Netflix to Charge more for Blu-Ray

[Bebop]

http://www.news.com/8301-10784_3-9924836-7.html?part=rss&subj=news&tag=2547-1_3-0-5

[RLJSlick]

Not surprise even TWC charge like $5 for a HD movie on On Demand! Just nuts.

http://www.news.com/8301-10784_3-9924836-7.html?part=rss&subj=news&tag=2547-1_3-0-5

[brewtownska]

Do you guys remember back when VHS rentals were the thing?  I remember store owners explaining that those rentals cost anywhere between $60-90 depending on the title, because they were supposedly on a much higher quality tape then what consumers record onto.  So when those rental places went to DVD, they saved a TON of money and could afford to have many more of each title.

So seeing the prices go back up for Blu-ray, items which are still half as expensive as the old VHS, seems a little greedy to me for the rental places.  I think they are just used to seeing the low cost of DVD now and forgot the good ol' days.

Mike

[klwillis45]

Do you guys remember back when VHS rentals were the thing?  I remember store owners explaining that those rentals cost anywhere between $60-90 depending on the title, because they were supposedly on a much higher quality tape then what consumers record onto.  So when those rental places went to DVD, they saved a TON of money and could afford to have many more of each title.

So seeing the prices go back up for Blu-ray, items which are still half as expensive as the old VHS, seems a little greedy to me for the rental places.  I think they are just used to seeing the low cost of DVD now and forgot the good ol' days.

Mike

That's some incorrect info, tape quality had nothing to do with it. Back in day most VHS titles were "rental priced" at $60-100 in order to promote renting new releases. Few titles were "sell thru priced" at release except for a few blockbuster titles and Disney movies.
JoBlo could buy titles at the rental pricepoint but few did because titles were re-released at sell-thru pricing in 6 months to a year. Usually the boxart got a slight change such as adding a banner.

[brewtownska]

Not surprising I got some bad info back then...I was 17, in a small town, and "the internets" was a new thing, so I didn't know about all the forums at that time

[Steve Mann]

Another sign of what happens when competition (HD DVD) is eliminated.  

[GBK]

Another sign of what happens when competition (HD DVD) is eliminated.  

I'm in total agreement let's face it someone has to pay for Sony's purchase of the studios and it won't be them..  :-)  I mean now we're hearing that it will take 2 years to reach players prices that HD-DVD already provided with the features already available on HD-DVD last year.. please.. this was the worst thing that could have happened in the format war... well at least I don't have to worry about it.. I've decided there is absolutely no way I'm going to pay more than $100 for an BluRay player.. so I guess sometime in 2011+ well i'm sure i'll have no need for one by then.  :-)

[picopir8]

This has nothing to do with HD-DVD.

Competition in the video format war NEVER helped the industry as a whole.  It splits the market and drives up prices because volumes are kept low.  Prices may spike when one format dies because of the increased demand but they eventually settled.  It happened in the VHS/Beta war as well as the DVD/Divix war.  One format is usually bad for the market if it a proprietary format, but Bluray is a standard which anyone can manufacture, granted there are license fees but those exist in ANY format and are generally fixed.

[GBK]

let's face it Bluray offers no additional value over DVD currently.  the additional visual fidelity is not worth the price premium and the additional Netflix charge makes it completely unappealing while the player/content prices are where they are.. the double premium makes this format one I'm willing to completely ignore for a long time to come and possibly entirely.  give me my digital downloads.. same hd capability no disc/player manufacturing cost and nearly universal installed player capability thru cable boxes/ sat boxes/ pc's/ xbox's etc. as they all are ready to support Mpeg 4 compression playback at  no massive additional cost ....  that's my view on this situation.

[SRW1000]

This has nothing to do with HD-DVD.

Competition in the video format war NEVER helped the industry as a whole.  It splits the market and drives up prices because volumes are kept low.  Prices may spike when one format dies because of the increased demand but they eventually settled.  It happened in the VHS/Beta war as well as the DVD/Divix war.  One format is usually bad for the market if it a proprietary format, but Bluray is a standard which anyone can manufacture, granted there are license fees but those exist in ANY format and are generally fixed.

Sorry, but I don't agree with that.

The competition between the two formats increased both features and quality for each, and also lowered prices.  Notice how there aren't any BD players under $300 any longer?  Even for the obsolete  1.0 players?  

Blu-ray manufacturing, licensing, and replication costs are all higher than HD DVD's were.  Now, with a single remaining format, those costs are going to remain higher than if consumers still had a choice.  This was one of the goals for the BD group.  Since margins on DVD player prices are so low they saw BD as a chance to replay that pricing game and keep profits higher for a longer time, unlike the price points we had been seeing for HD hardware.

Since the more expensive format won, Netflix sees an opportunity to raise prices, feeling that their customers are willing to pay a premium fee for HD content, just as they were on the hardware side.  This wasn't a surprise.  Just a week before they went Blu-ray exclusive, Netflix stated that if there were a winning format they would look at raising prices.

