An Analysis of What is Wrong with the Video Sales Market

Several years ago I was present at the debuts of HD DVD and Blu-ray DVD's. Both systems were designed to restart slumping DVD sales. They had simply turned out one too many re-releases of product and were losing ground to too many cheaper DVD's coming in from Asia.

Both systems were based upon the flawed assumption that a government mandate to switch to Hi-def would drive sales of television sets and lead to a renewed sales of DVD's in this new Hi-def form. The consumer public really hates mandates that are going to cost them money.

Sales of the new hi-def sets were slow. They were expensive and people did not want to put out the cash needed to replace all their sets. Just a few sets in each home ended up being replaced, not enough to warrant the huge costs of the sets manufactures were building.

Year's later prices are now coming down but at a time when the spending habits of the consumer have changed.

Add to the fact that the sets were unwanted the simple fact that both the HD DVD and the Blu-ray DVD literally put the cart before the horse. No HD players and no Blu-ray players available for purchase, HD sets just coming onto the market for the HD to be played on and virtually no Blu-ray sets on the market at all.

While the HD was cheaper to manufacture because all it took to make them was a change in the production line the Blu-ray had to have entire new lines made to turn out the disks for the home market. It therefore meant that the Blu-ray disk was always going to be more expensive then the HD would be.

While Blu-ray is riding the wave at the top of the market in those brick and mortar stores that are still open, the DVD still out sells it because of the lower cost of the ordinary DVD. When you try to sell people that have little extra money to spend a product that they never wanted in the first place you're bound to end up with a loser in the process.

It was thought that net downloads would be the next savior of the film and television. Works well to an extent when you have a good fast internet connection. Most don't and many that did have shut down their internet because once again as a cost they don't need to have during cuts in household spending.

Net downloads also have taken a major hit with increased cost being handed down to the subscribers. Went over like a lead balloon.

The simplest solution to the whole sales mess is to first remember that there are cheaper and more consumer friendly ways to conduct business. It has been thrown around for years about Kiosks where you can take a flash drive and plug it in and walk away with a rental.

Brick and Mortar store are best suited to do this because they can have more servers on hand for downloads. Still the go to the wall pick up the case and bring it back for the download but no disk to take home just a video on a flash drive.

It is possible to copy guard the system, protect it from being taped off a screen and arrange for time out on the drive to be used so that you don't keep the video forever. It is so simple a system you don't even have to ask your children to set it up for you.

Cost of the drives would be minimal and the guards placed on the Video as it was being downloaded. To be honest another point which would you rather do pay to replace that lost dvd or spend a few dollars to get a new flash drive if you lose it and many do. There can also never be any late charges and the drive will fit into your computer, portable device or your new interactive television that has USB ports on it.

The cylinder for recording was replaced by tape, tapes by DVD and DVD will be replaced by flash drives.

This being a simple analysis of how to make everyone, producers, studios, set manufactures and the consumers all walk away happy.