Why No Blu-ray? Disc Producer Andrew J. Klyde Explains Why Many Shows and Films Won’t Get A Blu-ray
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- Опубликовано: 7 фев 2025
- Andrew J. Klyde, executive producer of BONANZA and Gunsmoke on DVD, explains why many classic films and television shows will never get a Blu-ray release.
Be sure to catch the full interview on the Cereal At Midnight podcast feed!
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I’m just happy these classics r showing up in complete sets on DVD
Well said!
Complete seasons and series sets are so much better than "best of" releases.
The reason I Love Lucy didn’t initially sell well on Blu-ray was that the Blu-ray disks for the two seasons that were released on Blu were priced very highly. I bought them anyway but I can certainly see why many people were reluctant to do so. I’m sure if there’s another go at this (like they did for The Andy Griffith Show) the series would sell better now.
Sales of dvd's are also partially that high, because most movies are (just) on dvd. So that high percentage of dvd sales kinda also starts at that end. But the fact that most homes still have (only) DVD players is the main fact i think.
Most movies of high sales ratios are on bluray and DVDs… it’s more likely the install base and those consumers who haven’t updated also may not have access high speed internet kind of reinforcing their purchase of DVDs.
I gladly buy shows I enjoy on DVD if that's the best available. Yes, I have a fool's hope for Buffy on Bluray one day. But even as a HD/4K enthusiast, I'm still grateful when a show has a physical media release at all.
It warms my heart to see a show like Bonanza get a 14-season, complete series. That speaks well for for the TV physical market.
It seems like more PM collectors need to understand that DVD for TV shows is often the best available. Nor is it the end of the world. Many shows on DVD look fine. (Sure, maybe not special, but enjoyable enough from an A/V perspective.)
One last comment - I really appreciate that this channel discusses TV shows. While I love movies, I also love great shows. Too many PM channels ignore TV show releases. This is one of my favorite videos you've ever done, Heath. Thank you for this great message
Thank you!
I always see people asking why DVD still sells more than the other formats. One reason is they still sell DVD only players at Walmart for around $25 and mostly carry DVDs. The local public libraries only have DVDs. The average person doesn't care about video quality anyway. Also I don't think the "Blu-Ray/UHD only" people realize there are a lot of things released on DVD that will never be on Blu-Ray such as exercise videos, how to, church services/religion, local programming, sports, fishing videos, stage plays, music video compilations/concerts, TV programs shot on videotape, public domain, job training videos, street DVDs (aka burned bootlegs sold in neighborhoods/jobs/flea markets), documentaries, children's videos, cartoons, etc. That's part of the DVD sales, it's not from movies only.
There's a lot of movies that have never been released on any home video format, even VHS. It's the same with music, many older albums have never been on CD and are not on music streaming sites either. I doubt that the movie/TV studios are going to spend a lot of money to restore lesser known content that is unlikely to sell much or public domain that anybody can release. I think that's why they don't bother taking down obscure movies & old TV movies people upload on RUclips. There's stuff on RUclips that is unlikely to get an official physical release because of outdated content ("Amos 'n Andy", "Song Of The South", banned cartoons, etc.) or getting the song rights would be too expensive like the 1973 concert film "Save The Children".
Yeah I totally agree. I've lost count of how many times I've tried to find a tv show or movie on blu ray and it's either: 1) out of print and super expensive, 2) wrong region or 3) never made it to blu ray. Now admitedly, I'm one of those guys who is looking to buy shows I enjoyed as a kid in the 90's - and I get that some of those shows weren't even filmed in HD.
There's no denying Blu ray has better image (and sound) quality. DVD quality is hit or miss. But I think MOST people are doing to take a calculated decision here: Do they want the cheap, easily available DVD where the image quality is just "ok" - or do they want the more expensive, sometimes harder to get blu ray with the great image quality.
Enthusiasts always like to blast the general public for choosing DVD over Blu ray but at the end of the day - most people are happy to buy something that is cheap, easy to find, and will "just work" whatever player they put it in. Regardless of quality, it's the low cost and convenience of dvd that make it a commercial winner over blu.
That said, many DVD's can look pretty bad on modern TV's and there's zero question that Blu rays can look absolutely stunning. But if blu ray hasn't started outselling DVD by now I doubt it ever will - especially since it's been mostly removed from stores.
I mentioned it before but just personally don't understand why more studios don't go the Standard Definition on Bluray route. Im at that point where I'll accept that over several dozen DVDs.
Especially with older TV series where HD isn't really common or possible.
In the case with the Bonanza set, 112 discs is A LOT. But if the series would've been put on BD-50 bluray discs, the number of discs would be cut down to less than a quarter of the amount. AND it would still look slightly better than being read from a DVD.
Surely the amount of less DVDs being used would offset the cost of using bluray discs enough to make it worth it.
Only anime companies have had success with SD on Blu-ray, and even they're saying the cost/profit margin is slim (Discotek, this week). If the average customer isn't going to buy a Blu-ray, which is full HD, they're definitely not going to buy SD on Blu. Any time I cover them, people are shocked that it's not HD. I think we over-estimate the understanding that the general audience has in these products.
YES!!!! I would happily by SD on Blu-ray. Really wish studios would consider this option.
