Libraries' video offerings on the rise but little interest for Blu-ray

No surprise here. Public libraries are mostly funded by local taxes so HD media would be an expensive proposition at this time. My local public library didn't start stocking DVD's until about 5 or 6 years ago. Most of the A/V material is still on VHS tapes and cassettes.

I don't mean to sound elitist but people who have to borrow from public libraries in order to watch a movie will most likely:

1. Have no HDTV's or no plans to buy HDTV's.
2. Have no interest at all in high def so most likely have never even heard about BluRay.

Quote:

---

Although 80% of libraries surveyed said they expect to offer high definition discs in the future, only 5% indicated plans to make such a move within the next year.

---

Exactly. Let's see what the situation is 5 years from now.

Quote:

---

No surprise here. Public libraries are mostly funded by local taxes so HD media would be an expensive proposition at this time. My local public library didn't start stocking DVD's until about 5 or 6 years ago. Most of the A/V material is still on VHS tapes and cassettes.

I don't mean to sound elitist but people who have to borrow from public libraries in order to watch a movie will most likely:

1. Have no HDTV's or no plans to buy HDTV's.
2. Have no interest at all in high def so most likely have never even heard about BluRay.

Quote:

---

Although 80% of libraries surveyed said they expect to offer high definition discs in the future, only 5% indicated plans to make such a move within the next year.

---

Exactly. Let's see what the situation is 5 years from now.

---

That doesn't sound elitist at all. I do want to add to your comment though. I have a HDTV and I would never look to a library to watch an HD movie. 90% of the time, DVDs are jacked up. Scratches and gashes like someone had sand paper in their DVD player instead of a laser. I wouldn't take out a HD movie and subject my bluray player to a piece of garbage disc. And how much would it cost to replace the disc? Libraries have a policy of you break it you buy it. I know this first hand because my 3 year old crushed a Dora DVD. But DVD's are cheap enough to replace. Blu ray is still too expensive for anyone. And if the discs need to be replaced due to scratches, then the library foots the bill.

Even with technology changes over the past decade, the primary function of a library is still really a place to get books or study, and is geared more toward younger school age kids, and I really hope that doesn't change. Young adults in their late teens are saturated with media everywhere they go these days, and they are all hooked up to some form of communication with someone or entertainment 24/7. While it's important to have up-to-date technology in libraries that enhance research capabilities, HD media doesn't really add any value in my opinion.

5 years would be a good indication as to where HD is going. Why should a library invest in a technology that has only infiltrated a handful of homes?

Just my 2 cents.

in the uk librarys have stocked dvd's from the very beginning offering the latest titles as soon as they are available to purchase for a weekly rentel of £2 from my local library.

ppl as you say don't go to library to rent dvd's as a whole but ppl that actually still READ books do pick them up but as the title states there is absoultly no point as there is very little public interest in the format as for the average consumer it offers very little over current dvd except for an extortionate premium.

Tesco the UK's largest store does not even stock blu-ray's, which clearly shows the state of play for sony and co's anti-consumer DRM'ed kit.

Originally posted by nobrainer:

---

in the uk librarys have stocked dvd's from the very beginning offering the latest titles as soon as they are available to purchase for a weekly rentel of £2 from my local library.

---

Your local library charges you $4 to "rent" a DVD??? Who do they think they are? Blockbuster?

Public libraries in the US are different. Just show proof of residence and you can get a library card. You can check out 3 DVD titles at a time FOR FREE.

Originally posted by eatsushi:

---

Public libraries in the US are different. Just show proof of residence and you can get a library card. You can check out 3 DVD titles at a time FOR FREE.

---

My local library let's you check out 5 titles at a time for free.

Anyway I agree with you. I would say most local libraries are still phasing out their VHS and audiocassette collections and are slowly moving to DVD and audio CD's. BluRay is still a long way off and public libraries will be among the last outlets for these.

Originally posted by nobrainer:

---

Tesco the UK's largest store does not even stock blu-ray's, which clearly shows the state of play for sony and co's anti-consumer DRM'ed kit.

---

The situation here in my area (US midwest) is different. We have 2 Walmarts in our area (the largest retailer here). Both have started stocking the Magnavox/Funai NB500 for $299 and the Samsung 1500 for $348. I expect the prices on these to come down to $250 and $300 (or less) respectively by the holiday season. They have also expanded their choice of BD titles and they now have their own BD section numbering about 50 new and catalog releases. According to one store manager, the 40 and 80 Gig Ps3's have been selling as soon as they get them in stock (together with copies of GTA IV). Anecdotal but what the heck.

