Americans and most Europeans don't need a visa to go to HK.
The reason the visa for the PRC is so expensive now is that they adopted something called "reciprocal fees" which means they charge the same amount to certain countries that those countries charge for Chinese citizens. Bush, in his infinite wisdom, (well, his administration, anyway) decided to quadruple visa fees to the US. China rightfully got pissed off, and reciprocated.
Heh, we're probably coming out ahead. I've seen a huge number of Chinese tourists in Hawaii...actually I saw a huge number in Vegas too.
Still, probably better off not being prickish about it and move it back to what it was.
I'm doing well with Blu-Ray for my home theater, though I don't expect it in my computers.
I really haven't seen a legal download or streaming alternative that looks anywhere nearly as nice on my display, and Netflix by mail is pretty inexpensive for what I get.
I really haven't seen a legal download or streaming alternative that looks anywhere nearly as nice on my display, and Netflix by mail is pretty inexpensive for what I get.
Bingo. Do you think the content providers will ever get the hint?
I own all the Star Wars DVDs, but I acquired the 1080p versions of the films through the only means possible, even though it took weeks and ate up massive storage space.
George Lucas and others: If you want to combat piracy, give us the fucking option!
I doubt Wal?Mart in Shenzhen sells media. Even so, thanks to GeeDub, it now costs me US$130 for a visa to Shenzhen (vs. $15 during the Clinton Administration), so I don't go any more.
Dude, I looked it up on a whim (who knows, may want to go play tourist in China sometime). It's:
If I was an expat in HK I'd just pony up the $130 for 2 years and hit the Walmart in Shenzhen all I wanted.
Except that you're not allowed to get a multiple entry visa to China for tourism purposes, and you have to prove a business relationship with a company in China in advance. It should be possible to find a friend with a factory or something like that, but with HK retail prices as they are (very very low, for all but luxury goods), there's just not that much in China to make it worth the effort. In addition, there is a security risk for foreigners who visit Shenzhen.
That's a lot of efforts just to get to a Walmart. Is Walmart a magic store in HK or in Asia? In the states, Walmart is not the best place to go to seek best deals on Blu-ray movies. Even Best buys/Frys have better deals on new releases for the opening week. Thus far, most online stores, like Amazon, offer the best deal on blu-ray and it has been true for at least last 4 years. I miss the BOGO deals during holidays, back in the days.
James Cameron says that 50% of Avatar pre-orders are for the blu-ray version. But please Apple, just keep waiting for"sales to really take off" before you adopt it
James Cameron says that 50% of Avatar pre-orders are for the blu-ray version. But please Apple, just keep waiting for"sales to really take off" before you adopt it
I wonder who would pre-order a movie month in advance. I am pretty certain this is very very very small representation of the market, but more aligned with niche HT enthusaists. Actually, 50% is kind of disappointing, I would think it would be much higher assuming most enthusists have already been sold to HDM viewing.
I better place my order on Amazon to boost up the pre-order status.
Apple can wait.....
Edited:
Nevermind. Current Blu-ray combo version on Amazon is not 3D. Perhaps, I will wait, too.
I wonder who would pre-order a movie month in advance. I am pretty certain this is very very very small representation of the market, but more aligned with niche HT enthusaists. Actually, 50% is kind of disappointing, I would think it would be much higher assuming most enthusists have already been sold to HDM viewing.
I better place my order on Amazon to boost up the pre-order status.
Apple can wait.....
Edited:
Nevermind. Current Blu-ray combo version on Amazon is not 3D. Perhaps, I will wait, too.
Thanks, Captain Spin! Create your own definition of the market and then dismiss the numbers as negative, based on how they fit into your made-up definition.
James Cameron says that 50% of Avatar pre-orders are for the blu-ray version. But please Apple, just keep waiting for"sales to really take off" before you adopt it
When did Apple say they were waiting for sales to take off to include Blu-Ray? I thought it was the licensing issues, (i.e. "Bag of hurt...").
