The "Freeola Customer Forum" forum, which includes Retro Game Reviews, has been archived and is now read-only. You cannot post here or create a new thread or review on this forum.
While I'm an avid supporter of new technologies (while I realise that the DVD format is hardly new, they are only now starting to become popular in the UK), there is one thing that concerns me: the price of the movies.
Now I appreciate the fact that film companies have to make some money out of transferring their movies on to the DVD format; but is there really any need to charge so much for the discs?
I know that the picture and sound quality is better than standard VHS, but using the extra's argument to sell DVD's sometimes at more than £8 extra per disc than the cost of a VHS video seems rather extortionate.
My point is, that more often then not, the only extra's that are put on the disc are a documentary on why the film's director thought it was such a good film.. (oh, and on the odd occasion a deleted scene that was probably left out of the movie because it was so awful). This type of documentary are more often then not made at the time of filming (so to reduce costs) and often very short.
Furthermore, there are a lot of discs that have been released with no extras other then a scene selection and a interactive menu, (e.g. Pulp Fiction springs to mind). Wow.. that's great. That's worth 20 quid as well.
What would be nice to see, perhaps is a documentary with say Quentin Tarantino... post film reaction interviews with the cast. *Proper* *Exclusives* to the DVD format.
Now *that* would get people to buy the DVD's. That would get DVD players into home, and that would encourage more and more people to take the plunge in to the digital movie player.
Perhaps even making discs the same price as VHS, but hey, that's too much to ask, isn't it ;)
Now I appreciate the fact that film companies have to make some money out of transferring their movies on to the DVD format; but is there really any need to charge so much for the discs?
I know that the picture and sound quality is better than standard VHS, but using the extra's argument to sell DVD's sometimes at more than £8 extra per disc than the cost of a VHS video seems rather extortionate.
My point is, that more often then not, the only extra's that are put on the disc are a documentary on why the film's director thought it was such a good film.. (oh, and on the odd occasion a deleted scene that was probably left out of the movie because it was so awful). This type of documentary are more often then not made at the time of filming (so to reduce costs) and often very short.
Furthermore, there are a lot of discs that have been released with no extras other then a scene selection and a interactive menu, (e.g. Pulp Fiction springs to mind). Wow.. that's great. That's worth 20 quid as well.
What would be nice to see, perhaps is a documentary with say Quentin Tarantino... post film reaction interviews with the cast. *Proper* *Exclusives* to the DVD format.
Now *that* would get people to buy the DVD's. That would get DVD players into home, and that would encourage more and more people to take the plunge in to the digital movie player.
Perhaps even making discs the same price as VHS, but hey, that's too much to ask, isn't it ;)
Page:
While I'm an avid supporter of new technologies (while I realise that the DVD format is hardly new, they are only now starting to become popular in the UK), there is one thing that concerns me: the price of the movies.
Now I appreciate the fact that film companies have to make some money out of transferring their movies on to the DVD format; but is there really any need to charge so much for the discs?
I know that the picture and sound quality is better than standard VHS, but using the extra's argument to sell DVD's sometimes at more than £8 extra per disc than the cost of a VHS video seems rather extortionate.
My point is, that more often then not, the only extra's that are put on the disc are a documentary on why the film's director thought it was such a good film.. (oh, and on the odd occasion a deleted scene that was probably left out of the movie because it was so awful). This type of documentary are more often then not made at the time of filming (so to reduce costs) and often very short.
Furthermore, there are a lot of discs that have been released with no extras other then a scene selection and a interactive menu, (e.g. Pulp Fiction springs to mind). Wow.. that's great. That's worth 20 quid as well.
What would be nice to see, perhaps is a documentary with say Quentin Tarantino... post film reaction interviews with the cast. *Proper* *Exclusives* to the DVD format.
Now *that* would get people to buy the DVD's. That would get DVD players into home, and that would encourage more and more people to take the plunge in to the digital movie player.
Perhaps even making discs the same price as VHS, but hey, that's too much to ask, isn't it ;)
Now I appreciate the fact that film companies have to make some money out of transferring their movies on to the DVD format; but is there really any need to charge so much for the discs?
I know that the picture and sound quality is better than standard VHS, but using the extra's argument to sell DVD's sometimes at more than £8 extra per disc than the cost of a VHS video seems rather extortionate.
My point is, that more often then not, the only extra's that are put on the disc are a documentary on why the film's director thought it was such a good film.. (oh, and on the odd occasion a deleted scene that was probably left out of the movie because it was so awful). This type of documentary are more often then not made at the time of filming (so to reduce costs) and often very short.
Furthermore, there are a lot of discs that have been released with no extras other then a scene selection and a interactive menu, (e.g. Pulp Fiction springs to mind). Wow.. that's great. That's worth 20 quid as well.
What would be nice to see, perhaps is a documentary with say Quentin Tarantino... post film reaction interviews with the cast. *Proper* *Exclusives* to the DVD format.
Now *that* would get people to buy the DVD's. That would get DVD players into home, and that would encourage more and more people to take the plunge in to the digital movie player.