BTW, they had 2 Wii units in stock so I got one for curiosity's sake and a copy of Super Smash Bros Brawl.

Quote:

---

Your local library charges you $4 to "rent" a DVD??? Who do they think they are? Blockbuster?

---

yep they caharge me £2 per week where as the local video shop charge £4per night in my area. and i think blockbuster charges £4is per night also.

@ juankerr

tesco do not stock in store blu-ray players, movies or ps3's but they stock neally everything else, 360, ps2, psp, wii, ds, dvd, pc's, books, mobile phones, garden furnature, yada, yada , yada.

By the time this "offer" occurs (later than a year from now), the notion of movies on another format "less antiquated" than spinning discs will be on the table. I can't help but love the idea of walking into a store or visiting a kiosk and plugging in my 32GB flash and d/ling a movie.

Originally posted by rob0t3ch:

---

By the time this "offer" occurs (later than a year from now), the notion of movies on another format "less antiquated" than spinning discs will be on the table. I can't help but love the idea of walking into a store or visiting a kiosk and plugging in my 32GB flash and d/ling a movie.

---

Wrong thread.

You should reply here:

http://forums.afterdawn.com/thread_view.cfm/662980

Originally posted by nobrainer:

---

but as the title states there is absoultly no point as there is very little public interest in the format as for the average consumer it offers very little over current dvd except for an extortionate premium.

---

i do not believe that the title or article imply what you have concluded here. one could say it may be apparent that j6p has little knowledge about HD media so we see little interest but to say Blu-ray offers little over dvd is a bit farfetched. im sure once the next holiday season comes along we'll be bombarded with imformative pro Blu-ray ads and what not.

quick tidbit. when the county i lived in went through a budget crisis, one of the first things to go were the libraries. i personally don't think this article carries too much weight. spending LIMITED funds on HD media that is more costly than other mediums is a bit silly, not to mention the fact that Blu-ray is considered to be a viable option only to a MINORITY of residents/people.

if my local library stocked Blu-ray movies i would be in opposition. yes i own BR movies, but to waste funds on something the majority of citizens can't utilize is absurd. donations would be different, but the idea is a bit too early especially when looked at on a smale scale.

Quote:

---

Quote:

---

Your local library charges you $4 to "rent" a DVD??? Who do they think they are? Blockbuster?

---

yep they caharge me £2 per week where as the local video shop charge £4per night in my area. and i think blockbuster charges £4is per night also.

@ juankerr

tesco do not stock in store blu-ray players, movies or ps3's but they stock neally everything else, 360, ps2, psp, wii, ds, dvd, pc's, books, mobile phones, garden furnature, yada, yada , yada.

---

Doesn't sound like a very wise company at all.

Talk about not being consumer friendly. Nothing says anti-consumer more than not giving the consumer choices, which sounds like Tesco's play (given your above comments.) A company like that wouldn't last long in the US. Perhaps that's why their rollout in the US in a grocery/convenience format was marred by delays that has ultimately culminated into an abrupt halt.

Originally posted by rob0t3ch:

---

By the time this "offer" occurs (later than a year from now), the notion of movies on another format "less antiquated" than spinning discs will be on the table. I can't help but love the idea of walking into a store or visiting a kiosk and plugging in my 32GB flash and d/ling a movie.

---

i fully agree that solid state is the way forward as the mechanics of optical media always restricts performance, imho optical is very "stone age" in comparison to zip drives, ect.

@eatsushi- what's wrong with sounding elitist? :P

@nobrainer- let's get our terminology straight here folks:

Zip Drive - click here

Flash Drive - click here

well I have to say that my local library here in butmiddleofnowhere Indiana will be stocking blurays as from june and we can get 20 dvd's out at a time and they have new releases the same day as blockbuster so quite often I tend to be the first person to rent a movie out *only kids movies have bad scratches* so I have to say I am very happy with my local library they also have PS2 and xbox360 games.

I think the article is a bit misleading.
it states only 3% libraries stock bluray, making the point that libraries don't stock hd titles.
But only 33% of libraries stock dvds at all.
We can assume that the 3% that stock blurray also stock dvd.
So what this actually means is that 10% of libraries that loan movies stock bluray as well.
I'm not sure but i'll bet that bluray players aren't in 10% of households that have dvd players.
so in actual fact the libraries are early adopters compared to home owners.
Quite the opposite of what the article implies.

