57 replies to this topic

[ELK007]

So I've been following a few forums in the US and many people are surmising that maybe Sony is getting out of the bluray format or at least reducing its exposure to it.

Since the beginning of September, Sony has released a grand total of 5 catalog titles: The Caine Mutiny, The Guns of Navarone,Hook, Stripes, and The Adventures of Milo and Otis (the latter two are getting wide releases in January after being store exclusives for the last couple of months). It seems like they're pretty much throwing in the towel when it comes to anything besides new releases.

What's more even newer releases aren't necessarily getting Bluray releases (example Hostel 3 & Good Old Fashioned Orgy).
Could this be due to financial factors within their bluray sector or perhaps earthquake in Japan?! Or maybe this just could be coincidental. But for the company that's invented Bluray its somewhat concerning.

Edited by ELK007, 30 December 2011 - 07:44 AM.

[Mining Man]

Sounds just like the good ol' days of HD DVD vs BD.

Just what we need to coax momaw out of retirement!!

[Highjinx]

Shhhh!....they're working on 4k BluRay!!

Edited by Highjinx, 29 December 2011 - 09:20 AM.

[Mining Man]

Highjinx, on Dec 29 2011, 10:20 AM, said:

Shhhh!....they're working on 4k BluRay!!

And HJ is the first to respond.

I guess we won't be seeing momaw, then...  

[:)]

4K red-ray  

or is that purple ray  

sony wants us to put 20 foot high imax screens into our homes to ride their latest 4K pony !  

ps has sony pulled out of DVD as yet ? hehe

[Anden]

No no no no,
They are going to re introduce Betamax ,
ITS now the perfect time  

[kulfi]

ELK007, on Dec 29 2011, 09:02 AM, said:

due to financial factors

That explains everything.

Remastering these films isn't cheap. Retail sales have been in a global slump and may not be enough to recover the costs, especially for older titles or newer flops/direct-to-video releases. I doubt if there are many people who want to even rent "Hostel 3", leave alone buy it. In hard times, this sort of optional entertainment is the first thing to drop off people's list.

Sony seems to be doing the right thing in order to ensure its own survival. They may offer these films as DVD-quality downloads at best.

[XxDeadlyxX]

June 2012.

Lawrence of Arabia.

'Nuff said.

[miata]

XxDeadlyxX, on Dec 29 2011, 10:46 AM, said:

June 2012.

Lawrence of Arabia.

'Nuff said.

About bloody time!

[Chopsus]

Mining Man, on Dec 29 2011, 10:24 AM, said:

I guess we won't be seeing momaw, then...  

You don't really wish for a return to the days of arrogance and assumed forum ownership do you?

[Highjinx]

What ever happened to Momaw?!!

[cwt]

Highjinx, on Dec 29 2011, 10:20 AM, said:

Shhhh!....they're working on 4k BluRay!!

Thats a given ;otherwise nobody will buy the $$ 4k projector

[Chicken Man]

I can just hear Toshiba blowing a trumpet right now with a call for the new format of 2560 x 1080p Super HD.

The 21:9 panels are just now coming onto the marketplace.

I for one won't be buying one of their Super XE1's after that last debacle with Sony.

C.M

[MarkTecher]

cwt, on Dec 29 2011, 07:34 PM, said:

Thats a given ;otherwise nobody will buy the $$ 4k projector

If SONY is releasing a consumer version of their true 4K projector and not a quasi 4K like JVC has, I can't see anyone that is not a D-Cinema owner buying one.  Especially with the 6 figure price tag.  And yes, to sell 4K displays, people will want 4K source material.  Otherwise it is like up-scaling DVD for 1080P.

[Highjinx]

4K consumer source material is at least a year or two away yet I would think.

The Sony consumer 4K machine(VPL-VW1000ES) is a water tester, I'm thinking, mainly relying on their reality creation scaling to scale 1080 to 4k. JVC E-Shift is a better value proposition specially with 1080p source.

But E-Shift should not be considered second rate, if the speed is there, displaying 1 frame in 2 flashes for true 4K, 48 flashes per second to display 24 frames. I'm betting the JVC will have a 4K input next year(2013) along with faster panels.

[wheelz]

Speaking of Sony

http://www.perthnow....u-1226230756816

[ELK007]

wheelz, on Dec 29 2011, 09:52 PM, said:

1769133[/url]']
Speaking of Sony

http://www.perthnow....u-1226230756816

Interesting...So Sony is getting a payday $1Billion. Looks to me they are trying to make their asset more liquid. I wonder why?!?

