Blockbuster to rent Sony's Blu-Ray exclusively

[The Irish Doggy 11]

Interesting in the battle of high-def DVD formats:

 

AP: Blockbuster to Favor Blu-Ray HD Disc

 

By GARY GENTILE

AP Business Writer

Technology Video

Buy AP Photo Reprints

 

LOS ANGELES (AP) -- Blockbuster Inc. will rent high-definition DVDs only in the Blu-ray format in 1,450 stores when it expands its high-def offerings next month, dealing a major blow to the rival HD DVD format.

 

The move, being announced Monday, could be the first step in resolving a format war that has kept confused consumers from rushing to buy new DVD players until they can determine which format will dominate the market.

 

Blockbuster has been renting both Blu-ray and HD DVD titles in 250 stores since late last year and found that consumers were choosing Blu-ray titles more than 70 percent of the time.

 

"The consumers are sending us a message. I can't ignore what I'm seeing," Matthew Smith, senior vice president of merchandising at Blockbuster, told The Associated Press.

 

Blockbuster will continue to rent HD DVD titles in the original 250 locations and online, the Dallas-based company said.

 

The decision was helped in large part by the lopsided availability of titles in Blu-ray, Smith said. All major studios except one are releasing films in Blu-ray, with several, including The Walt Disney Co., releasing exclusively in Blu-ray. Only Universal Studios, which is owned by General Electric Co., exclusively supports HD DVD.

 

Warner Bros., a unit of Time Warner Inc., and Paramount Pictures, which is owned by Viacom Inc., release films in both formats.

 

"When you walk into a store and see all this product available in Blu-ray and there is less available on HD DVD, I think the consumer gets that," Smith said.

 

The rollout of Sony Corp.'s PlayStation 3 game console, which comes standard with a Blu-ray drive, also helped give the format momentum, Smith said.

 

Blockbuster's decision, while significant on it's own, could boost Blu-ray even more if other retailers follow suit.

 

"It will help shift the balance toward Blu-ray, clearly," said Richard Doherty, president of The Envisioneering Group, a research company.

 

The North American HD DVD Promotional Group said Blockbuster's decision was shortsighted and skewed by the success of films released by Blu-ray studios in the first three months of the year. The group said HD DVD has since gained momentum, selling more players and popular titles such as "The 40-Year Old Virgin" and "The Matrix" trilogy.

 

"I think trying to make a format decision using such a short time period is really not measuring what the consumer is saying," said Ken Graffeo, co-president of the group.

 

The two formats have been battling it out since they both hit the market last year. Studios hope the high-definition discs, with their sharper picture and more room for interactive special features and games, will replace standard definition DVDs.

 

The formats are incompatible and neither will play on standard DVD players, although standard DVDs can be viewed with either a Blu-ray or HD DVD player.

 

The Blu-ray camp has been helped by the release of such hugh hits as "Casino Royale," "Pirates of the Caribbean" and "Spider-Man" coming out exclusively in its format.

 

As the battle has unfolded, the price of the high-definition players needed to show the movies has plummeted. Toshiba Corp., the major supporter of HD DVD, is selling its player for $299 with a rebate, down from $499 when it first went on sale.

 

Sony, which is pushing Blu-ray, recently slashed the price of its player by more than half to $499. The player retailed for $1,000 when it first was introduced.

[Savage Beatings 99]

Is Blockbuster still a major player in the industry? I kind of had the feeling that they would last much longer with competition like Netflix, etc.

[Ursa Majoris 102]

Is Blockbuster still a major player in the industry? I kind of had the feeling that they would last much longer with competition like Netflix, etc.

Definitely they are. They copied Netflix business model and don't fool yourself that everyone is using NetFlix-style mail - plenty of people show up at the stores still.

 

As far as the HD-DVD vs BluRay thing goes, BluRay devices are still twice the price of HD-DVD. Seems like this is an industry effort to push the pricier option.

 

Does anyone actually care about this, BTW?

[The Irish Doggy 11]

 

Does anyone actually care about this, BTW?

