: Blu-ray Rental Prices to Rise 'Shortly'

[Flex Mentallo]

I guess it all depends on the amount of the increase. I can accept a $1 to $1.50 increase. I already have the 2 at a time plan which is around $15 a month I think so an increase won't affect me too much and a modest increase would still be cheaper than the original $21 or so a month I was paying when I first joined Netflix in 1999.

All this and Netflix will still rent you HD DVD's. A good chunck of my que is still littered with HD DVD's as well as blu ray and DVD's.

[hellokitty]

Guess that '100K Roku players sold in 2 months' statistic was on the mark...

I don't know. Is this impressive at all ? Didn't $99 HD DVD player sold 90,000 over just 1 weekend ? Even $399/$499 PS3 regularly sells over 150,000 units per month these days. Last month it sold in excess of 400,000. If price continues to fall, the Blu-ray player number will improve even further.

At the end of the day, the studios will find ways to keep both digital download and Blu-ray markets active. The DD market is still highly fragmented and very localized.

If price rises and rental stays constant, it means people are willing to pay more for Blu-ray rental. In the mean time, people seem to prefer ownership over rental. BDA may have to wait until the mainstream folks hop onto the Blu-ray bandwagon before rental increases.

[Kosty]

Pathetic that the news of a Netflix pricing test for a Blu-ray premium is gloated about.

4Q will be a time where Blu-ray can breakout of PS3 dominated status.

BTW Netflix has a long record has had a long record of testing pricing an adjusting to the market, and that includes backing off some possible increases. Thats how they have survived.

Suits me if Blu-ray has a premium over their base plan if they increase inventory and can reduce my que.

If it improves stockage levels and ship times and improves service it might very well be considered fair value by consumers. Thats why they will test it. Seems like good management to me.

Seems kinda sad to be happy about any price increase though.

[Favelle]

If someone has a DVD and BR player why would they rent the DVD when BR is superior quality?

What if the movie isn't out on Blu-ray? I would think there's about 10,000 movies that haven't made it to Blu-ray yet.....

[mikemorel]

What if the movie isn't out on Blu-ray? I would think there's about 10,000 movies that haven't made it to Blu-ray yet.....

There are 70,000 movies available on DVD; 600 on blu-ray.

Pathetic that the news of a Netflix pricing test for a Blu-ray premium is gloated about.

Only if you don't like internet delivery of movies, and do like an expensive, copy protected, limited selection of movies.

Why were BD fans cheering BD+, the exact opposite of what consumers want? That was pretty pathetic as well.

4Q will be a time where Blu-ray can breakout of PS3 dominated status.

Blu-ray movies don't play on DVD players. That's the sticking point. Of course, $25 movies and $350 players that can't stream movies is another minor sticking point.

BTW Netflix has a long record has had a long record of testing pricing an adjusting to the market, and that includes backing off some possible increases. Thats how they have survived.

Netflix CEO sounds pretty certain that this increase is coming. He's mentioned it twice already.

Suits me if Blu-ray has a premium over their base plan if they increase inventory and can reduce my que.

You mean you still can't get blu-ray movies on Netflix??? Even when Hastings said Blu-ray usage among NetFlix subscribers has "continued to be very low, low-single-digits"??? That speaks volumes about blu-ray's suitability as a next gen format. That is what is "pathetic".

If it improves stockage levels and ship times and improves service it might very well be considered fair value by consumers. Thats why they will test it. Seems like good management to me.

You are j/k, right?

Seems kinda sad to be happy about any price increase though.

Maybe you should be telling the BDA to subsidize Netflix as well as the studios.

Why are some people happy? They are happy that studio's greed bit them on the ass. Studios chose a more expensive, incompatible format to push to consumers. They chose it because they could share in royalties and subsidies, and make lots of money from it when consumers moved en masse to blu-ray. Instead, consumers are rejecting it. Sometimes companies only come to their senses when beat with a hammer.

I don't know. Is this [Roku's 100K sales in 2 months] impressive at all ?

Yes. Roku is a tiny company with zero presence at retail. It sends a sign to studios and CE manufacturers that there is a market here.

Didn't $99 HD DVD player sold 90,000 over just 1 weekend ?

Yes, but at $200 and 5 free movies it was a tough sell. As we have seen, it was a tough sell not because of the format war, but because people are happy with DVD. I'm not arguing that HD DVD would have done A LOT better than blu-ray, just better. More titles, cheaper prices on HW and SW, but unless it offered more convenience to consumers, HD DVD would have been stuck in "videophile land" as well.

Even $399/$499 PS3 regularly sells over 150,000 units per month these days.

Yes, but not because of blu-ray.

Last month it sold in excess of 400,000.

Because of MSG4.

