Washington, D.C.
(November 7, 2006)
--
With the flood of new titles coming out to support the
new Blu-Ray
and HD DVD formats, one thing is clear:
Some of the studios want to return to the higher pricing of the Laserdisc era. The price on new HDTV DVDs vary from a low of $25 to a high of a whopping $40.
Fox Studios has taken the most aggressive stance on movie pricing, with the majority of their titles (Men of Honor; Devil Wears Prada; etc.) at $40. Sony has recently priced All the King's Men and Kung Fu Hustle at $39, a break from the majority of their pricing of $29.
Warner Bros. has aggressively priced HDTV DVD movies at $29, But a closer look at their new releases shows they vary from $35 for Ant Bully on Blu-Ray vs. $40 for a DVD/HD-DVD dual disc.
You get the idea.
I don't believe (the studios) understand what has happened during the DVD era. Customers are
getting used to competitive pricing. People like going to Best Buy or other chains and getting DVDs on sale at $20 for a new release, or even lower for an (older) title. People buy more movies, maybe pick up 2-3 at a time if they are priced more moderately.
Take the pricing for Blu-Ray/HD-DVD discs and compare them to the DVD price and you can see a clear premium being charged for the new HDTV discs. The very same movies that have a new DVD list price of $15-25
virtually double in price for the new HD formats.
What would I tell all of us who are consumers of these new discs?
Regardless of the format you choose, send a message to the movie studios. The consumers do NOT want to buy discs list priced higher than $30. Yes, I know some movies are very cool to get in HD, but we must show restraint. Boycott the high priced discs! Send the
studios a message that the consumer does not want price gouging.
Yes, the studios are investing in new technology, I can appreciate that, but unless pricing is fair and competitive, many people are not going to adopt these next generation formats -- particularly with the players starting at $500.
Please boycott the higher priced discs!
Mitchell Davis is a HD Observer for TVPredictions.com. If you would like to be a HD Observer for TVPredictions.com, send an e-mail to: swann@TVPredictions.com
Comments by our HD Observers are the opinions of the writers and may not reflect the position of TVPredictions.com
and HD DVD formats, one thing is clear:
Some of the studios want to return to the higher pricing of the Laserdisc era. The price on new HDTV DVDs vary from a low of $25 to a high of a whopping $40.
Fox Studios has taken the most aggressive stance on movie pricing, with the majority of their titles (Men of Honor; Devil Wears Prada; etc.) at $40. Sony has recently priced All the King's Men and Kung Fu Hustle at $39, a break from the majority of their pricing of $29.
Warner Bros. has aggressively priced HDTV DVD movies at $29, But a closer look at their new releases shows they vary from $35 for Ant Bully on Blu-Ray vs. $40 for a DVD/HD-DVD dual disc.
You get the idea.
I don't believe (the studios) understand what has happened during the DVD era. Customers are
getting used to competitive pricing. People like going to Best Buy or other chains and getting DVDs on sale at $20 for a new release, or even lower for an (older) title. People buy more movies, maybe pick up 2-3 at a time if they are priced more moderately.
Take the pricing for Blu-Ray/HD-DVD discs and compare them to the DVD price and you can see a clear premium being charged for the new HDTV discs. The very same movies that have a new DVD list price of $15-25
virtually double in price for the new HD formats.
What would I tell all of us who are consumers of these new discs?
Regardless of the format you choose, send a message to the movie studios. The consumers do NOT want to buy discs list priced higher than $30. Yes, I know some movies are very cool to get in HD, but we must show restraint. Boycott the high priced discs! Send the
studios a message that the consumer does not want price gouging.
Yes, the studios are investing in new technology, I can appreciate that, but unless pricing is fair and competitive, many people are not going to adopt these next generation formats -- particularly with the players starting at $500.
Please boycott the higher priced discs!
Mitchell Davis is a HD Observer for TVPredictions.com. If you would like to be a HD Observer for TVPredictions.com, send an e-mail to: swann@TVPredictions.com
Comments by our HD Observers are the opinions of the writers and may not reflect the position of TVPredictions.com