Blu-ray + DVD

Target may be to blame here, as they are missing the BR only version. I am probably in the minority, but I view them as a 'bonus', like a digital copy. I actually like the multimedia options, since they give me alternatives where I dont have a BR player. Case in point: I want to loan the Downton Abbey's to my mother, but she doesn't yet have a BR player, so I can't. Aside from repurchasing them on DVD, I am looking at either ripping her a set on DVD, or setting her up with a Netflix-capable device loan, probably just a BR player!

I rather like having the DVD included in the package, as long as it is in proper blu-ray packaging.
I think all digital copies are of no value and mostly useless.
Edited by Rich86 - 11/20/12 at 8:25pm

Since I have not recently seen a Blu-ray/DVD set cost more than a comparable Blu-ray-only movie, I don't mind having the DVDs, though I have not used any of them.

Where I DO like the two-in-one sets is when I shop for gifts. The last couple of years or so, I only gave the dual-format movies to my friends and family. That way, whichever format they have they can play the movie. Plus, if they do not have a Blu-ray player yet, I might have encouraged them to get one!

I like being able to view/loan out the DVD copy to family members who don't have BD players (all of them...). As long as the BD/DVD version isn't too much more, and doesn't take up a ton more room on the shelf, I have no issue with getting those over BD only.

Seggers

I agree with the OP. Screw the extra discs and the Ultraviolet crap which I will NEVER use. Just give me the BD in a cardboard sleeve (I'm tired of these stupid blue boxes littering my bookshelves) for a reasonable price and I might actually start buying discs again.

I like the BD combo packs and think of the DVD is a nice bonus.

The DVD is obviously not a "free" bonus. It costs the studio money to produce and money to include. Yes, some studios overcharge for their BD's alone, so it appears that getting the DVD is a "free" bonus. But any way you cut it, the studios should be able to issue BD's alone for a cheaper price than in Combo Packs. That said, the studios also know that there are a lot of folks out there who seem to want both discs, for whatever reason. Besides, it's costlier for studios to package separate DVDs and Blu-rays separately, so for them, the Combo Packs encourage slow-adopters to buy BD players and thus more BD's. They see it as a win-win, even if some buyers may not see it that way.

There's one advantage I see to just about every non-catalogue blu-ray release these days having a dvd copy included in the packaging:

Friends who still don't have blu-ray players.

If I get the combo pack (was there even a blu-ray-only SKU of Avengers???? If there was, I didn't hear about it), I can enjoy the blu-ray while also being able to bring it over to a friend's place. Remember the earlier days of the format, when new releases and catalogue titles alike were BD-only and you couldn't just bring it over to your friend's place to watch on their dvd players? Now every new release is a combo pack! Heck, including a dvd copy with a catalogue title is even starting to become more common now (see: Jaws). More than anything else, I think that's the limitation the studios are trying to overcome.

I do hope they stop at a certain point, though. Warner has had a pattern of only including the nice extras (like a second bd of documentaries or a longer cut of the movie) if you go all out and buy the combo pack (see: Inception, Sucker Punch). That said, I guess a measly dvd disc isn't gonna make much of a price difference either way when you're already getting two bd discs. The argument from the studio becomes "we're basically giving it to you for free!" When the only two SKU's are a barebones blu-ray and a blu-ray+second-blu-ray-of-extras+dvd+digital-copy, it becomes hard to do a price comparison.

Yeah - they'll stop at a certain point all right - when they declare both DVD and Blu-Ray to be obsolete and try to sell us on whatever is next so everyone can start buying all the same crap all over again . . .
And that "next thing" could be not buying any physical at all - just paying them for the right to play something they have stored in 1 spot.
No thanks - I am very happy with my blu-ray in a blu-ray case with a DVD also, if provided (if not, no big problem, I can make one myself if needed for some reason).
They can keep their digital copies and "cloud" nonsense.