[Highjinx]

These swaps and changes are all a part of running a business and where that business has set it's targets.

Sony sold their Cell fab to Tosiba in 2007-08 for some 90 billion yen..then in 2010 bought it back for half the price! Sure Sony need to innovate as they used to but appear to be more of a marketing company these days.......perhaps their 3D head set may become the next iPod and spur on innovation.

With LG announcing a 55" Oled TV, perhaps the high margins are going to be with that tech......till the next big thing.

[tonyjg]

ELK007, on Dec 29 2011, 09:02 AM, said:

What's more even newer releases aren't necessarily getting Bluray releases (example Hostel 3 & Good Old Fashioned Orgy).

Gee - I can't really blame SONY for not releasing CRAP like the two titles mentioned above on Blu !

I was out yesterday at JB and Hardly Normal with a mate whom was after a new screen - and noted that consumers AREN'T buying Blu players nor discs.  (I was tempted to grab another $88 Toshiba but no $$ left my wallet !).   Consumers are just buying the screens - and further, 3D is NOT a selling point.  With 55inch screens for $1500 - there's little money in the B&M stores - and manufacturers - and there's ONLY so many screens that 1 consumer can buy in a year.  

The big $$$ that came from DVD aren't being replicated for Blu-ray.

Edited by tonyjg, 30 December 2011 - 08:07 AM.

[Highjinx]

The fat lady may wanna sing but not yet it seems!......lagging behind DVD sales for sure, but steadly increasing volume and closing the gap. Players are sub $100.00 saw one at Coles yesterday.


Global Blu-ray Disc Market to Reach 6.6 Billion Units by 2017

Blu-ray Sales Increased in September

US Blu-ray 3D to Enjoy Growth in 2011 and Beyond

Blu-ray Sales Continues To Grow As Q4 Begins

Blu-ray Continues To Grow

[ajm]

Perhaps Sony just don't have any movies worth releasing.

[Htpc-online]

Sales might not be as high as they were for dvd, but that's because streaming is very popular now. Alot of people don't bother buying movies anymore when they can stream/download/rent.

[ajm]

Htpc-online, on Dec 30 2011, 11:28 AM, said:

Sales might not be as high as they were for dvd, but that's because streaming is very popular now. Alot of people don't bother buying movies anymore when they can stream/download/rent.

Be interested to see if there are any numbers to support that. I've looked into using BigPond Movies, iTunes and Quickflix streaming but the cost and quality of the media totally put me off.

[IanD]

Chicken Man, on Dec 29 2011, 06:35 PM, said:

I can just hear Toshiba blowing a trumpet right now with a call for the new format of 2560 x 1080p Super HD.

The 21:9 panels are just now coming onto the marketplace.

I for one won't be buying one of their Super XE1's after that last debacle with Sony.

With a measly 600 pixels extra horizontal resolution, why would anyone bother spending money on such a poor incremental improvement that requires a new display and player?  It's only a minority that cares about black bars on their display.

The industry needs to realise that the money is in technology that is revolutionary, value for money and hooks the consumer interest:  it can't be replicated with incremental improvements on existing tech.

DVD was such a revolution, but the studios are deluding themselves that they can make the same or more profit with only incremental improvements, and if they continue to frustrate the consumer with their DRM and outdated or botched masters, I predict Bluray will soon experience a decline.

OLED and VOD (if they can provide the bandwidth) will be such a revolution:  3D and 4K, not so much unless they piggyback 3D on OLED HMD and market to the younger generation.

Edited by IanD, 30 December 2011 - 11:15 AM.

[tonyjg]

ajm, on Dec 30 2011, 11:06 AM, said:

Perhaps Sony just don't have any movies worth releasing.

http://ec2-174-129-2...onyclassics.htm

Look at the piece of ***** that Sony released this year - this is their top 10 earners (US) - any list that has JACK AND JILL and ZOOKEEPER in it shows how bad SONY has become.  Wow... what a terrible list of films (barring Woody)

1 The Smurfs Sony $142,614,158
2 Just Go With It Sony $103,028,109
3 Bad Teacher Sony $100,292,856
4 The Green Hornet Sony $98,780,042
5 Battle: Los Angeles Sony $83,552,429
6 Zookeeper Sony $80,360,843
7 Moneyball Sony $74,391,437
8 Jack and Jill Sony $71,059,708
9 Midnight in Paris SPC $56,341,186
10 Friends with Benefits SGem $55,802,754

Edited by tonyjg, 30 December 2011 - 12:55 PM.