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Author Topic: DVD sales going south? Mike Blakesley Film God Posts: 12767 From: Forsyth, Montana Registered: Jun 99 posted 04-24-2007 06:54 PM                        Well this is surprising. Theatre ticket sales are up over last year, but: Link Sales of DVDs Plunge To Lowest Level Ever The first quarter of the year was the worst ever for home video sales in the DVD era, Daily Variety reported today (Tuesday) as it cited a report by Video Business that sales fell 5.1 percent to $5.6 billion during the quarter. Rentals, however, were down only 1 percent. Nevertheless, executives of studio home-video units told the trade publication that business has picked up considerably in the second quarter and blamed a weak release schedule on the earlier downturn.  |  IP: Logged Mark J. Marshall Film God Posts: 3188 From: New Castle, DE, USA Registered: Aug 2002 posted 04-24-2007 07:41 PM                    How about blaming crappy movies that no one wants to see let alone own. That's why I haven't bought anything recently.  |  IP: Logged Mike Heenan Phenomenal Film Handler Posts: 1896 From: Scottsdale, AZ, USA Registered: Mar 2000 posted 04-24-2007 07:45 PM                     i just think its too over saturated... I mean there's only so many movies you can have in your collection before it bankrupts you... and only so many hours in the day you can watch them. I know that Netflix certainly has saved me tons of money that I would have wasted on dvds that I only would watch once.  |  IP: Logged Monte L Fullmer Film God Posts: 8367 From: Nampa, Idaho, USA Registered: Nov 2004 posted 04-24-2007 08:16 PM                     ..and let alone the Internet downloads of movies to copy for your own..plus the DVD ripping that is available when renting DVD's....  |  IP: Logged Bobby Henderson "Ask me about Trajan." Posts: 10973 From: Lawton, OK, USA Registered: Apr 2001 posted 04-24-2007 08:52 PM                     I'm not surprised to see such a report. A sales decline of 5% versus a rental decline of 1% is a pretty telling figure. Like Mark, I think the main problem hurting DVD sales is a general lack of quality movie releases. Simple as that. Sure, there's always been sequels, remakes, TV-series send-ups and other derivative content but never to the degree we're seeing from major studios today. The 1990s seems almost like a "golden age" of film-making by comparison. So much media consolidation has happened that only around 5 companies control much of what gets delivered to movie theaters, home video, TV, music and radio. Big corporations despise change. They would prefer to sell the same old shit than do anything innovative (or risky). It's impossible to truly control the trends in any creative industry like movies and music. Deliberately stifling the natural cycle of change in those businesses makes about as much sense as irrigating crops with salt water. Not nearly as many new movies are worth buying on DVD today as compared to just a few years ago. So many of these re-treads are simply met with the reaction, "maybe I'll rent it or wait for it on cable." The fact the DVD market has matured to saturation just compounds the problem. Most people who have been collecting DVDs for more than a couple years or so likely have their entertainment racks filled with their favorite movies on DVD. That's how mine has been for about the last three years. My DVD buying habits really started trailing off about 3 years ago. I don't think I've bought more than 4 or 5 DVDs over the past year. Studios have also been abusing the hell out of customers with numerous re-releases of DVDs. There's lots of catalog titles that have been released twice or more on DVD. The double-dipping ends up hurting the studios because the customers get wise to it and feel there is no urgency to buy a particular title now. Just wait until it gets double dipped again! On the subject of people ripping DVDs to their hard drives and making illegal copies, I don't think Hollywood is losing very much to that. First, I think many of the people dubbing DVDs haven't been buying many of them in the first place. More important, the process of copying a copy-protected DVD is way too complicated and time consuming for the overwhelming majority of the general public. We're talking about the same general public where the majority couldn't figure out how to program a VCR. Downloading the movies is equally complicated and often a very treacherous practice. Many PCs are hosed with all sorts of computers viruses when exposed to many file sharing networks.  |  IP: Logged Mike Blakesley Film God Posts: 12767 From: Forsyth, Montana Registered: Jun 99 posted 04-24-2007 09:37 PM                        quote: Bobby Henderson Most people who have been collecting DVDs for more than a couple years or so likely have their entertainment racks filled with their favorite movies on DVD. That could be alot of it, all right. I now have about 90% of my favorites; most of the DVDs I've bought in the last year or two have been TV shows, and there aren't many of them left that I want.  |  IP: Logged Joel N. Weber II Expert Film Handler Posts: 115 From: Somerville, MA, USA Registered: Dec 2005 posted 04-24-2007 10:02 PM                     In the last year or two, I've been intentionally avoiding buying DVDs of things that were shot in 35mm because I figure I want to buy them in Blu-Ray. Except I haven't figured out how to get a cost effective Blu-Ray player yet. (I have been buying MacGyver DVDs, because I don't expect Blu-Ray to improve the quality there significantly, but maybe I am being naive.)  |  IP: Logged Mike Heenan Phenomenal Film Handler Posts: 1896 From: Scottsdale, AZ, USA Registered: Mar 2000 posted 04-24-2007 11:25 PM                     You bought MacGyver dvd's? Ouch... as much as I loved the show, the transfers were pretty horrible. Since the show was finished on tape, I dont think they'll be releasing them to blu ray unless they go back to the original elements. I'm buying Magnum PI myself which was finished on film and the transfers seem to be from prints and in pretty good shape for the most part. I dont know if i'd buy it in HD if they would release it in that format though  |  IP: Logged Tristan Lane Master Film Handler Posts: 444 From: Nampa, Idaho Registered: Feb 2002 posted 04-25-2007 01:21 AM                     The reason I haven't bought any DVD's in the last year is due to Netflix. If I can pay the cost of 1 DVD a month to Netflix, and watch as many as I want, as long as I want, Why would I waste my money buying one DVD? Netflix has an extensive library, and a 2 day turnaround time. In my opinion, Netflix, Hollywood Video's "MVP" program, and other monthly DVD rental services are a big reason DVD sales have declined.  |  IP: Logged Mark Lensenmayer Phenomenal Film Handler Posts: 1605 From: Upper Arlington, OH Registered: Sep 1999 posted 04-25-2007 06:58 AM                     Some big price drops are showing up locally (Central Ohio). A grocery chain (Giant Eagle) is offering NIGHT AT THE MUSEUM for $13.99, and QUEEN and DEJA VU for $15.99, but with a $6 coupon if you buy both, dropping the price to $12.99 each. This is great for my mother-in-law who can't get out to movies...she loves to come over and watch films.  |  IP: Logged Dennis Benjamin Phenomenal Film Handler Posts: 1445 From: Denton, MD Registered: Feb 2002 posted 04-25-2007 07:16 AM                        A lot of the films coming out in the last 5 years or so are what I call "One Timers". Meaning there is no point in seeing them more than once. Whether you see the film at the Movie Theatre or rent them on DVD. They are very forgettable and seeing them once is usually plenty. Sometimes seeing them once is one time too many. I continually build my DVD collection. However, my collection consists more of older films (from the 1950's through to the 1990's). Finding old movies on DVD has actually become a hobby of mine.  |  IP: Logged Mike Williams Master Film Handler Posts: 255 From: Knoxville, TN Registered: Feb 2002 posted 04-25-2007 07:48 AM                     I'm not sure how much of the 1% this accounts for or not - but on demand technology that is available from most cable providers has certainly slowed my purchases of DVD. Sure, the selection is relatively limited now, but it is much better than it was a year ago and will most likely keep increasing. If I am not leaving my house to rent most of my movies, I am less likely to buy a DVD. For example, if I am at the store and there is a new movie on sale that I want to see, I have the option of Buying it, renting it at Blockbuster or watching it on demand. In most cases, I can even watch it in HD on Demand. If I really like the movie and still feel compelled to buy it, THEN I consider getting the DVD. This may not be the same for everybody, but on demand has definitely changed my purchasing habits. Unfortunately, it has also changed the way I go to the movies. Even when I worked for a theater chain and could go for free, in most cases I didn't since I could watch it at home 2-3 months later.  |  IP: Logged Scott Norwood Film God Posts: 8146 From: Boston, MA. USA (1774.21 miles northeast of Dallas) Registered: Jun 99 posted 04-25-2007 08:02 AM                        Isn't this pretty much what happened to music CDs in the mid-1990s? The format had matured, players had become cheap, and users had already purchased pretty much all the catalog titles that they wanted (often as an upgrade from older LPs and cassettes). From that point forward, sales would be weighted toward newer releases. Same for DVDs. Most of the big catalog titles have already been released and those who wanted them have purchased them. The last few years' worth of movies have mostly been dull and generally not worth buying (with a few exceptions), and I am sure that this hasn't helped sales of new releases. I suspect that the anticipation of new formats (Blu-Ray, HD-DVD, downloads) has probably caused people to delay additional purchases of catalog titles, now that it has become (reasonably) clear that the DVD format is probably midway through its lifespan before the Next Big Thing takes over. Add to that the increase in options for both in-home and out-of-home entertainment and it's really not surprising at all (to me, at least) that sales would be down.  |  IP: Logged Tim Reed Better Projection Pays Posts: 5246 From: Northampton, PA Registered: Sep 1999 posted 04-25-2007 09:15 AM                       quote: Tristan Lane monthly DVD rental services are a big reason DVD sales have declined. Good. Now they're getting a taste of what it feels like to have the rug pulled out from under them.  |  IP: Logged Mike Blakesley Film God Posts: 12767 From: Forsyth, Montana Registered: Jun 99 posted 04-25-2007 10:22 AM                        I think long-term, the video software industry is going to mostly disappear. Eventually you will "subscribe" to an on-demand video service for everything. You'll be able to watch anything you want when you want. The concept of putting a device into a player will be quaint within the next 20 years or less. Of course, the downside is, you'll have to pay each time you watch something, but it'll probably still be cheaper than buying DVDs.  |  IP: Logged

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