Ready To Replace DVD With HD Formats? How About We Get Rid Of The '30 Year Old' VHS Format First People!

This post is primarily directed towards Allan, but anyone else can feel
free to respond if they like.


VHS Shrinking, But Still Generating Millions for Certain Studios and
Stores

By Judith McCourt

VHS is dead. Right? Wrong. With more than $1 billion in annual sales in
2004, the cassette market is still adding tidy profits to the coffers of
the studios. Although sales are on the decline, Home Media Research
estimates that cassette sales will float around the $500 million mark in
2005, making it a healthy cash cow.

Buena Vista Home Entertainment and Warner Home Video together accounted
for 38 percent of all cassettes sold in January, according to Nielsen
VideoScan, and were successful with divergent strategies. Buena Vista,
with a strong product portfolio in the family and children's market,
held the line on price to pump up cassette profit. While many have
dropped the price of their VHS product line, Disney has succesfully held
its average price in the low $14 range. The 2004 VHS market share leader
generated more than $300 million at retail from cassette sales last year.

Warner led the charge for DVD adoption -- pouring product into the
marketplace -- yet it ironically remains No. 2 in cassette sales. While
price was Disney's strategy, volume was Warner's approach. The
supplier's VHS products pulled in almost $200 million at retail in 2004,
according to Home Media Research estimates. Warner's strategy included
flooding the market with catalog product at the impulse-buy price of
less than $10.

Channels such as grocery, drug and mass merchants are still moving
enough cassettes to make it worthwhile to keep them in stock. According
to Niesel VideoScan, 60 percent of all cassettes sales occur in discount
mass merchants, drug and grocery channels. More than half(59.2%) of the
VHS units sold in January came from children's non-theatrical(29.6%),
comedy(15.4 percent) and family(14.2%) fare -- genres that fare well in
these channels.

Direct-to-video kids' titles also are a VHS sweet spot. Buena Vista's
direct-to-video release Mulan II is the top VHS seller for far this
year. Universal Studios Home Entertainment's direct-to-video The Land
Before Time XI: Invasion of the Tinysaurauses is No. 2, and Paramount
Home Entertainment's Dora the Explorer: Catch the Stars is No. 3. By
Comparison the No. 1 overall seller(including DVD) so far this year is
Warner's epic Troy, which does not appear on the top 20 VHS sellers
chart.

Top Five VHS Sellers*(Through Feb. 6, 2005)

1. Mulan II - Buena Vista/Disney
2. The Land Before Time XI - Universal
3. Dora the Explorer: Catch the Stars - Paramount
4. Garfield: The Movie - Fox
5. Abs and Chests of Steel 2000 Platinum Series - Warner

Top 10 VHS Sellers Grocery Channel (Through Feb. 6, 2005)

1. Mulan II - BV/Disney
2. The Land Before Time XI - Universal
3. The Village - Buena Vista
4. The Princess Diaries 2 - BV/Disney
5. Spider-Man 2 - Sony Pictures
6. David Copperfield - Lions Gate
7. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban - Warner
8. Ray - Universal
9. Dora the Explorer: Catch the Stars - Paramount
10. Friday Night Lights - Universal

Top 10 VHS Sellers Drug Channel(Through Feb. 6, 2005)

1. Mulan II - BV/Disney
2. Spider-Man 2 - Sony Pictures
3. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban - Warner
4. Shrek 2 - Dreamworks
5. The Lucy Show(Two-Pack) - Diamond
6. The Andy Griffith Show(Two-Pack) - Diamond
7. The Princess Diaries 2 - BV/Disney
8. The Bourne Supremacy - Universal
9. Spongebob Squarepants: Spongebob Goes Prehistoric - Paramount
10. Mary Poppins - 40th Anniversy Edition(Re-release) - BV/Disney


This article was taken from the February 27-March 5, 2005 edition of
Home Media Retailing Magazine.
--
"Our enemies are innovative and resourceful, and so are we.
They never stop thinking about new ways to harm our country and our people,
and neither do we." - George Dumbya Bush

Black Locust

On Tue, 08 Mar 2005 19:31:26 -0600, Black Locust wrote:
>
> VHS Shrinking, But Still Generating Millions for Certain Studios and
> Stores
>
> By Judith McCourt
>
> VHS is dead. Right? Wrong. With more than $1 billion in annual sales in
> 2004, the cassette market is still adding tidy profits to the coffers of
> the studios. Although sales are on the decline, Home Media Research
> estimates that cassette sales will float around the $500 million mark in
> 2005, making it a healthy cash cow.