Interesting idea. I didn't know anyone had even considered it, but yes, I would like that. One of the main reasons I don't buy TV series on any format is that they take up too much space or there is too much disc swapping involved. I have some short run British sitcomes, like Fawlty Towers, or a couple of my absolute favourites, but as much as I love Friends or Frasier, I really don't want 20 discs or whatever it is to be able to watch it, and that's where streaming or downloading wins. But a whole season on one blu-ray in SD? I think I'd buy that!
It’s amazing that tech from the 90s is still being used today. TV on Blu-ray doesn’t work when it’s incomplete. Boxsets are far more important than the format and that in turn makes DVD sets a lot cheaper. Most people don’t care about quality when it comes to classic TV programmes and DVDs are often good enough.
I know you’re a fan of DVDs but the notion of supporting DVDs in order to get Blu-ray runs the risk of studios thinking DVDs are good enough because the buyers are ‘happy’ with them. Also, most people won’t double dip.
Interesting! Thanks Heath. I never thought about how the HD war, that Blu Ray finally won, came right on the heels of streaming. This didn’t give consumers time to adopt Blu Ray, and buy players. Plus, the Netflix DVD rental service kept people entrenched in DVD. It all makes so much sense. I am on the “glass half full” side of this debate. I am happy to own what I enjoy and love on DVD, if that is they only format it’s available on. And, damn, a vast majority of these new releases look damn good!
I'm glad that PS3, PS4, and some PS5s include Blu-ray players. I know a ton of gamers who got into HD physical media because they already had a player built into their consoles. Without that, I think Blu-ray and 4k would be in even worse shape.
My case; Bought first 4k tv 4 years ago and streamed most every premium service, mostly to feed my movie addiction. I was so happy because Netflix and others streamed in 4k, so I had the best possible home viewing experience. Or so I thought. Two years ago it dawned on me that my nice 4k tv was not delivering movies to me at full potential via streaming. Alas, bought my first ever blu-ray player (4k) and have gradually built a select little disc library of my favorite titles in hd and uhd. So imo it's all about getting the message out about the superiority of discs, i.e. the higher bit rate and how that's independent of simple 4k resolution, with enhanced color depth, audio, etc. And of course the advantages of owning physical discs.
Well said
If some of these shows, especially older ones, get the blu ray treatment, I am elated. I almost never have the expectation that they will get the 4k treatment, but if they do, I am over the moon.
If your company makes more DVDS than blurays you will have more DVD sales
I would be happy to get the rest of The Simpsons seasons on DVD over nothing but nothing seems to be what Disney wants us to have.
It just sucks when there's clearly an HD version or a show that was natively made in HD, and we have to have it super compressed down to DVD quality when more often than not, the STREAMING versions will be available in HD. I am at a point where I can't afford to double dip on products, and this just... It sucks being stuck between a rock and a hard place. I hate owning stuff on DVD of stuff that can clearly exist on Blu-ray. It really sucks.
This is one of the reasons I've embraced digital in a big way over the last year or so. Not just streaming, but digital purchases, which give me the highest resolution possible--often much cheaper than what I'd pay for a physical release. If we can get over the whole "you don't own it" barrier, we can enjoy most of what we want in the best quality possible.
@@CerealAtMidnight I can't get myself to spend money on a library of content that can be pulled from me at any time, it's been happening recently, and hard for me to support those kinds of practices of companies who just want to have full control over everything in how you can wqtch something. Unless they can fix the DRM issue, I will never pay the same amount of money for a digital copy as a physical copy or how much a physical copy would be. Until the DRM can be fixed, I will never buy into those evil practices, and more people need to put their foot down on these issues. This isn't something people are going to get over when these horror stories are becoming more and more of a reality, and people are trying to spread the word on it. This isn't some "fear mongering". These are LEGITIMATE ISSUES that are only going to get worse if we keep allowing them to do this to us as consumers, and the most we can do is inform people to the best of our ability.
If the financials are too hard to deal with, why can't they do limited print runs, or MOD type of releases so tons of backstock don't just leave unsold? Why not have a direct to consumer storefront where you can easily have these smaller releases, and you don't have to take a huge gamble?
There are many ways around this on still making a satisfactory product, even liecensing on how the botique labels do it where they can just offshoot the manufacturing/distribution onto another company if they choose to instead of holding the content hostage
I shouldn't be forced to buy a show on DVD when HD masters/scans are being used, it does no justice those people who helped bring those restorations to life to truly see the work what was done on those projects. The jump between DVD and Blu ray is HUGE, this isn't like Blu vs 4K where there's not that huge of differences.
There's a lot of smoke, but never any fire. I've never lost a single movie, and at most I've heard of people losing one or two things over a period of many years. Digital is certainly not perfect, but I've been hearing for years how digital is risky and stupid, I just no longer agree. I believe physical and digital are both essential components of a home media collection. They both have limitations, but together, they offer fans like me everything I want.
@@CerealAtMidnight Just because you only lost nothing and a couple others only lost a handful of things doesn't make it not an issue. Especially with Sony wiping an entire studio's worth of TV shows with no refunds and no way of backing said things up. Due to how strict the DRM is, there's nothing anyone can do other than piracy. The digital storefronts hurt more than they do help, and we are only just seeing the beginning od it and it will only get worse from here on out. There is no smoke and mirrors with this, this is a genuine issue on the side of consumers and not exactly having any sort of ownership with what you have bought. It's as anti-consumer as it gets when you straight up own a glorified rental only tied to one account, that can be retroactively suspended at any time for any reason at the mercy of the company, nevermind the fact they can also remove the movies and change the movies at any time they want to.
