Yesterday we heard about Craig Davis, VP of Urban Promotions for EMI, who came out and stated how he believes that the whole SOPA thing is the wrong way for entertainment business to try and protect their businesses. Granted he qualified his statement by saying that he was speaking for himself and not as an official representative of EMI and their position on the matter.

However refreshing it might have been to hear an industry insider come out on the side of the consumer in matter like this the fact is we have and entertainment industry that will do anything it can to protect itself from having to actually try and come to grips with a changing world; you know like Warner Bros.

Yes folks Warner Bros. is at it again and once more Netflix is the target for its anti-consumer behavior as we discover that not only are they making Netflix customers wait 56 between the release of a Warner Bros. movie on DVD and being able to rent it from Netflix but now that want to make you wait before you can even add it to your queue.

Warner Brothers is now imposing additional stipulations for its DVD movie new releases. Starting Feb. 1, the company has decided to restrict Netflix users from adding any new DVD releases to their queue until 28 days after the DVD goes on sale in retail stores, VentureBeat has learned.

While Netflix is unable to offer new DVD movies for rent during the 56-day delay window, the company currently allows subscribers to add the titles to their rental queue. This is particularly useful for Netflix subscribers because the new DVDs automatically ship out once the 56-day delay period ends.

via VentureBeat

The real problem here is that it won’t be Warner Bros. getting the heat when people suddenly find that they can’t add DVD to their queue but rather it will be Netflix that everyone starts yelling at. Of course this is all happening because Warner Bros. is under the mistaken belief that by screwing with their customers that this is going to magically increase the sale of DVD, which are hugely profitable for the entertainment companies.

Nice move Warner Bros, ya bunch of jerks.

Warner Bros. continues to show mind-numbing stupidity and anti-consumerism is a post from: The Inquisitr

Realizing how annoyed people have become because of the changes that they made, Reed Hastings, CEO and Co-Founder of Netflix yesterday admitted, through a blog post, that they messed up the handling of its DVD and streaming business.

“I messed up. I owe everyone an explanation. It is clear from the feedback over the past two months that many members felt we lacked respect and humility in the way we announced the separation of DVD and streaming, and the price changes. That was certainly not our intent, and I offer my sincere apology. I’ll try to explain how this happened.”

He went on to explain and justify why Netflix decided to separate its DVD and streaming business, which went on with the prices changes. He stressed that the two are separate businesses with two groups of people– one that appreciates the breadth of their DVD offerings and another one that appreciates their streaming.

To further stress the separation of its DVD and streaming business, Hastings announced that they will be renaming their DVD service to “Qwikster” which should reflect quick delivery of DVDs. The company’s streaming business will take on the name “Netflix.” Andy Rendich will be the CEO of Qwikster.

Not contented with the blog post from Hastings? Here’s the apology and an introduction of Rendich on video.

There is really nothing new here except for the apology and the separate brand for the DVD business. There will be no roll-back of prices. We all know why Hastings is so sorry. Here’s why.

“I Messed Up”– Reed Hastings, CEO and Co-Founder, Netflix is a post from: The Inquisitr

If you missed Transformers Dark of the Moon in theaters or you simply want to see the movie for a second time you’ll be able to pick up the movies Blu-Ray/DVD combo on September 30th while the 3D version is expected to arrive for 3D enabled phones at another time.

The movie earned $1.1 billion in worldwide box office, surpassing both of the first two movies in the series.

Buyers willing to wait an undisclosed amount of time will be able to pick up the deluxe Blu-Ray version if 3D isn’t their cup of tea.

According to director Michael Bay:

“For fans who can’t wait, the Blu-ray release in September will deliver an awesome ride with the movie in stunning 1080p high definition and a 7.1 Dolby TrueHD soundtrack that was personally overseen by our phenomenal supervising sound mixer just for the Blu-ray.”

