An interesting case on copyright, EULA, ...

[ZodWallop]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

What I don't like is these multi-packs. If I want a 4K movie, Why should i also pay for a blu-ray version? I'm not going to be watching it. The only time I want another version is 3D. Then it's OK to bundle the non-3D. Also, if I buy blu-ray, I do not want to pay for the DVD. Also, it's stupid to give a code for a digital version that expires.

There's things the movie companies can do to lower the price and make more sales. I've been buying used and saving money.

I hear you grousing about multi-packs, but do they really cost any more?

I randomly checked Spider-Man: Homecoming and Kingsmen 2: The Golden Circle. Both come with Blu-ray, DVD and digital. Spider-Man is $15 (cheaper than the Amazon Video copy that sells for $19) and Kingsmen is $18. That doesn't seem like an outrageously jacked-up price to me. As mentioned above, Top Gun on VHS sold for $27 in 1987.

Formats shift so quickly right now and shelf space in stores is shrinking. It's probably more cost effective for the movie companies to bundle multiple formats than it is to release the formats individually.

[pwalker8]

Originally Posted by HarryT

That’s “Wrath”, not “Wraith” .

There is a reason I'm a programmer rather than an English professor. I take the old fashion view of spelling.

[pwalker8]

Originally Posted by ZodWallop

Yeah, it looks like there were experiments, like The Wrath of Khan, but Top Gun is the watershed release that set the price point from then on. Here's an article from the New York Times about Top Gun's release, from 1987. Though it mentions the typical price for a home video release was $80-90 (crazy!), it also mentions that Beverly Hills Cop and Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom were released for $30. There's a quote from a Disney exec saying that there could be two home video markets. Releases for rentals from video stores and releases for the mass public to own.

Interesting bit of trivia: The success of Top Gun finally convinced Steven Spielberg to release E.T. to home video.

Oh, I bought a few of those $80 VHS. Now days, it's not uncommon to find DVD of older movies for less than $10. Price points can change quite a bit over time.

[davidfor]

Originally Posted by pwalker8

There is a reason I'm a programmer rather than an English professor. I take the old fashion view of spelling.

As another programmer, I can't decide if that is "It's OK to misspell" or "If the spelling checker tells me it's spelt correctly, it is".

[DuckieTigger]

Originally Posted by ZodWallop

I hear you grousing about multi-packs, but do they really cost any more?

I randomly checked Spider-Man: Homecoming and Kingsmen 2: The Golden Circle. Both come with Blu-ray, DVD and digital. Spider-Man is $15 (cheaper than the Amazon Video copy that sells for $19) and Kingsmen is $18. That doesn't seem like an outrageously jacked-up price to me. As mentioned above, Top Gun on VHS sold for $27 in 1987.

Yes, multi-packs cost more. And at the same time they cost less per format by bundling everything (unwanted) together. DVD usually doesn't have digital included, but BD does and includes also DVD and Digital. Price difference? A few $ more - a lot less than even DVD alone or Digital alone costs. The BD + Digital is normally the same price as Digital alone. Explain how that makes sense, please. Are they asking to dump all extras into the 2nd hand market?

[j.p.s]

Originally Posted by DuckieTigger

The BD + Digital is normally the same price as Digital alone. Explain how that makes sense, please.

You need to move to a sensical universe. This is the universe where the actual purchase prices of many ebooks are higher than the actual purchase prices of the corresponding pbooks.

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by ZodWallop

I hear you grousing about multi-packs, but do they really cost any more?

I randomly checked Spider-Man: Homecoming and Kingsmen 2: The Golden Circle. Both come with Blu-ray, DVD and digital. Spider-Man is $15 (cheaper than the Amazon Video copy that sells for $19) and Kingsmen is $18. That doesn't seem like an outrageously jacked-up price to me. As mentioned above, Top Gun on VHS sold for $27 in 1987.

Formats shift so quickly right now and shelf space in stores is shrinking. It's probably more cost effective for the movie companies to bundle multiple formats than it is to release the formats individually.

Thing is, when you buy a DVD version, you only get the DVD version. When you buy the Blu-Ray version, you get the DVD version. And when you buy the 4K, you get the Blu-Ray. They could lower the cost by just selling the version you wanted to buy. If I'm buying blu-ray, there's no way I will be watching the DVD. If I was watching the 4K, why would I want to watch the blu-ray?

It's just a money making scam.