An early example of this is a TV show called Regular Show, they actually said a couple of swear words in its first season, but then they re-recorded some of the lines. The only versions that existed at the time were on iTunes, and when they dis the change, every episode was affected on iTunes unless you had it downloaded prior. Essentially wiping it.
These are REAL issues to discuss and need to be taken into account. It doesn't matter if it hasn't affected you, because it will continue to affect others. Another example being when Vudu got first bought by Walmart. Vudu used to have pr0n on the platform, and Walmart removed ALL OF IT and removed it from every single person who bought it through Vudu.
The story is Warner Bros. removing all of their films from the Playstation Network on December 31st of this year. It hasn't happened yet, but it probably will. My point in all of this is that if physical media is letting you down (re: your first post) then there are ways to supplement it and find some joy. That's really the best any of us can do, is find some joy. This is entertainment, after all, not politics, war, or survival. Though from the way we talk about media these days, it's easy to forget. Something I'm asking not just the audience but also myself these days is "what would make me happy?" Last week, during a particularly butt-hurt debate on Twitter, I asked physical media fans what made them happy. Nobody answered.
Heath, I’ve scanned the comments and the people have spoken: No gratitude for DVDs in this day and age, and rightfully so! It’s ridiculous really that it’s still the default.
Weird, you must have missed all the ones where people were grateful to have something on disc rather than not at all. The "Why No Blu-ray" and "why no 4K" crowd has selective vision and selective hearing. They think they're the majority when they're really the smallest part of physical media fandom--a few thousand people, acting as if the whole industry bends to their will.
I doubt many people are buying a DVD, Blue-ray and a 4k version of a show. I couldn’t justify buying three copies of a movie only to ever watch one copy.
Honestly, I think dvd sales are high, because when they sell a complete series for $20-$30, they count each disc as a dvd sale.
Yes, I agree we fans need to support the studios... but not everyone
is wealthy enough to buy tons of DVDs of everything just with the advance purpose of then re-buying them all on Bluray later on. I have collected DVDs since the launch in 1997, but that's because it was all we had. If Bluray had been an option at the same time, I would have picked Bluray over DVD.
It's not about wealth, it's about supporting the current release. Look at Bonanza and Gunsmoke: there is no Blu-ray. There may never be a Blu-ray. If there ever is, it's going to stem from healthy DVD sales.
@@CerealAtMidnight I understand, and I'm older than you and have been collecting a long time.. But this is a perfect example: I have literally recently been thinking of getting into BONANZA, and I know there's the giant series set on 112 DVDs. If I spend $200 for the DVDs (I realize there's a chance there likely won't be a Bluray set later) -- then am I expected to spend another 200 or more for a future Blu set, IF it comes out?
As a movie and TV fan I've of course always bought the DVDs first -- not to ensure there'd later be an HD disc, but because DVD is all there was and there might not ever be a chance of an upgrade. As soon as a Blu HD replacement comes out now, I upgrade and ditch my outdated DVD. But we can't be expected to buy everything we want on DVD now, just to help the cause... particulalry when it's a HUGELY expensive Series Box. Lastly, I mean no insult by asking, but don't you get much of your titles free?
If you're older than me (I've been buying my films since 1989), then you know that this is nothing new, this is how it's always been. You're not "expected" to buy anything, nor do you have to ditch an outdated DVD. You could simply be happy with the sure thing, since that's all we currently have. We choose to embrace the present at the risk of the future--which is uncertain.
For the past couple of years, yes, I get many releases sent to me for free in exchange for reviews and coverage. But I've bought thousands of VHS tapes, DVDs, Blu-rays, and now 4Ks across 34 years of collecting physical media. I'm not "the other" or an outsider, I'm OG. This is the culture I helped create.
@@CerealAtMidnight Got my first VCR 1982, for what that's worth. Anyway, I do appreciate the dialogue and I completely am on board with what you're saying. But I thought you were specifically stating that in order to expect a Bluray, you have to support the studio by getting the DVDs first (as in the BONANZA example)... Maybe there are some who would rather wait for a bluray Bonzanza Set which will never happen (and thus do without anything), rather than first fund the expensive DVD set to ensure a Blu.
@Coolestmovies I don't appreciate the insinuation that I'm rah-rah pro corporation. I am not, and I think that comes through in a lot of what I do--probably to a fault, as certain studios have blacklisted me. I view what I do as a service, providing information that helps people make up whether something is worth their money. I don't make a dime off of any of this other than some ad revenue, which is less than you think. The reason I continue to engage in the comments is because I've talked to DOZENS of people who work on these releases and they all say the exact same thing but nobody seems to listen: it's always about economics. Sales of a thing tell the studio whether they should release a better version of that thing. If you skip Bonanza on DVD, don't be surprised if there's no Blu-ray. Then again, I'm not the red-faced crowd screaming "Why no Blu-ray" and shaking my fist in the air saying "they just don't listen to us." Let's be honest: if fans were supporting TV on Blu-ray, we'd have a lot more shows on Blu-ray. Most fans aren't supporting much of anything. The average disc buyer is picking up between 0 and 5 titles a month. And then they complain that they aren't being heard.
I was purchasing every season of "Shameless" on bluray as they were released. Then, one season late in the series, they only put out a set in dvd. They put out the following year in bluray.
That is SO frustrating. I'm planning to buy each season of Monk on Blu-ray as they're coming out to show support. Plus I really like that show and I'm stoked it's on Blu-ray finally.
