Topic: DVD price drops, blessing or curse?

[upinsmoke]

Even with the massive price drop, DVD collecting is still a high-end hobby.  A commoner who makes minimum wage of P350 a day, after all the deduction taken out, can only afford one DVD from those "sale".  Would you work 8 hours for one DVD?

If Juan De La Cruz got bitten by the home theatre hobbyist bug, he will use his money to buy equipment piece by piece from Raon.  He will then cross the underpass to get his DVD.  Those sales were never intended to get Juan De La Cruz to the nearest Astro store.

[techdude]

It's really a pain to see a DVD you bought for 895 devalued to 100, in six months time.  And it's even more painful, if your copy is still sealed.   R3 are no longer collectible and almost no resale value, shipping or effort to meet up often cost more. 

Now, if I see a good title at 695 or 550, chances are i will pass it up.  No sense dumping a few hundreds a piece down the drain.  You wonder if the intellectual property is expensive or is the distributor milking the first-adopters.   So unless the title is Ironman, I will probably save my money and wait.   I always thought that if I didn't get a title when it was release, I might miss it on account of it selling out...  Foolish of me, very very few title released in the past two-years sold out and never reached bargain bin....  only the 300 collector's set comes to mind...

[juanch]

Like Ghost Rider, in 11 months time it went from php895-php199

5 months ago, I found a mispriced Ghost Rider Extended Cut at php299.
I was happy to find a "bargain"

Had I waited a few more months I could  have bought it for php199 

[jackdejesus]

I guess what the OP was saying is that you value things you collect because they really are valuable (expensive) and not everyone can get their hands on them. A sense of exclusivity if you will. A few years ago when DVDs cost 800-1000 a piece my friends would look at my collection and become really envious. I guess some people get a big kick out of that feeling when people envy you. But today with DVDs really being sold cheap at stores its no big deal anymore, anyone can just buy one. I think thats what he meant by the "privileged few" remark.

Just my .02 cents.

[firewired]

Yup that's how it was in the old days when we started collecting. Our library was a conversation piece, and friends would just drop by to take a look. But we weren't really in it for the attention. We really just loved movies and the idea of being able to collect them like books... irresistible!

I've always been a realist about this hobby. We're not talking about rare stamps or coins that can truly be classified as collectors items. Nothing will ever be OOP in this day and (digital) age. And even if we start anew with HD, the format will eventually be commoditized if the studios have their way.

[Dan]

We really just loved movies and the idea of being able to collect them like books... irresistible!

Took the words right out of my mouth.

[pchin]

firewired hits the bull's eye!   When the price drops, thus more affordable for us & to buy more (hopefully to impress our friends with the huge collection?).

[av_phile1]

Those sales were never intended to get Juan De La Cruz to the nearest Astro store.

I think that was the intention.  THose 199 and 299 sales were stretching it a bit to ask Juan de la Cruz to patronize legits instead of those in Quiapo.

But they couldn't be more wrong. 

[riverfan]

difference in opinion. i think the 150-299 markdown is a steal but my brother whines and says that prices are a rip off. 

[pchin]

THose 199 and 299 sales were stretching it a bit to ask Juan de la Cruz to patronize legits instead of those in Quiapo.
But they couldn't be more wrong. 

o nga...guess majority of Juan de la Cruz are still buying from Quiapo 

[dyerds]

Unless DVD goes down to P100 it is still a rip off for many Juan de la Cruz's out there. Commoners buy those DVD's on sale to take advantage of the promo but for many of us here buying these DVD's is not just because it's "mura" but because of our passion to this hobby.  I may still consider myself one of the commoners out there that spend time falling in line to pay for the DVD's I bought but I guess the difference is I experience and enjoy watching  my DVD's at a different level.

[frootloops]

Are these DVD's worth 100ph in the future be DVD5 or 9? If DVD9, then I would not argue and be more happy about it, if it is DVD5, I'd still pass.

[dyerds]

Are these DVD's worth 100ph in the future be DVD5 or 9? If DVD9, then I would not argue and be more happy about it, if it is DVD5, I'd still pass.

I hope it's DVD9. 

[-sniper-]

i think it's both a blessing and a curse.

it's a blessing because people who once cannot afford to buy original titles are now able to do so. this brings the number of the "privileged few" a tad higher. a lot of people will now be able to enjoy our experience with original dvds. let's just welcome them into the fold. besides, this may be a way of reducing, no matter how little, the number of consumers patronizing p****** titles.

on the other hand, it may also be a curse because the title you bought back then now costs around 80% cheaper. it's like buying a high-end cellular phone today only to find out that the its price considerably drops the following week. you'll get the feeling that you've been had.

i understand sir thomastipp. i was able to experience what he went through. there was this title that i have been looking for for a long time. i was finally able to find one and it was the shop's last copy. i immediately grabbed it. a week after, i found the same title at another shop and was now selling at P150. in this sense, it may be a curse.

nonetheless, the price drops should be taken as a welcome development as more and more consumers will be lured into acquiring original titles.

besides, what really matters is that we enjoy what we have, regardless of how expensive we got it and how less expensive others did.

just my thoughts.

[av_phile1]

this may be a way of reducing, no matter how little, the number of consumers patronizing p****** titles.

There's a whole lot more of them, actually.   The people who buy legits are the minority.

