Snow White And The Seven Dwarfs: Back on DVD!

[The "Chase"]

Link. (http://news.awn.com/index.php?ltype=top&newsitem_no=27067)

In a nutshell, for those of you who want a in-print DVD of Snow White, here's your chance!

Too bad the DVD people like myself have to wait longer though...

[nickramer]

Sheesh, they're sure pushing Blu-ray a little too much. Doesn't the market department know that not everyone is going to switch to Blu-ray anytime soon, or is that deparment run by magic brooms?

[Boy Wonder]

Sheesh, they're sure pushing Blu-ray a little too much. Doesn't the market department know that not everyone is going to switch to Blu-ray anytime soon, or is that deparment run by magic brooms?

Blu is rapidly gaining share in the market, and with the as-equally-important falling prices don't be surprised when Blu sales go through the roof here. I just hope they don't DNR the living crap out of it.

[CueBallCat79]

I just hope they don't DNR the living crap out of it.

I wouldn't worry too much about it if Pinocchio is any indication.

[FleischerFan]

Blu is rapidly gaining share in the market, and with the as-equally-important falling prices don't be surprised when Blu sales go through the roof here. Actually, Blu-Ray sales are nowhere near as robust as the studios had hoped. And the current recession is not going to help them any.

That's why Disney has gone to this strategy of offering a "free" regular DVD copy with their Blu-Ray, hoping to gain sales from people who have yet to purchase a Blu-Ray player.

Penetration of Blu-Ray in the US was estimated at 16% in January. Considering how very hard they have been pushing it (almost all the TV ads now push the Blu-Ray and hardly mention the conventional DVD), it just is not accelerating the way they hoped.

BTW, the linked article at the start of this thread was highly amusing. Instead of telling us what these "new bonus features" might be, it instead launches into a lengthy summary of the plot! How many people do you think are ignorant of the storyline to "Snow White?"

[trondmm]

Link. (http://news.awn.com/index.php?ltype=top&newsitem_no=27067)

In a nutshell, for those of you who want a in-print DVD of Snow White, here's your chance!

Not much of a surprize, though, since Disney announced this release i August last year.

Too bad the DVD people like myself have to wait longer though...

This, however, is pretty surprizing. I know they released Bolt on BD a couple of days before the DVD, so I kinda expected them to do something similar for other movies as well. But I never expected it to be seven weeks between the releases.

It'll be very interesting to see how this plays out. The BD also includes the first disk from the DVD set, so I think Disney may be hoping that customers that don't like to wait will pick up the BD+DVD version even if they don't have a BD-player. But, with a release window this big, there's a risk BD-owners will sell the DVD for $10 on ebay, though.

[trondmm]

That's why Disney has gone to this strategy of offering a "free" regular DVD copy with their Blu-Ray, hoping to gain sales from people who have yet to purchase a Blu-Ray player.

Actually, I think this is just as much intended for people that have purchased BD-players. The thing is, families generally have more than one DVD-player, and even though they've bought a BD-player for the living room, there are still plenty of DVD-players in the house - and even in the car. So, if a Blu-ray disc can't be played in the car, or in the kid's bedroom, a parent is likely to buy the regular DVD edition instead, even if they have a BD-player in the living room.

So, by including a DVD of the movie with the BD-edition, they simply remove an obstacle that keeps people from buying the BD-edition.

[frizfrelengfan]

Old Disney films never die...They just keep getting re-released...and re-released...

[Boy Wonder]

Penetration of Blu-Ray in the US was estimated at 16% in January. Considering how very hard they have been pushing it (almost all the TV ads now push the Blu-Ray and hardly mention the conventional DVD), it just is not accelerating the way they hoped.


Actual share back in November was only 4%, so actually its come a long way.

You also have to figure that DVD took at least 6 years to dominate from the time it first came onto the market. I'm not expecting Blu to wipe ass immediately, but it does look like they are coming in a hurry though.

[Jack G.]

But I never expected it to be seven weeks between the releases.Well that's one week for each dwarf.
So it makes perfect sense! :D

[trondmm]

Actual share back in November was only 4%,

No, it wasn't, actually. In November, the tree month market share was about 9.8%, and today it's about 10.1%. The six month market share was about 8.3% in November, and it's about 10% today.

so actually its come a long way.

It's doing fine, but I wouldn't say it's come all that far.

You also have to figure that DVD took at least 6 years to dominate from the time it first came onto the market.

Six years? Are you saying DVD didn't dominate the market until 2003? That seems awfully late. I'm pretty sure it surpassed VHS-sales long before that. I'd guess 2000. 2001 at the very latest.

I'm not expecting Blu to wipe ass immediately, but it does look like they are coming in a hurry though.

I'm really not so sure. There's a huge part of the market that's very, very happy with DVD, and which has no plans to upgrade to BD. If the studios can't reach these people, BD's market share will flatten out at some point. About 20-25% is my guess.