Just watched Mad Men on Blu-ray, DVD and streaming, and the Blu-ray was so beautiful, and easily adjusted; DVD looked terrible, and streaming was obviously tuned for some kind of display condition which didn't play well with my small OLED set. I've spent a lot of time and money now getting hold of second-hand blu-rays (including having to re-buy several which were faulty) because the few complete sets of blu-ray cost $600AUD.
It's a shame that they don't just drop the distinction and publish dual-format discs.
what I hate though is the fact that the Gunsmoke 1080p masters are being shown on the Inspiration Channel. Why cant we do an "on demand" blu ray order for them??? Also the Dukes of Hazzard was upgraded to 1080p masters by WB and shown on CMT. WHY in the world cant the studio do an "on demand" for them? I heard that was the way Andy Griffith the complete series was able to be done on blu ray.
It still costs money to author discs, and we're talking about a LOT of discs and authoring. There's still many hours of work and expense involved in a MOD release.
@@CerealAtMidnight yeah I understand that, but it makes no sense to me how we get Leave it to Beaver on Blu Ray and not Gunsmoke
@@CerealAtMidnight also I know how to author discs and create menus. Once you get the initial first disc authored, it’s gravy after that. Today’s world of authoring is basic as crap. So it don’t cost that much. I could have 30 discs authored with full menus in a day or two. The important thing is the video and the studios already have that ready to go. As to the cost of packaging and discs, if it’s on demand there is no cost because you don’t create the package unless the customer pays first.
Leave it to Beaver is a different studio, a different show, and a much shorter run. Also, you can bet the DVDs sold really, really well. It's really that simple. You'll get more information about the long, difficult road to get all 14 seasons of this show on DVD when this full interview drops tomorrow. It almost didn't happen at all.
Regarding the remastered TNG set, I think you are missing an important aspect, which also applies in general. It is not the Blu-ray sales alone that would have to finance an HD remastering cost. On paper, it may have taken a decade for the Blu-ray sales to turn profit if you count all the remastering cost as an investment for the BD release. But with the remaster they also future proofed the series for decades to come and could sell it for higher price for streaming platforms and TV broadcasts compared to the aging SD master.
I wish Peacock would give us Sick on Bluray and not just DVD.
The picture quality on this video looks like VHS
The magic of Zoom for you.
Explains why they discontinued I Love Lucy on BD. Streaming shows in HD really did the knockout punch for physical media especially BD. I wonder if we will ever get Alfred Hitchcock Presents in Blu Ray?
I will buy a used/new DVD if that's the only format a specific title is available on. Most transfers are good quality & I (imo) normally don't need to upgrade.
All these studios have their own streaming services. Certainly, where possible their back catalog of classic shows are being transferred to HD as we speak. Some shows are a bigger investment than others. Possibly because original film elements needed to be cleaned up a bit. Or in the case of some series that had SFX those needed a complete overhaul.
Whenever possible, I think,studios will continue to release series to BD if only to recoup some of the costs for the “restoration” work put into them. Maybe it is more a case of licensing these out. I’m thinking about some of the Shout! Factory releases in recent years. Six Million Dollar Man and The Bionic Woman come to mind.
Good points, but worth pointing out that both Six Million Dollar Man and The Bionic Woman had steep price tags and I can count on one hand the people in my circle that bought them. I'd be really interested to know if they made money or lost money on that deal.
@@CerealAtMidnight Yeah. Very True.They were pretty expensive. But I had to get TSMDM! That was my childhood. That and The Incredible Hulk. Plus Shout! added in extra features not included in the T-L Complete series that was released (2010?) several years prior. The transfers for both of these series were top notch!
SD on BD can totally save disc replication time and save packaging and weight. Not popular but allows better allocation of episodes and less likely of compression if a company want to cram one more episode on single disc while the rest are even numbers. He is mentioning I Love Lucy which was a expensive set that only sold when it hit proper pricing of $20-$30 not $50. Also to note libraries which are big time buyers as well are buying Blu-rays now more then ever due to the scratch resistant coating which makes each copies they buy to last longer for usually not much more up front cost compared to DVD especially if they have to buy it all over again when one DVD is beyond repair.
Exactly what i just commented. I sincerely wish SD on bluray was more common and accepted. The amount of series i have on DVD would significantly shrink down the amount of used up shelf space if they were released as such.
@@BigBossSquirtle especially these larger complete sets that would incompass 25 DVDs or more would definitely benefit shipping cost much lower and easier to ship via lettermail or mediamail from a end retailers aspect and definitely smaller even for distribution to warehouses.
That’s a good note about the libraries. I have noticed the amount of Blu-ray discs increasing by significant amount at local libraries.
It is mind-boggling to me that DVDs are still selling at all. If I go over to my relatives' houses, they don't even have their players up and running, they don't have DVD, they don't have Blu-ray, they are pure streaming.
But the few people I know who are buying any physical discs, they sure AF aren't buying DVDs. They are doing BD or UHD.
It’s truly bizarre how many tens of millions of people across North America never got the memo on how much better Blu-ray is over DVD.
The only reason I still buy DVDs is because specific titles are not on Blu-ray.
@AnthonyErtl They got it, they just don't care.
There are plenty of new series that don’t get bluray either.