 

 

 

Meh, care which format wins or who backs what, no, I don't.

 

I'm just waiting for the dust to settle and see the result of this format war before upgrading my DVD player.

[TimC 18]

Blu-Ray won't have the pr0n. Never understimate the power of pr0n. I predict an HD-DVD win in the end.

 

Of course, I predicted a Beta win back in the day because it was superior to VHS in everyway also.

[Ursa Majoris 102]

Meh, care which format wins or who backs what, no, I don't.

 

I'm just waiting for the dust to settle and see the result of this format war before upgrading my DVD player.

 

Exactly.

[Avernus 204]

Is Blockbuster still a major player in the industry? I kind of had the feeling that they would last much longer with competition like Netflix, etc.

 

 

Netflix Total Revenue for the year 2006: $996.7 million

(source: http://www.videobusiness.com/article/CA6409885.html)

 

Blockbuster Total Revenue for the year 2006: $5.52 billion

(source: http://www.videobusiness.com/article/CA6419949.html)

 

Total Rental Market Revenue for the year 2006: $7.5 billions

(according to http://www.dvdinformation.com/News/press/CES010807.htm)

 

So we get:

 

13.4% for Netflix

73.6% for Blockbuster

 

 

I am joining Blockbuster this week to get my Blu-rays since they have that thing where I can get one in the mail, watch it, return it to the store down the street and exchange it for another rental...

[Avernus 204]

Blu-Ray won't have the pr0n. Never understimate the power of pr0n. I predict an HD-DVD win in the end.

 

Of course, I predicted a Beta win back in the day because it was superior to VHS in everyway also.

 

 

pron is a different animal now.....we didn't have internet at the time...

 

and honestly...the format war is all but over....

 

the HD DVD prices are falling for a reason....

 

they have weak studio support....

 

out of the top 10 movies released in 2006, all of them will and already are available on Blu-ray...3 of them will be available on HD DVD.....this year is likely the same thing as Shrek will be available for both...but unless there is a top movie made by Universal, Blu-ray will own this area once again and this is why Blockbuster has struck a deal with them...

 

they have more recent movies as well as more popular ones...

 

here is how the studio support shapes up...

 

HD DVD: Universal, WB, Weinstein and Paramount

 

Blu-ray: Paramount, Warner Bros., Disney (Buena Vista), Fox, Lionsgate, MGM and Sony Pictures

[Kid Cid 4]

It's starting to look to me at least, like BluRay will win out. Too bad becasue I thought the HD DVD was the better technology.

[cdrudge 2]

Netflix Total Revenue for the year 2006: $996.7 million

(source: http://www.videobusiness.com/article/CA6409885.html)

 

Blockbuster Total Revenue for the year 2006: $5.52 billion

(source: http://www.videobusiness.com/article/CA6419949.html)

 

Total Rental Market Revenue for the year 2006: $7.5 billions

(according to http://www.dvdinformation.com/News/press/CES010807.htm)

 

So we get:

 

13.4% for Netflix

73.6% for Blockbuster

I wonder how those numbers compare to actual units rented. From the article you linked to regarding Blockbuster, it said that their 4Q revenues from online rentals was $30m. Presuming that the other 3 quarters did no better, say they had $120m in online rentals. Compare that to the nearly $1B in revenues from NetFlix which is exclusively online and Blockbusters is still a small player in the online rental realm. Also don't forget that Blockbuster charges significantly more per movie on average in their B&M locations. So they can have more revenues on fewer rentals. There is also additional sales such as new/used movies, candy, magazines, games, etc that contributed to additional revenues that Netflix doesn't have going for it.

 

There is no question that Blockbuster is still a major player in the total video rental industry. Online, it's really Netflix and everyone else.

[cdrudge 2]

pron is a different animal now.....we didn't have internet at the time...

Pron seems to drive a lot of modern technologies. Faster internet speeds, DVDs, even the VHS tape owe a lot to pron. I'm not sure however if it will help high definition (TV or DVD) sales though. The jump from VHS to DVD was a big improvement just because it was going from analog to digital. However I don't think a lot of people really want to see all those body parts on pron stars in HD detail. DVD is still "fuzzy" enough that pron-set makeup can hide those blemishes and pimples. With HD, all those things become more obvious.

