rather than trying to force people to upgrade.

About the furthest they'll go IMHO is limiting the extras on DVDs. We've already seen Disney start this with Ratatouille and Cars.

Digital Downloads are the future. In time, your shelves filled with DVD's will be replaced with servers at home that store all your media content. For now, the studios will not ignore regular DVD, but they have about a 5-7 year window to exploit Hig Def DVD format before downloads take off.

But there is no investment in the backbone of the internet. End speeds mean nothing if the network bogs and no one wants to pay for it. What ever happened to the higher speed Internet 2 idea of just a few years ago. No one wants the bill.

It is way to early to even think about going after DVD. That is years down the road after prices get down to well what DVD prices are these days. Just enjoy the ride for now start buying up media to show studios there is a demand for it. When blu gets 25% market share then we can talk about converting the masses.

Theatrical = DVD
Unrated/SE = Blu-ray

That's a start. Slowly.

I agree with this. I would also meld two ideas together:
Release BD two weeks before SD and
Make only BDs as SEs, URs and extras. Make Sds just movies and maybe trailers, etc.

Dvd sales have hit a plateau and are going to decline. HDM sales are on the rise and will be growing exponentially as HDTV prices fall faster and faster.
Fantasy - even if (huge if) people buy HD players they will not change their spending habits. They don't buy them on SD = they won't buy them on HD either. Rentals & VoD are the future.

As long as BD sales remain a tiny fraction of what DVD sells, the studios won't cut off DVD. They'd only hurt themselves.

Their only hope is in steering consumers toward Blu-ray through advertising, rock solid public support of the format through continuous, quality and undelayed releases on it, pricing Blu-ray to compete with DVD and forcing CE companies to get out competitively priced final profile players.

Mass market adoption won't come at current prices and definitely won't come if there's uncertainty about long term studio support or not being able to get the full value of future software.

Fantasy - even if (huge if) people buy HD players they will not change their spending habits. They don't buy them on SD = they won't buy them on HD either. Rentals & VoD are the future.

This is a good point. I've often questioned the complaint from studios that DVD sales are dying when discs still manage to sell millions in their first week. I think the reality is that profit margins have declined to uncomfortable levels and the studios are still paranoid about piracy, thus they're looking for a replacement.

If DVD sales overall are really decreasing, it's likely because of poor quality movies at high prices and the fact that people won't buy into that will never change.

When the studios understand that pricing according to value is a winning formula for the current entertainment dynamic, they'll do a lot better.

For example:

If a movie doesn't do well at the theaters, why should it enjoy a high new release price as well?

If this is the second, third, HD, etc. release of a catalog title most people have already bought, why should it be priced like new hit releases?

Offer flexible pricing like $9.99 for a new release DVD that didn't do so well at the theaters or new edition of a catalog title. On the Blu-ray side that would be $19.99 for a new release that didn't do so well at theaters or catalog title.

Maybe $24.99 for new hit release.

Price reasonably and people will respond. Why do you think almost every fast food restaurant has a dollar menu now?