I think it makes sense. DVD is kind of an older person or non-tech/enthusiast format. They are probably going to be the ones to buy I Love Lucy. While Blu-ray has been most successful, I do think Sony and others really dropped the ball in promoting the format and convincing people to upgrade from DVD.
You mentioned how they redid the Star Trek Next Generation special effects because of the blu-ray format, and it reminded me of something that I am NOT a fan of (although I'm sure I'm in the minority) - when they've cleaned up and redone our cartoon classics (like the Peanuts specials and original ScoobyDoo) to the point where it looks like someone slapped a fresh coat of paint over everything.
I don't want to see it that way. I don't want to see it so bright and crisp that it has lost the soft watercolor look that I remember. Some of that was because of the TVs back then, I realize. But I want to see what is a childhood memory.
And if I really had my way, I would have them insert the original Dolly Madison commercials back into the Peanuts specials. Because that's how they play in my mind.
Actually my dvd's of shows like...UNTOUCABLES, HAVE GUN WILL TRAVEL, and the afore mentioned GUNSMOKE look great! Spectacular, far better then they ever did back when I saw them as reruns on channels that barely could be seen through the snow. You can see Matt sweat! And as you stated, Gunsmoke collection at Walmart cost me 200 bucks, great value, its every Gunsmoke episode uncut...when these were rerun in the seventies all the GUNSMOKE was cut...Matt would pull his gun, hard cut to bad guys on the ground...too much violence was a big thing during the syndicated reruns. But...I could not have paid double the price.
You know you should really get Jerry Beck on the show. He curates a lot of the classic cartoon releases for WB.
I think the answer is rather obvious... is your average Mr. Joe Public, financially in a position where he can afford to buy everything he'd like to have, every time it's upgraded onto Blu-ray or 4K? No. For me, I bought certain things when released on DVD, and upgraded to Blu-ray on only my real personal faves, but not everything I have on DVD.
It's not a contest, where it's like, "Oh, such & such is now on Blu-ray, so I have to have it." We can't all afford to go out and buy, relatively speaking, expensive Blu-ray/4K box sets? Plus, if you already have it on DVD, and happy with the quality... fair enough. One doesn't need to double, or triple dip, a release just because it's available on a better? quality format. Or do we? Hmmm🤔
How did Batman '66 do on Blu Ray?
I'd love to know. That's not information we're generally privy to.
Maybe they need to treat Blu-ray series TV shows like indie films and have a go fund me to offset the cost of producing them. The bonanza set looked very nice and I would love to support it however, I already along the way I had purchased individual seasons for all but the last four and thankfully they released those individually as well so I didn’t find the need to buy the complete box set!
First, I love physical media. I prefer watching movies on blu-ray or 4k uhd blu-ray over streaming. But with shows, I honestly prefer streaming. It's just so convenient with jumping back in. It saves where you left off or I don't have to put that next disc in, ect ect. Now that's not to say I won't buy shows on disc. I just picked up The Last of Us on blu-ray. And Game of Thrones is on my list. But unless it's a show that I really like it's hard to shell out big money for that box set. An example of a show I like is Cheers. It has a blu-ray release but I just don't like the show enough to shell out over $100 to have it. I know, I'm part of the problem lol
Blu ray may be the 'technically' superior product, but it has been a 'commercial' failure. And I say this as someone who buys blu rays.
The major problems for blu ray have always been the same: 1) cost , 2) availbility and 3) compatibility. The average consumer is going to opt for DVD because it's cheap, more available, and they can play it on a dvd player, blu ray player, portable player, console or computer if they have a drive.
Blu ray, on the other hand - looks and sounds MUCH better than dvd - but there are still to this day so many titles that either aren't available, or go 'out of print' (or wrong region) and become crazy expensive. That's simply too much friction for the average consumer I think.
Most people just want "good enough", cheap and easy because they know it will likely only get watched once , maybe twice anyway.
To be honest, I worry about the amount of money I've spent on Blu rays, I worry about the fact shops no longer sell them and they're a niche product. I worry they'll stop making the players and mine will break and it will have all been a waste - because I genuinely think it's possible DVD will outlast all of them at this point, in terms of availability of players and discs moving forwards.
Don’t worry. Enjoy your collection! As long as people like us exist, markets will cater to us.
Dvd will be the last man standing,as crazy it sounds.
I love 4K for the simple reason that it lowers the price of bluray which i will then buy.
I invested in the ability to play back and backup all of my Blu-rays and 4K UHD content. For the longest time, I held off buying movies and shows on physical media only because I rent my apartment and don't own a home with copious space to store media. I love movies, TV, and music and always appreciate all the work people put into special releases and quality movie transfers that enhance the picture and sound quality of excellent entertainment. I am very much hoping as the streaming wars continue and services begin removing content that people will migrate back towards owning their media. I am a fan of streaming too but right now no one wants to crosslicense shows and movies and studios are just hoping consumers will keep paying increasing prices for more and more services. I'd rather buy the shows and films I love and watch the rest when they're available online. I am hoping the 4K UHD format picks up once more content is natively created in that format and then maybe it will catch on. I definitely don't want to see it replaced with something else but if it is that's OK. I prefer to have the option to actually own things and I think many people are beginning to feel that way again.
