Has BluRay helped your business?

[Andy Loos]

I am debating on getting a bluray burner, is it worth it right now or is no one willing to pay for the quality.
Thanks guys.

[Chris Davis]

HD has helped tremendously. Blu-ray has done absolutely squat for me. I bought a Blu-ray burner almost two years ago and have used it for one project. Even for that project, Blu-ray was not a requirement, but the client said as long as I can provide it he'd take a few Blu-ray disks "just in case".

For my clients, HD video is delivered digitally - on a thumb drive or online.

I think it's incorrect to say there's "no one willing to pay for the quality". It's not the quality they're balking at, it's the outmoded delivery format. The only reason DVD remains viable is because of the ubiquity of DVD players.

[Louis Maddalena]

Same here, Blu-Ray hasn't done anything for me. Only one clients specifically requested it and they would have been fine if I couldn't do so. All other people have had their HD video delivered via hard drive or thumb drive.

[Peter Manojlovic]

Yes it has helped me....

It's forced me to upgrade my hardware and software, for a price that i will never get back in returns..
And all it does is allow me to say "YES, I can burn you blue-ray"...

[Perrone Ford]

LOL!

Well I don't do weddings, but for event/film purposes, it's certainly helped me. We were able to submit our film to festivals on BluRay like they asked, I've been able to hand off HD copies to people who've asked for them (not many) but most importantly, it's allowed my tapeless workflow to proceed because I can archive 23.5GB to a $2.50 disk that has no moving parts, and stores very well.

I don't care if I *never* deliver a BluRay to a client. The archival ability alone made the money worth it. With burners going for about $175 these days, it's dirt cheap insurance for a master, and a web version of your events.

[Michael Clark]

Just curious Perrone, where do you get discs for cheap? I've thought about buying a blu-ray burner for its archiving benefits, but I was thinking the discs were much higher than that (although I haven't done any research).

[Perrone Ford]

Originally Posted by Michael Clark

Just curious Perrone, where do you get discs for cheap? I've thought about buying a blu-ray burner for its archiving benefits, but I was thinking the discs were much higher than that (although I haven't done any research).

ANTOnline.com - Verbatim 96769 BD-R 25GB 4X Branded 10Pk Spindle Box w/hard coat surface

$25.17 for a 10pk right now. Price fluctuates. But there are similar prices all over the place give or take a couple dollars on 10. But I haven't paid more than $3 for a 25GB disk in well over a year.

I remember writing on this forum last summer that BluRay archiving had just become cheaper than miniDV tape archiving. And this was in the midst of everyone talking about how expensive it was...

Facts trump speculation every time.

[EDIT]

WHOA! I had not seen THIS deal before!!

Amazon.com: Verbatim 96909 50 GB 2x Blu-ray Double-Layer Recordable Disc BD-R DL, 10-Disc Spindle Box: Electronics

 

Amazon.com: Verbatim 96909 50 GB 2x Blu-ray Double-Layer Recordable Disc BD-R DL, 10-Disc Spindle Box: Electronics

That is $11.55 for a 50GB, my last purchase of those in the fall was at $29 a disk for TDKs. Price is less than 50% what it was just a few months ago. Wonder if a new factory has come online. Look at the price history here around Sep/Oct last year: http://www.nextag.com/TDK-Electronic...78/prices-html

[Kelly Langerak]

Some clients want it, some don't care and a few have only taken it cause it's available. I only charge $25 for a blue ray but it counts as two standard copies that they won't get. It's cheap. Why not? It only takes one client to request it and you'll be in a hurry to purchase, install and figure out how to burn and also find out it takes 12 hours to burn a wedding video.

I got a 15 disc spindle from Memorex on Amazon for about $40. They have all burned perfectly and it looks twice as good then a SD disc.

[Michael Clark]

Thanks for dispelling that misconception for me. Now if I could just find an external blu-ray burner for my iMac at a reasonable price (I saw a Lacie burner on BH for $350, but I need to go cheaper).

Like you, my primary purpose would be archiving. In fact, finding one at the right price would take the place of a Raid Hard Drive I was looking at.

Secondary would be advertising - although from the looks of it there may not be many takers in my market.

[Jawad Mir]

I recently bought a blu-ray burner (6 months) and using it for first time but I do notice with Blu-Ray becoming quite a standard, almost everyone that comes to me inquire about it and this year I have 3 out 12 clients that have signed up for it. Ratio wise that's pretty good but still not everyone cares for it..yet

[Noa Put]

Not one client asked for BR so far, beside dvd I also deliver the HD files on a usb stick which are transfered to the clients ext harddrive. Then they still can look at their video in HD either directly on their pc/laptop or by using a HD mediaplayer connected to their lcd tv. At this moment I'm not thinking about buying a BR burner.
Also BR disks are still quite expensive in Europe because of all the extra taxes, seen prizes around 75 dollar for a 10 pack.

[Steve Shovlar]

I think a lot of wedding videographers completely miss the point with Blu-ray.

Has it helped my business? Absolutely, as I am the only videographer in the area who offers it as standard. they get blu-ray version and its a huge selling point for me and the reason I have been clearing up compared to my rivals. I show HD at wedding shows and when discussing the clients wedding I make a point of telling them that the Blu-ray will future proof their wedding so little jimmy who has yet to be conceived will be able to watch mummy and daddy in the best possible quality. Works every time.

Clients don't ask for it. You tell them they are going to have it and the benefits of why.

Very easy and brings in lots of extra bookings. Most people I speak to have a PS3 or BR player. And the few that haven't will be getting one from Tesco for probably less than 50 quid next Christmas.

[Michael Ojjeh]

I did a project overseas three years ago about Arabian horses and I did advertise for Blu-Ray disc, I sold a lot of DVDs and only a handful of Blu-Ray disc, but just the point that you produce a Blu-Ray disc will give you an automatic high-quality image to your customers that will help your business, it definitely helped mine.

[Perrone Ford]

Here's something I am curious about.

For those who claim BluRay is too expensive, are you shooting on HD cameras? If so, why? What's the point of doing all that work, and not bothering to produce an HD final. I agree with Steve. Don't make it an "extra cost" add-on. Make it a standard part of the package and market it. Just like those of you who moved to HD cameras marketed that.

So let's say the burner is $250. Amortized over the year that about $20 a month. People spend that in Starbucks in 2 days. Discs, even in expensive places are $10. If you can't find a way to add $10 to your prices, or shave $10 from your cost, I just don't know what to say. You have a product that some people don't even KNOW they want. When players are $75 next Christmas (and they will be as I am seeing them under $100 already) the clients will have something to put IN that player. I moved to an all HD workflow in 2008. I've shot SD exactly twice since then. My master is HD. And I produce SD or web versions when needed. I look forward to the day when I no longer need to produce SD versions.

[Noa Put]

Originally Posted by Steve Shovlar

I think a lot of wedding videographers completely miss the point with Blu-ray.

I deliver a HD file which is more versatile and equally futureproof as a BR disk. First my clients don't even need a BR player to see their wedding in HD, they just play it directly on their laptop which in 95% of the time does not have a BR player, they can watch it in HD on their lcd tv with a hd mediaplayer and they can still have that high quality HD file converted in a few years to whatever format is going to be invented after BR.

My clients can put their wedding movie completely on a usb stick and carry it around all day, they can look at it from whatever pc, laptop at their friends place, at work, wherever and whenever they want to, in HD, not in a few months or years when everybody has a BR player but today. Try to do that with a BR disk...

That alone is enough reason not to invest in BR for me, I film in HD and deliver in SD and HD, only not on a Blu-ray disk.