When did Apple say they were waiting for sales to take off to include Blu-Ray? I thought it was the licensing issues, (i.e. "Bag of hurt...").
I included a link in the comment of mine you quoted
It links to a Macrumors article about the town hall meeting Apple held after the announcement of the iPad; during it, Steve supposedly said "Blu-Ray software is a mess, and Apple will wait until sales really start to take off before implementing it." They've said something to that effect in the past though, as well. Like in the fall of 2008, when Steve said, "we're waiting till things settle down and Blu-ray takes off in the marketplace.". I'd say 50% pre-orders qualifies as "taken off in the marketplace" status.
Thanks, Captain Spin! Create your own definition of the market and then dismiss the numbers as negative, based on how they fit into your made-up definition.
Spin what?... The emperor's new clothes? 50% of 1% is 0.5% out of 100.... Do you really think 50% pre-orders, in month advance, represent the sales trend and buying habits for rest of the world?
I'm doing well with Blu-Ray for my home theater, though I don't expect it in my computers.
I really haven't seen a legal download or streaming alternative that looks anywhere nearly as nice on my display, and Netflix by mail is pretty inexpensive for what I get.
I tend to buy Blu-Rays that are BR+Digital Copy. That covers all my uses: HDTV and mobile.
Including Digital Copy is worth more to me than including a DVD in as much as it saves me from ripping the DVD for mobile use and archival. I've purchased a few DVDs a couple times when the kids ruined them. Now I just let them watch em on the computer or my iPhone.
Spin what?... The emperor's new clothes? 50% of 1% is 0.5% out of 100.... Do you really think 50% pre-orders, in month advance, represent the sales trend and buying habits for rest of the world?
I wish Jeff had left your political commentary in; your political alignment makes perfect sense given your distorted methods of reason.
Yes, home theatre enthusiasts are more likely to pre-order films, but you cannot extend that to mean that only home theatre enthusiasts pre-order films; Apple allows people to pre-order films on iTunes as well, and people who pay $20 for Apple's "HD" content are most certainly not home theatre enthusiasts. No, when they tally the Avatar disc sales after the first week it's been released they will not find that 50% of shoppers purchased the blu-ray version; I have no delusions that it would be the case. But 50% of pre-orders is a significant number, and is a positive indicator of blu-ray adoption. I have no idea how you came up with these "50% of 1% is .5%" nonsense; how you concluded that pre-orders only account for 1% of sales is beyond me. How you concluded that no further blu-ray discs would be sold beyond the pre-orders is even more of a mystery.
I don't suppose Apple will be selling any more iPads once they ship out the pre-orders to the Mac enthusiasts next Saturday, either? Shut the factories down, boys! Do you not think that comparing the pre-orders of the Wi-Fi version to the 3G version is a means of indicating roughly how well one will sell compared to the other in the following months? Would one argue that the 3G models' sales are inflated because only Apple enthusiasts opt for the most expensive models, and make pre-orders? No, no one would not.
Yes, home theatre enthusiasts are more likely to pre-order films, but you cannot extend that to mean that only home theatre enthusiasts pre-order films; Apple allows people to pre-order films on iTunes as well, and people who pay $20 for Apple's "HD" content are most certainly not home theatre enthusiasts. No, when they tally the Avatar disc sales after the first week it's been released they will not find that 50% of shoppers purchased the blu-ray version; I have no delusions that it would be the case. But 50% of pre-orders is a significant number, and is a positive indicator of blu-ray adoption. I have no idea how you came up with these "50% of 1% is .5%" nonsense; how you concluded that pre-orders only account for 1% of sales is beyond me. How you concluded that no further blu-ray discs would be sold beyond the pre-orders is even more of a mystery.
Who made what conclusion? I was just commenting on your ridiculous extrapolation of blu-ray mass market adaption rate based on pre-order purchasing pattern on Avatar. Also demonstrating logic of your own spin.... which proves ridiculous even to yourself.
