Brad Brevet
Over at The Wrap Daniel Frankel has posted a piece regarding the sales numbers for the three-year-old high-definition Blu-ray format saying "the savior format still only generates about 6 percent of total home entertainment revenue." He compares this to DVD, which at age 3 commanded 20 percent of home entertainment revenue back in 2000 when competing with the then popular VHS format.
Frankel points to additional numbers such as the following:
* Revenue from rentals of DVD and Blu-ray movies and TV shows, as well as digital downloads, had increased 8.2 percent to $5 billion through the first three quarters of this year.
* Rentals of Blu-ray high-definition disc titles increased 52 percent to $313 million.
* DVD sales declined 16 percent to $5 billion.
He mentions how this holiday season could see Blu-ray players on the market for less than $100 and Blu-ray discs as low as $10, but of course the format will still have to compete with the widespread DVD market and the up-and-coming On Demand service from cable providers, Netflix, Xbox, etc.
In my home I no longer have a DVD-only player. I still have an HD DVD player that really never gets used as I have already replaced many of my HD DVDs and I have a PlayStation 3 for my DVD and Blu-ray discs. On top of that I use Netflix by mail and also have the Roku player to make use of Netflix's Instant Play features. However, I realize I am hardly a "normal" consumer when it comes to movies. Movies are my livelihood and being able to watch as many as I can is a necessity. But I always wonder what consumers such as yourself think of the current marketplace.
I have always been a fan of creating a "library" of movies, a collection of films that people can look at and choose whatever they would like to watch. Of course, such a notion would be obsolete should there ever be a service such as Netflix's Instant Play that actually had ALL the movies available to watch as opposed to a small selection. Granted, there are currently 363 titles in my Instant Queue on top of 473 in my Delivery Queue. The chances of me getting to all of those titles over the next five years are pretty much zero, so just how important is it to have every movie at your fingertips?
There is always the argument of "upconverting" DVD players that basically provide a faux high-definition image that when compared to a quality Blu-ray release shows its flaws, but when we get down to it I would bet most consumers don't really concern themselves with the absolute pristine picture offered by Blu-ray. Personally, I love it. When great cinematography and score combine in a fantastic movie presented in high-definition on my plasma television we are talking about a great night at home with the movies. As a result, flaws in the Netflix streaming service are more noticeable to me. While watching a DVD I tend to realize it doesn't look or sound as good as it could. Perhaps I am spoiled, but it's the truth.
I have often argued with friends over whether or not physical discs will still be around in ten-or-so-years. I tend to believe they will be simply because I think people enjoy owning and holding a physical object. However, after beginning to use the Netflix Instant Play feature I can see where the streaming option becomes more of a possibility, but I just wonder if the quality will ever be there.
Right now Netflix's Instant Play is occasionally choppy, drops service at times and even when presented in HD it can become extremely digitized. To go along with that there is continued talk of "a looming spectrum crisis" as more bandwidth needs to be provided with the increase in usage from mobile devices, so what's it going to take to begin delivering every movie and TV show in high-definition? After all, isn't high-definition the new standard in video? Even YouTube boasts the format.
The other thing to think about are special features. With current instant and on demand delivery consumers aren't offered audio commentaries and deleted scenes. Just how important are these bonuses to the consumer? Does the thought of Gone with the Wind on Blu-ray with over eight hours of extras make you change your mind?
My belief is more and more people will begin buying Blu-ray players as they need to replace their current DVD players. After all, considering Blu-ray players will play and "upconvert" standard DVDs why not go for the player you can also play the latest media on? Then again, Richard Doherty of the Envisioneering Group tells The Wrap, "One in four people still don’t understand that Blu-ray players play back regular DVDs." I don't know who to blame for this, but perhaps once Wal-mart offers that $99 Blu-ray player the confusion will begin to die down.
So how about you? What is your preferred method of home entertainment? Do you buy DVDs or Blu-ray discs? Do you only rent? Do you only stream your movies via Netflix or some sort of On Demand service? Would the absence of special features from streaming movies still lead you to purchase films as opposed to going 100% digital?
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