Re: Netflix goes Blu-ray

Maybe i'm grasping at straws here, but maybe this will help HD DVD sales? Netflix is the easily the biggest online rental deal going. Since they have now dropped HD DVD, maybe it will convince the HD DVD people BUY the movies instead of rent? I dunno. I hope so!

I got the Netflix email this evening myself...there's still quite a few movies I have yet to see on HD DVD - I especially need to hurry up and rent the Bourne trilogy. The rest I've yet to see are just odds and ends.

It was definitely nice while it lasted, and inexpensive too! Now I wonder if they'll rent them until they break or sell them off as "used". If the price is right I'd probably buy a few.

No biggie. We all knew it was coming. But whatever the movies are on my Netflix list that switch over to DVD, those will be the very movies I remove from my list. I just cannot waste a viewing on DVDs.

The Damage:

In the end, I have exactly 35 HD DVDs. I paid $10.65 for "Tomb Raider" new, and sold it for $14 used (although I spent the profit on shipping and broke even). Many of the films I'm left with have repeat viewing value so I'm alright with it. But when I look at the player and disc investments, I'm in for about $650 for 35 movies. Hmmm. When I look at it that way I'm glad I slowed down on buying.

Blu-ray, I'm in $450. I only have 6 Blu-rays, but I'm still waiting for 5 more in the mail. I already saw "300" and I sold it unopened for $20. I still (since Nov. 23, 2007) haven't opened "Hellboy" or "Underworld Evolution" so I'll Netflix those and consider getting another $30 to $40 bucks back by selling them. The only two (BOGO) I bought were "The Fly" which I watched, and "Robocop" which is still wrapped.

So $1100 for my whole high def (purchase) experience. $408 is in a game console which I enjoy on occasion - though I RARELY play games anymore, when I do, they are nice. $306 is in a high def upconverter that also saves my PS3 from wear and tear watching movies which are available on HD DVD, so that's good. So $714 of $1100 is fully justified and useful.

The remaining few hundred which I spent on movies, I do not regret. I enjoyed every one of them (and can enjoy again) more than I've ever enjoyed movies before. Classics which I never saw before (on purpose) I finally got to see in stunning detail. For example, I saw "Casablanca" as a first viewing where I could see the fabric of the wardrobe, the details of the faces and gorgeous sets. Had I watched it on regular TV or DVD it would never have been the same experience. So many other movies too. Technology so kicks @$$! I love it!

Poor, poor HD DVD. It was a wonderful format. Blu-ray is nice too, but how I loved HD DVD. I hope some clearance sales show up, because I'd love to stock up on some $5 HD DVDs! Now I just wonder HOW and WHEN will HD DVD slip into the past. Poor, poor HD DVD.

JPSofCA said -

"I just cannot waste a viewing on DVDs."

LOL. Very ironic statement, considering the content of THOUSANDS of standard DVDs does not exist in hi-def yet, nor will for many many years So, are you implying you try or do only watch hi-def programming? ...hard to believe.

My HD programming consists of a mix of 100 or so HD-DVD/Blu-ray discs, and the HD programming on cable, much of it sports. But for me, standard definition OVERWHELMS HD programming, as I own gobs of DVDs, LaserDiscs, and also watch alot of 'basic cable (like CNBC, TruTV, AMC, Turner Classic Movies/TCM, Fox News, CNN, etc - OK one of the CNN channels is in HD).

And I still buy low-cost, bargain and sale-priced standard DVDs. Sure, I would love for everthing to be in 'HD' tomorrow, but that is a reality much further in the future.

-LH (the Loverboy)

Quote:
Poor, poor HD DVD. It was a wonderful format. Blu-ray is nice too, but how I loved HD DVD. I hope some clearance sales show up, because I'd love to stock up on some $5 HD DVDs! Now I just wonder HOW and WHEN will HD DVD slip into the past. Poor, poor HD DVD.

Darn, now you're depressing me too.

I kinda like the Japanese touch of having my HD DVD player say "Welcome" when I turn it on, then "Good Bye" when I turn it off. All those people who developed and surely put their hearts into creating the technology - for what? How can a person not feel for that.

