why do we in the UK get shafted for all goods
 

just had someone try to prick my conscious by stating that instead of downloading movies via bittorrent i should think about buying some. now i replied that i have in excess of 500 dvds all of which i paid for (some thru the nose BTW). if dvds, cds, other goods were sensibly priced over here then i would be the first one at the tills buying them. in principle why should i line the pockets of the music/movie industry moguls when i can download, reauthor and burn a dvd for a fraction of the cost. feel free to discuss and slag me if you all want coz my flame retardant suit is well and truly zipped up :D

cheers

big sinky

I find the £10-£15 to buy (on-line) a Movie on DVD and £2 to rent a DVD to watch very reasonable.

I do have a decent HC setup and we tend to have movie parties with friends and family. Considering the enjoyment we get from a decent movie and its only for the price of a few pints of lager or the price of one meal DVD's are good value.

In the years before DVD I was paying upto £60 a movie for LaserDisc so DVD's are a snip.

IMO the penalty for illegally downloading movies should be the same as pinching a DVD of the shelves in a store. It's theft a the end of the day.

Cheers
Lee

It is - Piracy is termed and treated as theft.

I still think they cost too much. DVD as a media is far cheaper to make and produce than the likes of VHS. Yet the industry does themselves no favours by charging more.

I find £15 for a DVD, or music album far too much - especially when you don't know if what your buying is going to be a load of trash. You'll normally see me sniffing round the bargain basement for stuff I haven't heard or seen. The indusrty doesn't do itself any favours as people know what profits the big record producers make (I wonder if Simon has his Maybach yet?). If people can source something cheaper at what they feel is a reasonable price I can't blame them. If the industries dropped pricing on top line DVDs and CDs then essentially they can price out professional piraters who make money selling cheap rips offs, and still make decent profits, with the added benefit of more sales as more people will be inclined to buy legit copies. But no, they'd rather pay for huge law suits, private investigators, and stick to their stubbourn priceing

If it wasn't for the likes of peer to peer netwroks to obtain music - I would never have heard or even considered trying artists which I now like. Stuff I really like I'll probably buy the CD - as I prefer the quality. Other music which I may like 1 or 2 tracks on a whole album I'll just won't bother. MP3 has saved me from wasting money on so-so albums and ensured what I do buy is what I really want.

I do agree that CD's are overpriced.

I always try and rent DVD's that I'm unsure off, my local rental place charges £2.
I always buy DVD's on-line and considering the quality, extra's and the DD/DTS 5.1/6.1 soundtracks I think they are reasonably priced for the amount of entertainment they provide.
If i have a few people round to watch a film I'll probably spend £75 on Food/Beer/Wine and only a tenner or so on the film :)
Two people going to watch the film at the Cinema usually cost more than the DVD.

Yep I would like cheaper DVD's but I dont think they are a ripoff considering what we pay for other products and the fact that 17.5% of the cost is VAT.

Cheers
Lee

All these people that say it doesn't hurt anyone by downloading for free are wrong. The excuse is frequently that the "Mr Big's" are greedy capitalist pigs etc and can afford it. What everyone forgets is the huge number of people making a living working in the industry (most of them are creative and not clerks) are losing jobs and less investment is available to develop new talent etc. This is the same for the music and the film industries. :(

@recordproduction

i see where you are coming from mate. but do you not think that if a sensible pricing structure existed then more people would actually buy original dvds/cds, thus aiding all the things you said like developing new talent, new technology etc. etc. ( i appeciate there will still be those who download, i am not that niaeve(sp). how can other countries retail dvds/cds much lower than the UK (even taking off the VAT). to many big names pushing the prices up to wring as much money out of joe public. again i tend to buy original movies/cds after i have seen them either by rental or BT. i do spend alot of my money on my car and home cinema stuff. like logiclee i have a fairly good home cinema setup, but again to stress a point, you mention about extras on dvds etc, some are very good while others can be well ropey. how many times will you watch the extras on a disc. once in my case, after that its just a waste of space on the disc. again feel free to put your points forward.

cheers

big sinky

Why does everyone always look at production costs of the media - yes, a music CD costs pennies to manufacture, but why should that mean the cost to the public should be cheap?

It's the software (the music) that you are paying for, NOT the hardware (the media).

Think about it in relative terms to other things. A ticket to a music concert of football match is about £30-£100. You get about 2 hours entertainment and that's it. A ticket to a cinema is £5 - again, 2 hours entertainment and that's it.

A CD or DVD will provide hours & hours of entertainment, so the cost to entertainment ratio is much lower.

There's a simple solution, if you really feel it is morally wrong that the music stars make millions, then instead of pirating, you should be boycotting. What gives you the right to listen to their music for free?

So why are tapes cheaper then? -abeilt different quality and space filling with useless "bonus" stuff. Essentially, your buying the same thing.

It's not the music stars that make the majority of the money either...it's the top dogs in Sony's management office ;)

2 sides to the story.

Overpriced... I think Porsches are overpriced too, but that's not a reason to steal them...

The manufacturing cost of a DVD has got nothing to do with the real production cost, as recordman already pointed out.

People in countries where the CD/DVD is cheaper do just as many illegal downloads.

Compared to the cost of living, the price of CD's has actually come down considerably. (I used to pay about 6 UKP for an LP in 1975, I now pay about 10 for a CD)

OTOH, the industry has failed to use internet technology to their (and their market's) advantage.

It's not the same thing though is it.....because the "software" on a tape is of lower quality. It also degrades more readily over time.

Quality generally costs more. It has a premium price. Therefore, digital media will always be priced at a higher price than analogue for the reasons above.

If you still feel it is the "same thing", do you still buy VHS over DVD to save a few quid? If not, why not?

I could be wrong on this...but there was a time that if you had a tape, or CD that wore out or was damaged you could get the record company to send a new one as you have paid for the licensed copy for listening rather than the media it is placed on. Probably can't do that now.

It was the same case for software too :)

IMO there is no difference between the piracy of free downloads, and the piracy of charging way more for something in one marketplace than another. When we were in Oz last year I bought loads of DVD's & CD's (yes I checked the zone first:p) because the price on the covers was the same as here in the UK, only difference was that they were in Aus$, not £. so to my way of thinking, if I'd bought them in the UK, I would have ended up paying £250 for something that actually cost me less than £100. If that's not classed as a scam , I'd like to see what is:mad:

My 2p:

1. CDs/DVDs are overpriced.

2. I don't download movies or songs. (Because I've never found any good, reliable download sites

3. I don't see a problem with Downloading. To be honest - I don't care about the people who work for the record companies, be they on £500,000 a year or £10,000 a year - I simply don't care. (please re-read point 2 before flaming me)

4. Even if DVD's were £5 and CD's were £2, I still think just as many people would try to download instead of buy them - the amount of money is not the issue - the fact that people can 'steal' the DVD's and CD's whilst convincing themselves of their innocence means that those particular people are never likely to be happy parting with ANY amount of money.

I have a HC system that I have spent thousands on so the cost of the film is not something I really think about. I'm not rich but I see it as a necessary cost so I don't worry about it too much. If I can't afford something, I won't buy it - and I certainly won't go out and nick it...

I do, however, steal cars.





(joke)

A lot has been said about the people in the Movie and Music industry but it's the industry itself I'm concerned about. Yes there are Fat Cats and minimum wage people as in most big industies, so what?

I love music and movies and the piracy issue puts film production in doubt, especially the sort of movies that generate a smaller percentage profit.

mad_dr has put it very well Stealing is stealing and pirate DVD's are fueling organised crime gangs in the US and UK.

Cheers
Lee

If you truly knew the work that goes into making a movie you would be more than happy to pay for it.

So all you people that think piracy is theft have never used a video recorder to tape off the telly,or a cassette recorder to tape stuff off the radio,i know i used to tape the top 40 when i was a kid....better lock me up for past crimes:D:D:D:D

No they would'nt. Ive been on a film set and cannot believe how many ppl just stand around all day doing absolutely bugger all.

Can't believe how much is spent on catering either. Why? No other industry would do it.

Chip.

Edited to say: Was a superb day though as they were filming a stunt driver in a car chase. Great to watch.