Blu-ray Still Struggling to Find Customers
Filed under: Home Entertainment
I remember strolling through my local Blockbuster 10 years ago, sure that they couldn't switch to 100% DVDs in a few years. The idea seemed ridiculously optimistic. But in the blink of an eye, DVD took over and we barely had time to wave goodbye to shelves of VHS tapes. It also set some ridiculously high expectations for electronic improvement. Now, a few years later, as The Wrap states: "Blu-ray was supposed to be the format that saved studio home entertainment." Problem is, it isn't.It's been a good three years, and the format is only cooking up 6% of home entertainment sales (compared to DVD's revenue of 20% back in 2000). Most people are still buying DVDs, and renting, the latter of which doesn't help studios a whole heck of a lot, illustrating "continuing problems for the major studios, which have convulsed amid the lack of DVD revenue growth in recent years." The blame game zeroes in on low-price rental services and used disc sales, while noting Blu-ray's failure to become an essential piece of home entertainment. This is resulting in severe price slashing that will include Blu-ray players under $100 this holiday season.
To me, the whole idea seems pretty black and white. We may be a society ready to throw away the old as soon as something new comes out, but it's usually linked to incentives. People grab new cell phones because they offer better sizes and features, and often come free with extended plans. Consumers love new iPods and computers that take size and convenience into account. Who wouldn't want a lighter laptop or a music device that plays 100 CDs instead of 25? It's a quick, one-off purchase.
In the movie world, we embraced DVDs so quickly because they vastly improved what came before. There was no be-kind-rewind headaches and tracking issues, and a much more modest size than the laser disc (not to mention ending the aches of flipping those suckers over mid-movie). It was easy to fall in love with DVDs. More ease, better picture and sound, lots of reasons to get the "I want!" urge cooking.
But blu-ray? Yes, it cooks up beautiful picture and sound -- but with the right equipment. You must have the great high-def TV and solid stereo system to really enjoy it. DVDs still offered perks to those with crappy systems. And yes, the capacity is bigger, so more stuff fits on a disc, and this allows for fancier menus and less disc-switching. But that's it. It's still just a disc, so the newbies aren't going to be enamored by a new look, and DVDs themselves have upsampling which balances out a little of the visual divide.
With all this in mind, I wonder if Blu-ray will end up being this generation's laser disc -- prime for the audio visual fiends and people who can afford it, but never really catching on en masse.
Me, I would love a Blu-ray player, but I don't have one. My TV doesn't even make DVDs look their best, and I don't have cash on-hand to spend thousands on a new system. (Aside from the fact that great sound systems are not apartment friendly.) And I'm sure I'm not the only one.
Do you have a Blu-ray player? Why do you think the format is struggling?
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 3)
10-13-2009 @ 12:26PM
Wayne said...
Blu-ray has so far failed to take off for two reasons:
1) It was only half baked when released because Sony didn't want HD-DVD to get too strong a foothold. They rushed it out the door.
2) When Sony finally crushed HD-DVD there was no price competition and the cost of the players remained far too high. DVD players were under $200 very quickly. Blu-ray is just getting there.
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10-13-2009 @ 3:28PM
barkingghost@gmail.com said...
I'm not so sure its failing as much as you might think it is. First, players can be had now, and a month ago for as little as $98.
Secondly, some folks just are not all that enjoyed about picture quality. Pixel and color resolution may be a niche market, but at least it is one in which some folks (me included) are quite happy to have multiple players and dozens of movies in the home.
If anything, Blu-ray managed to last longer than the competition, who's leader themselves a) turned the back on its followers, and b) bowed to selling its own Toshiba Blu-ray player.
10-13-2009 @ 12:31PM
Mangorilla said...
I think you nailed the reason in your last paragraph. In order for Blu-Ray to be worthwhile, you need the HDTV, a Blu-Ray player, decent sound system, and Blu-Ray discs. So $1,000 for a decent tv, maybe $300 for a player, $1,000 for a good sound system, and what, $40 per disc? In a recession, that's not gonna cut it for most people. The prices will drop, and the format will pick up, but not overnight.
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10-13-2009 @ 1:34PM
Tartuffe said...
That's it exactly. The DVD switch was simply: buy the player. The blu-ray switch is at the least, buy an HDTV and a player, neither oh which have really fallen into a "cheap" price range yet.
10-15-2009 @ 12:59PM
John Heuer said...
your pricing is way off, you're making things seem so expensive when you clearly haven't been keeping up on pricing. $600 is more realistic for a decent 1080p lcd tv (Samsung 32inch), and about $25 for a Blu-ray.
10-14-2009 @ 8:40PM
RTMS said...
Agreed, it's just too expensive to enjoy the Blu Ray discs yet. You have to have a totally new set of equipment and even in the good times it was too expensive, now it's just not a priority. Until all the essential equipment comes down, people won't buy into the Blu Ray craze.
10-13-2009 @ 12:36PM
Klinger said...
Please, any media nowadays that isn't electronic is ancient. I know that's a strong statement but look at all the ways you can get your entertainment online - including the not-so-legal ways.
The company/format that will win (and by win, I mean grab a massive part of the market) is the one that gets rid of ridiculously outrageous prices and let's us get what we want, when we want, in the format we want.
I love high quality resolution and audio. We don't have to buy the Blu-Ray version of the movie to get that now.
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10-13-2009 @ 1:36PM
Candice said...
true. most people are watching on computers more now and with computers coming out with blu-ray players the the regular players could be obselete and pointless for a lot of people.
10-13-2009 @ 12:47PM
Reuben said...
I agree that physical media is heading for a crash, but I will cling to it until the very end. Some of my friends mock me for that. I'm twenty years old and am fighting current trends that sway in my generation's favor.