Originally posted by eatsushi:

---

No surprise here. Public libraries are mostly funded by local taxes so HD media would be an expensive proposition at this time. My local public library didn't start stocking DVD's until about 5 or 6 years ago. Most of the A/V material is still on VHS tapes and cassettes.

I don't mean to sound elitist but people who have to borrow from public libraries in order to watch a movie will most likely:

1. Have no HDTV's or no plans to buy HDTV's.
2. Have no interest at all in high def so most likely have never even heard about BluRay.

Quote:

---

Although 80% of libraries surveyed said they expect to offer high definition discs in the future, only 5% indicated plans to make such a move within the next year.

---

Exactly. Let's see what the situation is 5 years from now.

---

Here, Here !! 100% agreement eatsushi !!

@eatsushi

Quote:

---

I don't mean to sound elitist but people who have to borrow from public libraries in order to watch a movie will most likely:

1. Have no HDTV's or no plans to buy HDTV's.
2. Have no interest at all in high def so most likely have never even heard about BluRay.

---

I completely understand your point, however, I must disagree with you. I recently decided to check out my local library's collection of DVD's with the intent to "add" some of them to my collection on my HTPC. I don't "have" to borrow from the library as I make a decent living but I'm tired of paying full price to buy or rent horrible movies (In The Name Of The King!!). Not to mention, as a tax paying citizen it is my money that is helping to support this public service, why not take advantage of it? Libraries are not some social service only intended for the underprivileged. I have a complete home theater set-up with a blu-ray player, HD-DVD player, etc, unfortunately my local library does not stock BR yet. The more demand there is in the system for a particular title or service the more likely the libraries will be to provide it. When was the last time any of you were in a library? It had been many years for me until recently and I was pleasantly surprised by the offering of services. I would encourage anyone with access to a metropolitan library to stop by and visit, you may be quite impressed.

Quote:

---

Although 80% of libraries surveyed said they expect to offer high definition discs in the future,

---

So 80 percent of libraries surveyed showed interest in high-def. Doesn't this mean that the title of the news item is misleading?

How can you go from 80 percent interest to "little interest for BluRay?"

Quote:

---

Quote:

---

Although 80% of libraries surveyed said they expect to offer high definition discs in the future,

---

So 80 percent of libraries surveyed showed interest in high-def. Doesn't this mean that the title of the news item is misleading?

How can you go from 80 percent interest to "little interest for BluRay?"

---

Yeah,maybe it should have read "....little interest in bluray over the next year."

Originally posted by emugamer:

---

Yeah,maybe it should have read "....little interest in bluray over the next year."

---

The 80% interest is still there, but there may not be enough funding for the libraries to start stocking up on high def discs. So it could take several years for BluRay discs to start appearing.

Libraries offer dvds and video games because they want to make more people to go to the libraries. Yes, they might stock BDs in the near future, but i tend to agree with the post that people borrow movies from the libraries are the ones don't have BD players nor interested in HD stuffs. What kind of cheap ass want to borrow cracked, beat up BDs from the library? I don't even want those Sh*t*y dvds in my players (or in the house even). Do you know how scratched up those dvds are? No freaking way i'm gonna pop one in my BD player, no way, not even if the BD player is $50...

actually i agree with the census on this topic, that intellectual ppl wouldn't even know what HD is, as its only illiterate morons that watch movies and these ppl never visit library's because they are too dumb to be able to read at a level higher than peter and jane!!




here is the link if you want to order these fantastic novels.

http://www.theweeweb.co.uk/ladybird/key_words_reading_scheme.php

Heres a idea instead of shoving BD down our throats why don't they just gradually reduce the movies that are released on REG DVD just like they phased out VHS of coarse VHS was around longer.

Although this is very dumb I mean how many people are going too go out buy a machine that right now is where a REg dvd player was when it was first coming out, The price I mean.

Also go out and get the same movies over again.

I rather wait till theres a new format because this disc crap is out of date I will wait for VR Tech that will be here soon.

Although I may have too get a PS3 because I want to play GTA 4 and that has a BD player.

I on the other hand beging a person that makes DVD's will also want too get a BD recorder but I may not because I dought I will be able too get a BD disk as cheap as REG DVD are now anytime soon Blank media is 20 bucks a disk.

You also got to think many Libraries have only hd DVD for a few years and since DVD's are only what 10 years old this year.

Take my Library they have DVD's but someone donated 300 from there collection I guess they are replacing them.

The BD disk are made with a better coating but thinner layer and more prone to scratch damage.

My local library still have VHS and VCDs, shocking... so of course, there's no interest in BD!