What I want to know from distributors is when they acquire a film for a theatrical release, do they already know at that time what formats they’re going to release the film on for the physical media release? I’m not talking about the AAA/blockbuster titles here, cause they’re usually always put out those films on dvd and blu-ray at least. I also want to know that at the time of acquisition, does the distributor have a fair idea of how much the physical media release will have in terms of special features? I know it would be too early for them to know what features will be on specifically, but I’m talking more about quantity/scale. Are the formats and amount of features dictated by the film’s performance at the box office, or are they determined at the time of the film’s acquisition? The reason I ask these questions cause many times I’ve finished watching a great film at the cinema, thinking to myself that I can’t wait to buy that film when it comes out on blu-ray, only to be frustrated to see that film only come out on dvd, but it’s even more frustrating when it’s a bare-bones release! I know it would be too much to expect a distributor to disclose their physical media plans for a film at a time when they’re heavily promoting the film’s theatrical release, but I *wish* they would at least disclose what formats they’ll eventually release the film on.
I have so many tv show dvds. Most from classic tv shows. They look fine. Questions to those who have tv classic shows on
Blu Ray. Do they really look so much better than DVD? And is it worth the extra cost? I would be interested to know. Thanks.
One factor I think is that early on DVD Boxsets were expensive - Take series like Buffy & Angel - a single series boxset in the UK came out with a full price of over £70 ie about $100 - so collects buying them as they came out were spending over $700+ and this was years ago ($1.200 in today's money) for all of Buffy Do that for half a dozen shows etc. and then to start that again with blu-Ray For instance I have all 10 Series of Smallville on DVD - but didn't start again with Blu-ray as Smallville came to Streaming - not Blu-ray bitrate but still HD compared o DVD. Now when Game of Thrones came out I bought that in blu-ray but this not a repeated purchace. Add in the fact that our $500, $600 or$700 multi-series show in DVD is now worth what $50 tops? And further getting a blu-ray player now isn't as easy. I have one but it's an Ultra Bluray and I chery pick what I buy in that format. Thanks as always for your content.
Bought "Lost in Space" on BluRay. The added resolution only made the film grain visible; it did nothing to enhance the show.
It was also poorly packaged with the tall size and paper slot case the blu rays slip into.
I think most view Blu Ray and 4K as too expensive. When HBO released the box set of the complete series of the Sopranos, I paid $110. I paid $90 per season back in the day for DVD. $90 per season of Deadwood on DVD, yet got the complete series on Blu for $90, so things have gotten much cheaper. Just bought the complete series box set of Supernatural on Blu Ray for $140. That’s 15 seasons!
I suspect it's because there are a lot more DVD players out there than Blu Ray players (even though Blu Ray machines have been cheap for a while). There's also the fact that if the source material (35mm film, 4K video) is of high quality-images sharp, colors rich, sound vivid-a well produced DVD can look damned good, approaching Blu Ray quality. I have DVDs of TV shows and movies, in fact, that are better than some Blu Rays in terms of image quality. It all depends on how much effort and craft is taken to transfer the film or HD/4K video to DVD. If it looks crappy, it's likely because corners were cut or the source material sucked.
This still really blows my mind. Why do people still buy that many DVDs instead of Blu-ray? If something is only on DVD.. I guess that could be part of the reason.. but new movies are still selling alot on DVD.. when there is a Blu-ray option. I think most people spent the money to upgrade to a HD TV.. but didn't go to Blu-ray to actually get HD picture quality. Blu-ray has been cheap for a long time.
I don't think economics is a good enough excuse as boutique labels do short print ones & are doing OK. The best option is for this is a print on demand blu-ray service for blu-ray TV shows & offer the shows on SD Blu-ray.
I don't think you need everything on Blu-ray especially really old stuff or old TV shows because it really doesn't make a difference. But stuff like Ray Donovan I get mad because I want to get the whole collection on Blu-ray but it doesn't exist only certain seasons and it's like that with a couple different newer shows. I collect baby Blu-ray but I bought over the last couple years DVD sets like eastbound and down and brotherhood etc.
Wednesday (Netflix) is coming to Bluray next year!!
DVD for tv.can be good enough if its given a high quality scan and restoration with good encoding but Star Trek DS9 and Voyager have god awful terrible transfers that haven't been touched in 20 years. As a collector I have the TNG blurays and all the 4ks and the DVDs of DS9/Voyager. Those shows desperately need a restoration
This. If the transfer for the current physical media offering of DS9 and VOY were better I would buy but from day one of those releases I said no. If I have to go ahead and buy them to show interest for a remaster then I will some day but I am just not there yet. 😡
I used to be the biggest fan of Star Trek, but have walked away from whatever the hell CBS/ Paramount have slapped the name onto in more recent years. Despite that, I’d happily spend good money on Star Trek one final time if they ever put DS9 and/or Voyager on Blu-ray!
@@jasonschlierman412Picard S3 was really good and some of SNW is ok but yes. As for DS9 in Blu-ray, I would be very curious to know what the DVD sales for that set are. It’s been the same package for over a decade I think. They have had to have made some $$ on that plus syndication all these years.
It's just mind blowing to me that people now have 4K and 8K TVs, yet they watch movies on DVD, which doesn't even have HD resolution. I still only have a HD projector and don't feel the need to upgrade to 4K at all - but when I try watching a movie on DVD, it makes me want to vomit. Blu-ray is out since 17 years. Watching a DVD in 2023 is like watching a VHS in 2013.
