Sales of DVDs/Blu-Ray plunging

poppasmurfpoppasmurf Posts: 1,781
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See:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2010/nov/29/dvd-industry-sales-slump-blu-ray

I'm not surprised - I've not bought a DVD for at least a year, and my collection of Blu-Ray discs still stands at one!

I'm refusing to buy any BR discs until they are the same price as DVD's - they cost the same to make!

Bring the prices down to £5 per disc, cut out the crap used as fillers, and I just MIGHT start buying again!
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Comments

  • helloshirleyhelloshirley Posts: 193
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    It's not surprising that dvd sales are dropping.
    The material left to release on dvd is getting less and less and the brand new movies will be bought on Bluray by many people instead of dvd.

    If you shop around you can get Bluray discs at very good prices and the current prices for brand new releases are lower than dvd was 10 years ago so taking inflation into account Bluray is well cheaper than dvd was at the same period of its existence.

    Fortunately , while the UK market for Blu is quite dull the US market continues to bring exciting releases every month .
    Maybe we're heading for a Laserdisc situation where tightarse Brits stay with the inferior technology while the quality conscious remain an elite section of the market prepared to pay a bit extra for quality.

    You can always leave Bluray for the sales.
    Play.com have lots of Blurays under £6 so while prices are not dropping to the levels that make many dvd's almost worthless they are still dropping and there are many bargains out there.
  • howardlhowardl Posts: 5,120
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    I have recently bought a Blu ray player,and already have a dvd recorder, bought a couple of blu ray dics, (music)...fantastic !! never going to buy dvd disc again
  • helloshirleyhelloshirley Posts: 193
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    howardl wrote: »
    I have recently bought a Blu ray player,and already have a dvd recorder, bought a couple of blu ray dics, (music)...fantastic !! never going to buy dvd disc again

    Do you have an HD Audio amp so that you can get the improved sound from Blu too?

    Don't write off dvd completely.
    While movies are a must for Blu there is lots of material that will not benefit from a Blu release.

    Most British archive tv was made either on tape or 16mm film so won't look much better on Blu .
    Even in this last decade the majority of UK shows were not made with HD in mind
  • archie2000archie2000 Posts: 274
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    I tend to buy the 2 disc pack Blu-Ray/DVD.
    That way we can watch the Blu-Ray on the Home cinema set up and my daughter can watch the DVD in her bedroom if she wants.
  • helloshirleyhelloshirley Posts: 193
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    archie2000 wrote: »
    I tend to buy the 2 disc pack Blu-Ray/DVD.
    That way we can watch the Blu-Ray on the Home cinema set up and my daughter can watch the DVD in her bedroom if she wants.

    To be fair - those releases are very much in the minority although they are a good idea.

    For example the recently released boxsets for the Alien films , Lethal Weapon series , Back to the Future series and the Space 1999 tv show had no dvd doubles in them.
  • archie2000archie2000 Posts: 274
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    It seems to be more recent films that have the twin disc option,
    Toy Story 3, Iron Man 2, etc.
  • howardlhowardl Posts: 5,120
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    Do you have an HD Audio amp so that you can get the improved sound from Blu too?

    Don't write off dvd completely.
    While movies are a must for Blu there is lots of material that will not benefit from a Blu release.

    Most British archive tv was made either on tape or 16mm film so won't look much better on Blu .
    Even in this last decade the majority of UK shows were not made with HD in mind

    Yes, have a Yamaha 667 av amp
  • moogheadmooghead Posts: 771
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    Most British archive tv was made either on tape or 16mm film so won't look much better on Blu .
    Even in this last decade the majority of UK shows were not made with HD in mind

    Good try but if you want something made in the last few years it has to be blu ray... they still play dvd's so its worth it.
  • rjb101rjb101 Posts: 2,689
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    I can't say I know anybody with a blue-ray player. No friends have one - No family have one, None of the people I meet at work tell me they own one, they might I suppose, but there normally very forthcoming when they've bought something new and shiny.
  • Soap DodgerSoap Dodger Posts: 226
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    Heard a report on the radio last week about a recent Which report on the quality - or lack of it - on Blueray DVD's
    It appeared that many were not worth the money charged for them! In many cases the stardard DVD of the film was just as good!! In many cases the quality was based on how well the original film had been made. If it was a good quality print then the standard DVD was just as good as the Blueray - yet costing pounds less!!! Many top rated films were poor on Blueray and in fact were rip-offs.
  • [Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 6,389
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    rjb101 wrote: »
    I can't say I know anybody with a blue-ray player. No friends have one - No family have one, None of the people I meet at work tell me they own one, they might I suppose, but there normally very forthcoming when they've bought something new and shiny.