Bay went on to add:

“As you know, we put a lot of effort into the 3D experience for the theatrical release and I want to make sure we get it right for home viewing-and that process takes time. So stay tuned for an even more incredible release that will include the film on Blu-ray 3D and loads of bonus features.”

Buyers of the first Blu-Ray release will still receive 1080P high definition playback, English 7.1 Dolby TrueHD and English 4.1 Discreete Dolby Digital and English 2.0 Discrete Surround Dolby Digital tracks (A first for Paramount Home Entertainment).

The DVD in the combo pack is also featured in widescreen with Dolby Digital English 4.1 Surround and English 2.0 Discrete Surround.

If you’re new to the world of Transformers here’s a synopsis of the 3rd movie:

A mysterious event from Earth’s past threatens to ignite a war so big that the TRANSFORMERS™ alone will not be able to save the planet. Sam Witwicky (Shia LaBeouf) and the AUTOBOTS™ must fight against the darkness to defend our world from the DECEPTICONS’™ all-consuming evil in the smash hit from director Michael Bay and executive producer Steven Spielberg.

Will you be picking up Transformers Dark of the Moon right away or waiting for the deluxe and/or 3D Blu-Ray versions to arrive?

Transformers Dark Of The Moon Arriving Sept. 30, 3D Version Arriving Later is a post from: The Inquisitr

Do you want to keep your family videos, favorite movies and important documents safe for generations to come, then you might want to look into M-Disk, a new DVD technology that can survive heat spikes up to 922 degrees Fahrenheit.

The disk, created by Millenniata is made out of synthetic material that doesn’t fade in the sun or when presented with humid conditions.

Current DVDs store information by burning light spots onto a dye that coats the disc, the problem with that process is that the dye eventually degrades, leaving the disk unable to retrieve information. M-Disks on the other hand uses metals and “rock-like” inorganic materials which won’t fade under even the most severe of conditions.

According to Millenniata the disks were tested by the US Navy’s Weapons Division.

The cost of higher quality DVD type disks? Approximately $3 each. At this time a release date for the disks has not been announced and M-Disk drives have not been revealed, although they will likely come with a hefty charge when first released.

There’s still one question that hasn’t and can’t necessarily be answered anytime soon, can the disk actually survive 1000 years without corrupting data? I remember when DVD’s were first rolled out and manufacturers began claiming that those disks would last forever, just as CD manufacturers made the same claims a decade earlier.

Scientists Develop DVD They Claim Can Last 1000 Years is a post from: The Inquisitr

If there is one constant in our online world it is the whining and moaning from old media, and to a growing extent new media, about how they are losing money because consumers don’t want to pay the same price for electronic versions of goods as they do for the actual in-hand physical version.

In fact there is a post currently on Fast Company titled Internet Users Still Cheap, Spend Only $1 to $10 on Digital Content, and while it might be a great pageview grabbing headline I find it rather insulting. In the post Austin Carr writes:

The digital marketplace is the likely savior of most industries. That is, if consumers are willing to spend money on the web. Do we expect too much for free online?

Sorry but it’s not just a matter of wanting everything for free, even though that is still a driving factor, but rather, I believe, that the consumer understands a very fundamental difference between online electronic versions of physical goods and the goods themselves – it’s availability.

You see when you walk into a store to buy a product you can see that there are only so many of copies of the item that is available. Whether it be a movie DVD, a game, a book or any item that is inherently available in electronic form, the price of a physical version is based on the cost of actually manufacturing those physical copies and making them available.

Yet when you go to buy that online in its pure electronic form those incurred costs change, and change radically. The consumer almost instinctively gets this and that is something that content producers continually try to ignore. The reality is that online electronic goods shouldn’t cost the same, or in some cases more than their brick and mortar equivalents.

Online consumers aren’t cheap. If they were businesses like Amazon or even the many t-shirt businesses would be able to stay in business. The consumer is smart enough to know that a physical product, whether it be a t-shirt, or a book, or even a physical copy of a movie or music album, has a cost to produce and are more than willing to pay those prices.