I’ve always wondered this myself, what gives? More then anything I’d love unhappily ever after, even just on dvd would be fine, thankfully I have some crystal clear tv rips but I’d love some remasters. I’m actually convinced at least with that show, the reason is doesn’t get a proper remastered blu ray hd release, if it were that clear I’d think you’d see n*dity. Some of those outfits the girls wore were crazy revealing, in hd you’d prob get some transparency going on...hence one of the many reasons I love that show lol. I’d love Herman’s Head as well, man all these shows are just forgotten and it’s sad cus they were great
This is really interesting and a great interview.
With regards to star trek TNG. I couldn't wait for the blu ray set to come out. I was hoping to buy each season and build the collection as it came out. But it landed with a thud as a massive box set set at $149 in one lump to get all the features. It was just too expensive to justify buying for the third time to see a more polished version. They should have been $20 each separate season with all the features or $129 for whole show after the 7 seasons were released.
With Netflix having them on even now I haven't bought them. Unless I see a great $39 - $49 to buy something I've owned twice before, watched hundreds of times and can see the enhanced version (currently anyways) on a phone or tablet while I do the dishes.
I think consumers know what feels right as price . If it were the first ever time seeing a new show and the set would be a way to see what happens next? Then yeah.. the asking price would be right. But to expect trek fans to just automatically come up with that kind of money? Yeah. But the masses who might be interested in having their favourite trek show. No way will that appeal to anyone other than a trek collector with top end theatre system.
The same is for the new $1500 Disney box set. Why?
I Love Lucy and Star Trek: TNG didn’t do well on Blu-ray initially because they came out on individual sets. At this point, most people are looking for complete series sets over individual season sets.
Right, and to quote myself from this video, "they want complete series sets and they want it for pennies on the dollar, and that is not how we get new things." Paramount released those seasons individually because they needed to make their money back on the expensive restorations. This conversation further proves why Bonanza isn't likely to get a Blu-ray release any time soon. The audience will not support it. The fans would run these studios right into bankruptcy.
@@CerealAtMidnight And yet the same studios will spend hundreds of millions of dollars on just 1 movie and hope it breaks even. Love the channel, thank you for the great conversations.
Looks like Blu-Ray isn't powerful enough for BONANAZA and Gunsmoke. Oh also my grandfather (my mom's dad) watched Gunsmoke and I saw it on TV.
Why is Babylon 5 getting a blu-ray now but not Deep Space Nine?
Even if people don't get blu-ray and go to VOD services, the studios would still want to create a HD copy for them. New visual effects should not be done. They would not be authentic. And it is an enormous cost.
Is it even possible to remaster videotaped TV shows from the 70s and 80s in HD?
Great video Heath
I passed on buying VHS because I didn't like the resolution quality on my digital TV. There was Betsmsx, but not for longer movies. After renting VHS for many years, DVD came out and I started buying...a lot. Then Blu-ray came out, not far behind, though. I appreciated the upgrade in resolution but still had to do a cost-benefit analysis. Then 4K came out and I'm supposed to keep up when they're selling 8K TVs and 8K Blu-rays might not be far behind? Sure, I replaced some of my DVDs and Blu-rays with 4K and I'll buy 4K going forward, but I might wait for the holograph deck before I upgrade even further.
Last year I bought Star Trek TOS movies I-IV on 4K. So now they issued I-VI on 4K. I paid early so others can get a better deal a year later? Companies releasing videos used to live by risk/reward. I do understand the economics. But I have to absorb the risk so the companies can get the reward? They are just providing me with an incentive to give up. I'm tired of planned insolence.
Not sure how accurate is this guest’s analysis. For example, Seinfeld would do great on Blu-Ray.
It would not. Seinfeld would have been a barnburner 10 years ago. Now its financial power lies in streaming, where it brings in half-a-billion dollars every time it's renewed. Guys, we represent the tiniest little sliver of the market. The moral here is to have some gratitude and enjoy what we've got.
@@CerealAtMidnight I completely agree, enjoy what we have. I guess everyone can accuse me of having low standards, but most of the time if I've bought something on DVD, I'm not upgrading unless there is additional content/deleted scenes/European version, etc. Heck, I'm still happy watching a lot of the Mill Creek public domain scratchy prints from their multi-packs from days gone by. It adds to the drive-inn ambience. If I really like the movie (let's be honest, many of them put you to sleep), then I will seek out a better option.
@@CerealAtMidnight It's fine to have gratitude for what we have but it's also fair to have some criticism of these companies. We're supposedly the ones in power with our dollar yet what people really want isn't being done. I'm tired of DVD. Endless movies were shot on film and many TV Shows were also shot on film, there is enough information to make HD Masters therefore we can have Blu-Rays for so many things. Why isn't Blu-Ray the standard? Why is there only a DVD option for The Orville when it was made in 1080p? There are so many examples of that, it's not even funny. Blu-Ray should be the standard and yet it isn't. I've heard it's cheaper to produce, maybe that's true, but when you make DVD outdated (by not selling it anymore) people might actually upgrade, or they can keep their DVDs and not buy new stuff.
