Xtravision and decline in Blu Ray offerings.

Bullseye1

Has anyone else noticed the decline in titles being offered for both rental and sales at XV? In particular sales of Blu Rays is shockingly bad. As a BD collector I find it frustrating that our local XV is starting to neglect high definition. I'd rather buy locally but if I have to I'll revert back to amazon.

Vic Vinegar

Not only that, they are super expensive there too!

The ex rental blu-rays are more expensive than brand new ones online. Some of their new releases are €28... shocking stuff

Seans_Username

my local extra vision upped the prices of all dvds (not sure about blu ray, although i do know they are quite expensive).

on xtra vision in general: my local in letterkenny is shite, limited amount of good dvds. many of the good ones are only for rental, not even second hand ones for sale. i've had to rely on hmv in dublin and in derry, and even gamestop for some great second hand dvds. not happy with xv at all recently...

FlashD

Sign of the times, its the end of days for XV. Probably just winding down at this stage.

Digital downloads and online sales is where its at now.

Thwip!

Carlow's fine for it. Decent enough variety on the ex rentals and majority of new dvds have their blu ray counterpart beside it...though price is a bit steep.... 29.99 for the new Paranormal activity on bluray is a bit much

Galvasean

€30 for a film on a disk? Now I remember why I only buy old stuff.
It's no wonder these shops are in trouble.

Thwip!

Galvasean wrote: »

€30 for a film on a disk? Now I remember why I only buy old stuff.
It's no wonder these shops are in trouble.

and it wasnt even triple play

PerlenBacher

FlashD wrote: »

Sign of the times, its the end of days for XV. Probably just winding down at this stage.

Digital downloads and online sales is where its at now.

Don't think we are quite there yet. As there are still people who like to physically rent or buy something. Despite the ridiculous prices :rolleyes: But thats definitely going to have more of an impact than now in the future tho.

But within saying that I just cant see bricks and mortar renting shops totally disappearing. There will always be certain people who want and are willing to pay.

Sure if you asked me in 2005 would Xtra Vision be still open in 2012? I would of said "nah, downloading will kill it well off" :pac: but here we are :pac:

NinjaK

FlashD wrote: »

Sign of the times, its the end of days for XV. Probably just winding down at this stage.

Digital downloads and online sales is where its at now.

Who likes to watch a movie on a laptop? Ive got Netflix and they dont have any new releases. Until you can watch new releases on a tv then XtraVision has a future.

Thwip!

NinjaK wrote: »

Who likes to watch a movie on a laptop? Ive got Netflix and they dont have any new releases. Until you can watch new releases on a tv then XtraVision has a future.

or you could just use a pc/vga cable and hook it into your tv???

Sad Professor

NinjaK wrote: »

Who likes to watch a movie on a laptop? Ive got Netflix and they dont have any new releases. Until you can watch new releases on a tv then XtraVision has a future.

iTunes have new releases.

bada_bing

Bombleswizzum wrote: »

Not only that, they are super expensive there too!

The ex rental blu-rays are more expensive than brand new ones online. Some of their new releases are €28... shocking stuff

Ugh that really bugs me big time. I'm always dumbfounded when i look at their ex-rental blu-rays and the prices are just insane!! it's usually €15 for an ex rental when the same thing could be bought brand new for either €11 or €9 depending on offers in HMV.

Myrddin

NinjaK wrote: »

Who likes to watch a movie on a laptop? Ive got Netflix and they dont have any new releases. Until you can watch new releases on a tv then XtraVision has a future.

I've Netflix on my pc. My monitor is a 42" Plasma screen. It was simply a case of buying a DVI to HMDI cable for me. Modern graphics cards have HDMI out on them now anyway, its as easy as plugging in a monitor.

Theboinkmaster

NinjaK wrote: »

Who likes to watch a movie on a laptop? Ive got Netflix and they dont have any new releases. Until you can watch new releases on a tv then XtraVision has a future.

No Xtravision is limping on but will die very very soon. It's all online/on-demand content and if you still want a DVD/blu-ray it's online purchases.

There are lots of ways to watch new releases on a TV.

