Poll: How many HD movies have you bought?
by Ben Drawbaugh 
posted Dec 10th 2007 at 10:15AM
In the latest Home Media Magazine, there's an article about the current status of the HD movie market. The most interesting thing, was that they reported that HD movie player sales are actually out pacing DVD in it's first year, but no one is buying movies. In DVD's first year, the average early adopter bought 8.9 titles, compared to either HD DVD or Blu-ray stand-alone owners with a average of 3.6, while PS3 owners have only bought one title. So we want to know, how many movies have you bought? (Don't count freebies and don't vote at all if you don't own a player)
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
eric @ Dec 10th 2007 10:33AM
I have 116 hd dvds and 37 blu-rays... i'm off the chart on both... remake the survey
Ben @ Dec 10th 2007 10:39AM
Sorry, it was supposed to say 11+, but I guess I can't use +, so I edited to read 11 or more.
TrentD @ Dec 10th 2007 12:09PM
The reasons for the low number of disc sales per player are obvious:
1) Most PS3 owners ARE NOT BUYING MOVIES. This is simply not debatable.
2) There are a lot of HD DVD and Blu-ray players sold, that are sitting under the Christmas tree not being used yet.
berry zito @ Dec 10th 2007 10:33AM
People still buy movies??
roger_huston @ Dec 10th 2007 5:06PM
Agreed, why would you buy movies when you can rent them from Netflix or BB or anyone else? Personally, I see a movie once or twice, that is about it for me.
- Roger
Galley @ Dec 10th 2007 10:38AM
18 BDs
digason @ Dec 10th 2007 10:41AM
I am also off the chart with 173 BD and 20 HD. It's also somewhat of an irrelevant poll as everybody has joined at different times. It would be more relevant to poll on a weekly or monthly average of purchased titles. So my average would be about 15/month on both sides, although I expect my HD total to stay close to where it is as I've already bought most of the HD titles I was interested in.
eric @ Dec 10th 2007 11:37AM
don't worry... you'll find more hd dvd's you want... i thought i had all the bd disks i wanted... then potc... then die hard... then i wanted invincible... addicts like us end up getting a lot of movies on both formats.
JayHDDVD @ Dec 10th 2007 10:43AM
I have 60ish. I'd say 35 HD DVD and 25 Bluray.
Shape @ Dec 10th 2007 10:43AM
I don't remember the crazy BOGO offers and get "eleventy five free DVDs when you buy a DVD player" offers when DVDs came out.
Vidikron (FU) @ Dec 10th 2007 1:46PM
You don't? I remember lots of offers for free movies with purchases of DVD players early on.
Iscariote @ Dec 10th 2007 10:43AM
I haven't "bought" any, but I got 5 Blu-rays for free, and nine HD-DVDs for free.
So either zero, or 14.
Jason @ Dec 10th 2007 10:51AM
I think it's funny that the average PS3 owner has only bought one BD given how much the PS3 is considered to be the deciding factor in the "format war".
I have both, but I find that I tend to buy the HD-DVD when both are available.
david @ Dec 10th 2007 1:03PM
Yeah, I don't understand that myself. I buy BD discs for my PS3 (its main use), and my kids play games on it. We have no movies yet for our HD DVD player.
Elliott @ Dec 10th 2007 10:53AM
1. Planet Earth
2. Hairspray
3. Spider-Man 3
4. Weeds Season 1
5. Weeds Season 2
6. Casino Royale
breed007 @ Dec 10th 2007 12:24PM
It's called the Netflix effect. Why buy a ton of movies when, for a low monthly payment, you can have them mailed to you in about a day?
david @ Dec 10th 2007 1:05PM
I use Netflix all the time to rent my BD discs. If I really liked the movie, then I'll buy it.
Frosty @ Dec 10th 2007 10:56AM
I have only bought one HD DVD movie but I rent them from Blockbuster Online like you wouldn't believe. I just wish blockbuster would put some damn HD DVD's in their store - why does it always have to be either/or... why can't blockbuster put both? Damn company politics.
doniel @ Dec 10th 2007 1:05PM
Does Blockbuster really carry HD-DVDs on their website? How come I can only see blu-rays?
h0mi @ Dec 10th 2007 11:02AM
I've bought 9 movies (and received the rest free with assorted deals, including b2g1... not counting the bogos because those were all half priced titles) in both formats (I have 20-22 titles combined depending on how you count the matrix).
h4ldol @ Dec 10th 2007 11:05AM
Zero movies over 25% hmmmm... I'm guessing a good proportion of those people are the same ones who can only afford $100 HD DVD players... just a guess but you know I'm right.
clads01 @ Dec 10th 2007 11:12AM
My guess is that a fair number of voters didn't read carefully enough to absorb the "don't vote at all if you don't own a player." I can't imagine that that many (~30% as of this post) HD player owners didn't buy a single disc.
Or, actually -- maybe it's the PS3-not-a-dedicated-player effect, too. Probably a combination of both ...
