In a recent study, consultancy firm Screen Digest estimates that the widespread exclusive bundling of 3D Blu-ray titles with 3D gear from select consumer electronics brands risks choking off demand. The analysts say that this is another "chicken and egg" story, and consider that the 3D platform, if advanced properly, could be Blu-ray's "killer app."
As reported today by
Deadline Hollywood, twenty-five 3D BDs will come out before Christmas, but only six of these will not be bundled along with 3D hardware.
In the study titled
Studio caution may stymie 3D, Blu-ray's potential killer app, Screen Digest research shows that "while some studios are fully behind 3D, others are holding back their 'crown jewels' until the installed base of 3D hardware expands." and raise the concern that this strategy could "cause the home entertainment sector to miss the window of opportunity" to position packaged media at the cutting edge of new technology and to make 3D the "killer app" that could boost Blu-ray sales.
Blu-ray.com members overwhelmingly agree with Screen Digest: in an ongoing
poll conducted on the Blu-ray software forum of Blu-ray, 90 percent of the forum members who have responded so far thought that 3D exclusives bundled with hardware were hurting sales.
Opinions among the industry media are more subdued.
The Digital Bits' Bill Hunt explained that "there just aren't enough Blu-ray 3D players and 3D-ready HD displays selling right now to make a widespread release financially practical." Higher authoring costs were also a factor, and "it doesn't really make sense to release your biggest film in 3D when so few people can actually watch it," so studios have decided to use 3D BDs "as incentives to help encourage sales of the hardware for now, and then release them more widely to consumers when the installed base is higher."
Home Media Magazine editor-in-chief Stephanie Prange was even more outspoken, labeling 3D bundling as "a smart move" because then content, "instead of confusing the issue, can be a major boost to the adoption of a new dimension of TVs." The bundling of major 3D theatrical hits with 3DTVs offers buyers "an instant 'wow' factor," said Prange.
However, other specialized sites disagree. For example,
High-def Digest didn't mince any words when addressing 3D bundle exclusives, labeling it one of the "biggest Blu-ray blunders" and said that 3D BD "is being crippled from the start, by forcing consumers to pick or choose their setup based on what movie they like more rather than what player." The HDD editorial noted that the secondary market for 3D BDs is being driven "to sky high rates, a poacher's dream, just for a handful of payola. This is one of 3D Blu-ray's biggest hurdles right now." The writer also said that this problem, far from being fixed, is "only getting worse" and deadpanned: "Congrats, you just spent three thousand bucks to watch children's films, and only a couple of them."