If consumers are lucky, Blockbuster will keep their pricing the same, and there will still be some rental competition for the sole remaining standard.

Scott

[gparris]

let's face it Bluray offers no additional value over DVD currently.  the additional visual fidelity is not worth the price premium and the additional Netflix charge makes it completely unappealing while the player/content prices are where they are.. the double premium makes this format one I'm willing to completely ignore for a long time to come and possibly entirely.  give me my digital downloads.. same hd capability no disc/player manufacturing cost and nearly universal installed player capability thru cable boxes/ sat boxes/ pc's/ xbox's etc. as they all are ready to support Mpeg 4 compression playback at  no massive additional cost ....  that's my view on this situation.

Yes, that is entirely your opinion and you are right by it for your own use.
But even my entire family could see the visual difference and many, could hear the difference in the audio, too with a  DVD vs. Blu-ray movie playback on our 70" HDTV with  8-channel surround sound.

As for pricing, I got 4 high def movies, 3 of them Blu-ray averaging $20 a disc, same as a standard DVD with promo pricing for most of them.
-You just have to look for values and special pricing.
Even $25 for a Blu-ray disc to add to your collection is good, a $5 "premium" over the standard $19.99 DVD price of a new release.

As for HD downloads, most of us are a few years off for a that and then there are those copy restricitions, too.:blush:

[GBK]

gparris;
One can argue the merits of the standard and what it offers.. I'm not arguing there is a visual/sound difference.. there is.. it's just absolutely not worth the price.  $300+ for a player is simply too high given that the same visual fidelity and the same audio quality + additional features was available for half the price.  in the case of netflix as stated in other posts.. they see an opportunity where the people willing to shell out cash for Bluray are also going to be willing to shell out more cash for the same thing they had over the last year at no additional cost.  So maybe I'm the only one but I'm not going to give them a dime for providing me with nothing new simply because there is no more competition.  I'm sure sony can blame the rising prices on the chinease using up the world oil supply....  

I'm all for HD but price is king in my decision and in this case that decision is simple.

btw the managed copy of AACS is no longer going to be part of the bluray spec... so theft is your only option otherwise the Downloaded HD/BluRay will have the same restrictions. :bang:

[gparris]

I get my Blu-ray "fix" when I get enough coupons, gift certificates or second hand BDs and so on very well, thank you...and rentals, too.
May I refresh your memory and that of others, that when DVD players first came out and then, into the late 90's, these were as "expensive" as BD players are now price-adjusted for inflation.
-Prices will go down, way down, very soon and the replacement DVD player when one goes bad, will be a BD player, I'm certain.

As for copies and the like, our forum nor any other forum, I'm sure does not condone any illegal activites or their said promotion as it would appear.

Sony may be the "ringleader" for Blu-ray, but it is not the only act in the game.
Sharp, Pioneer, Samsung, Panasonic, among others are selling players, too, so I don't really understand why Sony is always being picked on.
Sony, IMO, makes excellent players, good AVRs and HDTVs and just happens to be the mainline event in BD...so what?:rolleyes:

[SRW1000]

Sony may be the "ringleader" for Blu-ray, but it is not the only act in the game.
Sharp, Pioneer, Samsung, Panasonic, among others are selling players, too, so I don't really understand why Sony is always being picked on.

Yeah, there are other manufacturers making BD players, but Sony is making almost all of them.  Last I read, the PS3 makes up about 85% of all players, and Sony is the highest-selling brand for standalone, also.  Rightly or wrongly, they are the company most strongly associated with Blu-ray, just as they were with Beta.

Throw in the fact that they are also a huge controlling factor on both the replication and the content side, and the reason for them being a target becomes even more clear.

As for prices coming down soon, I sure hope so, but wouldn't bet on it.  The CE manufacturers want to get a longer-term return on investment than they did with DVD.

Consumers shrugged when HD DVD players fell to under $200, and sort of became interested when they fell below $100.  $300 (or even $200) BD players are not going to lead to mass adoption for a public that is quite happy with DVD quality.  

The improvements are noticeable to those with the right equipment, but to the average consumer, watching a 42" set from 12' away and listening through their set's built-in speakers, there's just not enough of a difference to justify investing in a new format.  Especially when that content won't play on all the other DVD players they have around the house and in their vehicles.

Scott

[cjucoder]

I look at it the same as any other luxury item.  Some people put money into fancy cars, others into expensive trips, others HT equipment (or whatever combinations).  Every person/family needs to decide the cost/benefit ratio as to what is important for them.

Since I sit only about 8 ft away from a 61 inch set hi-def discs make me VERY happy, and to me money well worth it.

That said, I still am irritated by the Netflix thing just because I don't like price increases (we need a smiley with money falling out of a pocket).  So far Netflix has not said anything to me.  Maybe they will grandfather current subscribers as they did when they went from 4 to 3 out at a time for my price point.