Netflix's Additional Blu-Ray Fees increase (again)

The blame clearly lies with Obama, Pelosi, the unions and the MTA.

I notice a difference. Perhaps it's the size of your screen or what you're watching?

Ultimtely - it's not a travesty. It's only $4 a month. But as they JUST started charging add'l fees for Blu-Ray not too long ago, this just stings a little bit. Especially since it's a 25 percent increase based on my current plan.

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I don't think that $36.00 a year is going to dissuade anyone from ordering BDs on netflix, but in terms of purchasing them the cost difference is much more significant.

BD sales are up, but I still don't see there being enough demand for to sustain it as a viable format.
In fact, I'm leery about buying BDs in the event that they do become the next laserdisc.

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It's 25 percent of the $16 a month I'm paying. That was my point.

Interesting to not - and Besty can argue for or against this one - but BD disks reportedly have longer lifespans and are harder to scratch. So even though the costs might be more initially - the longevity of netflix being able to rent the same disk increases. So one wonders what the actual threshold is for being more expensive.

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Disc longevity is still only a theory, even for DVDs. When they first showed up, they were touted as having a 75-year shelf life. Well, we're about 64 years away from knowing if that's true.

I think the price increase isn't going to be a deal-breaker.

The two biggest concerns will be "consumer convenience," and by that I mean (as I said in an earlier post), BD players have to be available everywhere that DVD players are now (laptops, SUVs, PCs, Macs, etc.) ... otherwise, why would you own a disc that you can only play on one set in your house?

And the studios have got to release more of the flagship titles quickly. And I mean their big catalog sellers. Not the latest hit movies. Nobody is going to run out and buy a BD player just to get the hi-def disc for "Marley and Me" or "Paul Blart: Mall Cop." If they already own a player, they might very likely rent or buy the BD for it instead of the DVD, but it isn't going to recruit anyone new to the format.

I'm talking about the titles that will actually drive people to the store to buy a Blu-ray player. Warner Bros. has already started with The Wizard of Oz and Gone With the Wind. They should add Citizen Kane and King Kong. Fox needs to release the Star Wars Trilogy and The Sound of Music. Paramount needs to release the Indiana Jones Trilogy and Titanic. Universal needs to release E.T. Sony needs to release Lawrence of Arabia. Disney needs to release "Snow White," "Lion King," and "Mary Poppins."

Those are the "must have" titles. Several of them are in production (some have been for a LONG time already with no official street date), and a few of these have already been announced. But by the end of this year, ALL those titles should be out. Otherwise, I see another year of "wait and see" from most people.

Right now, consumers can sense the "wait and see" attitude coming directly from the studios themselves.

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True there's a limit to how good "good" can be. The issue really comes down to how much $$/time the studios throw into the restoration process.

Sometimes they don't do anything but use the same source they did for the DVD. That may or may not be advantageous to having it on Blu-Ray depending on the methods they used for restoring, etc.

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Wizard of Oz and GWTW are both 70 years old now. And it's true their images will have film grain. There's no getting around it. But I think (and hope) you'll see some incredible detail. The good news is that Warners already paid (a lot) to have those films put through their patented "ultra-resolution" process. They realigned the 3-strips for the old Technicolor process, etc. Went into individual frames and removed dirt. Very meticulous. And all in hi-def. That was done for this last DVD release.

(And no, they don't splurge to have that done on every old movie.)

At this point, I'm choking on the price of both titles. Amazon has them for pre-order at the "bargain price" of $59 bucks. Zowie! They are my two favorite films of all time, and even I am thinking about waiting. I don't really want another 80-page color booklet and postcard repros of old lobby cards. Save a bunch of trees and just give me the movie ... at a regular BD amount, please.

With prices like this on flagship titles, you're DEFINITELY looking at the "laser disc" crowd. Those are just high enough to scare away the masses who can't really tell the difference in quality anyway.

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Speaking of DeepDiscount ... have you noticed they're not so very deep anymore? In fact their pre-order prices are actually higher than Amazon's.

Why? Because Amazon bought DeepDiscount about a year ago. They use them now as a strategy tool. Word of warning to all out there! Check both sites first (and a few others) before you buy. Don't just assume DDD is the best you'll get.

Their special sales are still very good, but their general prices on new titles? Not good anymore.

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