I was at Walmart rooting around the $5 movie bin when I spotted a really good movie. FALL. I gave up on the idea of new movies being able to actually make you feel something as you watched, until I saw FALL a few months ago. Watching the movie, I was literally twisting in my chair and grabbing at the arm rests.. Check it out if you haven't seen it. But that's not what I wanted to mention. FALL was made in 2022 and it is available on DVD! I thought DVDs were dead!? Now I'm confused. DVDs are supposed to be dead with Blu-rays supposedly right behind them- headed for the tar pit. Then it dawned on me that RedBox still rents new movies on DVD. So what does this mean? Has the media lied to us about DVDs or is this the end of a long and drawn out death? I don't know.
misc I thought DVDs were dead
- Thread starter James Rogers
- Start date
If discs, DVD and Blu-ray, are not going away, then that's good news for indie filmmakers. At least I think so.
My movie DETOURS is now available on DVD through Walmart on line & Amazon. So to paraphrase Monty Python, they're not dead yet.
Detours DVD via Walmart on line
Detours DVD via Walmart on line
Yes! I saw it.
This one line made me laugh out loud.
Walmart is still the only place selling discs like that. Best Buy only has a single cardboard shelf near the exit with brand new releases.
The tough thing now is finding anyone under 25 with a DVD player or the slightest interest in owning physical media. They are in a minority and that trend is NOT reversing.... yet. Disney is trying to get out of even making physical media anymore, which means Marvel, Lucasfilm, Pixar, and Jim Henson material soon won't have discs - only streaming.
The tough thing now is finding anyone under 25 with a DVD player or the slightest interest in owning physical media. They are in a minority and that trend is NOT reversing.... yet. Disney is trying to get out of even making physical media anymore, which means Marvel, Lucasfilm, Pixar, and Jim Henson material soon won't have discs - only streaming.
And in 2005 vinyl records were dead...
For discs, Amazon and Ebay are your friends. While not as popular as they used to be, DVDs are still with us. Try streaming NEAR DARK, THE HITCHER, or THE FLY 2. They come up once in a while, but are hard to find, even though I have most of the streaming services. I maintain access by owning them.
Yes, because it is an alternative. My recent checks have come from Blu-ray sales.
Most indies are not benefitting from streaming. I read a lot of posts, such as from this group (below), which paints a bleak picture of the current distribution model. A lot of the discussion among producers pushes towards physical media, at least in part.
Everything is cyclical. Physical media will make a niche comeback. Especially when people will buy a digital copy and then they can't get to it via streaming.
.. or some of Woody Allen's movies. I agree. I too have a collection of DVDs, Blu-rays, and now, 4K Blu-rays. I find myself buying good movies, even if I don't necessarily want to watch the now because, when I will want to watch them, they might not be available on the streaming platforms. And I don't know if this is common, but I bought a bunch of UFC MMA fights on Amazon just to discover that some of them are no longer available to watch. "This program is no longer available." So much for owning it.
I lost count but I think I have around 500 movies on disc. Some great lesser known titles too: Liquid Sky, Tanya's Island, Porgy and Bess, The best of Don Knotts. LOL!
I still buy a lot of DVDs from OLDIES.COM , which is a clearing house for DVDs, records, and CDs. A lot of their DVDs are
priced at only .99 cents. (Brand new DVDs...not used).
priced at only .99 cents. (Brand new DVDs...not used).
I get my new and used dvds and blurays from Amazon. A brand new DVD for, say, $18, I can get used and in new condition for a few bucks.
We just received an email from our distributor, FILMHUB, stating that they want to distribute one of our films,
DEATH IN HOLLYWOOD on DVD. (It's already being streamed on numerous sites). But Filmhub wants $700
to author it...we passed.
DEATH IN HOLLYWOOD on DVD. (It's already being streamed on numerous sites). But Filmhub wants $700
to author it...we passed.
Interesting. They want you to pay for the authoring. I guess they didn't include with their offer an attractive plan for distribution. No promise of putting the DVDs in Walmart or Entertainmart? Considering it only takes an experienced person around an hour (plus transcoding time) to author a disc with a few menus, I wonder how they justify the cost and why they are not absorbing it. I don't know how much it costs to buy a copy protection key used to combat piracy, maybe that's not cheap, but then again, I've always understood that those costs are paid by the distributor.
I fully agree with you. I've had most of my films distributed on VHS or DVD since 1989, and most of the companies
screwed me over in one fashion or another...the end result being that I rarely, if ever, received royalty checks. We did
our best business with Amazon, but they stopped manufacturing DVDs a while back. Only two of our films are still
available on DVD...both via ALPHA VIDEO. But the streaming market is growing and growing, and we have been doing well
with that. In all honesty, FILMHUB has done a fantastic job of getting our films placed with various streaming companies,
and as far as we know their accounting has been accurate, and they pay every month....but this business about paying $700 for
DVD authoring is very disappointing to say the least.
screwed me over in one fashion or another...the end result being that I rarely, if ever, received royalty checks. We did
our best business with Amazon, but they stopped manufacturing DVDs a while back. Only two of our films are still
available on DVD...both via ALPHA VIDEO. But the streaming market is growing and growing, and we have been doing well
with that. In all honesty, FILMHUB has done a fantastic job of getting our films placed with various streaming companies,
and as far as we know their accounting has been accurate, and they pay every month....but this business about paying $700 for
DVD authoring is very disappointing to say the least.