So when a consumer turns around and says that they don’t want to pay physical goods prices for the electronic versions they aren’t being cheap and to suggest otherwise is insulting their intelligence. They are however more than willing to pay what they consider to be a fair price as long as you make it easy for them.

Being smart online consumers doesn’t mean being cheap is a post from: The Inquisitr

We already know about the Twilight MMO, but now the franchise will be bringing its tweeny vampires and well-defined cheekbones to the Wii and Nintendo DS.

Scene It? Twilight is a quiz game containing over 500 multiple choice questions about the Twilight movies. Sorry, movie. Yeah, that’s right: there’s only been one Twilight film, so developer Screenlife will be trying to squeeze 500 questions from a single two-hour flick. Expect things to get pretty obscure.

Before the game arrives on Nintendo’s consoles (on the Wii in Fall 2009, and on the DS in early 2010), there will also be a DVD trivia boardgame released. This will feature on-screen puzzles, movie clips, sound bytes, music and trivia questions about the film, and bonus activities such as “Which Cullen are You?”. It’s a question that has kept us all awake.

If the Scene It? brand name sounds familiar, that’s because it’s already an established series of DVD trivia games, and has appeared on the Xbox 360 twice before. Those were actually reasonably polished releases, so maybe there’s hope for this.

[Via press release]

OMG OMG OMG! Twilight quiz game coming to Wii, Nintendo DS, DVD players is a post from: The Inquisitr

First off let me just say – Wow! a Canadian only program in a world where everything seems to be US-centric, will wonders never cease.

Okay, now that I have that off my chest on to the news (if you’re Canadian at least <snicker>). It seems that Twentieth Century Fox, MGM Home Entertainment and HMV have gotten together in order to con convince you to ditch those boring old DVDs littering your house and replace them with the hot Blu-ray movie titles.

The recycling program, as they term it, is called “Go Green with Blue” (talk about greenwashing) will give you $7.00 to use towards one of the current 250 Blu-ray movie titles that are available. The DVDs that are turned in and still usable are going to be donated to children’s hospitals and libraries this way everyone can get that warm and fuzzy feeling from hitting all the hot social soft spots.

Fox and MGM will also be using their Twitter account to promote new releases but also to let folks know about their 10/10/10 special days of the month. this little goodie deal means that when you bring in 10 DVDs and buy 10 Blu-ray discs you’ll also be given an extra $10 HMV gift card.

