Include a BluRay player with the wedding package?

[Adrian Tan]

Do any of you guys do this?

I don't, but am thinking I probably should, as an option anyway.

[Chris Harding]

Hi Adrian

Brides are not technical and all they really want is clear footage with the dress the right colour and memories of the day. We tend to get way too technical and if they really want it in HD why not give them a media player which is a lot cheaper, but only as an option... ! With photos you can open an album and show your friends ...Video must be as easy so that's why most will appreciate the DVD option ..they can also take it to Grandma's place and watch it too.

IMHO I would simply offer the clips on a thumbdrive (progressive of course) so she can take it to her mates and watch on a laptop . I have yet to find a bride who is prepared to fiddle around with a new player just to watch her wedding!!!

Of course if they ask, then zap in a cheap BD player but cover your costs too!!

Chris

[Noa Put]

A usb stick, yes, BR player, no. Why? A stick fits in their inside pocket and they can play their film by plugging it into their pc/laptop or any mobile device with a usb connection, even tv's can play HD content directly from a stick these days. They also can easily copy the content for backup. I"ve seen dvd cases that have the possibility to add a dvd and a usb stick so that's another advantage when supplying it to your client. A BR player will just collect dust.

[Tim Bakland]

I always include a Blu-Ray (disc, not player) in every package. They know it's coming. The few couples who don't own blu-ray players invariably do by the time they receive their video :)

[Greg Clark]

Including the Bluray player is an excellent idea that I did with my last wedding. You can purchase them cheap. I don't see the value on putting the wedding on a USB stick. The files can easily become corrupted and even deleted. Copying the content can easily degrade the quality of your wedding. Stick with Bluray. The Bluray blanks are of a higher quality than DVD blanks.

[Tim Bakland]

Greg - I hear you, but isn't cheaper just to include the free blu-ray disc and have *them* buy the player (if they don't own one?)

[Greg Clark]

You can pick up a Bluray Player for about $40 and when you include one in your wedding proposal it helps you to stick out from the competition. I decided a year ago I am not downgrading to DVD quality anymore.

[Chris Harding]

Hi Greg

In Australia the BD Players never really caught on..and I have yet to find a bride that owns one!! The problem is that what are you going to do when the bride wants to show her parents and more importantly her grandparents her wedding and they have a CRT TV and a DVD player ..Do they disconnect the BD player and then lug their own TV and player (old TV's don't have HDMI ) to Grandma's house????

I still think it's important to make watching your wedding simple so I also will always provide DVD's and then USB so the bride can watch the wedding with the girls on her laptop.

Brides also have little or no interest in technology!! As long as your footage is in focus and the bridesmaids pink dresses are not red or orange, that's all they are looking for ...they are interested in content only and they are not really concerned with media. I did a survey on a National wedding forum and the brides that replied said "I cannot tell the difference" or "my hubby might know something about that but I don't" and "what is HD anyway?"

Give them a copy of the wedding they can run on their iPad or iPhone and they will be over the moon !! but a BD player and disk will be maybe used once and then not again!! Women would consider that a candidate for the "too hard basket"

Chris

[Noa Put]

Originally Posted by Greg Clark

Copying the content can easily degrade the quality of your wedding.

Since when does a file degrade in quality if you copy it? If you transcode it into another format, yes, but a plain 1 on 1 copy?

I think supplying a Blu-ray player with every wedding only helps the couple you are giving it to, most of their family will still have a dvd player so there is no benefit in that. Only supplying Blu-ray disks is even further limiting, again for the same reason, no blu-ray player, no playback. A usb stick otoh has a much higher playback possibility. Many devices these day's can playback the content from such a stick so here there is a much larger possibility they can just plug it into the tv at their family and friends and playback.

Another thing to consider when supplying a BR disk when the couple has no BR player, what if 5 years from now they buy a br player and your disk doesn't play on it? All the requests I had for a BR disk the couples had a player so I get quick feedback if it plays. I have had issues with "LTH" Blu-ray disks that caused playback issues.

When supplying a Blu-ray player basically it means you are responsible for it during it's warranty period, if it doesn't work you have to send it back to the manufacturer and get it sorted, the same applies for a usb stick but sending costs will be much cheaper. Then you have the couples that don't understand how it works and call you for support, that I don't see happening with a usb stick.

You can pick up a Bluray Player for about $40 and when you include one in your wedding proposal it helps you to stick out from the competition.

I would think the way you film and edit the wedding will separate you from the competition, not the hardware you supply with it, people do like "freebies" but the smart ones will figure out it's included in the price anyway. :)

Originally Posted by Chris Harding

Give them a copy of the wedding they can run on their iPad or iPhone and they will be over the moon !!

A lot of the couples I meet these days have Ipad or Iphone like devices that can playback media, that's the same then being able to carry photo's with you and show whoever you see, that's the kind of mobility people love, just take out their smartphone and playback the trailer of their wedding.

[Chris Harding]

Hi Noa

Spot on there!! In fact I advertised a big "special" where I offered a Media Player complete with HDMI cable and the bridal video pre-loaded on a USB drive and not one single bride ever wanted the option even though it was FREE!!! Too much info and too much technicality for them ..all they want is a wedding video they can watch and have memories..In fact you could probably shoot it in SD and they would still be happy!! A well shot and edited SD video has way more value than a badly shot wedding on BluRay disk and a free BD player.

It's all about content and presentation, they really couldn't care whether it's on a BluRay, RedRay or GreenRay...it's all mumbo jumbo to them as is HD, SD and all the rest!!

As an example my wife watches TV and it's an older 4:3 program and then it switches to a 16:9 in Full HD and she never bats an eyelid ...When I ask if she notices the quality difference and difference aspect ratios I get told "Quiet, I'm watching the story" ...That summed it up rather neatly for me!!

Chris

[Noa Put]

I think the best way to find out is to do a survey like you did to find out what the brides want (we have to face it it's usually the bride that wants a movie) instead of supplying them what we think is the best option. That actually got me thinking as we do have a big wedding forum in Belgium and it might be a good idea to prepare a survey list and ask the owners if they can publish this, I think we will be very surprised about the outcome.

[Jeff Harper]

How many people have bluray players probably varies by region or city, at least I suspect this is true. In Columbus, Ohio, 100 miles north of us here in Cincinnati, fewer people I knew owned Bluray. Can't explain it, it's weird.

About 75% of my brides own Bluray players. The rest buy them when I tell them I'm giving them a free Bluray disc of their wedding.

[Tim Bakland]

Originally Posted by Jeff Harper

About 75% of my brides own Bluray players. The rest buy them when I tell them I'm giving them a free Bluray disc of their wedding.

Exactly the case here in Boston. More and more of my clients *only* order blu-ray discs. And at least 75% of them (bride/groom) already have a player. And the other 25% have a player by the time they own their free disc :)

[Warren Kawamoto]

A lot of the younger grooms play video games, ie Sony Playstation. The playstation can play back blu ray as well as hd files from a thumbdrive. Ask them if they have a Playstation, chances are they might.

[Nigel Barker]

Originally Posted by Warren Kawamoto

A lot of the younger grooms play video games, ie Sony Playstation. The playstation can play back blu ray as well as hd files from a thumbdrive. Ask them if they have a Playstation, chances are they might.

We always deliver on Blu-ray & if they don't have a Blu-ray player then I tell the groom that now he will be able to get permission to buy a PS3:-)