I am sure apple has much educated and talented consultants providing more objective spin to the matter. Hence, the wait from apple implementing blu-ray. Perhaps, the decision is more political, but who knows.
Actually, MacOS is not a good platform for HTPC, yet. It will require time and available 3rd party applications support for playback and streaming(Netflix, Blockbuster, Vudu, amazon, etc.) some yet available even on winpc. Perhaps, some users may be happy with streaming only from iTunes and Netflix for now plus blu-ray support.
Who made what conclusion? I was just commenting on your ridiculous extrapolation of blu-ray mass market adaption rate based on pre-order purchasing pattern on Avatar. Also demonstrating logic of your own spin.... which proves ridiculous even to yourself.
Except, I wasn't trying to imply that Avatar pre-order figures directly equate to adoption rate; I was just trying to show that it seems blu-ray sales have "really taken off", which is what Apple claims they were waiting for. You know as well as I do that if 50% of a movie's pre-orders were from the iTunes store, people would be shouting from the rooftops that physical media is dead — long live digital distribution. I'm suggesting something far more modest here, and that is simply that Blu-Ray is doing well. Well enough, I think, for Apple to stop treating it like Betamax.
In my opinion, Avatar pre-sales are not indicative of the mass market. Not at all.
Instead, what it shows are the buying habits of a niche group. The vast preponderance of people who pre-order movies are likely to be avid movie watchers, people who put lots of time into their hobby. These are the same people who spend more than an average amount on their home theater experience, and have been quick to adopt blu-ray. The visual effects and genre of the film are also probably skewed to people who also prefer blu-ray.
Blu-ray sales are certainly climbing. Though that case is probably best made with stats other than pre-orders of Avatar.
Hopefully they break out the blu-ray vs DVD sales numbers the week after Avatar comes out and then we can have some numbers that can't be discredited. Or would you guys find a way to take issues with those as well?
Comments
Americans and most Europeans don't need a visa to go to HK.
The reason the visa for the PRC is so expensive now is that they adopted something called "reciprocal fees" which means they charge the same amount to certain countries that those countries charge for Chinese citizens. Bush, in his infinite wisdom, (well, his administration, anyway) decided to quadruple visa fees to the US. China rightfully got pissed off, and reciprocated.
Heh, we're probably coming out ahead. I've seen a huge number of Chinese tourists in Hawaii...actually I saw a huge number in Vegas too.
Still, probably better off not being prickish about it and move it back to what it was.
As far as I know, there are no Walmarts in Hong Kong.
Definitely time to move out of Hong Kong!
I really haven't seen a legal download or streaming alternative that looks anywhere nearly as nice on my display, and Netflix by mail is pretty inexpensive for what I get.
I really haven't seen a legal download or streaming alternative that looks anywhere nearly as nice on my display, and Netflix by mail is pretty inexpensive for what I get.
Bingo. Do you think the content providers will ever get the hint?
I own all the Star Wars DVDs, but I acquired the 1080p versions of the films through the only means possible, even though it took weeks and ate up massive storage space.
George Lucas and others: If you want to combat piracy, give us the fucking option!
Does anybody really expect any variety of discs with moving parts which cause more problems to survive?
I doubt Wal?Mart in Shenzhen sells media. Even so, thanks to GeeDub, it now costs me US$130 for a visa to Shenzhen (vs. $15 during the Clinton Administration), so I don't go any more.
Dude, I looked it up on a whim (who knows, may want to go play tourist in China sometime). It's:
$130 for single entry.
$130 for double entry.
$130 for multiple entry for 6 months
$130 for multiple entry for 1 year
$130 for multiple entry for 2 years
http://www.china-embassy.org/eng/hzqz/zgqz/t84246.htm
If I was an expat in HK I'd just pony up the $130 for 2 years and hit the Walmart in Shenzhen all I wanted.