It is what it is.
10-13-2009 @ 1:56PM
010111 said...
i am fairly certain Blu-Ray players use electricity and electronics in them. additionally... they are digital.
10-13-2009 @ 4:44PM
Pingles said...
Digital distribution is fantastic for one-shot watches. But for long-term owning of movies I'll stick with physical media.
I don't like others controlling how many times and/or WHERE I can watch my movies.
Not to mention those music services (and even the old DIVX movie format) that shut down and the user loses all of the content they bought.
Physical media will be around a while longer.
10-13-2009 @ 12:47PM
Candice said...
Quality was never a problem. The issue for me has always been cost. I just can't justify spending $200 (maybe more) for a good player and then almost $30 for a disc.
I feel if they don't lower their costs by christmas shopping season the risk losing even more momentum.
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10-13-2009 @ 12:47PM
Kate said...
Someone tell HBO to get Oz and Sex and the City on Blu-ray and I'll solve the money woes. Actually, all the good TV shows.
Maybe if more movies were projected in HD, people would get to see the difference in quality.
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10-13-2009 @ 3:13PM
cablebfg said...
Wait, what? Are you talking about in theaters? Because the projectors in a majority of theaters these days project the films in better quality than any Blu-ray player could dream, and that doesn't take into account the fact that it is a much BIGGER picture.
10-13-2009 @ 12:51PM
xenothaulus said...
Streaming services like Hulu and Netflix are going to win in the end, especially when more and more televisions and boxes have the software embedded and ready-to-go.
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10-13-2009 @ 2:11PM
010111 said...
most likely. eventually.
but what device has Hulu on it? i hear *talk* of Hulu integration in various consumer electronics but have not actually seen one on the market.
Blu-Ray is still massively better in quality than Netflix. including their HD streams. quite obvious. obvious enough to care when including the convenience of it all? probably not.
but i still can only really use it for older stuff. no (or very few) first run releases come out on Netflix streaming... especially not in HD.
iTunes i haven't bothered trying for rental or purchasing. seemed too inconvenient basically. DRM'd file i can't move to various devices to play. too high a price compared with just waiting for the BD or DVD to come on disc from Netflix. especially when considering i am paying per film... AND using a ton of bandwidth.
but then again... it is still the same scenario as :
the VHS -> SVHS 'transition' ... all that was offered was basically the same thing with better quality. the winner was DVD when it eventually arrived.
the cassette -> DCC/MD ... tons of improvements in the latter formats... just low penetration rate and laden with anti-consumer DRM. the winner was CD-R (when it eventually arrived) which is what everyone wanted to begin with.
and the CD -> SACD/DVDA 'transition'... all that was offered was basically the same thing with better quality and more DRM. the winner was comparatively low-bitrate (by todays standards) MP3 files that sounded worse than what they were replacing... but were massively more convenient.
streaming services will eventually get there. and BD will most likely remain a niche and will never fully replace DVD.
physical media itself isn't going anywhere soon though. as popular as the iTunes store is... most stores i go into are still full of CDs. for stuff i really want... i normally will still buy the disc.
which is my attitude with BD... the stuff i really want i buy the disc. others i watch on Netflix (either streaming or via the mail).
whereas i *used* to just buy allllll sorts of DVDs. *tons*.
10-13-2009 @ 1:01PM
jeff said...
its really just the disk cost. I havent bought a blu ray since Wall -E because I cant justify the pricing structure to myself. $35 is not worth it.
When they start pricing new releases at $20 as a standard, then we will talk.
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10-13-2009 @ 1:14PM
Christina said...
I agree. I think the resounding answer is the economy and Blu-Ray price points, for players and discs. I don't think DVDs really picked up steam until the players cost in the $100-150 range, somewhere I think most people probably feel comfortable investing in. After I bought my first DVD player and watched a movie on it, I was sold. There was no looking back. All that being said, I do have the HDTV, PS3 capable of playing Blu-Ray and maybe just the one disc that I still haven't watched on it. It's 'The Dark Knight' that I bought last Christmas before I even had the player to watch it on (it was really for the replica motorcycle). I have no idea why I haven't bothered to watch..well, yes, maybe I do. My Netflix membership. I love it. I'm too busy trying to view movies I haven't seen to spend time seeing ones I already own. Yet, I'm not willing to pay the extra to have Blu-Ray sent instead. When it comes to purchasing DVDs, it has to be something I really want to own to pay full price for. Most everything else comes from the $5 Wal-mart bin or super-slashed Black Friday specials.
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10-13-2009 @ 1:14PM
Jean-Denis Haas said...
I don't understand why people spend $35 for a Blu-ray? Just wait a few weeks or check Amazon. I usually spend $15 to $25 max on a new Blu-ray.
What they need to do is offer special features separately as downloads on iTunes (or wherever). Just want the commentary? Here you go. Just this making-of? Voila. And since it's online, offer all the major language tracks separately as well. There are so many ways to split things up and to make quick profit.
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10-13-2009 @ 1:35PM
Relaxing Dragon said...
I'm currently not a Blu-Ray person, as my ever-growing collection of DVDs will attest. The difference in quality does seem nice, but it doesn't really seem like enough to get me to switch. DVDs look and sound just fine to me. And the selection of Blu-Ray discs avaliable, while admittedly still growing, doesn't include nearly all the titles someone like me (with a love of those hard-to-find, obscure titles) really wants (and what it does have, I usually already have on DVD, and thus don't seem interested). Though the big thing that's keeping me away is the price. Not so much of the player (eventually I'll be getting a PS3, and there you go), but of the discs themselves. A new one costs something like $30+, and even older ones are still fairly pricey. When I can get two or three DVDs for the price of one Blu-Ray, it's a clear cut decision for me.
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