[AnemicOak]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

What I don't like is these multi-packs. If I want a 4K movie, Why should i also pay for a blu-ray version? I'm not going to be watching it. The only time I want another version is 3D. Then it's OK to bundle the non-3D. Also, if I buy blu-ray, I do not want to pay for the DVD. Also, it's stupid to give a code for a digital version that expires.

There's things the movie companies can do to lower the price and make more sales. I've been buying used and saving money.

They'd charge you the same/almost the same for the 4K as they do for the 4K combo. Including the other formats costs them pennies and sells more units overall as many consumers feel they're getting a better value. The studios aren't going to suddenly start selling you 4K new releases for $10-$15 if they leave out the other formats. 4K is too niche, heck a lot of general consumers are still fine with DVD and don't even do blu-ray.

[pwalker8]

Originally Posted by davidfor

As another programmer, I can't decide if that is "It's OK to misspell" or "If the spelling checker tells me it's spelt correctly, it is".

It's more that I've never made above a C in spelling in my life. For the most part, misspelled words don't even register in my brain. If it wasn't for spell checkers my posts would read like it was written by someone in the 1600's back before spelling became standardized.

[arjaybe]

Originally Posted by pwalker8

It's more that I've never made above a C in spelling in my life. For the most part, misspelled words don't even register in my brain. If it wasn't for spell checkers my posts would read like it was written by someone in the 1600's back before spelling became standardized.

Some would argue that standardized spelling is stifling the evolution of the language. So hold your spelling freedom banner high, brother.

[j.p.s]

Originally Posted by AnemicOak

heck a lot of general consumers are still fine with DVD and don't even do blu-ray.

Unfortunately for people that value picture quality, blu-ray never came close to catching DVD, sales of both have been declining for several years, and both are behind streaming. Some TV series have stopped issuing blu-rays.

As if lack of demand weren't enough of a challenge, the licensing terms are (or were) exorbitant.

[ZodWallop]

Originally Posted by DuckieTigger

Yes, multi-packs cost more. And at the same time they cost less per format by bundling everything (unwanted) together. DVD usually doesn't have digital included, but BD does and includes also DVD and Digital. Price difference? A few $ more - a lot less than even DVD alone or Digital alone costs. The BD + Digital is normally the same price as Digital alone. Explain how that makes sense, please. Are they asking to dump all extras into the 2nd hand market?

Can you show me an example where the movie is available in only Blu-ray and is available in a combo pack and it costs more?

I don't buy movies much any more, but I've not seen instances like that. These are usually current popular movies that are released in combo packs and I don't tend to see them released both as a combo and as a stand=alone.

You might see them released as DVD only and combo. But rarely the higher end format.

[ZodWallop]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

Thing is, when you buy a DVD version, you only get the DVD version. When you buy the Blu-Ray version, you get the DVD version. And when you buy the 4K, you get the Blu-Ray.

Yes, I understand what a combo pack is.

They could lower the cost by just selling the version you wanted to buy. If I'm buying blu-ray, there's no way I will be watching the DVD. If I was watching the 4K, why would I want to watch the blu-ray?

Blu-ray and 4K came out too close to each other. It is likely cheaper for the studios to release combos than it would be to package each format separately and have to worry about how many of each would sell.

It's just a money making scam.

Looking at the cost, I'm just not seeing it.

[ZodWallop]

Originally Posted by j.p.s

Unfortunately for people that value picture quality, blu-ray never came close to catching DVD, sales of both have been declining for several years, and both are behind streaming. Some TV series have stopped issuing blu-rays.

If I buy anything it is old TV shows and with lots of those (unless you are talking about Twilight Zone or I Love Lucy) a Blu-ray release is a pipe dream. I just bought Police Story Season 2. It was just released in August and it is DVD only.

[pwalker8]

Originally Posted by ZodWallop

If I buy anything it is old TV shows and with lots of those (unless you are talking about Twilight Zone or I Love Lucy) a Blu-ray release is a pipe dream. I just bought Police Story Season 2. It was just released in August and it is DVD only.

I think one of the issues for older TV shows is the print quality of the master copy really just doesn't support Blu-ray or higher. It was shot for standard TV quality screens, not theater quality projectors.

Eventually, you get to the point where something is good enough. When Blu-ray came out, I upgraded a fair number of my favorite movies to Blu-ray. I upgraded my TV to 4K a month or so ago. The picture quality is amazing, but I really can't tell much of a difference between 4K streaming movies and HD streaming movies. I'm probably not going to replace any of my Blu-Ray movies with 4K versions.