[av_phile1]

Are these DVD's worth 100ph in the future be DVD5 or 9? If DVD9, then I would not argue and be more happy about it, if it is DVD5, I'd still pass.

Theoretically, if they replace MPEG2 with the more efficient VC1 video codec, a three hour 480i video can fit into a DVD5 with features and with even better PQ. 

Only problem is, our current players would be rendered useless. 

[firewired]

Well, they are the minority, but there's growth there. DVD sales are actually sharply up for legits. Even PinoyDVD.biz, despite it being an online store, supposedly generates sales equal to a typical mall outlet.

Despite the price drops and their moaning and groaning, the distributors actually did well in 2007... so much so that they're seriously looking at VCD phase outs starting this year. Viva's already started if I'm not mistaken.

As studios ramp up for HD, we're going to see prices settle at Php99 for catalog titles, and probably Php199 to Php350 for new releases.

[av_phile1]

Despite the price drops and their moaning and groaning, the distributors actually did well in 2007... so much so that they're seriously looking at VCD phase outs starting this year. Viva's already started if I'm not mistaken.

As studios ramp up for HD, we're going to see prices settle at Php99 for catalog titles, and probably Php199 to Php350 for new releases.

That should be expected.....after 10 years. 

[pchin]

As studios ramp up for HD, we're going to see prices settle at Php99 for catalog titles, and probably Php199 to Php350 for new releases.

That's a very welcome news & when it materializes hopefully some of the VCD legitimate consumers will try to convert to DVD bandwagon. If VCD phases out then the effect will be much better for DVD

[firewired]

That should be expected.....after 10 years. 

Fortunately, they're more proactive these days. Magna already started by repricing a  significant chunk of their old releases to Php99.

The logic is simple for them. Remove VCDs then bring DVDs down to VCD price points. The 300 DVD variants, for example, outsold the local 2-disc VCD version so that was a clear indication to them that times are changing. Actually they've already changed, but regional corporate hierarchies can still be pretty dense even with forums like PinoyDVD around.

[steelcrazy]

Its about time for dvd prices to drop since the elites are shifting to bluray. Time for the masses to feast on dvd copies since dvd player are really cheap nowadays.

[Luxinlex]

I think DVD price drop is a good thing. Instead of getting knock-offs, there is a higher probability now that consumers will shift to buying the real thing.

Besides, cheaper DVD prices will always be a blessing to us consumers who are on the look out for titles to add to our collection.   

[dyerds]

I think dvd price drop is inevitable. The only question is how far can they go in terms of lowering their prices.

[Speedracer]

Blessing definitely. For our fellow collectors to get the chance to beef up their library. For those with limited budget but can't afford to buy the titles they crave for. For the suppliers / studios to counter piracy. If you still want to go niche, bluray is the new DVD - take ur passion to the next level. 

[mangyan]

Hi, with the prices of dvds sold in local stores dropping constantly, this hobby is becoming dull. DVD collecting used to be for those privileged few who could afford such luxuries.

I started collecting because it made me feel special since not all could afford original dvds. But now everyone can buy an original for as low as 150.
 

"...for the privileged few? so this hobby/ dvd collection are "for the privilege few" only, those who can afford to pay P895/up  a piece. such views are very offending to those people out there who are beginning to appreciate this hobby at a very reasonable cost...

[Dan]

I feel privileged even if my "collection" is perceived as "not special" by certain people who judge a thing by cost, and not by its value.

[av_phile1]

"...for the privileged few? so this hobby/ dvd collection are "for the privilege few" only, those who can afford to pay P895/up  a piece. such views are very offending to those people out there who are beginning to appreciate this hobby at a very reasonable cost...

Admittedly, DVDs were a status statement during its early years from 1997.  I remember seeing the first generation Sony and Pioneer DVD players locally available were above 20T and the first few titles were in the 1.2T range, including warner titles - surely a prestige consumer product at that time.  (So was Betamax in its early years here, only the rich could have them.) It's only human nature to be peeved when your beloved status symbols suddenly lose their prestige as they become accessible to the masses.

(If the peso had not depreciated to half its value after the Asian currency crisis of 97, the early DVDs available locally would have been priced half as much.  But then, so would other imported items.  )

The DVD format is starting its decline stage in its product lifecycle.  And it's only now that the masses have started to enjoy it benefits - a good 10 years after the format's market debut.  The studios would love to abandon that format as it has lost any profit attraction for them.  The emerging HD format made sure of that.  These days, if you want to maintain any kind of social status statement, go Blu-Ray.    It's starting a new product lifecycle at this time and will probably be a prestige consumer product for the next 5 years.   

[dyerds]

People in the average class before may think twice or thrice before buying one but now because of its affordable price they now can go and buy some w/o hurting their pockets that much. This price drop have broaden the market of dvd's but I can say that many can't still enjoy this though because ordinary Juan dela Cruz may still settle for fakes because origs may still cost too much for them.

[steelcrazy]

Dvd price drop is certainly a blessing since people we'll go original (becoz of affordable prices) rather than settling for pirated dvds in quiapo.

[kraut]

yup why buy a cheap pirated one costing 70-80pesos with worst quality not to mention the hang-ups in the middle of the movie.

dvd now cost <200.00 or <150.00 a piece....