Here’s the complete list of Blu-ray titles eligible for the trade-in discount

RONIN/WDS/DOLBY/DTS/14A

FRENCH CONNECTION/WDS/DOLBY/DT

FRENCH CONNECTION/WDS/DTS/18A

VANISHING POINT/WDS/DTS/PG

FUTURAMA/ INTO THE WILD GREEN

RAGING BULL/WDS/DOLBY/DTS/18A

DONNIE DARKO/ 2BRD/WDS/DTS/14A

LITTLE MISS SUNSHINE/WDS/DOLBY

NAPOLEON DYNAMITE/WDS/DOLBY/DT

OFFICE SPACE/WDS/DOLBY/DTS/14A

SIDEWAYS/WDS/DOLBY/DTS/18A

SECRET LIFE OF BEES/WDS/DOLBY/

V2/COLLECTION/ 3BRD/WDS

ROCKER/ BORN TO ROCK EDITION/W

PINK PANTHER/WDS/DTS/PG

DRUMLINE/WDS/DOLBY/DTS/PG

ANTWONE FISHER/WDS/DOLBY/DTS/1

UNFAITHFUL/WDS/DOLBY/DTS/14A

MAX PAYNE/WDS/DOLBY/DTS/14A

ARK OF TRUTH/WDS/DOLBY/DTS/14A

MIRRORS/ UNRATED SPECIAL EDITI

BABYLON AD/WDS/DOLBY/DTS/14A

HORTON HEARS A WHO/WDS/DOLBY/G

DODGEBALL/ A TRUE UNDERDOG STO

SUPER TROOPERS/WDS/DOLBY/DTS/1

DAY THE EARTH STOOD STILL/ SPE

X FILES/ THE MOVIE/WDS/DOLBY/D

X FILES/ I WANT TO BELIEVE/WDS

X FILES 2 PACK/ 2BRD/WDS/DOLBY

HOME ALONE/ FAMILY FUN EDITION

JINGLE ALL THE WAY/ FAMILY FUN

MEET DAVE/WDS/DOLBY/DTS/PG

SPACE CHIMPS/WDS/DOLBY/G

ACTION 3 PACK/ 3BRD/WDS

CHICK FLICK 3 PACK/ 3BRD/WDS

FAMILY 3 PACK/ 3BRD/WDS

HARD ACTION 3 PACK/ 3BRD/WDS

KID 3 PACK/ 3BRD/WDS

MARVEL 3 PACK/ 3BRD/WDS

MUSCLE 3 PACK/ 3BRD/WDS

COMPLETE SERIES/ 3BRD/WDS/DOLB

FUTURAMA/ BENDERS GAME/WDS/DTS

BATTLE FOR THE PLANET OF THE A

BENEATH THE PLANET OF THE APES

CONQUEST OF THE PLANET OF THE

ESCAPE FROM THE PLANET OF THE

PLANET OF THE APES/ 40TH ANNIV

V1/COLLECTION/ 3BRD/WDS

DIE ANOTHER DAY/ ULTIMATE EDIT

DR NO/ ULTIMATE EDITION/WDS/DO

FOR YOUR EYES ONLY/ ULTIMATE E

LIVE & LET DIE/ ULTIMATE EDITI

THUNDERBALL/ ULTIMATE EDITION/

FROM RUSSIA WITH LOVE/ ULTIMAT

JEWEL OF THE NILE/WDS/DOLBY/DT

ROMANCING THE STONE/WDS/DOLBY/

AMITYVILLE HORROR/WDS/DOLBY/DT

OMEN/ 1976/WDS/DOLBY/R

OMEN COLLECTION/WDS/DTS/4DVD

CARRIE/ 1976/WDS/DOLBY/DTS/18A

YOUNG FRANKENSTEIN/WDS/B&W/DTS

HAPPENING/WDS/DOLBY/DTS

DAREDEVIL/WDS/DIRECTORS CUT/DO

DECEPTION/ 2008/WDS/DOLBY/DTS/

DAY WATCH/ UNRATED/WDS/DTS/14A

NIGHT WATCH/WDS/DOLBY/14A

WHAT HAPPENS IN VEGAS/WDS/DOLB

DUDE WHERES MY CAR/WDS/DOLBY/D

STREET KINGS/WDS/DOLBY/DTS/18A

SEASON 3/ 3BRD/14A

NIMS ISLAND/WDS/G

CONTINUUM/WDS/DOLBY/DTS

SHUTTER/WDS/DOLBY/DTS/14A

BATMAN THE MOVIE/ SPECIAL EDIT

POINT BREAK/ SPECIAL EDITION/W

JUMPER/WDS/DOLBY/DTS/PG

BRIDGE TOO FAR/WDS/DTS/14A

BATTLE OF BRITAIN/WDS/DOLBY/DT

LONGEST DAY/ 2BRD/WDS/B&W/DOLB

PATTON/ 2BRD/WDS/DOLBY/DTS/14A

SAND PEBBLES/WDS/DOLBY/DTS/14A

MEET THE SPARTANS/ UNRATED/ PI

