News - UK DVD sales plunge...

[iworrall]

Studios will blame "piracy" for drop in sales, not high prices or poor content. They always do.

[TooNice]

DVD sales are dropping, and I don't see how one can blame it on the price when it has gone down quite significantly over the years. Poor content does not explain thriving piracy: if the contents are so bad, sales *and* should both decrease as people find better things to do with their free time.

[Andrew McP]

Studios will blame "piracy" for drop in sales, not high prices or poor content. They always do.

Absolutely! I've only ever downloaded a few episodes of TV when my recorder (or memory!) lets me down. And I've bought a few DVDs over the years, but not many once the intial enthusiasm for the 'new, exciting' format died down.

The boxed set of 'The Wire' was worth every penny... well, until The BBC put it on for free several months later. :-) And I still intend adding The Sopranos to my collection when the price is right. But on the whole most of the (few) DVDs I've cracked and bought recently have been a waste of money. A little more patience, research or common sense and I could've saved money.

I'm sure downloading costs some sales, but I think it's far more likely that the profligate spending/borrowing of the last decade or so has led to a very inflated idea of what good DVD sales are. Many of those sales will probably be to the 'must have it now' crowd who are now flapping around helplessly in the dried up oceans of credit.

We live in interesting times. Maybe along with that will eventually come some interesting titles worth paying to own.

Andrew McP

[TheBloodyNine]

Honestly, there is a massive noticeable difference, if you honestly cannot see the difference you either need a better TV or you need to change the distance you sit from your TV.

I think that the price needs to come down if they want it to ever hit mainstream. as for me, well i only buy really good action movies on blu-ray such as Transformers (2007 movie), i wouldn't bother getting Blu-ray for a comedy, ROMCOM, etc.

The thing is I know my TV isn’t the best, it’s a half decent Samsung from a few years back does 1080p, but I have been down to the local TV shop where they have decent upscalling DVD players sitting next to decent blu-ray players showing the same thing on the same TVs and I honestly cant see what the fuss is. It doesn’t offer enough of an improvement to warrant the expense because to get the full benefit I would need a new TV and a decent surround system.

I would say if I would get a new TV and a new blu-ray player I would see a huge improvement but only slightly more than if I got the same TV and a decent DVD player.

Then again I own 500 DVDs and have only ever watched half of them and only one or two more than once.

[lodore]

When i buy new films i will buy them on bluray from now on because the quality is alot better. ive watched the same film on both dvd and blu ray and the difference is amazing.
some films i can watch again and again and not get bored of.