New low on Blu-ray prices for Black Friday

Lee Stewart · 11-14-2008, 12:50 PM

New low on Blu-ray prices for Black Friday

Titles on sale for $11; players for $180

Quote:

By Susanne Ault -- Video Business, 11/14/2008
NOV. 14 | Blu-ray Disc and DVD will be prominently featured in a variety of retailers’ after-Thanksgiving, or “Black Friday,” sales, with stores looking to use the new format to generate excitement among consumers wary of spending in the current economy.

Upcoming bargains include $10.87 Blu-ray titles including Warner Home Video’s March of the Penguins, Wyatt Earp and The Aviator at Sam’s Club, according to early advertising scans circulating the Web. That tag chops several dollars off the titles’ regular price and makes them about $1 cheaper than their standard-def versions at retailers including Amazon.com.

Sam’s Club officials declined to comment on the leaked ads.

Amazon will offer thousands of Blu-ray and standard-def titles at 40% to 60% discounts Nov. 26 through Dec. 2.

“We know that people want low prices, and that’s what we will continue to focus on,” Amazon spokeswoman Tammy Hovey said.

DVDEmpire.com will hold its first Black Friday sale dedicated exclusively to Blu-ray. The online seller will market the event as ‘Blu Friday’ and will offer hefty discounts on major and indie studio titles Nov. 28-30.

“We will be offering a wide variety of Blu-ray releases, both new titles and catalog titles, at prices significantly below our normal DVDEmpire asking price,” said Shannon Nutt, the site’s editorial director.

He declined to specify titles and price but said a wide range of titles from major and indie suppliers will be included.

The e-tailer hopes its software bargains will serve as an attractive complement to fast declining prices on Blu-ray hardware.

“We’re doing this because we feel this holiday season is a very important one for the format. We feel it it’s time for Blu-ray to start taking a more front-and-center spotlight on DVDEmpire,” said Nutt. “This ‘Blu Friday’ sale will be the first of many steps DVDEmpire will be taking over the next year to achieve that goal.”

Virgin Megastores will cut $20 off Lionsgate’s Blu-ray versions of the first season of Mad Men and third season of Weeds, originally priced at $49.99 and $39.99, respectively.

“Although people typically come out in droves on Thanksgiving weekend, people will be much more selective in their shopping habits in the current climate and will be relying on deep discounts more this year,” Virgin senior catalog manager Chris Anstey said. “We’ll be promoting these titles in circulars, so there should hopefully be a good buzz on these offers.”

On the hardware side, K-mart is expected to offer Sony’s BD Live-ready BDP-S350 stand-alone player on Thanksgiving Day for $179.99, according to ads. The retailer’s sister Sears chain will similarly roll out the same player for that price.

Radio Shack will drop Samsung’s BD-P1500 player by $100 to $199 on Black Friday, according to ads.

K-mart and Radio Shack didn’t immediately respond for comment.

Some retailers wish studios could have gone further in facilitating Blu-ray sales. To date, only Warner and Lionsgate have offered long-term re-pricing on several releases in the format.

“We are trying to press this new medium at a time with a lot of [economic] difficulties, and we need help in pushing that medium,” Newbury Comics buyer Ian Leshin said. “If customers are looking at whether to buy Blu-ray or DVD, [customers might say] ‘Sure it’s better to have the Blu-ray extras, but is it $10 better?’”

He adds, “I do think studios should do more to encourage people to buy Blu-ray, especially the catalog titles, where there doesn’t seem to be marketing in place. You see tons of commercials for the new releases, but people don’t know about the older releases.”

Blu-ray offers will have to compete with other Black Friday home entertainment deals, spanning standard-def DVDs and videogames.

Wal-Mart is expected to return with a $1.99 Black Friday standard DVD offer, according to sources. This deal should prove successful, featuring relatively recent, $100 million box-office titles, they say.

One studio source described it “as a very low hot offer this year that will drive tremendous traffic and attention.”

During Black Friday 2006, Wal-Mart first rolled out the $1.99 DVD offer, which was considered an unprecedented holiday low-price at the time.

K-mart is expected to roll out $3.99 deals on 3:10 to Yuma, The Fantastic Four and Shrek 2, among others.

Virgin will cut pricing by 50% on recent major releases, including Universal Studios Home Entertainment’s The Incredible Hulk and Forgetting Sarah Marshall; Warner’s Sex and the City: The Movie and Speed Racer; and Sony Pictures Home Entertainment’s You Don’t Mess With the Zohan.

