DVD. Is it dead?

[Benny Brando]

I ask the question as in a previous topic Terry Stephens made the comment that the DVD market has really caved in on itself recently and I hear this alot in pubs and stuff and also read alot about it in the papers that DVD is dead.

So is it dead?

Do you still buy films on DVD? I'm talking about porn as well as mainstream stuff.

I read somewhere that the UK (mainstream) DVD market was worth ?2.15b last year and is expected to drop to around ?2b this year but I don't see that as caving in. A drop yes but not massive.

Is it different for porn?

I'm thinking with broadband speeds increasing then maybe the porn buyer is going away from DVD so as to avoid customs charges, delivery costs, stuff that goes missing in the post, potential embarrassment etc etc and downloading the movies instead of the DVD.

I'd like to hear different views from buyers as well as producers like Terry if possible.

I'm interested as I used to manage a Woolworths (yawn) and I retain a passing interest in it and I still buy porn myself in the DVD format.

[Benny Brando]

One point I was trying to make and failed miserably at was do you buy mainstream films on DVD but download your porn?

[Mojo]

I buy mainstream DVD, and buy and download porn.

[eroticartist]

As a film-maker for me DVD is dead because there are so many dishonest people around who copy my films! Far better that the public get them via encryptioned VOD. As the broadband population increases the so the DVD market will decrease. However there will always be a DVD market or something like it.
Mike Freeman.

[Sam Slater]

I think with porn being a more private thing, then VOD will slowly take over DVD sales over the years. However when it comes to mainstream Movies or music, disks will still outsell downloaded stuff because of the stupid DRM shite.

It's just harder to download an official movie and take it around to your mates and watch over a few lagers at the weekend. Nor can you download much music and take your favourite album to the barbecue you've been invited to. This is why DVD and music CD's will keep selling until crippling DRM gets shown the door.

[fudgeflaps]

If you still but it, it remains alive.

If I see a good, or rare flick, on VHS that I don't have in my collection at, say, a car boot sale I'll still buy it.

Despite technology moving on, we all come back to first principles.

That's why I favour vinyl as my music medium.

Technology doesn't kill a medium; the people do.

[one eyed jack]

Sam Slater and Erotic Artist have hit the nail squarely on the head. The markets have opened up beyond dvd and how people choose to get their porn has varied between those who pay for it and those who get enough of it for free. This affects not just porn but music and mainstream entertainment as well. The internet(for better or worse) is responsible for a lot of it.

Anyone in the adult business just making a living on dvd sales alone will suffer no matter how succesful they are simply because of the overall cost of the production and bringing the product to market: This means you have to shift x amount of units to just break even and being that r18 is limited to sex shops, this poses a problem in itself.

I've heard the word 'boom time' associated with 1500 unit sales....This is nothing compared to a few years ago when 10,000 unit sales where the norm and 2000 was just considered break even. And even if 1500 unit sales were shipped, you are losing revenue on exchanges with shops that dont re-order unless the titles are keepers

I've heard of people in this industry going from 40,000 unit sales to just a fraction of that. These will be the people who see the end of dvd sales as we know it.

Personally I buy movies on dvd for portability and because I'm an avid movie collector but porn is, no matter how good, is disposable and a lot more people are finding it better to watch online and save on their hard drives instead of owning a shed load of dvds.

Thats not just my theory. Its a fact.

Is it still worthwhile bringing out dvds then? The answer for me is yes. If not to make a living then purely for vanity to maintain a presence in the marketplace. it says you are a producer and not a fly by night chancer. How you make money on the back end of that product is where it really counts

Various players in the US have already given up on dvd and solely concentrating on the internet for the reasons outlined by Sam and Erotic Artist.

Just dont ask Phil McCavity though. he'll tell you without a doubt dvd is deader than dead. The truth is, it is alive but in decline. Like an old man waiting to kick the bucket and his offspring (the internet) inherits the earth.

[fudgeflaps]

Very well stated.

Mods, do you have a 'kiss-arse' smiley? !wink!

I was referring of course to mainstream DVD. Imagine acquiring vintage VHS porn at a car boot sale!!!

I may jest, but does it actually happen.........????

[TheProf]

Have you also noticed the DVD cinema feature films are creeping up in price?I saw the latest release of James Bond at ?22...ok.I know if you punt around the price can be a little cheaper,but the price increase is there.

[planeterotica]

In fact DVD sales are booming but it is the pirates who are cashing in, if you go to certain markets and boot sales you can pick up copies of most films for a ?1 or 2 and that is why the official sales figures are down.