So industry analysts expect the market for pre-recorded VHS to *HALVE* in
2005, yet you still consider it a viable competitor?

VHS is not "dead" in only the strictest sense. Strictly speaking, vinyl
isn't dead either, as new records are still being made. Betamax didn't
completely die until a few years ago, and that's only in the sense that the
machines aren't being made anymore.

The only real holdout for VHS is kid's titles, which still sell on tape.
Otherwise, everyone recognizes that VHS is going the way of audio
cassettes, but on a much faster timeline.

-Jay

Jay G.

On Tue, 08 Mar 2005 19:31:26 -0600, Black Locust <>
wrote:

>This post is primarily directed towards Allan, but anyone else can feel
>free to respond if they like.
>
>
>VHS Shrinking, But Still Generating Millions for Certain Studios and
>Stores
>
>By Judith McCourt
>
>VHS is dead. Right? Wrong. With more than $1 billion in annual sales in
>2004, the cassette market is still adding tidy profits to the coffers of
>the studios. Although sales are on the decline, Home Media Research
>estimates that cassette sales will float around the $500 million mark in
>2005, making it a healthy cash cow.

You'll find them in the notions dept. of Walmart, in between
pressboard furniture and vinyl men's dress shoes.
-Rich

RichA

"Jay G." <> wrote in
newsub2tek6m2qm.6pbg84qsvap6$.:

> On Tue, 08 Mar 2005 19:31:26 -0600, Black Locust wrote:
>>
>> VHS Shrinking, But Still Generating Millions for Certain Studios and
>> Stores
>>
>> By Judith McCourt
>>
>> VHS is dead. Right? Wrong. With more than $1 billion in annual sales
>> in 2004, the cassette market is still adding tidy profits to the
>> coffers of the studios. Although sales are on the decline, Home Media
>> Research estimates that cassette sales will float around the $500
>> million mark in 2005, making it a healthy cash cow.
>
> So industry analysts expect the market for pre-recorded VHS to *HALVE*
> in 2005, yet you still consider it a viable competitor?

I think the best point to make here is that even for successful
formats, instant conversion really never happens. Older formats
still continue to be used for some things. To use DVD as an example,
there are a lot of titles that simply won't benefit from an HD
treatment enough to justify re-buying the titles. One of the biggest
sellers on DVD would be TV show collections-- many of which were shot
on video and can't be presented much better than they alreay are.
Another popular genre is animation, which tends to do very will on
standard DVD, thankyouverymuch.

I'm looking forward to HD-DVD/Blu-Ray, but I have no intention of
not buying regular DVDs until they're here.

Did you know some places still use CD-i?

--

Aaron J. Bossig

http://www.GodsLabRat.com
http://www.dvdverdict.com

Aaron J. Bossig

On Wed, 09 Mar 2005 10:48:17 -0600, "Aaron J. Bossig"
<> wrote:

>"Jay G." <> wrote in
>newsub2tek6m2qm.6pbg84qsvap6$.:
>
>> On Tue, 08 Mar 2005 19:31:26 -0600, Black Locust wrote:
>>>
>>> VHS Shrinking, But Still Generating Millions for Certain Studios and
>>> Stores
>>>
>>> By Judith McCourt
>>>
>>> VHS is dead. Right? Wrong. With more than $1 billion in annual sales
>>> in 2004, the cassette market is still adding tidy profits to the
>>> coffers of the studios. Although sales are on the decline, Home Media
>>> Research estimates that cassette sales will float around the $500
>>> million mark in 2005, making it a healthy cash cow.
>>
>> So industry analysts expect the market for pre-recorded VHS to *HALVE*
>> in 2005, yet you still consider it a viable competitor?
>
>I think the best point to make here is that even for successful
>formats, instant conversion really never happens. Older formats
>still continue to be used for some things. To use DVD as an example,
>there are a lot of titles that simply won't benefit from an HD
>treatment enough to justify re-buying the titles. One of the biggest
>sellers on DVD would be TV show collections-- many of which were shot
>on video and can't be presented much better than they alreay are.
>Another popular genre is animation, which tends to do very will on
>standard DVD, thankyouverymuch.
>
>I'm looking forward to HD-DVD/Blu-Ray, but I have no intention of
>not buying regular DVDs until they're here.
>
>Did you know some places still use CD-i?

