Home Media Magazine - March 30 - April 5, 2008 - (Page 16)

COMMENTARY www.homemediamagazine.com THE BUZZ BY CHRIS TRIBBEY, SENIOR REPORTER Pity the Plight of the HD DVD Player Owner feel bad for my sister, I really do. When the format war abruptly ended, instead of being excited that her brother’s magazine had broken the news, Holly was actually pretty peeved. I had ruined her week. Maybe her month. She and her husband have an HD-A3 HD DVD player and nearly 150 HD DVDs to play on their giant HDTV. They love the better picture and crisper sound. Like many HD DVD owners, you won’t find anything that says Blu-ray Disc in her home. In a few years, those HD DVDs that aren’t combo discs will be good for nothing. “It’s a bummer,” she said. “We aren’t planning on getting a Blu-ray player anytime soon.” Sure, she got her high-def collection started with the help of family members who cover the industry, but she’s a good example of the second-biggest problem now facing Blu-ray. I THE NEXT OBSTACLE IS CONVINCING THOSE CONSUMERS WHO SIDED WITH HD DVD THAT IT’S OK TO LET GO OF THE LOOK AND SOUND OF PERFECT, AND ACCEPT THAT THE FUTURE IS BLU. Most of the early adopters out there picked a side and were not format agnostic. Investing in two players and picking up high-def discs in two formats was too big an investment and hassle for most. And those who chose HD DVD won’t be quick to jump on board with Blu-ray. Profile 2.0 players are just emerging and still remain roughly three or four times as expensive as the cheapest HD DVD offering. Blu-ray movies were generally more expensive than their HD DVD counterparts. And many who picked HD DVD did so for the same reason oth- Chris Tribbey’s e-mail address is ctribbey@questex.com ers picked Blu-ray: They found fault with the other format. We can identify Blu-ray’s biggest problem with ease: satisfaction with DVD. Convincing the general movie-watching public to start upgrading their homeviewing experience will be an uphill battle, even with one clear choice. But the next obstacle is convincing those consumers who sided with HD DVD that it’s OK to let go of The Look and Sound of Perfect, and accept that The Future is Blu. And that’s not going to be an easy task. As for Holly, she’ll likely wait until a Blu-ray player hits under $100 before she makes the leap. Until then, she’ll just have to hope her “upconverting DVD player” holds out as long as possible. READERS’ FORUM I The following letter is in response to coverage of the end of the format war: I The following letter is in response to our “It’s Blu” insert, which covered Blu-ray’s win of the format war: T H EY SA ID IT Not so fast Industry should lead the way to Blu “PEOPLE ARE COLLECTORS. THEY WANT TO OWN THE DISC, NOT THE BITS ON A HARD DRIVE, AND NOT JUST FOR 24 HOURS.” Adam Gregorich, Home Theater Forum While you are offering congratulations all around on the As a consumer who loves reading about the business I end of the format war, please consider this: might have a different take on it. First off, the fear that the DVD industry will not continue to grow, and may be dropI The cheapest BD players still cost $400 each. ping off, is a bad thing. The idea that DVD has hit a peak and I The price for mass market adoption of BD is probably may drop should not be feared but accepted. Video tape sales around $100 for the players. dropped. It was just replaced with something else. I The big driver for BD market penetration was the PS3. The fear should be that consumers will not move over to Blu-ray in a reasonable amount of time. I think the transiAnd why? tion will take longer than VHS to DVD did. I think studios First, because it’s a game machine, and only secondarily need to forget things from the past. It is not going to work a BD player. the same way this time around. And, second, because Sony is using the Polaroid/Gillette Right now, as much as I would love to go to Blu-ray, it marketing model — take a loss on the camera and make is cost prohibitive. I cannot afford a $300+ machine. I a huge profit on the film, or give away the razor and over- suspect many average consumers cannot, especially after charge for the blades. Underprice the player and make it upgrading to a new TV. Right now DVD players are cheap. up on the games and movies. You can find them for less than $30 at the local drug store. Realistically, how many movies need 50GB of storage, For a little bit more you can get an upconverting DVD regardless of how many special features, commentaries, player. I got a brand-name, upconverting player at Waldeleted scenes and alternate endings you include? Not that Mart for $40. I think if the machines quickly dropped to many. But a PlayStation3 game, oh yeah! just less than $100, adoption would see an increase. My prediction is that U.S. gasoline will be at $5/gallon, I think the other trick to speeding up the adoption is getthe Euro will be worth $2, and the Japanese yen will be ting some of the older things out on Blu-ray at a low price. 80 to the dollar long before BD players get close to mass- Keep the new stuff at the high price. That is OK. Just get market pricing if they ever do. Did S-VHS players ever the older stuff out at a lower price. Even do the two-movie reach mass-market pricing? Did laserdisc players? I don’t collections that are done now on DVD, but on Blu-ray. think so. Oh, and competing for the U.S. consumer’s disI will leave you with one more thought as to why stucretionary spending dollar will be the need to upgrade their dios should not be as worried about a drop in DVD sales analog TV to a digital TV next January or February. in whole. As they lose some sales to the rental chains, Thankfully, those 600,000 early adopters who chose HD they should be making them up as on-demand through DVD will all run right out and buy BD players. At least cable becomes more popular. Same dollar, different Amazon.com and Best Buy hope they will. Both retailers have source. Those who rent and don’t buy will continue to “special offers” to convert HD DVD owners to BD. We have to do so through one means or another. Those who want keep that sales curve rising up and to the right, don’t we? to buy will continue to buy on DVD and then eventually I trust that you will track all of this. It will be interesting to see on Blu-ray. if there’s a sales blip for BD players or PS3 consoles in the next The transition to Blu is just going to take longer. Studios month or two. I will be looking forward to seeing the data. and manufacturers just need to figure ways to speed it up. Peter Bock West Linn, Ore. Richard Abelow San Jose, Calif. “IT’S LIKE CLIMBING EVEREST IN A SPEEDO.” Les Claypool on making films We Want to Hear From You! Please send letters to: Editor, Home Media Magazine 201 East Sandpointe Ave., Suite 500 Santa Ana, CA 92707 E-mail: HomeMediaMagazine@questex.com Fax: 714.338.6712 Include name, business address (city and state) and telephone number. Letters are subject to editing. Join Us Online: www.homemediamagazine.com Visit our Web site to participate in discussion boards and weekly polls on the latest industry issues. 16 Home Media Magazine March 30–April 5, 2008 http://www.homemediamagazine.com http://Amazon.com http://www.homemediamagazine.com

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Home Media Magazine - March 30 - April 5, 2008

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