Rabidlamb

jpcarlow wrote: »

Carlow's fine for it. Decent enough variety on the ex rentals and majority of new dvds have their blu ray counterpart beside it...though price is a bit steep.... 29.99 for the new Paranormal activity on bluray is a bit much

Is it a bit naughty releasing a film which was meant to be found VHS footage in Blu-Ray.
Or is it secretly a new episode of Back to the Future where the girls father returned from 2006 with a HD Digital Handicam.

NinjaK

Sad Professor wrote: »

iTunes have new releases.

they charge 4.99 for a HD movie rent, thats more than xtravision!

Ye are way overestimating the amount of people that watch movies on their laptop/connect laptop to their tv!

NinjaK

NinjaK wrote: »

Ye are way overestimating the amount of people that watch movies on their laptop/connect laptop to their tv!

I don't think that people are. My computer is connected to my TV through HDMI and I will ofter switch over from watching a Blu-Ray on my PS3 or Netflix on my Xbox to a film that I've gotten off of iTunes on my computer. A hell of a lot of other people do likewise and it is the way of the future.

Gonzo

Hmv have generally very good prices for blu-rays, sometimes they are cheaper than online stores, ive often bought 2 or 3 blu-rays for 30 euro. The prices in XV are crazy, I never buy anything there.

Skerries

do video shops still have to pay big money for the films they get?
I remember years ago when we had VHS and the video shop got the films first I think someone told me that they had to pay something like £70 per tape, so they had to rent it a lot of times to get their money back on it

JoeA3

NinjaK wrote: »

Who likes to watch a movie on a laptop? Ive got Netflix and they dont have any new releases. Until you can watch new releases on a tv then XtraVision has a future.

I don't watch anything on a laptop but I haven't been in an xtra vision for over a year either!

Apple TV connected to my TV and surround sound system. Rent movies at the touch of a button on iTunes! Dolby surround sound and very decent picture, not quite blu ray, but as good if not better than DVD. Set up a US iTunes account and you have the very latest stuff. I watched the Muppets lastnight, still showing in Irish cinemas!

I accept that I'd be still in the minority, given our generally poor broadband infrastructure but this is deffo the future.

Galvasean

Skerries wrote: »

do video shops still have to pay big money for the films they get?
I remember years ago when we had VHS and the video shop got the films first I think someone told me that they had to pay something like £70 per tape, so they had to rent it a lot of times to get their money back on it

Rental copies are a lot more expensive than the for sale copies. Hence that 'This copy is not for rental' disclaimer you often see on movies you buy. The reasoning being a shop can potentially make hundreds from a rental copy but a for sale copy they only sell once.

Thwip!

Rabidlamb wrote: »

Is it a bit naughty releasing a film which was meant to be found VHS footage in Blu-Ray.
Or is it secretly a new episode of Back to the Future where the girls father returned from 2006 with a HD Digital Handicam.

That'll be the next one...we'll find out their family name is McFly :P

NinjaK wrote: »

Ye are way overestimating the amount of people that watch movies on their laptop/connect laptop to their tv!

I don't think so. Most people i know do that, hell one of my friends hooks his laptop to his dad's projector (he's an architect, didnt just buy one cos he wanted it :P ) and projects it on his wall or blinds

Sad Professor

Hooking a laptop up to a TV seems an incredibly awkward way of watching films. I assume most people who watch digital downloads use an AppleTV, WDTV or other media centre.

Sad Professor

Sad Professor wrote: »

Hooking a laptop up to a TV seems an incredibly awkward way of watching films. I assume most people who watch digital downloads use an AppleTV, WDTV or other media centre.

Don't see how it's awkward for anyone? Most laptops these days come with a HDMI connection and as such it's as simple as putting in the HDMI. Can't be more than 4 seconds work.

Sad Professor

Yeah but then you are messing around with the resolution so it displays correctly. And what if you want to use your laptop while the film is playing? A media centre is a simpler solution.

Thwip!

Sad Professor wrote: »

Yeah but then you are messing around with the resolution so it displays correctly. And what if you want to use your laptop while the film is playing? A media centre is a simpler solution.

havent had to mess about with the resolution other than the very first time...

Sad Professor

Sad Professor wrote: »

Yeah but then you are messing around with the resolution so it displays correctly. And what if you want to use your laptop while the film is playing? A media centre is a simpler solution.