    I could have said that a month ago, but 2 of the people I work with now have a Sony BDP-S370 like myself, and I've a few mates with PS3s if that counts.
  • jeffersbnljeffersbnl Posts: 4,695
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    Matt-08 wrote: »
    I could have said that a month ago, but 2 of the people I work with now have a Sony BDP-S370 like myself, and I've a few mates with PS3s if that counts.
    Certainly does, I've just bought a PS3. The fact that it plays Blu Rays was one of the deciding factors in getting it over an Xbox 360.
  • rjb101rjb101 Posts: 2,689
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    Matt-08 wrote: »
    I could have said that a month ago, but 2 of the people I work with now have a Sony BDP-S370 like myself, and I've a few mates with PS3s if that counts.

    I may have to report back in the new year me thinks :D
  • helloshirleyhelloshirley Posts: 193
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    mooghead wrote: »
    Good try but if you want something made in the last few years it has to be blu ray... they still play dvd's so its worth it.

    Good try for what?:rolleyes:

    I'm not trying to play down Bluray - I am a fan myself.
    Just posting the facts - and the fact is that very little British tv until the last year or two is suitable for HD.

    US tv is a different matter completely of course.
  • helloshirleyhelloshirley Posts: 193
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    Heard a report on the radio last week about a recent Which report on the quality - or lack of it - on Blueray DVD's
    It appeared that many were not worth the money charged for them! In many cases the stardard DVD of the film was just as good!! In many cases the quality was based on how well the original film had been made. If it was a good quality print then the standard DVD was just as good as the Blueray - yet costing pounds less!!! Many top rated films were poor on Blueray and in fact were rip-offs.

    Anybody with even a minimum of knowledge about Bluray and HD can see that the Which! report is complete rubbish from start to finish.
    They don't know their facts at all and the prices they list are beyond a joke.

    There's not a Bluray on the market where the difference between dvd and Blu is not possible to tell.

    The one thing they do get right is that the improvement varies between titles.

    The Which team claim there was no difference on some titles that are outstanding examples of Bluray.
    North by Northwest for example.
    The difference between the dvd and Blu is huge.

    But this is not the first time Which have printed rubbish they claim to be true.
  • [Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 10,019
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    archie2000 wrote: »
    It seems to be more recent films that have the twin disc option,
    Toy Story 3, Iron Man 2, etc.

    And that can be somewhat of a con as they make you buy both,

    They should either put the DVD in free or enable the blu ray only to be purchased at a cheaper price.

    I always wait until the blu rays come down in price and buy online, wont pay 18 quid for a Blu ray/DVD doubel play which is about what the cost in supermarkets.
  • helloshirleyhelloshirley Posts: 193
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    And that can be somewhat of a con as they make you buy both,

    They should either put the DVD in free or enable the blu ray only to be purchased at a cheaper price.

    I always wait until the blu rays come down in price and buy online, wont pay 18 quid for a Blu ray/DVD doubel play which is about what the cost in supermarkets.

    First you were whinging about digital copies , now you're whinging about dvd's too.

    Toy Story 3 with a Blu and a dvd was £13.99 online.