Dude, I looked it up on a whim (who knows, may want to go play tourist in China sometime). It's:
$130 for single entry.
$130 for double entry.
$130 for multiple entry for 6 months
$130 for multiple entry for 1 year
$130 for multiple entry for 2 years
http://www.china-embassy.org/eng/hzqz/zgqz/t84246.htm
If I was an expat in HK I'd just pony up the $130 for 2 years and hit the Walmart in Shenzhen all I wanted.
Except that you're not allowed to get a multiple entry visa to China for tourism purposes, and you have to prove a business relationship with a company in China in advance. It should be possible to find a friend with a factory or something like that, but with HK retail prices as they are (very very low, for all but luxury goods), there's just not that much in China to make it worth the effort. In addition, there is a security risk for foreigners who visit Shenzhen.
James Cameron says that 50% of Avatar pre-orders are for the blu-ray version. But please Apple, just keep waiting for"sales to really take off" before you adopt it
I wonder who would pre-order a movie month in advance. I am pretty certain this is very very very small representation of the market, but more aligned with niche HT enthusaists. Actually, 50% is kind of disappointing, I would think it would be much higher assuming most enthusists have already been sold to HDM viewing.
I better place my order on Amazon to boost up the pre-order status.
Apple can wait.....
Edited:
Nevermind. Current Blu-ray combo version on Amazon is not 3D. Perhaps, I will wait, too.
I wonder who would pre-order a movie month in advance. I am pretty certain this is very very very small representation of the market, but more aligned with niche HT enthusaists. Actually, 50% is kind of disappointing, I would think it would be much higher assuming most enthusists have already been sold to HDM viewing.
I better place my order on Amazon to boost up the pre-order status.
Apple can wait.....
Edited:
Nevermind. Current Blu-ray combo version on Amazon is not 3D. Perhaps, I will wait, too.
Thanks, Captain Spin! Create your own definition of the market and then dismiss the numbers as negative, based on how they fit into your made-up definition.
James Cameron says that 50% of Avatar pre-orders are for the blu-ray version. But please Apple, just keep waiting for"sales to really take off" before you adopt it
When did Apple say they were waiting for sales to take off to include Blu-Ray? I thought it was the licensing issues, (i.e. "Bag of hurt...").
When did Apple say they were waiting for sales to take off to include Blu-Ray? I thought it was the licensing issues, (i.e. "Bag of hurt...").
I included a link in the comment of mine you quoted
It links to a Macrumors article about the town hall meeting Apple held after the announcement of the iPad; during it, Steve supposedly said "Blu-Ray software is a mess, and Apple will wait until sales really start to take off before implementing it." They've said something to that effect in the past though, as well. Like in the fall of 2008, when Steve said, "we're waiting till things settle down and Blu-ray takes off in the marketplace.". I'd say 50% pre-orders qualifies as "taken off in the marketplace" status.
Thanks, Captain Spin! Create your own definition of the market and then dismiss the numbers as negative, based on how they fit into your made-up definition.
Spin what?... The emperor's new clothes? 50% of 1% is 0.5% out of 100.... Do you really think 50% pre-orders, in month advance, represent the sales trend and buying habits for rest of the world?
I'm doing well with Blu-Ray for my home theater, though I don't expect it in my computers.
I really haven't seen a legal download or streaming alternative that looks anywhere nearly as nice on my display, and Netflix by mail is pretty inexpensive for what I get.
I tend to buy Blu-Rays that are BR+Digital Copy. That covers all my uses: HDTV and mobile.
Including Digital Copy is worth more to me than including a DVD in as much as it saves me from ripping the DVD for mobile use and archival. I've purchased a few DVDs a couple times when the kids ruined them. Now I just let them watch em on the computer or my iPhone.
Spin what?... The emperor's new clothes? 50% of 1% is 0.5% out of 100.... Do you really think 50% pre-orders, in month advance, represent the sales trend and buying habits for rest of the world?
