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[nerbo]

When you hear Sony talking about how Blu-Ray discs are outselling HD-DVD, keep this in mind: none of them are selling very well. High-Def Digest has the first hard sales numbers we've yet seen for high-def movie discs, and amazingly, you can get into the Top Ten disc list in a given week by selling just eight hundred copies of your movie.

The Blu-Ray versions of X-Men 3, Fifth Element, and Babel all moved less than 900 copies each, and they were the 8th, 9th, and 10th best selling titles, respectively. The numbers, from Nielsen, were actually unveiled in a Sony report that touted the record-breaking sales of Casino Royale on Blu-Ray, which did over 28,000 copies that week. Below that, the dropoff was steep.

Wired post.

More evidence optical media is dead?

 

[XMonkey]

More evidence optical media is dead?

Of course :lol

 

[racerx77]

More evidence optical media is dead?

I would say proof that many are afraid to commit to a format, when they don't know which to choose.. they would be moving MUCH faster if there were one format.

 

[Y2Kev]

Does that make sense? Casino Royale went from topping 100,000 to nobody buying it at all?

 

[Kabuki Waq]

Does that make sense? Casino Royale went from topping 100,000 to nobody buying it at all?

sorta makes sense not many ppl have blue ray or hddvd players.

 

[Outdoor Miner]

Does that make sense? Casino Royale went from topping 100,000 to nobody buying it at all?

That was a shipped figure.

 

[BobFromPikeCreek]

It's because people refuse to invest in something until a winner is determined. No one wants to be the fool who bought a beta max.

 

[Raistlin]

That was a shipped figure.

:lol :lol

 

[The Internet]

It's because people refuse to invest in something until a winner is determined. No one wants to be the fool who bought a beta max.

I don't care about a winner or whatever. I just don't want to spend so much extra $$$ for a player and extra $$$ per movie (which are expensive to begin with) for better picture quality.

My ol' DVD's do just fine for me.

 

[gkryhewy]

Yikes, those are some ugly numbers.

:lol :lol

Why is that funny? Did you read the article, which specifically indicates that as a shipped figure?

 

[jamesinclair]

"Among the numbers revealed: as of March 18, VideoScan put the cumulative number of Blu-ray titles sold since the format's inception at 844,000 units, versus HD DVD at 708,600."


In other words, one big title could change the winner?

 

[QVT]

"Among the numbers revealed: as of March 18, VideoScan put the cumulative number of Blu-ray titles sold since the format's inception at 844,000 units, versus HD DVD at 708,600."


In other words, one big title could change the winner?

Could change the leader but with the attach rates for HDDVD at a very conservative 5 per player that translates to under 200,000 players as compared to the what, 3 million PS3s?

 

[jet1911]

Blu-Ray takeover indeed...

 

[Pokeylongo]

I guess I'm not the only one that doesn't care about HD in the slightest.


Maybe one day when I'm in my mansion eating my lobster with a giant HDTV and PS3 is $100, I will care. But today...


[re-reads post] Was this a troll? I didn't mean to troll. HD FTW!!!!

 

[emomoonbase]

Competing formats. Everyone loses.

 

[dammitmattt]

I prefer for my Netflix movies to be on Blu-ray, but it's not that big of a deal. However, there's no way I'm buying any movies until this nonsense is sorted out.

 

[Rabid Wolverine]

Good.

2 competing formats = stupid.

They should have negotiated into bringing in 1 standard format. Consumers are too afraid to commit to a format which may lose.

 

[Emowii]

I think it's premature for anyone to start talking about the long term success of these high def formats. After all, the PS3 has only been out for a matter of months now. Wait til the end of the year, then we'll see where those Bluray sales numbers are.


The PS3 trojan horse is gonna be unstoppable at some point.

 

[Stinkles]

I have 27 next gen DVD discs.

I am part of the problem and part of the solution.

 

[Emowii]

I have 27 next gen DVD discs.

I am part of the problem and part of the solution.

I'd say you're part of the solution.

 

[mollipen]

More evidence optical media is dead?

More evidence that consumers want the format war over so that they can purchase the movies without worrying that they picked the wrong side?

 

[Ninja Scooter]

It's because people refuse to invest in something until a winner is determined. No one wants to be the fool who bought a beta max.

people don't give a shit about competing formats. They don't want to buy it because to your average consumer, the increase in quality is not justified by having to buy a $500-1000 player and $30 movies.