John B @ Dec 10th 2007 11:51AM
Your pathetic elitism and class warfare with respect to high definition is REALLY starting to piss me off.
Ben @ Dec 10th 2007 11:16AM
Actually I added that line later, after I noticed how many were voting 0.
steveo @ Dec 10th 2007 3:22PM
If you get around 12 FREE HDM discs with the purchase of your player, you probably don't need to BUY (which is the way the poll is set up) too many other discs at first.
longhairbilly @ Dec 10th 2007 11:16AM
I stopped buying DVD's years ago. Just ran out of space to store them. Use Netflix for everything now. Movies I know I love and will watch more then once a year I buy.. The new HD Harry Potters for example. Othereise I rent and save money and space.
Maxx @ Dec 10th 2007 11:17AM
118 Blu-ray's and 51 HD DVD's. Thats 169. This poll is way off and needs to be redone. I also don't buy that PS3 1 BS. I have a PS3 and bought 118 BD's. I know I am not the average but still.
Kevin Murphy @ Dec 10th 2007 1:52PM
To all those that think that the "1 PS3 average" is bogus, consider that MANY PS3 owners don't have HDTV. They all count as zero. And others who do have HDTVs aren't interested in movies so much as games -- after they did buy a game machine.
Kevin Murphy @ Dec 10th 2007 11:18AM
What is interesting here is that standalone attach rates are the same between the camps, and PS3 attach rates are 28% of a BD/HD DVD standalone. Presumably Xbox add-ons are counted as standalones, having no other purpose.
This makes the effective eqivalent standalone base 1 million - 750K (57%-43%) in favor of BD, which pretty much matches long-term sales, especially considering that the HD DVD base has been increasing more lately and PS3's base started in a burst.
Toshiba really has to ramp up player sales in the next few weeks if they still hope for a breakout.
I suspect that the average Engadget HD reader will have bought more than 3.6 discs if they have a player. There should have been a "don't have a player yet" option on the poll.
Don @ Dec 10th 2007 11:20AM
The reason nobody buys the discs is because many new releases are upwards of 30-damn-dollars. When disc prices become as reasonable as player prices, I'll buy more than my one disc. In the meantime, it's all Netflix for me.
Leonardo DiCrapio @ Dec 10th 2007 11:25AM
How many people owned a DVD player in 1998? I got my first DVD player as a gift in 2000, and I believe it cost about $250 at the time. That is for a non-progressive scan (S-video only output) Philips Magnavox (Model 825?) DVD player (not even a "better-name-brand" Sony).
"In 1998, the second year of DVD, those who owned a player were buying 8.9 DVDs each..."
"...the dedicated hardware base is actually growing faster than that of DVD during its first two years..."
http://www.allthingshidef.com/ME2/dirmod.asp?sid=3C644C50F0DA47FDA581C56C5FDF5FC7&nm=&type=news&mod=News&mid=9A02E3B96F2A415ABC72CB5F516B4C10&tier=3&nid=1CF3BB145BAD4578ACE874FBAEFED80A
ben @ Dec 10th 2007 11:25AM
i bought my hd dvd xbox add on when heroes came with it for free along with 2 of my choice and one in the box. I've been holding off for xmas to hopefully get matrix and bourne trilogies along with a few others... Will probably buy the harry potter set as well, but for now i'm at a whopping zero!
TJ @ Dec 10th 2007 11:32AM
I have about 50 Blu-ray titles, and about 5 HD DVDs, but most of the HD DVDs were actually freebies for buying my Xbox add-on. The only ones I've actually purchased were Transformers and Pride and Prejudice.
Still waiting on my five free by mail.
Jimmy @ Dec 10th 2007 11:32AM
I think the results are pretty easy to explain for 2 reasons.
1. When DVD came out there was not a viable competitor. Divx was around but was not viable. On top of that DVD was clearly superior to any other home movie format of the time. Not only were the video and audio better but the navigation system was unique.
2. The movie industry changed after the release of DVD. The prices of both VHS and DVD fell to lower prices than ever. I am sure that most of you can remember $40 VHS tapes and $60 LDs. Then DVDs came out and we started seeing movies for $35 or less.
We do not have either of these happening now:
1. We have two competing formats that even the staunchest supporter cannot be sure will last.
2. Most people do not perceive a huge increase in either picture or sound quality either because they just cannot see/hear it or because they do not have good enough equipment.
3. The new wiz-bang menus and interactive features of either disc just is not enough of a value add.
I replaced every movie I had on VHS and LD with a DVD once the DVD was available. There is just not a compelling reason for someone to replace a library DVD with either of the HD formats.
Ryan @ Dec 10th 2007 11:35AM
I am dead even right now... 64 movies, 32 Blu-ray and 32 HD DVD
Leonardo DiCrapio @ Dec 10th 2007 11:49AM
"I also don't buy that PS3 1 BS."
about 2.5 million PS3's sold in the united states, and blu-ray disc sales are about 4 million.
so that's no bs. it is obviously far less than 2.0 blu-ray disc bought per ps3 owner. it is most likely higher than 1.0 (about 1.3 blu-ray discs bought per ps3).
so 1 hd-dvd player is equal to about 3 ps3's.