I wish Jeff had left your political commentary in; your political alignment makes perfect sense given your distorted methods of reason.
Yes, home theatre enthusiasts are more likely to pre-order films, but you cannot extend that to mean that only home theatre enthusiasts pre-order films; Apple allows people to pre-order films on iTunes as well, and people who pay $20 for Apple's "HD" content are most certainly not home theatre enthusiasts. No, when they tally the Avatar disc sales after the first week it's been released they will not find that 50% of shoppers purchased the blu-ray version; I have no delusions that it would be the case. But 50% of pre-orders is a significant number, and is a positive indicator of blu-ray adoption. I have no idea how you came up with these "50% of 1% is .5%" nonsense; how you concluded that pre-orders only account for 1% of sales is beyond me. How you concluded that no further blu-ray discs would be sold beyond the pre-orders is even more of a mystery.
I don't suppose Apple will be selling any more iPads once they ship out the pre-orders to the Mac enthusiasts next Saturday, either? Shut the factories down, boys! Do you not think that comparing the pre-orders of the Wi-Fi version to the 3G version is a means of indicating roughly how well one will sell compared to the other in the following months? Would one argue that the 3G models' sales are inflated because only Apple enthusiasts opt for the most expensive models, and make pre-orders? No, no one would not.
Yes, home theatre enthusiasts are more likely to pre-order films, but you cannot extend that to mean that only home theatre enthusiasts pre-order films; Apple allows people to pre-order films on iTunes as well, and people who pay $20 for Apple's "HD" content are most certainly not home theatre enthusiasts. No, when they tally the Avatar disc sales after the first week it's been released they will not find that 50% of shoppers purchased the blu-ray version; I have no delusions that it would be the case. But 50% of pre-orders is a significant number, and is a positive indicator of blu-ray adoption. I have no idea how you came up with these "50% of 1% is .5%" nonsense; how you concluded that pre-orders only account for 1% of sales is beyond me. How you concluded that no further blu-ray discs would be sold beyond the pre-orders is even more of a mystery.
Who made what conclusion? I was just commenting on your ridiculous extrapolation of blu-ray mass market adaption rate based on pre-order purchasing pattern on Avatar. Also demonstrating logic of your own spin.... which proves ridiculous even to yourself.
I am sure apple has much educated and talented consultants providing more objective spin to the matter. Hence, the wait from apple implementing blu-ray. Perhaps, the decision is more political, but who knows.
Actually, MacOS is not a good platform for HTPC, yet. It will require time and available 3rd party applications support for playback and streaming(Netflix, Blockbuster, Vudu, amazon, etc.) some yet available even on winpc. Perhaps, some users may be happy with streaming only from iTunes and Netflix for now plus blu-ray support.
Who made what conclusion? I was just commenting on your ridiculous extrapolation of blu-ray mass market adaption rate based on pre-order purchasing pattern on Avatar. Also demonstrating logic of your own spin.... which proves ridiculous even to yourself.
Except, I wasn't trying to imply that Avatar pre-order figures directly equate to adoption rate; I was just trying to show that it seems blu-ray sales have "really taken off", which is what Apple claims they were waiting for. You know as well as I do that if 50% of a movie's pre-orders were from the iTunes store, people would be shouting from the rooftops that physical media is dead — long live digital distribution. I'm suggesting something far more modest here, and that is simply that Blu-Ray is doing well. Well enough, I think, for Apple to stop treating it like Betamax.
Instead, what it shows are the buying habits of a niche group. The vast preponderance of people who pre-order movies are likely to be avid movie watchers, people who put lots of time into their hobby. These are the same people who spend more than an average amount on their home theater experience, and have been quick to adopt blu-ray. The visual effects and genre of the film are also probably skewed to people who also prefer blu-ray.
Blu-ray sales are certainly climbing. Though that case is probably best made with stats other than pre-orders of Avatar.