Well I can say that my HD DVD collection with my 7 new disks that arrived today from Amazon makes my total now 80 titles. And I'll continue to buy the exclusives from Paramount/Universal until they switch sides, since who wants to wait another year or two or more to see the good stuff in HD?

Last year before the Warner announcement, I really thought (hoped) there was room in this industry for two formats. I thought studios would start going neutral before they would go exclusive. But I was wrong.

Quote:
And I'll continue to buy the exclusives from Paramount/Universal until they switch sides, since who wants to wait another year or two or more to see the good stuff in HD?

Yeah Hawk, even though I plan on buying a Blu-Ray player at some point. I don't really see any rush to dump my HD-DVD stuff. I mean I can't get Serenity or Shaun of the Dead or Hot Fuzz on Blu-Ray and I'm too spoiled to watch them on regular DVD now.

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[Post edited by Movielover316 on Feb 11, 2008 - CST 11:10 PM]

Maybe this is slightly off-topic, but...
When the first BD's came out, they were MPEG-4,
noticeably worse picture, worse audio, and fewer features on same-movie comparisons.

So in the past year, has BD caught-up -quality wise or not?

I really can't believe the business case for Netflix to go Blue ray only unless there is some sort of deal they made with the BDA.

After all revenue is revenue and if they still have subscribers that want HD DVDs why not continue to rent them to them. After all the cost to netflix is small they just adjust the inventory of HD DVD to the demand. Once the demand falls off below the cost of keeping HD DVD inventory then they can discontinue it.

I don't know of any buisness that would pass on any revenue generating product. Internet companies can afford to carry the niche products there will always be buyers of niche product.

The question is who will fill the online rental void for HD DVDs? Amazon looks like an opportunity for you!

mra said -

Quote:
"When the first BD's came out, they were MPEG-4,
noticeably worse picture, worse audio, and fewer features on same-movie comparisons. So in the past year, has BD caught-up -quality wise or not?"

Well, your info is somewhat skewed. Early BDs were NOT in the superior MPEG-4 mastering (or VC-1), but the older MPEG-2 (which is what is used on standard DVDs). And only the first batch (about 4-5 titles) has a 'softer' HD picture (The Fifth Element, House of Flying Daggers, etc), until it was realized their mastering was not the best (TFElement was re-released later with a much-improved and sharp HD picture). Also, the first Blu-ray player (Samung) has the 'sharpness' picture setting NOT enabled, so that affected the image too.

Even then, some of the MPEG-2 encodings are outstanding, as noted with Kingdom of Heaven, Black Hawk Down, Click, etc, so it obviously depends on how-well the mastering is, not just the fact that MPEG-2 is being used. Today's Blu-rays are primarily encloded using MPEG-4 or VC-1.

The audio quality has ALWAYS been great with Blu-ray, especially those uncompressed PCM soundtracks. While HOFDaggers has a 'softer' picture, it's PCM surround audio is stunning! (much more 'sonics' over the standard DVD).

But more of today's Blu-ray releases (depends on the studio), are being released with Dolby TrueHD, DTS-HD (and DTS-MA), and Dolby Digital soundtracks (with a higher bit rate, matching the DD+ of HD-DVD). Less of them are including uncompressed PCM (unfortunately), however some movie and concerts still feature PCM.

-LH (the Loverboy)

Fellas,
just got off the phone to Netflix customer service voiced my disapproval of their decision to exclusively rent only Blu ray discs. As a recent purchaser of a dual format machine, I was looking forward to watching all movies regardless of their format. I told the rep, I resent, how the studios, manufacturers, retailers and rental companies are dictating what we can watch/rent/purchase. I find it very annoying that the customer who pays the bills is confused, sitting on the sidelines, not wanting to make a decision, waiting for someone/other entity to tell them that it's safe to purchase a given product. It's almost like people can't think for themselves and determine what best fit's their needs and then act on it. Yes, there is a format war going on, but that's what happens when you deal with technology, things change and constantly evolve. There is no such thing as a definitive answer. Just jump on board and enjoy the ride.

Yep, enjoy the ride . . .