MASTER & COMMANDER/WDS/DTS/14A

BUTCH CASSIDY & THE SUNDANCE K

MRS DOUBTFIRE/WDS/DOLBY/DTS/PG

27 DRESSES/WDS/DOLBY/DTS/PG

PREDATOR/WDS/R

JUNO/ 2BRD/WDS/14A

P2/ALIEN VS PREDATOR/ REQUIEM/

P1&P2/ALIEN VS PREDATOR/ UNRAT

COMMANDO/WDS/R

ALVIN & THE CHIPMUNKS/WDS/G

P1-P4/DIE HARD COLLECTION/ 4BR

INDEPENDENCE DAY/WDS/PG

I ROBOT/WDS/PG

HITMAN/ UNRATED/WDS/14A

ICE AGE/WDS/G

MR MAGORIUMS WONDER EMPORIUM/W

WALL STREET/14A

SUNSHINE/WDS/14A

MAN ON FIRE/WDS/14A

SIMPSONS MOVIE/WDS/PG

MR & MRS SMITH/WDS/14A

CAST AWAY/WDS/PG

P4/LIVE FREE OR DIE HARD/WDS/1

PATHFINDER/ UNRATED/WDS/18A

DIE HARD/WDS/R

P2/DIE HARD/ DIE HARDER/WDS/18

P3/DIE HARD WITH A VENGEANCE/W

RESCUE DAWN/WDS/14A

SEASON 1/ 6BRD/14A

SEASON 1/ 6BRD/14A

P2/HILLS HAVE EYES/WDS/18A

HOME OF THE BRAVE/WDS/14A

28 WEEKS LATER/WDS/18A

EDWARD SCISSORHANDS/WDS/PG

28 DAYS LATER/WDS/18A

ROBOCOP/WDS/R

FLY/WDS/14A

FROM HELL/WDS/18A

P2/FANTASTIC 4/ RISE OF THE SI

DAY AFTER TOMORROW/WDS/PG

NIGHT AT THE MUSEUM/WDS/PG

ME MYSELF & IRENE/ 14A/WDS/13+

ERAGON/WDS/PG

HOOSIERS/WDS/PG

USUAL SUSPECTS/WDS/R

BROKEN ARROW/ 1996/ 14A/WDS/13

CHAIN REACTION/WDS/PG

ENTRAPMENT/ PG/WDS/PG

PHONE BOOTH/ 14A/WDS/13+

PLANET OF THE APES/ 2001/ PG/W

SENTINEL/ 14A/WDS/13+

MARINE/ 14A/13+

FLYBOYS/WDS

HARTS WAR/WDS

ALIEN VS PREDATOR/ 14A/WDS/13+

COURAGE UNDER FIRE/WDS/14A

MEN OF HONOR/ 14A/WDS/13+

P2/TRANSPORTER/ 14A/WDS/13+

DEVIL WEARS PRADA/ PG/WDS/PG

FLIGHT OF THE PHOENIX/ 2004/ 1

RISING SUN/ 18A/WDS/18A

BULLETPROOF MONK/WDS

ROCKY/WDS/PG

WINDTALKERS/WDS

P2/ICE AGE/ THE MELTDOWN/WDS

OMEN/ 2006/WDS

KISS OF THE DRAGON/WDS

SPEED/WDS

LEAGUE OF EXTRAORDINARY GENTLE

KINGDOM OF HEAVEN/WDS/DIRECTOR

FANTASTIC 4/WDS

TRANSPORTER/WDS

BEHIND ENEMY LINES/WDS

P3/X MEN THE LAST STAND/WDS/PG

LAST WALTZ/WDS

SPECIES/WDS

TERMINATOR/WDS

DARK BLUE/WDS/DOLBY/DTS/2SET/1

GRADUATE/WDS/DOLBY/DTS/14A

NAVY SEALS/WDS/DOLBY/DTS/14A

OUT OF TIME/WDS/DOLBY/DTS/14A

ROAD HOUSE/WDS/DOLBY/DTS/18A

ROLLERBALL/WDS/DOLBY/DTS/14A

WALKING TALL/WDS/DOLBY/DTS/14A

TO LIVE & DIE IN LA/WDS/DOLBY/

LIONS FOR LAMBS/WDS/DOLBY/DTS/

PLANET OF THE APES/ 40TH ANNIV

EDWARD SCISSORHANDS/ BRD/ MOVI

MR. MAGORIUMS WONDER EMPORIUM/

MRS. DOUBTFIRE/BRD/MOVIE CASH/

NAPOLEON DYNAMITE/BRD/MOVIE CA

NIGHT AT THE MUSEUM/BRD/MOVIE

PRINCESS BRIDE/BRD/MOVIE CASH/

SIMPSONS MOVIE/BRD/MOVIE CASH/

BIG/BRD/MOVIE CASH/WDS/DTS/G

FARGO/WDS/DOLBY/DTS/R

FORCE 10 FROM NAVARONE/WDS/DTS

GOOD THE BAD & THE UGLY/WDS/DO

LICENSE TO KILL/ ULTIMATE EDIT