Most laptops automatically set the resolution automatically for the television. They also automatically set the sound to transmit through the HDMI rather than through the computer speakers. As for using your laptop when watching a film, well then what's the point of watching the film in the first place. If it's a case of pausing the film to check something out then all it takes is the 4 seconds to unplug the HDMI in order to use it. Basically both are pretty much the same thing but to say that using a laptop to watch a film is in any way inconvenient is untrue.

Galvasean

I think bricks n' morter have some time left. Not everyone is so tech savvy as us who post on internet forums. I know many people (not just old foggies, people in their 20s too) who can just about get the DVD player to work.

OldeCinemaSoz

Curiously my local has tons of blu's going for 3 for a fiver
for a week's rental.

Sad Professor

Deleted User wrote: »

Most laptops automatically set the resolution automatically for the television. They also automatically set the sound to transmit through the HDMI rather than through the computer speakers. As for using your laptop when watching a film, well then what's the point of watching the film in the first place. If it's a case of pausing the film to check something out then all it takes is the 4 seconds to unplug the HDMI in order to use it. Basically both are pretty much the same thing but to say that using a laptop to watch a film is in any way inconvenient is untrue.

Fair enough. I've always used media centres, though, and they are pretty cheap so I can't imagine why anyone would choose to watch digital downloads any other way. Personally I'd hate to have my laptop occupied like that. Maybe I'm weird, but when I'm at home I always have old films playing in the background while I post here or whatever... Alien is on at the moment. I only give my full attention to new films.

BrianJD

FlashD wrote: »

Sign of the times, its the end of days for XV. Probably just winding down at this stage.

Digital downloads and online sales is where its at now.

Funny that, but in Fermoy in Cork they've just extended into the building next door and doubled in size. It only re opened at the weekend.

Thwip!

Sad Professor wrote: »

Fair enough. I've always used media centres, though, and they are pretty cheap so I can't imagine why anyone would choose to watch digital downloads any other way. Personally I'd hate to have my laptop occupied like that. Maybe I'm weird, but when I'm at home I always have old films playing in the background while I post here or whatever... Alien is on at the moment. I only give my full attention to new films.

Double Indemnity currently playing in mine

Sad Professor

Sad Professor wrote: »

Fair enough. I've always used media centres, though, and they are pretty cheap so I can't imagine why anyone would choose to watch digital downloads any other way. Personally I'd hate to have my laptop occupied like that. Maybe I'm weird, but when I'm at home I always have old films playing in the background while I post here or whatever... Alien is on at the moment. I only give my full attention to new films.

For most people, when sitting down to watch a film on iTunes or on Netflix through their laptop that's all they would be doing. If it was a case of throwing something on in the background I imagine that the vast majority of people would throw a DVD in the player or find a film or something on TV rather than stream or downloading something.

BrianJD

BrianJD wrote: »

Funny that, but in Fermoy in Cork they've just extended into the building next door and doubled in size. It only re opened at the weekend.

The traditional Xtravision model is in serious decline and in a year or two most stores will have their rental shelf space cut in half. In the one back home which is one of the more modern in the country there are now shelves full of Disney toys, there are a number of computers for Internet access, display cabinets for Ipods, E-Readers, etc.

Sad Professor

Deleted User wrote: »

For most people, when sitting down to watch a film on iTunes or on Netflix through their laptop that's all they would be doing. If it was a case of throwing something on in the background I imagine that the vast majority of people would throw a DVD in the player or find a film or something on TV rather than stream or downloading something.

Well, yeah, maybe you're right. Alien that I have on now is a Blu-ray actually.

FlashD

BrianJD wrote: »

Funny that, but in Fermoy in Cork they've just extended into the building next door and doubled in size. It only re opened at the weekend.

Really? Wow! point taken.

Out of interest, what services and product are they providing that they needed to expand, is it traditional XV rentals (games and film) or are they selling some unique products also?

BrianJD

FlashD wrote: »

Really? Wow! point taken.

Out of interest, what services and product are they providing that they needed to expand, is it traditional XV rentals (games and film) or are they selling some unique products also?

It seems that they have increased the movie rental and sales. They've also increased music sales but the big change is about 6 pcs for Internet access. I would have thought Internet cafe was on the way out as well...