When I knew DVD was inevitable, I dumped my laserdisc
collection. I knew DVD was going to be a better format.
I suppose I'll do the same with DVD once the other
formats start showing up, but unlike laserdisc, DVD
is a solid, established format which won't disappear in
the space of a year.
-Rich

RichA

In article <pub2tek6m2qm.6pbg84qsvap6$.>,
"Jay G." <> wrote:

> So industry analysts expect the market for pre-recorded VHS to *HALVE* in
> 2005, yet you still consider it a viable competitor?

Me? I posted an article written by a magazine editor. Nothing contained
in it was written by me. I personally loathe VHS and can't wait to see
it's "official" demise at the hands of DVD. It's death is LONG overdue.

> VHS is not "dead" in only the strictest sense. Strictly speaking, vinyl
> isn't dead either, as new records are still being made. Betamax didn't
> completely die until a few years ago, and that's only in the sense that the
> machines aren't being made anymore.

Not a valid comparison. How many new music recordings come out on vinyl
these days? Maybe 3% of all new music is released on that format... The
same thing applies to audio cassettes. Now VHS on the other hand still
has full studio backing from all major Hollywood studios. When was the
last time you saw LPs for sale at Wal-Mart? But boy, you can still find
a good amount of VHS in those places, can't ya? List me any new release
movie and I'll likely be able to find a VHS release of at on amazon.
Afraid the same can't be said about vinyl...

> The only real holdout for VHS is kid's titles, which still sell on tape.

Yet the studios produce VHS versions of 90% of their titles. It's not
just kids stuff. Want LotR: The Return of the King Extended Edition on
VHS? New Line is making it. Want Ray on VHS? Universal is making it.
Want The Grudge on VHS? Sony is making it. Want Tuesdays big new release
Ladder 49 on VHS? No problem, Fox is cranking them out. You get the
idea... Now admittedly, finding VHS copies will be far more difficult
than tracking down their DVD counterparts, but they're being produced
none-the-less.

> Otherwise, everyone recognizes that VHS is going the way of audio
> cassettes, but on a much faster timeline.

No argument there.

> -Jay
--
"Our enemies are innovative and resourceful, and so are we.
They never stop thinking about new ways to harm our country and our people,
and neither do we." - George Dumbya Bush

Black Locust

In article <>,
Tarkus <> wrote:

> But wouldn't you like to get a whole season on one DVD?

Not really, no. What's that going to do besides turn me into more of a
couch potato? I like getting up every few hours to switch discs, at the
very least. And for those who are simply too lazy to even do that, 5
disc players are readily available.

HD media means diddly squat when it comes to old shows shot on video.
End of discussion.
--
"Our enemies are innovative and resourceful, and so are we.
They never stop thinking about new ways to harm our country and our people,
and neither do we." - George Dumbya Bush

Black Locust

On 3/9/2005 8:48:17 AM, Aaron J. Bossig wrote:

> One of the biggest sellers on DVD would be TV show collections-- many
> of which were shot on video and can't be presented much better than
> they alreay are.

But wouldn't you like to get a whole season on one DVD?
--
"In space no one can hear you scream."

Now playing: "Moody Blues - Om"

Tarkus

On Wed, 09 Mar 2005 17:45:50 -0600, Black Locust <>
wrote:

>Yet the studios produce VHS versions of 90% of their titles. It's not
>just kids stuff. Want LotR: The Return of the King Extended Edition on
>VHS? New Line is making it. Want Ray on VHS? Universal is making it.
>Want The Grudge on VHS? Sony is making it. Want Tuesdays big new release
>Ladder 49 on VHS? No problem, Fox is cranking them out. You get the
>idea... Now admittedly, finding VHS copies will be far more difficult
>than tracking down their DVD counterparts, but they're being produced
>none-the-less.

As long as the video rights can be obtained cheaply enough for someone
to make even a small profit, I suspect VHS versions for most films
will be able to be found online for a long time to come.


-
-Jon Purkey - <)
For a quicker reply by email please use the
address found here: http://tinyurl.com/o8ka

Jon Purkey

On Wed, 09 Mar 2005 22:14:02 -0600, Black Locust <>
wrote:

>In article <>,
> Tarkus <> wrote:
>
>> But wouldn't you like to get a whole season on one DVD?
>
>Not really, no. What's that going to do besides turn me into more of a
>couch potato? I like getting up every few hours to switch discs, at the
>very least. And for those who are simply too lazy to even do that, 5
>disc players are readily available.


It would save shelf space for those collecting.

And for people renting through the mail, they would not have to worry
about getting discs out of order.




-
-Jon Purkey - <)
For a quicker reply by email please use the
address found here: http://tinyurl.com/o8ka

Jon Purkey