[Boy Wonder]

I'm really not so sure. There's a huge part of the market that's very, very happy with DVD, and which has no plans to upgrade to BD. If the studios can't reach these people, BD's market share will flatten out at some point. About 20-25% is my guess.

That I do not doubt for a second. We are in a new generation for TV's, with everything being shaped in widescreen formats with bigger screen sizes. When people need to replace (not so much upgrade) their tele's, they will then realize DVD is not the best way they can view their TV's, and then they will pop for the Blu. The players are coming down significantly, and the movies themselves are only about 1-2 dollars more expensive than most 2-disc "deluxe" versions of DVD's.

In closing to my side of the argument, I'm saying that we are in a transitional phase. BD's are not gonna take over for a little while yet, but they will phase out DVD in 3-5 years.

As in terms for Snow White, I'm not gonna upgrade my DVD from 2001 to BD. I'm perfectly content with my DVD, especially since its one of the very first I've ever purchased. It's a movie I'd rather have on DVD than technicologically screwed-around with on the high-def. As for my BD preferences (my laptop is a BD burner with a HDMI output that can connect to an applicable TV), I get it when its a movie I've never purchased before or really needs an upgrade (300 and Iron Man are best examples).

[FleischerFan]

Everything that I have read lately is that Blu-Ray is lagging where the studios thought it would be or where they want it to be.

That's is why they have stepped up the marketing for the format in a major way.


I think three things are slowing down the acceptance of this media:

1.) The economy. Nobody is shelling out extra bucks now if they don't have to - and upgrading your home video is a luxury, not a necessity

2.) The introduction of Blu-Ray came too soon after the introduction of DVDs. People are still in the midst of converting their VHS collections to DVD. Now, they are supposed to buy the same titles for a third time and upgrade to Blu-Ray? And what new format will video manufacturers introduce in another couple of years?

3.) Most people don't really find the visual differences all that compelling. When I'm watching a movie, do I really care about being able to count the blades of grass on the screen - or am I more involved in the plot and the characters?

Sure, big special effects-fests are more fun with bigger pictures, bigger sound, etc. But I don't spend all my time watching that kind of picture. If it's a romantic comedy, film noir, conventional drama, etc. having a super-defined picture is just not that big a deal.

[Thad]

Fleischerfan, I couldn't agree with you more. Your post could have been my own.

[Matt the Y]

..... and mine as well. Needless to say, I also agree. I was just fine with the whole VHS/DVD conversion; what's the point with converting to Blu-Ray again all of a sudden just because of supposed bonus-quality benefits such as better film quality (which, as FleischerFan observed, is a luxury, not a necessity)? I just want to watch the film, not "ooh and aah" over it the whole time, thanks.

[CueBallCat79]

I just want to watch the film, not "ooh and aah" over it the whole time, thanks.

But there are some people who do like to "ooh and ahh" over a film, see blu-ray as a supplement to DVD and not a replacement for it and have HDTVs large enough to make the visual difference that noticeable. Compared to blu-rays, many DVDs look like crap on my TV.

To each his own of course.

[Matt the Y]

To each his own of course.

Right. I was simply giving my own personal opinion and experience in that post of mine, not specifically looking for a disagreement with anyone.

[CueBallCat79]

Right. I was simply giving my own personal opinion and experience in that post of mine, not specifically looking for a disagreement with anyone.

I know. Just my personal opinion. ;)

[Steve Siegert]

I'm one of those who aren't quite ready to jump on the Blu-Ray bandwagon. I think DVD was out for 3 years before I even bought one, but at the same time, I still continued to buy movies on VHS. At the time though, a newly released feature film would only be available on VHS to rental chains like Blockbuster, while the DVD release would be available both as a purchase and a rental.

I recall seeing new movies released simultaneously on both DVD and VHS as late as 2004, or whenever the last Matrix movie came out.

A few years ago, I was jumping on every bandwagon there was. I bought an HDTV, but at the time, it was out of my price range to buy one that displays full HD, so I bought one that only went up to 720p. If I would've waited, I could've bought a bigger model that displays the full 1080p for about $500 less.

However, at that time there was no declared winner of the HD-DVD vs. Blu-Ray war, so I bought an upconverting DVD player, one that can display up to 1080p. Watching my standard DVD's on an upconverter has satisfied me thus far. I don't think I will go out and buy a Blu-Ray player until the day comes where something I want is only released on Blu-Ray.

It does seem that Disney is trying to push Blu-Ray a little too fast here, but then again, they also think that people need to re-purchase each of their animated feature films every 4-5 years or so.