 

Plus, why pay $20-30 for a pron HD-DVD or Blu-Ray disc when you can find equivalent footage on the internet for free or next to free?

[TimC 18]

Wait, there's pr0n on the innernets???

[Avernus 204]

It's starting to look to me at least, like BluRay will win out. Too bad becasue I thought the HD DVD was the better technology.

 

 

it's not at all...

 

I'm not a fanboy or anything...if HD DVD were to be ahead, I'd adopt that format...

 

one blu-ray disc is 25 GB...and many movies run on a dual-layered disc (50 GB)

 

one HD DVD disk is 15 GB..dual-layered is 30 (and to my knowledge, they haven't started production of these yet)...

 

plus the red laser is what is used for standard DVD's...the blue laser hits a smaller point of the disc and is more precise when reading it for higher quality..

[Avernus 204]

Pron seems to drive a lot of modern technologies. Faster internet speeds, DVDs, even the VHS tape owe a lot to pron. I'm not sure however if it will help high definition (TV or DVD) sales though. The jump from VHS to DVD was a big improvement just because it was going from analog to digital. However I don't think a lot of people really want to see all those body parts on pron stars in HD detail. DVD is still "fuzzy" enough that pron-set makeup can hide those blemishes and pimples. With HD, all those things become more obvious.

 

Plus, why pay $20-30 for a pron HD-DVD or Blu-Ray disc when you can find equivalent footage on the internet for free or next to free?

 

 

exactly...

 

anyone buying high-def pron is a little too extreme IMO...

[Avernus 204]

I wonder how those numbers compare to actual units rented. From the article you linked to regarding Blockbuster, it said that their 4Q revenues from online rentals was $30m. Presuming that the other 3 quarters did no better, say they had $120m in online rentals. Compare that to the nearly $1B in revenues from NetFlix which is exclusively online and Blockbusters is still a small player in the online rental realm. Also don't forget that Blockbuster charges significantly more per movie on average in their B&M locations. So they can have more revenues on fewer rentals. There is also additional sales such as new/used movies, candy, magazines, games, etc that contributed to additional revenues that Netflix doesn't have going for it.

 

There is no question that Blockbuster is still a major player in the total video rental industry. Online, it's really Netflix and everyone else.

 

 

apparently BB has a fixed price for online rentals and you can still use these to exchange in your local BB for a free rental...

 

so you don't have to sign up for a membership at BB....

 

Netflix offers a better online service because they have less customers and this allows them to deliver movies promptly...

 

but BB still dominates the rental area of things...I personally was pulling for netflix because BB will overcharge for everything if netflix went down...

 

netflix came in and kept BB in check....and they continue to...

 

but BB offers a better deal for me considering I have a BB 5 blocks away..

[keggerz 511]

Definitely they are. They copied Netflix business model and don't fool yourself that everyone is using NetFlix-style mail - plenty of people show up at the stores still.

 

As far as the HD-DVD vs BluRay thing goes, BluRay devices are still twice the price of HD-DVD. Seems like this is an industry effort to push the pricier option.

 

Does anyone actually care about this, BTW?

 

well considering i have a PS3 and all we do is watch BDs on it then I guess I care

[Avernus 204]

well considering i have a PS3 and all we do is watch BDs on it then I guess I care

 

 

this is encouraged...

 

the PS3 is the reason blu-ray is slaughtering...

[MrTed46 12]

I had a feeling Blu-Ray will win the battle strictly due to PS3's. HD DVDs will not go away though.

[Ursa Majoris 102]

Wait, there's pr0n on the innernets???

 

I blame Al Gore.

[The Irish Doggy 11]

I blame Al Gore.

 

 

I blame Monica Lewinski.

Edited June 18, 2007 by The Irish Doggy

[Avernus 204]

I blame Monica Lewinski.

 

 

she ruined it for the dems....