"According to the BD camp, total BD disc sales in the U.S. since launch topped 4 million units in November..."
http://www.videobusiness.com/index.asp?layout=article&articleid=CA6509196
Zingerhill @ Dec 10th 2007 11:40AM
I have HD DVD and haven't bought any unless you count the 3 free that came from Amazon. Plus I sold 2 / 3. I haven't bought any DVDs in years either. I have a subscription to Blockbuster and I don't really see the point in buying movies.
sobatka @ Dec 10th 2007 11:45AM
I have purchased only two HD movies, Ratatouille and Cars, because my children could/would watch them every day. We use Netflix for everything else.
Big Sam @ Dec 10th 2007 11:52AM
I mostly rent. I own a PS3 and 360 Add-on.
What I have actually bought:
HD DVD: Planet Earth, The Matrix box set, Batman Begins, V for Vendetta
Blu-ray: Underworld, The Fifth Element
robert @ Dec 10th 2007 4:15PM
where's the netflix button? (my exclusive source of HD DVDs, except the free King Kong -- and the Big Lebowski my roommate bought!)
Dan @ Dec 10th 2007 12:04PM
None so far... I'm still waiting on a winner in the format war. I'll rent until then.
Robsta @ Dec 10th 2007 12:05PM
I'll be buying my first two HD-DVD movies tomorrow: Bourne Ultimatum & Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. I've had my A3 for about 2 months and have been waiting for something 'good' to purchase. It's hard to justify purchasing movies for $25+ when you can rent DVD movies and back them up for later use. ;-)
joe @ Dec 10th 2007 3:33PM
Trent-
If most PS3 owners are not buying movies and there are less stand alone BD players than HD-DVD players how do you explain the 2:1 sales ratio of BD movies vs HD-DVD titles?
It's obvious that most ps3 owners are buying movies and doing so frequently. The alternative is that people who own BD players are buying 2 copies of the same titles.
LiqwidZero @ Dec 10th 2007 12:18PM
56, soon to be 58
UnnDunn @ Dec 10th 2007 12:24PM
I bought the Mission Impossible Collection, The Bourne Supremacy and 300 on HD DVD. I got PJ's King Kong, The Mummy, Hot Fuzz and Black Snake Moan for free.
So I've bought either 3 or 5 movies (depending on how you count the M:I box set).
I voted 2-4.
Andy @ Dec 10th 2007 12:25PM
41 - Blu-ray ONLY
Justin @ Dec 10th 2007 12:28PM
I agree completely with Jimmy. In 1998, there really was no other viable competition and it seemed to be a natural progression in home movie viewing technology. I have purchased close to 500 dvd's since November 1999 when I purchased my first dvd player ($550) I have noticed my desire to buy day and date released has dropped since getting older. Membership to Netflix has greatly affected how I watch movies now. I don't see a huge need to go back and replace catalog titles (most of which I'm already bitter at studios for re-issuing "super-duper elite special editions" with more features, sound formats, anamorphic, etc..) I think there is a very large consumer base of movie owners tired of re-buying a movie they already own just for the latest and greatest audio/video. I personally have decided to not buy any movie in high-def format until things settle down (not to say I wouldn't ask for a few as xmas presents, but that is someone else's money not mine). In my opinion dropping $300+ on a blu/hd player is nothing compared to the amount of potential money spent buying movies for that player. Regardless of which way this whole HD format will go, (I have bought both players for my theatre room) I rely solely on freebie offers and netflix to satisfy my craving for high def movies.
I also agree the price for movies is still way too high. $15-$20 is the sweet spot currently for purchasing a new release on disc and I esp like the $5.99 clearance bins for impulse buys. Early adopters are always the trendsetters and should expect to pay a premium for the latest and greatest but Studio's know the real money is in getting joe six-pack to go and buy his entire catalog of dvd's again in hi-def. I don't see that happening soon, regardless which format ultimately prevails. An accurate poll would be those who purchased HD movies, did you own the movie in a previous format prior? Or is this an initial purchase?
labk88 @ Dec 10th 2007 12:40PM
0. I get all my HD needs from Netflix. This whole HD-DVD vs Blu-Ray fight is silly. It seems obvious to me but wouldn't a winner be easily decided by the price of how much an individual movie costs? If one camp's movies would cost around $15-$20 rather than the $30+, I think more customers would start adopting that particular format.
Geoff @ Dec 10th 2007 12:48PM
I answered, but I guess technically I've broken the rules... I don't currently own a player, but I've been buying HD-DVD Combo editions. They play on all my current DVD players, and it's not like they'll go stale while I wait for another great deal on Toshiba's.
Yankees368 @ Dec 10th 2007 12:52PM
I would just like to add that, just because someone has a PS3, does NOT mean they must also have an HDTV.