Perhaps even making discs the same price as VHS, but hey, that's too much to ask, isn't it ;)
A drop down to the old £9.99 for VHS and £12.99 for top 10 DVD`s would be nice, but i can`t see that happening soon
I still think that around £20.00 is an ok price to pay for a movie that you can watch again and again, lasts longer than a video will, is better quality than a video etc....
When you look at the current price of taking yourself and a friend to the movies, including transport, snacks etc., it's still a bargain.
But like Bluebeetle says, the price should start to come down as the technology becomes more widely used. So things are looking great for DVD at the moment.
When you look at the current price of taking yourself and a friend to the movies, including transport, snacks etc., it's still a bargain.
But like Bluebeetle says, the price should start to come down as the technology becomes more widely used. So things are looking great for DVD at the moment.
FantasyMeiste® wrote:
> I still think that around £20.00 is an ok price to pay
I've never paid that much for a DVD and I don't ever intend to. Forget Internet purchasing for a minute and look at this example.
As some of you are aware I'm from Hull. Our HMV is in a fairly prime position in the town centre so it's always quite busy. Their DVD display is reasonably big and (apart from a few sale/old items for £10-13) all of their stock is £19.99. There is a buy '3 get the 4th free' offer on which would take the cost of each disc to £14.99 each. Good eh? Yes, except that not everyone has the money to spend £60 at a time on films. Or, in fact, the patience. Would you wait until three more films you wanted were released before you bought the first or would you try and find some films you wouldn't normally have bought but do so to get the offer?
Now then. Still in Hull. Walk out of HMV, across the street (pedestrianised street, so no traffic to avoid), slightly to the right and go into W H Smiths. There you'll find loads of very new films for £15.99 each. Even the high priced ones I've seen there are £17.99 (with a couple of exceptions). That's a saving of up to £4 per single item for less than a minutes walk (which in cancelled out by the reduced waiting time in the queue.
The message is that if you're buying from the high street then shop around. There is no reason to pay £20 for any single DVD and the sooner shops realise this the better.
Internet purchasing is the same. Bear with me here. I don't want to sound like I'm bad mouthing Special Reserve because I'm not - they have saved me a lot of money over the years and (hopefully) will continue to do so, for which, I am grateful (right, that's enough sucking up for now). Their prices for almost everything are great (PCs and PC stuff especially), except for DVDs. Looking through my most recent magazine, the price for a lot of the discs seems to be £18.99. There are a couple of sites I could name which sell them for £15.99-16.99 each (including delivery).
I could tell you of a Jersey based company (which I've mentioned it before) which sell almost all R2 discs for £14.99 each (again, with free delivery). Region 1 discs are all about £17.99. Being in Jersey they probably are exempt from loads of different taxes, which helps price wise.
Their choice is plentiful and, until recently, delivery was prompt. I say 'until recently' which draws me to their Achilles heel - they have gone down the pan in a big way. It used to be a case of order Monday, get it Wednesday at the latest. Even R1 discs we're delivered within 2-3 days of release in America. Nowadays though it's just not the case. I recieved Scary Movie yesterday morning even though I'd ordered it well over a week ago - and it was in stock the whole time. I think the site has become more popular than it was designed for and is suffereing because of this.
Hopefully if it does fall under completely it will do so kicking and screaming to draw attention to the sort of prices that are available if you have the patience to shop around.
By the way. HMV are evil. Don't buy anything from there. There is nothing in there you cannot buy cheaper elsewhere. Spread the word - lets bring them down!
If you've read all of this message then I thank you - I had no idea how long it was becoming while I was typing it!
> I still think that around £20.00 is an ok price to pay
I've never paid that much for a DVD and I don't ever intend to. Forget Internet purchasing for a minute and look at this example.
As some of you are aware I'm from Hull. Our HMV is in a fairly prime position in the town centre so it's always quite busy. Their DVD display is reasonably big and (apart from a few sale/old items for £10-13) all of their stock is £19.99. There is a buy '3 get the 4th free' offer on which would take the cost of each disc to £14.99 each. Good eh? Yes, except that not everyone has the money to spend £60 at a time on films. Or, in fact, the patience. Would you wait until three more films you wanted were released before you bought the first or would you try and find some films you wouldn't normally have bought but do so to get the offer?
Now then. Still in Hull. Walk out of HMV, across the street (pedestrianised street, so no traffic to avoid), slightly to the right and go into W H Smiths. There you'll find loads of very new films for £15.99 each. Even the high priced ones I've seen there are £17.99 (with a couple of exceptions). That's a saving of up to £4 per single item for less than a minutes walk (which in cancelled out by the reduced waiting time in the queue.
The message is that if you're buying from the high street then shop around. There is no reason to pay £20 for any single DVD and the sooner shops realise this the better.
Internet purchasing is the same. Bear with me here. I don't want to sound like I'm bad mouthing Special Reserve because I'm not - they have saved me a lot of money over the years and (hopefully) will continue to do so, for which, I am grateful (right, that's enough sucking up for now). Their prices for almost everything are great (PCs and PC stuff especially), except for DVDs. Looking through my most recent magazine, the price for a lot of the discs seems to be £18.99. There are a couple of sites I could name which sell them for £15.99-16.99 each (including delivery).
