Great news for DVD enthusiasts! This time next year, you’ll likely to be able to buy any DVD title you ever craved for a dollar! (A lot of really big movies are already down to $5, as evidenced by the advertising in my last Friday-morning newspaper!)
There’s a swell piece in this morning’s Variety about Warner Bros., Universal and Paramount announcing Monday they’re issuing their titles in Toshiba’s HD-DVD format, which is due late next year. According to the Variety, those three studios alone accounted for 41 percent of all conventional DVDs sold through October.
Sony’s Blu-Ray, which comes to market in 2006, has only Sony (and soon-to-be-Sony-subsidiary MGM) in its corner so far. Sony and MGM account for 19 percent of the DVD market, according to the same story.
Side-by-side comparisons tell the tale. HD, if you’ve never seen it on a big screen, makes DVD look like dogshit. But what’s it going to cost you? From the Variety story:
Sony’s Blu-Ray, which comes to market in 2006, has only Sony (and soon-to-be-Sony-subsidiary MGM) in its corner so far. Sony and MGM account for 19 percent of the DVD market, according to the same story.
Side-by-side comparisons tell the tale. HD, if you’ve never seen it on a big screen, makes DVD look like dogshit. But what’s it going to cost you? From the Variety story:
Next-generation DVD players are expected to cost around $1000 when they launch late next year, with prices falling quickly as has happened to current players. Discs are expected to cost $5 or $10 more each.
How fast will those prices fall? I bought my first DVD player five years ago for $450. Today, if you’re good about filling out and sending in rebate forms, you can buy progressive-scan DVD players as stocking stuffers for $19.
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