The specialty retailer slimmed many of the films’ tags through extensive point-of-sale Black Friday rebates, in which retailers can discount titles due to studio cash they receive when discs sell.

http://www.videobusiness.com/article...?desc=topstory

scsa · 11-14-2008, 01:51 PM

there you go lee a good topic thanks.

Lee Stewart · 11-14-2008, 03:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by scsa

there you go lee a good topic thanks.

I search about 10 to 15 different websites for news. Some days the news is negative - some days it is positive - and some days it is both.

I don't pick and choose what to post. If the article is there - I post it.

The only articles I am choosey about are new release announcements. I try to look for the unusual. It would be VERY easy to flood the forum with new announcements - and everyone knows where to go to get them - High Def Digest - a sister website to HDF.

awol · 11-14-2008, 03:30 PM

Someone at work just told me that Walmart will have the Magnavox (funai) player for $139.

Obviously file it under rumor, but if it's true that's a hell of a deal.

ack_bak · 11-14-2008, 04:38 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by awol

Someone at work just told me that Walmart will have the Magnavox (funai) player for $139.

Obviously file it under rumor, but if it's true that's a hell of a deal.

Cnn is reporting it as being $128

http://money.cnn.com/2008/11/14/news...ex.htm?cnn=yes

awol · 11-14-2008, 05:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ack_bak

Cnn is reporting it as being $128

http://money.cnn.com/2008/11/14/news...ex.htm?cnn=yes

Crimony! An even BETTER deal!!

Super XP · 11-16-2008, 02:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by awol

Crimony! An even BETTER deal!!

I just wished I liked the way it looks, but I don't. I am sure it will play fine, but looks are important for me and so far this Magnavox player looks like a block of cheese.

Lee Stewart · 11-16-2008, 02:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Super XP

I just wished I liked the way it looks, but I don't. I am sure it will play fine, but looks are important for me and so far this Magnavox player looks like a block of cheese.

HD Goofnut · 11-16-2008, 04:21 PM

I will definitely be picking up the Magnavox on Black Friday and throwing it with my Toshiba CRT in the bedroom.

HD Goofnut · 11-18-2008, 09:56 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by pornosteve

I think this is good.
I hope a lot of people will buy them.
So that we can se next year a 50% marketshare of blu ray in the us

I seriously doubt there will be a 50% market share for Blu-ray by this time next year, but 30% would be a decent guess though.

ack_bak · 11-18-2008, 12:04 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by HD Goofnut

I seriously doubt there will be a 50% market share for Blu-ray by this time next year, but 30% would be a decent guess though.

Since we don't even have a 50% marketshare with regards to HDTV's in American households right now, I tend to agree with you. And I think 30% would only be on certain titles, not overall marketshare (I would put that closer to 20% or so).

HD Goofnut · 11-18-2008, 05:19 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ack_bak

Since we don't even have a 50% marketshare with regards to HDTV's in American households right now, I tend to agree with you. And I think 30% would only be on certain titles, not overall marketshare (I would put that closer to 20% or so).

I was thinking somewhere between 25-30% for new titles, but you are probably right that overall the percentage will be somewhere between 20-25%.

Wiley · 11-18-2008, 10:59 PM

Well I wonder, back when DVD was all new and bright, everybody was thinking a DVD player was a DVD player was a DVD player and then it turned out there are tremendous differences in the quality of the DVD players, some very good and some very poor.

Just because they are offering BluRay players for cheap this Black Friday doesn't mean they are good BluRay players. Personally I'll wait until they start offering quality BluRay players for reasonable prices. The ones with good ratings are still fetching some hefty prices. One can buy a generic DVD player for less than $30 and I'm afraid the quality of the cheapo BluRay players are about the same only they play BluRay discs and are selling for $128.00

Wiley

**PFC5** · 11-19-2008, 02:09 AM

Good to see you posting again Wiley!

The Sony S35 & Panasonic BD35 are very good quality BD players from what the pro reviewers are saying, and they are part of the BF sales, but I would agree about the Memorex, Insignia, & Samsung BD players not being as good as those too.

Nikopol · 11-19-2008, 02:41 AM

I know a lot of people, who are very pleased with their $35 (or Euros in my case

) DVD players. They don't know about the difference and frankly don't care. To them, it's just a DVD player and it's doing what it's supposed to do, play their DVDs.