 

[ToxicAdam]

Even though the beta max is kind of derided now .. it had a lengthy run and was a viable choice for much of the 80's. Most people moved away from Betamax once their machines broke or became dated, not because it was rendered obsolete.

people don't give a shit about competing formats. They don't want to buy it because to your average consumer, the increase in quality is not justified by having to buy a $500-1000 player and $30 movies.

Agreed.

 

[Joe Molotov]

Competing formats. Everyone loses.

Yep. I'm still buying DVDs until the format war is over.

 

[Stinkles]

I'd say you're part of the solution.

My favorite one is Dune. It is safe to say I am part of the problem.

 

[Burger]

Does that make sense? Casino Royale went from topping 100,000 to nobody buying it at all?

I would say that bundling 100,000 copies of Casino Royale with PS3's had some impact.

 

[VALIS]

people don't give a shit about competing formats. They don't want to buy it because to your average consumer, the increase in quality is not justified by having to buy a $500-1000 player and $30 movies.

Thank you. This forum is so out of touch sometimes.

 

[Agent Icebeezy]

people don't give a shit about competing formats. They don't want to buy it because to your average consumer, the increase in quality is not justified by having to buy a $500-1000 player and $30 movies.

That and almost every job has a DVD man that shows up with $5 movies. Not just that, at the barbershop as well. Anybody that is black such as myself all knows how many bootleg things can be sold at the barbershop

 

[AgentOtaku]

people don't give a shit about competing formats. They don't want to buy it because to your average consumer, the increase in quality is not justified by having to buy a $500-1000 player and $30 movies.

yep

....I honestly wouldn't care if it stayed as a niche following either to be honest...Maybe because I'm renting and not really buying anything

 

[Zen]

Isn't that article using the data that was recently released? The one that was off by about 300 000 units compared to the Nielson data?

 

[mckmas8808]

Isn't that article using the data that was recently released? The one that was off by about 300 000 units compared to the Nielson data?

Yes, but it's best to act like we don't know the truth because some people don't want Blu-ray to win out.


And aren't these disc selling fast than what DVDs did when they first started? :lol

 

[Zombie James]

And aren't these disc selling fast than what DVDs did when they first started? :lol

Yes, they are. That must mean th--TIME PARADOX.

 

[purnoman3000]

And aren't these disc selling fast than what DVDs did when they first started? :lol

Exactly. It hasn't even been a year since these formats were launched. How many of you even considered or owned a DVD player back in 97-98.

 

[.dmc]

Out of curiousity, and I promise this isn't a stealth troll.. but how does this compare to early UMD movie sales? I'm asking from the perspective of game consoles pushing movie formats, that's all.

 

[Link]

Exactly. It hasn't even been a year since these formats were launched. How many of you even considered or owned a DVD player back in 97-98.

I think it's important to consider that DVD's reached mainstream appeal much more quickly than either HD format will. For one, DVD players were cheaper out the gate, and by 1999, you could get a decent player for under $200. More importantly, however, is that anyone with a tv could buy and use a DVD player. The HD formats are limited to people with HDTV's.

 

[mckmas8808]

I think it's important to consider that DVD's reached mainstream appeal much more quickly than either HD format will. For one, DVD players were cheaper out the gate, and by 1999, you could get a decent player for under $200. More importantly, however, is that anyone with a tv could buy and use a DVD player. The HD formats are limited to people with HDTV's.

No DVD players at my local CC cost $1,000 in the late 90s. I remember seeing DVD players that cost around $250 when the PS2 came out. And that was in 2001. And the PS3 is $600 now and some HD-DVD players cost $400 or slightly less.

 

[Ogni-XR21]

Exactly. It hasn't even been a year since these formats were launched. How many of you even considered or owned a DVD player back in 97-98.

Well I got my parents a dvd player for christmas in 99, and I payed 150,- DM (now appr. 75€) for it.
I don't see such a price drop happening for HD formats anytime soon, unfortunately.

 

[Link]

We got our first DVD player in October of 1999, and we paid $300 because we decided to go with a Sony model instead of one of the cheaper brands. Just before the PS2 came out, I bought a Sony DVD player for my dorm room in college for $150.

 

[ChrisJames]

Well I got my parents a dvd player for christmas in 99, and I payed 150,- DM (now appr. 75€) for it.
I don't see such a price drop happening for HD formats anytime soon, unfortunately.

HD DVD players (Toshiba A2) can be bought right now for $310 new on Amazon (and coming with 5 free movies). There have all ready been announcements of $150 HD DVD players made by Chinese manufacturers this Winter. You can say that this is a sign of the format dying, but I think that it shows how competitive Toshiba wants to be...