If price continues to fall, the Blu-ray player number will improve even further.

Sony at E3 said no more price decreases on PS3 for a long time. And they also said PS3 will lose money until at least March of 2009.

At the end of the day, the studios will find ways to keep both digital download and Blu-ray markets active. The DD market is still highly fragmented and very localized.

IMO that will change very soon. Studios need highly standardized DD market to counteract blu-ray's failure to catch on in the market.

If price rises and rental stays constant, it means people are willing to pay more for Blu-ray rental. In the mean time, people seem to prefer ownership over rental.

Huh? There is no evidence that people prefer owning blu-ray rather than renting. Please provide some if you think there is.

BDA may have to wait until the mainstream folks hop onto the Blu-ray bandwagon before rental increases.

When might that be?

Warner didn't move to BD because they thought it would replace DVD. They moved because average consumers were telling them that DVD was good enough (and, of course, Sony gave them a better offer). A slightly better picture is not enough reason for the majority of people to move to BD.

People are ripping and burning DVDs left and right. To counteract this, studios are pricing catalog titles at $5, and still making money. Consumers will buy legally at $5 because it's more convenient. That can't be done with BD.

DVDs are cheap and can be played in any player people already have. That's why HD DVD had the combo disc.

Consumers need a reason to give up plain old DVD. They need convenience, not increased copy protection and higher prices. They need to be able to store movies on HDD, integrate video downloads with their optical offerings, and easily move their content to their portable devices or DVD players.

Studios desperately need to get people off of DVD gain control of their IP. Blu-ray (in it's present incarnation) ain't working. Netflix raising rental prices on BD will only give consumers another reason to reject it.

Unless studios get off their dead asses and allow MANDATORY managed copy, they are stuck with DVD. Unless they want to collapse the optical disc market.

[madhatter]

So explain to me how sales are up over 300% from last year but rentals are flat?

During a heavy growth period for BD players.

I don't know, but speaking for myself, I prefer to own the disc rather than to rent it. And, if you ever had a Blu ray player and tried to rent them from Netflix, the "long delay" you almost always see on the qeue would drive you to buy rather than wait for them to ship it. But since you don't own a Blu ray player, you wouldn't know this. How are those HD DVD rentals working out for ya?

[mikemorel]

I don't know, but speaking for myself, I prefer to own the disc rather than to rent it. And, if you ever had a Blu ray player and tried to rent them from Netflix, the "long delay" in you almost always see on the qeue would drive you to buy rather than wait for them to ship it. But since you don't own a Blu ray player, you wouldn't know this. How are those HD DVD rentals working out for ya?

So you think that consumers have to buy blu-ray because they can't rent is a good thing??? When blu-ray is only renting to 2%-3% of Netflix subscribers? That is totally ridiculous, and no way to sell a format to consumers.

Luckily, I think the studios and CE manufacturers have figured a way out of the mess I outlined above.

The DVD Forum has introduced a DVD/HD Video player category to their HD DVD specs. Of course BD fanatics have ridiculed, scorned and laughed at this player, but that does not matter, because the player offers real benefits to consumers and studios alike.

A. They will be cheap, almost as cheap as regular DVD players.

B. Specs call for a DVD burner to be mandatory on all players produced after July 1st, 2009. That means that HD titles downloaded to these players will be able to be burned to disc as either DVD (for portability and compatibility with DVD players), or as HD, if it is desired to have a backup for your movies stored on HDD. Lables with cover art can be applied with LightScribe.

B. Media will be cheap. 3X DVD-ROM is no more expensive than DVD to make. The HD version of the movie can be on one side of the disc and DVD version on the other side (like HD DVD but cheaper).

C. It offers a standardized download. Because downloads have to meet a standard spec, they are guaranteed to play on all players that carry the logo. Consumers won't be wondering whether their advanced interactive download plays in their player/HTPC or not.

D. It offers a huge already installed base of existing players. XBox 360 will be able to play all HD/SD discs and downloads. That's 20 million players. All recent PCs with DVD players (millions) will be able to play these discs/downloads in HD with a downloaded (free) update. PCs with DVD burners will be able to create discs from downloads.

E. Studios will be able to use much more robust interactivity than BD-J. Silverlight and Adobe Flash have made great strides since 2004-2005 and both are built precisely for internet video interactivity.

F. Studios will be able to copy protect downloads with AACS or other approved copy protection.

G. Every DVD produced (billions of them) will include code that will allow them to access interactivity and HD downloads using new players (or existing 360s/PCs).

Now of course the BD fanboys scoff at this. But the realities are that BD is way too expensive and difficult to author for mass adoption. Consumers are spending much more time on the internet than watching movies. Movie studios are desperate to grab mind share in new media. And it is not happening with standalone profile 1.0/1.1 blu-ray players.