@@CerealAtMidnight So your belief is Seinfield with its great extras would not sell well on
Blu-Ray? Would sell better than many of the fringe classic TV shows put on Blu-Ray? Perhaps the reason not on Blu-Ray is to increase its streaming value? Sold for big $ to streaming services,
I mostly buy Blu Rays now
Resell shops are stacked with cheap DVDs people like me have built a massive collection for little investment
NO Blu Ray No thanks! #Evolve
I’m mad at consumers for not moving past DVD. Fine if they still use their CRT TV, but the ones that bought HD TVs and still buy DVDs… ITS TIME TO UPGRADE YOUR FORMAT IF YOU GOT A TV THAT DOES A NEW FORMAT… YA DINGUSES!! 😅😅😅
(I’d add 4K, but I’m guessing most people who still buy DVDs are rocking HD TVs, and most 4K owners have long since abandoned physical media or moved to 4K UHD and Blu-ray like decent human beings.) 😂
It really makes no sense to keep putting new movies out on regular DVD. When RUclips started out the video quality was awful but we were just happy that it worked at all, nowadays though DVDs easily look WORSE than most RUclips videos!
We buy more Blu Ray than DVDS! When it comes to tv shows though, it’s cheaper to put them out on DVD compared to Blu Ray!
I want Two and a half men on bluray please 🙏🏻
Greed is what will bring the entire industry crashing down.
I'll keep it simple. DVD is simple to use, cheap to buy.
If given the choice between Blu and DVD for a new release, I almost always go with DVD, simply as a cost effective measure. Obviously, I own scores of BluRays, but AV quality isn't comparatively high on my priority list, at least in the era of an ever-increasing price point for genre films and overstuffed box sets.
I buy action shows on blu-ray and sitcoms on DVD
Enough interesting seasons left or complete tv series who i like to buy on dvd if there get Dutch subs and get analoge Full Frame/all format tratement. There should make first steps and then people wil make next two steps (buying/promotion part 2) from them.
For Saint season 3 till 6 there can take English or Australian release. At with Season 3 all extra's of earlier with Season 1&2 we mist.
There possible stil enough disc left of series that been released before. Charlie Angels: So i say make one Season 4 & 5 set (12 discs in 4 x 3 Disc keepcase set) including Dutch, English, Danish, Norwegian, Finnish and Swedish subs because those not been released before. At same time re-release first three seasons as 3 Seasons 6 keepcases Boxset (15 disc with 3 x 3 Disc keepcase and 3 x 2 Disc keepcase.) with using left over discs who have Dutch, English and Arabic subs because it be Dutch/Uk discs that been used before for UK, Netherlands and Belgium release. Back then released as digipacks. If there stil have some seald digipacks lefts overs then there should bring those back in promotion.
If you’re in the market for a television in 2023, you’ll likely only find 4K as 1080p sets are now in the rear view of technology. From the looks of it, 8K televisions appear to be on the horizon. My 93 year old grandmother has owned a 4K TV for nearly 3 years now.
So what am I blathering about…?
Well, DVD at 480i looks like absolute garbage on a 4K TV and any executive cutting costs by releasing degraded video in 2023 is going to find diminishing returns overall.
While it’s true DVD sells over other formats, a premium set like “Bonanza” will suffer sales from many that want to see this show sparkle in high definition.
When I hear an old series is getting a DVD only release, I just laugh at the shortsightedness and stupidity.
Amen
I don't buy his explanation. Many of the classic TV series that are on DVD aren't on streaming either. Ditto with many classic movies, it's either DVD or TCM. Mostly due to Warner Archive's MOD program that uses DVD-R's. For whatever the reason, the studios won't adopt a MOD BD-R distribution method like Warner Archive did with DVD-R's.
He literally works on box sets for the studios and his info came directly from them. You guys crack me up.
@@CerealAtMidnight idk why people think this stuff is done specifically to spite enthusiasts and not because these companies care about MONEY first and foremost lmao
Playing devils advocate gete though. should the big studios and whatnot abandon dvd that would push people to get blu rays and then their volumes would go up and be cheaper no? Just looking at the bonanza set you can probably cut the number of discs in half it it was on blu ray.
I've been staunchly anti-DVD since Blu-ray came on the scene back in the mid 2000s. As much as I wish nothing was produced on DVD anymore and that Blu-ray was the only option, halting production of DVD now would massively hurt physical media sales, if not kill it outright. As much as I HATE it, its a necessary evil.
I think if DVD had been phased out on the heels of Blu-ray (which, I vehemently wish had happened), we would have seen much higher adoption rates, Netflix would have been shipping Blu-ray discs out instead of DVDs and we'd have all these wonderful TV shows on Blu-ray.
I still refuse to buy DVDs. I won't support an objectively inferior format that I don't believe in. Call my glass half empty. I'll definitely check out this full interview though, great stuff as usual, Heath!
Red Ray 4 life!
I agree entirely, and vote appropriately with my wallet by almost never paying for DVDs. Personally, I only buy DVDs when the original source was recorded in 480i and anything better would be pointless. To support such terrible quality otherwise makes no sense personally - for those who are satisfied with DVD, that's cool but unless one is elderly I would recommend acquiring some glasses lol. It's bad enough when we get low bitrate BDs and streaming compression, but DVD is really rough unless you have a CRT still for viewing.. I wish those were still available since that is how the DVD was intended to be viewed.
DVD is easy to copy. blu takes a lot more effort. Streaming is a lot more secure from copying.---This is just stooping to the lowest demands.---What sort of person has a 65 inch plus TV to watch DVD on
💔☹️😭
Very disappointing reason. Honestly it sucks that it’s not on blu ray.
Without demand, there is no need for supply.
But why male models?
DVD sucks.
First
If the question is whether to release something on dvd or Bluray the answer is Bluray/dvd combo package and just tack on an extra dollar or two. Bluray manufacturing costs are negligible and you’re going to master in at least 2k anyways.