 

[Pope Benedict XVI]

Isn't that article using the data that was recently released? The one that was off by about 300 000 units compared to the Nielson data?

I thought the Sony report was based on Nielson data? I haven't been following this very closely. And I had thought that Nielson mainly just reports ratios and not actual sales figures? Are there numbers directly from Nielson that contradict the sony report?

 

[Dan]

Exactly. It hasn't even been a year since these formats were launched. How many of you even considered or owned a DVD player back in 97-98.

I got a DVD player in the summer of '98. There were multiple tangible advances over VHS and no credible competition. It wasn't exactly a high risk situation.

 

[Ogni-XR21]

HD DVD players (Toshiba A2) can be bought right now for $310 new on Amazon (and coming with 5 free movies). There have all ready been announcements of $150 HD DVD players made by Chinese manufacturers this Winter. You can say that this is a sign of the format dying, but I think that it shows how competitive Toshiba wants to be...

I just did a very quick check, cheapest HD-DVD player here seems to be around 400 - 450 €, Blu-Ray players starting at 600 €. But I could see Toshiba going lower much faster than I imagined. One problem for Germany might be that HDTV's are not selling very good, so there is no incentive to buy a player that plays HD content.

Just had a chat with a friend, he's got a PS3 and a HDTV (the only one I know having one) and asked him if he already got a Blu-Ray movie. He doesn't even plan on buying one, the movies are too expensive for his liking, once they reach DVD range he will get some but not at the current prices...

 

[Emowii]

I would say that bundling 100,000 copies of Casino Royale with PS3's had some impact.

What? Would you mind showing me a PS3 bundled with Casino Royale?

Yep. I'm still buying DVDs until the format war is over.

See, thats the thing that I would tell people to stop doing right now. I'm not a big "renting" kind of guy, but I would strongly suggest that people start renting regular DVDs immediately. Why you ask? Well, once you see high def movies on a high def tv, you're probably not gonna be that interested in watching those 'old' DVDs anymore. I know i'm already finding it hard to do.

So people might want to start thinking twice about buying regular DVDs right now, as I have a feeling these high def movie formats are gonna sneak up on people faster than they think. Especially for a gamer, who could potentially find a reason to buy a PS3 sometimes in the next year.

 

[nerbo]

You know, the only reason I posted this article is that I find it amusing, after the last year of hearing both Blu-Ray and HD-DVD fanboys talk about how each respective format is owning the other when clearly, this is not the case in either direction.

How long did it take this thread to devolve back into HD-DVD vs Blu-Ray? :lol

 

[bill0527]

I've purchased 6 Blu-Ray movies and I don't see myself buying very many more until prices on the discs come down.

I know that you can get them a lot cheaper at Amazon.com, but things like this are usually impulse buys for me. I doubt I'll buy very many more until they get $20 or less and I can drive a mile to Best Buy and pick them up whenever I feel like it.

 

[Chemo]

It wasn't exactly a high risk situation.

Climbing a 20-foot tall fence made of razor wire is a high risk situation. Purchasing a high definition movie player and some movies to go with it doesn't exactly qualify.

Are people really this scared of picking a loser? It's as if people think that if they pick the format that ultimately loses that, suddenly, their player will stop working and their movies will burst into flames and never play again.

 

[Ignatz Mouse]

I bought a DVD player for $400 in 98. It was niche.

A year later, they were under $300 and taking off.

It's a little early to call these format dead when they're still in the early-adopter stage. And those of you who don't see the prices on players dropping-- they already are. I expect BD to have a sub-$400 player by Christmas, and to be well under $300 by holiday season next year. HD-DVD is already getting cheaper now-- and is likely to stay cheap if it survives.

 

[ManaByte]

Are people really this scared of picking a loser? It's as if people think that if they pick the format that ultimately loses that, suddenly, their player will stop working and their movies will burst into flames and never play again.

Well that's EXACTLY the FUD people are spreading about HD-DVD.

 

[funkmastergeneral]

I would say proof that many are afraid to commit to a format, when they don't know which to choose.. they would be moving MUCH faster if there were one format.

exactly the position im in right now. im not buying a bluray or HDDVD player until someone wins, I don't want to waste my money.

 

[livestOne]

Is it really that hard for you to understand that most people don't want to spend half a grand on something that's going to be obselete in a year when all the movie companies drop support for it and all that's left is re-re-released classics and porn.