Imo the BD market will have to appeal to this segment of the market as well. It's a key element for mass market success. And i can see part of this group being interested in this "better DVD" for their HDTVs, IF they can get it for a price similar compared to what they are paying for DVD (many in this segment are renting or only buying cheapo DVDs). We are probably a few years away from this, but offering cheap "throw-away" BD players is a first step towards this market. I would bet, that a first segment of this market who knows about BD already will take advantage of this year's "cheapo BD player" sales.

11-16-2008, 04:21 PM	#9
HD Goofnut HDF Official Reviewer Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: Mississippi, U.S.A. Your resident Dune, Star Wars, and war film expert Age: 27 Posts: 6,762	I will definitely be picking up the Magnavox on Black Friday and throwing it with my Toshiba CRT in the bedroom. __________________ Official High Def Forum Reviewer Have a review request? Send it to me. Display: Sanyo DP46848 46" 1080p LCD A/V Receiver: Onkyo TX-SR606 7.1 HD Receiver: DirecTV HR21-100 HD DVR Speakers: Onkyo SKS-HT540 7.1 System Players: LG BH200, Toshiba HD-A20 & A2, Sony 40 GB PS3, Magnavox NB500MG9 156~199~My Movie Collection~Latest Bought: Death Race & The International Latest Review: *Role Models*

11-19-2008, 02:09 AM	#14
PFC5 Super Moderator Join Date: May 2005 Posts: 28,053	Good to see you posting again Wiley! The Sony S35 & Panasonic BD35 are very good quality BD players from what the pro reviewers are saying, and they are part of the BF sales, but I would agree about the Memorex, Insignia, & Samsung BD players not being as good as those too. __________________ Denon AVR-887 Klipsch RP-5 Pwred Towers (mains) (525 watts peak each 12"Subs) All Klipsch RC-25(ctr),(2)SS1(surr),(2)SS1(rearSurr) Toshiba (2)HD-A20,PS3,BD35 For SACD/DVD-A Samsung HD-841 Panny 50pz80u plasma SETTINGS RCA HD50LPW162 50"DLP w/HD2+ SA 3250HD 47" LCD+Yamaha5790+HD-A1(bedroom) Harmony 680 + (2) 670s (amazing remote/support) Game room with Onkyo receiver & B&W Speakers The_Cable_Game Take the high ground and be happier

11-19-2008, 02:41 AM	#15
Nikopol Uwe Boll's my hero Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: Maelstrom Blu-rays: 14 Age: 4 Posts: 6,374	I know a lot of people, who are very pleased with their $35 (or Euros in my case ) DVD players. They don't know about the difference and frankly don't care. To them, it's just a DVD player and it's doing what it's supposed to do, play their DVDs. Imo the BD market will have to appeal to this segment of the market as well. It's a key element for mass market success. And i can see part of this group being interested in this "better DVD" for their HDTVs, IF they can get it for a price similar compared to what they are paying for DVD (many in this segment are renting or only buying cheapo DVDs). We are probably a few years away from this, but offering cheap "throw-away" BD players is a first step towards this market. I would bet, that a first segment of this market who knows about BD already will take advantage of this year's "cheapo BD player" sales. Last edited by Nikopol; 11-19-2008 at 04:03 AM.

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11-14-2008, 01:51 PM	#2
scsa High Definition is the definition of life. Join Date: Jan 2008 Posts: 1,091	there you go lee a good topic thanks.

11-14-2008, 03:30 PM	#4
awol I'm Fabulous. Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: Dallas, TX Posts: 3,638	Someone at work just told me that Walmart will have the Magnavox (funai) player for $139. Obviously file it under rumor, but if it's true that's a hell of a deal.

11-18-2008, 10:59 PM	#13
Wiley High Definition is the definition of life. Join Date: Jun 2004 Posts: 269	Well I wonder, back when DVD was all new and bright, everybody was thinking a DVD player was a DVD player was a DVD player and then it turned out there are tremendous differences in the quality of the DVD players, some very good and some very poor. Just because they are offering BluRay players for cheap this Black Friday doesn't mean they are good BluRay players. Personally I'll wait until they start offering quality BluRay players for reasonable prices. The ones with good ratings are still fetching some hefty prices. One can buy a generic DVD player for less than $30 and I'm afraid the quality of the cheapo BluRay players are about the same only they play BluRay discs and are selling for $128.00 Wiley