I could tell you of a Jersey based company (which I've mentioned it before) which sell almost all R2 discs for £14.99 each (again, with free delivery). Region 1 discs are all about £17.99. Being in Jersey they probably are exempt from loads of different taxes, which helps price wise.
Their choice is plentiful and, until recently, delivery was prompt. I say 'until recently' which draws me to their Achilles heel - they have gone down the pan in a big way. It used to be a case of order Monday, get it Wednesday at the latest. Even R1 discs we're delivered within 2-3 days of release in America. Nowadays though it's just not the case. I recieved Scary Movie yesterday morning even though I'd ordered it well over a week ago - and it was in stock the whole time. I think the site has become more popular than it was designed for and is suffereing because of this.
Hopefully if it does fall under completely it will do so kicking and screaming to draw attention to the sort of prices that are available if you have the patience to shop around.
By the way. HMV are evil. Don't buy anything from there. There is nothing in there you cannot buy cheaper elsewhere. Spread the word - lets bring them down!
If you've read all of this message then I thank you - I had no idea how long it was becoming while I was typing it!
DVDs are probably cheaper for the big companies to produce than VHS, much as its cheaper to produce a CD than a Cassette Tape. However at present the technology is quite new so you have to expect a £20 price tag, its only reasonable. When DVDs become more mainstream then the price will drop, Piracy will also lower the price. Theres no need to complain about the price though alot of quality DVDs can be bought cheaply from Special Reserve such as Goodfellas (18), The Iron Giant (U), Ace Ventura Pet Detective (12) and many more which can be bought for only £12.99 .
I think that, although £20 may be a bit extortionate, it's not totally unreasonable and I am still more than happy to pay that much for a disc with so many advantages over VHS.
And as some of you say, the price is inevitably going to fall considerably, if quite slowly to begin with.
I bought American History X just after Christmas for only £10 from Woolworths, that's only a few quid more than it would cost on VHS, and has advantages like deleted scens and of course greatly improved quality. There are loads more great films available for £10, especially in the January sales, like Austin Powers 2, The Big Lebowski or Lock Stock.
Some people just don't know a good thing if it smacks them in the face, do they? Complain, complain, complain, that's all they ever do. And by the way, I think that's a bit too long for a message, whoever that is (I can't remember the name).
And as some of you say, the price is inevitably going to fall considerably, if quite slowly to begin with.
I bought American History X just after Christmas for only £10 from Woolworths, that's only a few quid more than it would cost on VHS, and has advantages like deleted scens and of course greatly improved quality. There are loads more great films available for £10, especially in the January sales, like Austin Powers 2, The Big Lebowski or Lock Stock.
Some people just don't know a good thing if it smacks them in the face, do they? Complain, complain, complain, that's all they ever do. And by the way, I think that's a bit too long for a message, whoever that is (I can't remember the name).
I'm not complaining about the *quality* of what DVD's are, I'm simply trying to say that the high street price of DVD's are too expensive. I know that Smith's and shops like that are starting to do their offers, but not only is it hard to find 3/4 dvd's to buy in one go, it's also a lot of money for someone like me (a student.. and yes I'm working, AND paying taxes as well) to find that kind of money in one go.
bradman wrote:
> (a student.. and yes I'm working, AND paying taxes as well)
What are you paying taxes for if you are a student? You don't have to, the government doesn't tax students on their earnings! I'm not sure if this applies to part-time students or not though. I worked most of the time I was a student and never paid a penny in tax - except for National Insurance contributions which everyone pays. Trust me, look into this!
Back to the topic and I can't believe people have responded to my message in this way! How can anyone be happy paying £20 for a disc when they can go to a different shop (which may be down the same street or just around the corner) and get the same thing for less!?!? If you we're buying a car you wouldn't get one from the first place you saw that had the one you want, would you?
One more thing. If I write a long message it's because I feel strongly on a subject. You don't have to read it all. I know a good thing when it smacks me in the face and I also know when I'm being smacked in the face by a complete rip off! I wasn't complaining, I was pointing out that I pay less than the going rate for my discs. If you're happy paying more then that's your choice.
> (a student.. and yes I'm working, AND paying taxes as well)
What are you paying taxes for if you are a student? You don't have to, the government doesn't tax students on their earnings! I'm not sure if this applies to part-time students or not though. I worked most of the time I was a student and never paid a penny in tax - except for National Insurance contributions which everyone pays. Trust me, look into this!
Back to the topic and I can't believe people have responded to my message in this way! How can anyone be happy paying £20 for a disc when they can go to a different shop (which may be down the same street or just around the corner) and get the same thing for less!?!? If you we're buying a car you wouldn't get one from the first place you saw that had the one you want, would you?
One more thing. If I write a long message it's because I feel strongly on a subject. You don't have to read it all. I know a good thing when it smacks me in the face and I also know when I'm being smacked in the face by a complete rip off! I wasn't complaining, I was pointing out that I pay less than the going rate for my discs. If you're happy paying more then that's your choice.
Page: