Why are DVDs so much more expensive than VCDs?

[larune]

talking about prices of originals here ler

 

[Echovvti]

Well... I have to agree, the price of ori DVD is much higher... but if seriously bring into comparison.. As a movie fan, i would like to have the best and watch the best lo.

IMHO, you wont enjoy the quality and the worth for your dvd if u didnt have the technology to support it. hehehe.. its just not that impressive.

 

[acbc]

I recently ordered some DVDs from Amazon.com (to take advantage of their Christmas sale).

Ordered the following:

1. The 4400 - Complete 1st Season
2. Harry Potter 3
3. 2 Fast 2 Furious

Item 2 & 3 is to complete my remaining collections (bought 1-2 years ago).

Total cost? RM 270 including shipping.

Item 1 & 2 are comes with 2 discs.

Remember, these are Region 1 DVDs!

My 2 cents? Worth it... much better than buying Region 3 DVDs from Tower Records or Speedy.

 

[si|verfish]

Originally posted by larune@Jan 17 2005, 21:28
How much does it cost to produce a DVD? Isn't it more expensive than videotape, laserdisc, and CD-ROM?

Videotape, laserdisc, and CD-ROM can't be compared to DVD in a straightforward manner. There are basically three stages of costs: production, pre-mastering (authoring, encoding, and formatting), and mastering/replication.

DVD video production costs are not much higher than for VHS and similar video formats unless extra features of DVD such as multiple sound tracks, camera angles, seamless branching, etc. are employed.

Authoring and pre-mastering costs are proportionately the most expensive part of DVD. Video and audio must be encoded, menus and control information have to be authored and encoded, it all has to be multiplexed into a single data stream, and finally encoded in low level format. Typical charges for compression are $50/min for video, $20/min for audio, $6/min for subtitles, plus formatting and testing at about $30/min. A ballpark cost for producing a Hollywood-quality two-hour DVD movie with motion menus, multiple audio tracks, subtitles, trailers, and a few info screens is about $20,000. Alternatively, many facilities charge for time, at rates of around $300/hour. A simple two-hour DVD-Video title with menus and various video clips can cost as low as $2,000. If you want to do it yourself, authoring and encoding systems can be purchased at prices from $50 to over $2 million.

Videotapes don't really have a mastering cost, and they run about $2.40 for replication. CDs cost about $1,000 to master and $0.50 to replicate. Laserdiscs cost about $3,000 to master and about $8 to replicate. As of 2003, DVDs cost about $1000 to master and about $0.70 to replicate. Double-sided or dual-layer discs cost about $0.30 more to replicate, since all that's required is stamping data on the second substrate (and using transparent glue for dual layers). Double-sided, dual-layer discs (DVD-18s) are more difficult and more expensive

Jesus Christ! :blink:

larune, would you mind interpreting those into plain English? How does that translate to the cost of a piece of DVD as compared to VHS or VCD?

Again and again, the only reason most given is the quality of DVDs as compared to VCDs or anything else. But quality is subjective. And ppl are charging you for something subjective, not for a service, but for a commodity. Of course my question has always been, how much does it cost them manufacturers to put that quality into DVDs that justifies the price tag we pay.