I read where the DVD Forum has taken their proposal to the blu-ray group back in February. If accepted, then PS3s and (possibly) BD-Live players would also have this same capability.

But, from Reed Hastings remarks, it sounds like the BDA has rejected this compromise.

Netflix Game Console Streaming Exclusive to the Xbox 360?

Sounds like the format war might be back on...And it's heading for a Best-Buy/Amazon/Circuit City near you.

[madhatter]

^^^^
Where are you getting the 2 - 3% figure from?

As for the rest of your drivel posted above, dream on. I guess the only thing keeping the remaining four or five members of the Sour Grapes Club going are these pie in the sky predictions and promises. Good luck with those. As for me (and everyone else who cares about true high def media), we'll be watching our Blu rays (either rented or purchased). As for me (and everyone else who cares about true high def media), we'll be watching our Blu rays (either rented or purchased).

[Lee Stewart]

^^^^
Where are you getting the 2 - 3% figure from?

Right from the article that is the OP:

In related issues, Hastings said Blu-ray usage among NetFlix subscribers has "continued to be very low, low-single-digits."

That is a direct quote BTW.

As for the rest of your drivel posted above, dream on. I guess the only thing keeping the remaining four or five members of the Sour Grapes Club going are these pie in the sky predictions and promises. Good luck with those. As for me (and everyone else who cares about true high def media), we'll be watching our Blu rays (either rented or purchased).

No surprise here. You have been singing the praises of BD from day one Hatter. How could anyone expect you to agree with issues that are part of reality - which you ignore all the time.

Then again - you could use the standard BD mantra . . .

"Just wait."

But I must admit - it is getting very threadbare at this time.

[45rpm]

I rent from Hollywood Video using "Rent 1 Get 1 Free" and "Free Rental" coupons from Clipper magazine that comes out monthly. Net rental cost for me is $1.75 per movie. Due to the frequency of new movies that I like that are coming out on BD being very slow. I still have 3 coupons that I have not used.

[Lee Stewart]

I rent from Hollywood Video using "Rent 1 Get 1 Free" and "Free Rental" coupons from Clipper magazine that comes out monthly. Net rental cost for me is $1.75 per movie. Due to the frequency of new movies that I like that are coming out on BD being very slow. I still have 3 coupons that I have not used.

My Hollywood Video store went out of business in May. And my BBi store doesn't rent BD's in store. Too bad to because it happens to be located right next to my son's resturant.

[madhatter]

Right from the article that is the OP:



That is a direct quote BTW.



No surprise here. You have been singing the praises of BD from day one Hatter. How could anyone expect you to agree with issues that are part of reality - which you ignore all the time.

Then again - you could use the standard BD mantra . . .

"Just wait."

But I must admit - it is getting very threadbare at this time.

Nowhere does it say 2-3%. Straight from the article:

In related issues, Hastings said Blu-ray usage among NetFlix subscribers has "continued to be very low, low-single-digits."

Could be 5%, could be 9%, who knows. But I do like the fact that the remaining members of the Sour Grapes Club do like to throw made up figures around like facts and predict nothing but doom and gloom for Blu ray, yet you guys hang on to some glimmer of hope to be beamed down from the Mothership (aka Toshiba) on this new, revolutionary format that promises to kill off Blu ray. Like junkies waiting on their dealer to show up with their fix. Rather pathetic really.

No surprise here. You have been singing the praises of BD from day one Hatter. How could anyone expect you to agree with issues that are part of reality - which you ignore all the time.

Coming from you, this is hilarious. Like I said, reading some of the posts from you bitter and hate filled people is sometimes better than watching a comedy film. And reading all the glorious predictions about this upcoming fantasy format is even better than a sci fi flick. Keep it coming.

[madhatter]

My Hollywood Video store went out of business in May. And my BBi store doesn't rent BD's in store. Too bad to because it happens to be located right next to my son's resturant.

My Blockbuster has increased their shelf space for Blu ray quite substantially. And they usually have 5 or 6 copies of new releases on release day, and from what the manager and the clerks tell me, their rentals have increased dramatically. Sometimes when I do go there to look for something, it's already checked out.

And not sure why you are worried about your BB not carrying BD's. It's not like you have a player now, do you? And out of pure coincidence, my BB is right next to a KFC as well.

[mikemorel]

Nowhere does it say 2-3%. Straight from the article:


Could be 5%, could be 9%, who knows.

Reading is fun-damental.

Very low, low single digits means 2%-3% (or less).

Arguing otherwise just makes you look foolish.

[madhatter]

Very low, low single digits means 2%-3% (or less).

According to who? Mikemorel?