    Sensible people rarely buy Bluray from supermarkets.
  • ShaunIOWShaunIOW Posts: 11,303
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    I don't buy anywhere near the amount of DVD's I used to but thats mainly because I now have nearly all the back catalogue films and TV shows I wanted so these days I only buy TV shows on DVD as they finally get a release or blu-rays - but I'm very picky these days and only films I've not got on DVD already or my favorite films that I knolw I'll re-watch but even then I never buy new releases and always wait for sales, 2 for £X offers as I refuse to pay more than £7 per Blu-Ray film - so far with over 60 titles I've stuck to that with a lot costing much less eg. I wanted the LOTR trilogy so rather than pay £40 at launch I waited a few months and got it for £16 (so just over a fiver a film) - just need to be patient and not a must have right away buyer.
  • [Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 10,019
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    First you were whinging about digital copies , now you're whinging about dvd's too.

    Too right.. why should I be forced to buy a DVD copy I dont want, its a money making scam.

    Once they release blu rays only at a lower price sales will go up.
  • pocatellopocatello Posts: 8,813
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    Heard a report on the radio last week about a recent Which report on the quality - or lack of it - on Blueray DVD's
    It appeared that many were not worth the money charged for them! In many cases the stardard DVD of the film was just as good!! In many cases the quality was based on how well the original film had been made. If it was a good quality print then the standard DVD was just as good as the Blueray - yet costing pounds less!!! Many top rated films were poor on Blueray and in fact were rip-offs.

    As said already such reports are bs.

    Most releases are far superior to dvd. The reviewer either doesn't know what they are doing or is watching on a 20" tv. Bluray has 5-6x the resolution of dvd, no matter hownice the dvd release is, the bluray will be better. And if the dvd has a nice transfer, there is almost no chance that the bluray won't as well.

    The only situation I can think of where bluray is a rip off is when there is upscaling, sadly the bbc did this with life on mars. There is no HD transfer of life on mars, its a lie. They should really be taken to task for that dishonesty.

    Hd sales are fine, bluray players are down to ~100 dollar mark in the US at walmarts etc. Hdtv adoption is surging ahead as usual. Maybe the bad economy in the uk is hurting it a little but the trend is clear.

    Anyways crying about dvd sales has happened for a while, the folks that bought box sets of old films or tv shows already bought them. Back catalog sales eventually peter out as people finish buying those old films again, it is no surprise at all.
  • archie2000archie2000 Posts: 274
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    And that can be somewhat of a con as they make you buy both,

    They should either put the DVD in free or enable the blu ray only to be purchased at a cheaper price.

    I always wait until the blu rays come down in price and buy online, wont pay 18 quid for a Blu ray/DVD doubel play which is about what the cost in supermarkets.

    They didn't MAKE me buy both, I could have bought either one seperately had I so wished.
    I actually paid £13.99 for Toy Story 3 double disc set from Tesco. It would have cost more than £20 if I had bought a seperate copy of each type.
  • gemma-the-huskygemma-the-husky Posts: 18,116
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    jeffersbnl wrote: »
    Certainly does, I've just bought a PS3. The fact that it plays Blu Rays was one of the deciding factors in getting it over an Xbox 360.

    as well as the neat little extras - like free internet gaming, compared with xbox live, and the wonderful slide show maker.
  • [Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 10,019
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    archie2000 wrote: »
    They didn't MAKE me buy both, I could have bought either one seperately had I so wished.
    I actually paid £13.99 for Toy Story 3 double disc set from Tesco. It would have cost more than £20 if I had bought a seperate copy of each type.

    Both toy story 3 and iron man 2 can not be bought seperatly, iron man 2 is only available in triple play, toy story 3 in double and triple play, no single play option.
  • archie2000archie2000 Posts: 274
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    Both toy story 3 and iron man 2 can not be bought seperatly, iron man 2 is only available in triple play, toy story 3 in double and triple play, no single play option.

    Good point, well made..... ;)

    However, I didn't even look for the single options as I would still buy the double option even if a single option was available
  • [Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 10,019
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    archie2000 wrote: »
    However, I didn't even look for the single options as I would still buy the double option even if a single option was available

    Thats fine for those like you who want a DVD copy as well but if blu rays were released in single play and were cheaper they would sell more.

    I got the double play toy story for 12.99 on amazon on preorder long before it was released, thats not a bad price for a double play but why not releases the single play for say a tenner, many more people would then buy on released date instead of wating for them to come down online.
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