[TheBlueHombre]

Actually, sales for blu-ray discs are up 16% over the same period a year ago. DVD sales are up as well. You can see the numbers for yourself at this web address:

http://forums.highdefdigest.com/high-definition-smackdown/77119-2009-blu-ray-sales-metrics-stats-nielsen-videoscan-hmm-charts-ratios-bestsellers-etc.html

[trondmm]

Actually, sales for blu-ray discs are up 16% over the same period a year ago. DVD sales are up as well.

It's a lot more than that. Last week it was 164%, not 16%. But this varies wildly from week to week, depending on releases. The latest James Bond movie was released last week, while nothing of interest was released the same week a year ago.

I've been tracking the BD-sales for a while, and here's a chart of the sales numbers, as published by Videoscan:

http://spreadsheets.google.com/pub?key=pogKcEcna8PzJDau_Ahl6Mg&oid=3&output=image

The numbers for week 14-16 in 2008 are estimates, though, and they're probably a bit low (all estimates for the previous weeks have been too low).

[trondmm]

http://www.highdefdigest.com/images/post/8/8423/original.jpeg

This is the Blu-ray version, of course, but the new DVD will probably be very similar.

[rkish]

BTW, the linked article at the start of this thread was highly amusing. Instead of telling us what these "new bonus features" might be, it instead launches into a lengthy summary of the plot! How many people do you think are ignorant of the storyline to "Snow White?"

LOL...thanks for my laugh of the day! :D

[rkish]

Everything that I have read lately is that Blu-Ray is lagging where the studios thought it would be or where they want it to be.

That's is why they have stepped up the marketing for the format in a major way.


I think three things are slowing down the acceptance of this media:

1.) The economy. Nobody is shelling out extra bucks now if they don't have to - and upgrading your home video is a luxury, not a necessity

2.) The introduction of Blu-Ray came too soon after the introduction of DVDs. People are still in the midst of converting their VHS collections to DVD. Now, they are supposed to buy the same titles for a third time and upgrade to Blu-Ray? And what new format will video manufacturers introduce in another couple of years?

3.) Most people don't really find the visual differences all that compelling. When I'm watching a movie, do I really care about being able to count the blades of grass on the screen - or am I more involved in the plot and the characters?

Sure, big special effects-fests are more fun with bigger pictures, bigger sound, etc. But I don't spend all my time watching that kind of picture. If it's a romantic comedy, film noir, conventional drama, etc. having a super-defined picture is just not that big a deal.

Double dipping is one thing...a newly bought "video" is another...

I bought the Star Trek TOS on DVD, when they released the entire seasons in the red, blue, and yellow cases. Now they plan to release them on blu-ray. Unless they plummet in price, I won't double dip.

The other factor with blu-ray is audio. The audio is SUPERIOR to that of DVD, as there is MUCH less compression (as there is with DD 5.1) and no matter what terminology you want to digest, you are getting straight PCM (be in 2.0, 5.1, 7.1, etc), that goes out as DTS-HD/MA, etc. and is being converted to PCM by either your BD player or AVR. Classical music and rock concerts are WONDERFUL (ask any owner of the Police concert blu-ray).

I know that this is much less of an issue with "classic" animation, but the difference both aurally and visually with Pixar's "Cars" made double-dipping a lot less painful.

[Thad]

http://www.highdefdigest.com/images/post/8/8423/original.jpeg

This is the Blu-ray version, of course, but the new DVD will probably be very similar.

And I just vomited.

[nickramer]

I have mixed feelings of that cover. While it does have all the main characters, it looks more like a book or comic cover. I prefer the earlier DVD cover.

[trondmm]

This is the Blu-ray version, of course, but the new DVD will probably be very similar.

Hmm. There seems to be several different covers.

First the cover that was announced a few days ago:
http://www.highdefdigest.com/images/post/8/8423/original.jpeg


Then there's the Blu-ray + DVD-combo
http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/615wRvYvDUL._SS500_.jpg

And here's the pure DVD-version:
http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51xJjMfnF5L._SS500_.jpg

Apparently, they will release the Blu-ray/DVD-combo in both Blu-ray cover and in a DVD-cover, so that DVD-owners can buy the movie and get the BDs as a "bonus" (although I think it'll still be 2 BDs and 1 DVD, so I'm sure quite a few will be upset that they won't be able to play the bonus-disc). I'm not sure if the second cover is the one targetted towards DVD-buyers, or if they decided to make changes to the original BD-cover.

[Mac]

Ugh! I hate the cover art, but then I nearly always do with Disney feature releases. It's odd how Snow White is wearing metres and metres and metres of yellow material instead of her normal dress. I suppose this DVD has to look like part of the "Disney Princess" franchise – which will probably help Disney shift loads more copies.

[Greg Method]

That second image looks like the thumbnail pictures that usually appear in weekend circulars (like for Best Buy, Target, etc.), which is probably why the second half of the title is presented in a bold Arial font. They want to make sure all the vital information is clearly legible when the picture is shrunk down in the ads.