Very OT: How wide is consumer acceptance of blu-ray in your experience?

[Frank Gothmann]

Not sure what you mean with consumer acceptance but we are an authoring house that authors a lot of feature films on blu-ray and the sales numbers shared with us by our client are actually quite good. BD sales are still rising year to year, contrary to what some people want to tell you in light of VOD. And I sure hope it stays like that, not just because it’s our business but because vod sucks (and it sucks even more to prep content for vod, especially for Apple and the iTunes store which is a living hell).
Regarding your screeners, most people simply prefer sending out screeners on DVD because it’s quicker, easier, cheaper and also because some are worried their unreleased HDcontent may end up somewhere on the web. Whenever we have to prep screeners for press etc. it is almost always on DVD for precisely those reasons.

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[Nikolas Bäurle]

Blu-Ray doesn’t seem to be that popular. At least here in Germany DVDs are still rented and sold more often. Even for my industry or demo tape clients its either internet or DVD. I just finished editing a series of clips for the Protestant Church in Germany, shot in HD. They needed a h264 mov and a DVD.
I’ve only burned some of my own projects to Blu-Ray, but I have never been asked to deliver one.

“Always look on the bright side of life” – Monty Python

[Frank Gothmann]

We are working for the German market, too. While DVD has a wider user base by approx factor 2.3 in that year, the market shrunk in 2012 by 9 per cent while BD sales grew by almost 30 per cent. For 2013 those numbers are predicted to be even substantially higher.

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iTunes End User Licence Agreement

[Timothy Auld]

I posed the question because I really don’t have a clue as to what the answer is. The numbers I read in the trades seem to be contradictory. I do seriously doubt that the reason I’m only getting SD screeners has anything to do with the fact that distributors are afraid that pirates will put out HD versions. Most folks wouldn’t have the bandwidth to watch it in HD anyway. Which brings us to VOD and on that point I completely agree. VOD is a clusterf**k that can be any resolution at anytime depending on a variety of circumstances.

Tim

[Frank Gothmann]

Tim,

the numbers seem to be pretty much the same everyhwere, also for the US:
https://www.blu-ray.com/news/?id=11050

30 per cent up in Q1 2013.

Our clients tell us they want screeners only on DVD precisely because of the reasons I have given in my original post, and we are serving a lot of big and small distributors here.

[TImothy Auld] “I posed the question because I really don’t have a clue as to what the answer is. The numbers I read in the trades seem to be contradictory. I do seriously doubt that the reason I’m only getting SD screeners has anything to do with the fact that distributors are afraid that pirates will put out HD versions. Most folks wouldn’t have the bandwidth to watch it in HD anyway. Which brings us to VOD and on that point I completely agree. VOD is a clusterf**k that can be any resolution at anytime depending on a variety of circumstances.

“

——
“You also agree that you will not use these products for… the development, design, manufacture or production of nuclear, missiles, or chemical or biological weapons.”
iTunes End User Licence Agreement

[Timothy Auld]

I do appreciate what you are saying, but absent numbers from and independent and unbiased group (if such a monster even exists any longer) I pretty much have to stand by my statement that the numbers I’ve seen in the trades over the past four or so years are, to put it mildly, contradictory.

Tim

[Clint Wardlow]

As one who does tend to submit to festivals from time to time, I find that the move is to straight digital files for submission screeners. Without A Box even has a service that allows you to upload your online screener for submission to various festivals.

I think that it is just easier, especially if you submit to a lot of festivals. It is kind of a hassle to mail DVDs or Blu-Rays when you know you might not even get accepted. With an online screener you just have to create it once and it is good for multiple submissions.

Once a film is accepted, I think you will folks more willing (and even glad to do it) to send blu-rays.

[Shawn Miller]

[TImothy Auld] “I do appreciate what you are saying, but absent numbers from and independent and unbiased group (if such a monster even exists any longer) I pretty much have to stand by my statement that the numbers I’ve seen in the trades over the past four or so years are, to put it mildly, contradictory.

Tim”

That’s really interesting. Anecdotally, I’ve been hearing about the pending death of blu-ray for years. Yet, I seem to see new BR titles in just about every grocery, convenience and retail store that I go to. Not to mention the ads I get from Amazon every two or three days. It makes me wonder; if BR is on the decline, then why are new titles so readily available and at such low prices?

Shawn

[Daniel Ludwig]

Frank,
I go with you – I have done more BD-authoring within the last 2 years than DVDs here in cologe, germany.

DVD has become more and more a niche-product, as BD-player are at approx. 50€ per unit and blu-rays are sold at 8€.

also BDs-replication-costs decrease within the last years as well…

I´m very curious what will happen within the next years.

danny

[Gary Huff]

I think it’s the lack of people who know how to actually make/burn a Blu-ray Disc. I get a LOT of business for screeners that creators want on Blu-ray and they tell me I am the only person they have heard about who knows how to make one.