MAN WITH THE GOLDEN GUN/ ULTIM

DODGEBALL/ A TRUE UNDERDOG STO

ACTION HERO COLLECTION/WDS/DOL

FUNNY GUY COLLECTION/WDS/DOLBY

JOCK COLLECTION/WDS/DOLBY/DTS/

WAR HEROES COLLECTION/WDS/DOLB

TERMINATOR/ LENTICULAR COVER/W

PREDATOR 2/WDS/DOLBY/DTS/R

THERES SOMETHING ABOUT MARY/WD

BIG/WDS/DTS/PG

X MEN/WDS/DOLBY/PG

P2/X MEN UNITED/WDS/DOLBY/PG

P3/X MEN THE LAST STAND/WDS/DO

P1-P3/X MEN TRILOGY/WDS/DOLBY/

BULLETPROOF MONK/ MOVIE CASH/W

DAREDEVIL/ MOVIE CASH/WDS/DIRE

ERAGON/ MOVIE CASH/PG

P2/FANTASTIC 4/ RISE OF SILVER

FANTASTIC 4/ MOVIE CASH/WDS/PG

RESCUE DAWN/ MOVIE CASH/WDS/14

X MEN/ MOVIE CASH/WDS/PG

P2/X MEN UNITED/ MOVIE CASH/WD

P3/X MEN THE LAST STAND/ MOVIE

P1-P3/X MEN TRILOGY/ MOVIE CAS

SOUTH PACIFIC/ 50TH ANNIVERSAR

NEVER SAY NEVER AGAIN/WDS/DOLB

GOLDFINGER/ ULTIMATE EDITION/W

MOONRAKER/ ULTIMATE EDITION/PG

WORLD IS NOT ENOUGH/ ULTIMATE

V3/COLLECTION/ 3BRD/WDS/G

ROBE/WDS/DOLBY/DTS/G

PRINCESS BRIDE/ PG/PG

SILENCE OF THE LAMBS/WDS/DTS/R

ARK OF TRUTH/ CONTINUUM/ 2BRD/

[hat tip to Kris Abel’s Tech Life]

Go Green with Blue from Fox and HMV Canada is a post from: The Inquisitr

According to a c|net article posted today the MPAA has won a breach of contract lawsuit against China-based DVD player manufacturer Gowell Electronics. As a result the US District Court for the Central District of California has issued a permanent injunction against the company that prohibits Gowell from violating any terms of the Content Scramble System (CSS) license agreement.

Big deal right?

Well actually it is when you realize that it is this CSS licence agreement which enables the MPAA to enforce the manufacturers to employ the CSS technology. DVD manufacturers are required to sign if they want to sell DVD players in the US. It is this technology that controls the unauthorized access to and copying of copyrighted content on DVDs. As noted in the c|net article

The CSS license mandates the content protection that enables film studios to provide consumers with more than 84,000 DVD titles, including 12,000 new titles last year alone.

The motion picture studios are third-party beneficiaries of the CSS license and may enforce it against licensees who fail to comply with its terms.

While this is the ninth such case in which a court has issued a permanent injunction banning future violations of the license, this time the plaintiffs are allowed to review and test any new or re-engineered products that incorporate the CSS technology before going to market.

It is the last part of this where the boys at the MPAA must just be getting all excited over now because now they get to review any new DVD players that are coming into the US market. No incorporation of CSS then you don’t sell in the US. So in effect an entertainment trade group now controls what equipment you can buy in the US if it even hints at being a DVD player.

MPAA tells DVD makers how to play the game is a post from: The Inquisitr

Is it an issue directly related to the economy or is it an issue of over consumption?

Variety reported in August that movie rentals are up, indicating that as economic conditions worsen (and this was pre the latest Wall Street crisis) people are more likely to rent a movie than buy one. And yet they note in the same paragraph:

However, sales of catalog and TV series on DVD are robust, suggesting that sagging DVD movie sales may be due to the maturity of the business — and to the quality of the titles.

How many DVD’s are enough? The industry saw saturation coming, and was hoping that Blu-ray would drive new sales based on the premise that people would want to have a copy of their favorite movies in HD. The problem being is that people haven’t bought in, and they are content with their current DVD libraries. There has been no rush to buy Blu-ray titles, and an aimed marketshare of 50% by the end of the year will be lucky to hit 10% instead. As Blu-ray players become cheaper, more people will buy Blu-ray movies, but only when buying new titles, not in most cases as replacements for their existing libraries.

But this doesn’t explain the DVD slump. Wired reports this month that movie execs are saying they’ve seen no downturn in the DVD business, and yet Variety the month before reports:

“None of the studios are making their marks,” an industry research analyst states. “Week to week, there have been double-digit declines.”

…Even the most bullish execs will concede this summer’s light DVD slate exacerbated declining new release fortunes. The ongoing deterioration is creating a ripple effect throughout the industry.

But even before the summer, new release sales were trending downward. According to analyst Tom Adams, “there was another decline, and a fairly substantial one at that,” for theatricals debuting on disc the first half of the year. He says the average overall perf was down 12% in first half, and he expects further declines through the end of the year, although he expects the sheer number of year-end releases to offset individual shortfalls.

So is there a downturn or not? Let’s take a middle line and say growth is flat, and as Variety notes, there are two factors at play, content and market maturity. Content is easy enough: Hollywood hasn’t had as many blockbusters as in previous years, and the flow on effect is lower sales once the movies make it to DVD. But maturity is the interesting factor. Has mass consumption and high sales delivered a market that can take less consumption because, to use a food cliche, it is full or close to it? DVD has been a huge success, and many have big libraries of movies, a brilliant marketing strategy that probably delivered beyond the studios wildest dreams. But how much is enough? As sales become flat, we see no increased desire to consume more. If sales are down, we see people content with their existing libraries, as we see with Blu-ray. They may still add to their collections, but in no where near the volume of years past.

The Digital Challenge

The movie industry is yet to face the same challenges we see in the music industry. There has been no mass uptake of digitally delivered content, even if we see increasing sales of both movies and TV shows from Apple’s iTunes store and others obsess with pirated content. Most people don’t have a digital content conduit in their loungerooms, so although I may rent a movie on my Apple TV this weekend, I am among a small few. But as we know, things are rapidly changing. The age of internet enabled televisions is upon us, and with mass market penetration, so to will consumption switch from physical media to digital media.

I would have bet that Blu-ray would have been the last great physical distribution medium, but it may never get to a point where it is. The successor to DVD will be digitial delivery, but the consumption argument stays the same.

People are not going to rush out and buy digital content (even if it’s HD) when they own the same title on DVD. An upsurge in rentals will help drive digital uptake, but a drop in actual sales presents the same issues to digital content as it does to Blu-ray and DVD. We’re not seeing a consumption shift in delivery, we are seeing a consumption shift based on scarcity, or lack there of to be precise. The challenge for the various companies looking to role out digital delivery in the coming years is how do they make the offering appealing when the end user may have past saturation point when consuming media.

Blu-ray down, DVD sales flat: a crisis in consumption? is a post from: The Inquisitr