Blu-Ray
Blu-ray is Coming
One of the largest expenditures you are bound to face when Blu-ray becomes available is the actual player. Predicted at near $1000 for the standard player, Sony hopes to improve the player's chances by including it in the upcoming Playstation 3 (~$600). So, saying you are willing to splurge on the player, how much can you expect to be paying for the Blu-ray discs themselves?
According to Sony, catalog Blu-ray disc titles will wholesale for $17.95, about the same as DVDs when that format hit the market in 1997. New-release Blu-ray discs will wholesale for $23.45, a premium of 15%-20% over what suppliers were charging for new theatrical DVDs.
What this means is that consumers can expect to pay anywhere near $40 per Blu-ray movie they purchase. Though this sounds high-- which it is --Sony reminds us that all new mediums start at a high and that the first VHS cassette was near this price or higher.
But never mind the costs, we are talking high-definition movies here! Soon after talking about how deep the movies will dive into your wallet, Sony released the first list of films from Sony Pictures/MGM that will come our way on May 23rd.
50 First Dates, The Fifth Element, Hitch, House of Flying Daggers, A Knight's Tale, The Last Waltz, Resident Evil Apocalypse and xXx are expected to come our way on May 23rd. The titles listed are OK, but I would have expected a little more. House of Flying Daggers, a film that uses beautiful cinematography, should look incredible in high-definition.
To fill the void, Sony Pictures also plans to release Kung Fu Hustle, Legends of the Fall, Robocop, Stealth, Species, SWAT and Terminator by June 13th. If you are looking for a new release, Sony plans to release a Blu-ray disc for Underworld Evolution on the same date as the DVD release that is expected early to mid-summer.
Lions Gate Films has also jumped on the bandwagon and has announced their first set of titles they plan to see appear in Blu-ray format on May 23rd.
The titles include Crash, Lord of War, Saw, Terminator 2, The Punisher, Reservoir Dogs, Total Recall, Stargate, Frank Herbert's Dune and The Devil's Rejects.
We expect more release announcements for Blu-ray shortly.
Is the new technology worth the price? Well, we are hoping for a DVD+r effect on the Blu-ray movies; meaning prices should begin to fall quickly.
Stay tuned for updates.
|
Add to Heffee!
