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Marketing 101 – HD DVD
Keeping Customers Happy and Making Money!
Smart Marketing the HD DVD
The white flag
So Toshiba threw up the white flag almost a month ago to Sony's Blu-Ray DVD format stating that it was no longer worth marketing since Sony had paid the production companies money to exclusively back Blu-Ray. This really is sad news since Microsoft was supposedly on the side of HD and would have been able to help the DVD Consortium toss money back at them in support of HD. As far as I can tell, Microsoft remained silent as the external drive for the XBox 360 became obsolete….good thing it was just a add-on. The built in player in the Sony PS3 no doubt had a significant impact, such as the non-removable inclusion of Internet Explorer in Windows 98. "It's part of the operating system." was the typical response from Microsoft and the ultimate demise of the once more popular Netscape Browser.
Where next?
I decided to take my ideas to Toshiba and sent an email to customer support. I basically said to not give up, make customers happy by pushing for
the creation of "Combo disks" to replace all standard dvd releases.
For those unaware, these are dual sided disks with the "standard" DVD on one side and the "HD DVD" on the other.
Since we are all going to go to HD some day, though there are still players out there, I don't think any movies are being actively released on VHS, instead of making "VHS"
and "DVD" as in the past, just create Combo and Blu-Ray DVDs. Everyone is
happy, including the millions that have HD-DVD hardware…but I am guessing Sony would NOT since all of those "standard" DVD consumers would suddenly have HD-DVDs at no additional cost over the
initial purchase and can simply buy an HD-DVD player and likey not even consider
Blu-Ray as an option. I wonder if I could talk to someone at Toshiba about this? I
cannot believe that is was not considered and implemented. From past
media changes, one would think this be the best for everyone…no retailer
will get stuck with a bunch of old "VHS" movies in their warehouse, nor
would companies even have to decide when to discontinue standard DVD.
When that does happen, create a "Total HD" DVD, conceived, yet never developed by Warner Brothers, with one side Blu-Ray and the
other HD-DVD. I dunno, I think I really should be in Marketing. LOL. I
could push my baked goods too.
For now…
I am happy that it takes a while to manufacture disks….I am glad that
the new release HD DVDs were not just tossed since Toshiba's
announcement and will continue to buy HD DVDs for new releases. I of course will tend to buy "Combo" disks which should have been the deciding factor in the Hi Def DVD fight, but never seemed to come up, in the event my player breaks and there are no more available. For the first time in my life I feel to be on the "Laser Disk" side of digital media. Can you buy players any more?
Is it worth it (part 1)?
Store Pickup?
With so much available on the Internet today, I rarely buy from a retail store unless there is a great deal to be had. In order to be sure I get the item before going to the store I will place my order online, check store availability and pick up the items if possible. Sounds easy right?
January Pickup 1 @ Best Buy D.C.
I mentioned that I just got an HD-DVD player..so I need HD movies! I placed an order for 3 movies because a buy 2 get 1 free offer was in effect at Best Buy. I placed the order and in the morning get the confirmation messages that my order is ready for pickup. Great! I had verified that the items were in stock and now they are being held for me behind the counter at customerr service.
On my way from volunteering to Word Market, my part-time job, I stopped to pick up my order. I get to customer service and am assisted right away! Great start. Oh, the employee did not know how to do a store pickup and every one else was busy…hmm…10 minutes later it seemed he comes back with 2 of the 3 movies. After checking for the other one and not finding it, I decided to go to the shelf myself since I did not want to wait for someone to get it, brought it back and my order was delivered to me. Before I left the customer service desk, I asked…since I had noticed on a previous pickup that there was a "1 minute pickup or $10 off." pickup policy in effect. I was told that that policy was no longer in effect. Too bad.
Since I was here and had a few minutes left before needing to get back on the Metro, I decided to ask the specialists in the HD TV area why some DVDs appear to by "static-y." The mentioned that my tv was fine and that unless th DVD was shot in HD, it would exist. No biggie, I just back up from the TV and it is not as noticible. Mind you, this is the reason why I had waited to buy an HD TV and HD DVD player…looking close, I was not impressed by the quality which was usually dismissed as being the fault of the split cable signal used in the store.
Anyway..back on track…they were like, the dvds you have in your hand will be upconverted to near HD quality. I am thinking…why would that happen, they are HD DVDs? Wrong…the 2 that were at the counter were regular DVDs! UGH! They not only forgot to pick the entire large 3 item order, they picked the wrong format. I should give them a little credit..they got the right titles! So..since I paid for them…I went over and swapped out the 2 incorrect ones for the HD ones which were thankfully available for purchase.
On the way out the door..I decided to let the "inventory control specialist…the yellow shirt door staff" know that my movies will likely set the inventory sensor off…I don't know why I did…he wanted me to go to customer service. I should have not said a thing..I was just pissed off at that point and wanted someone to know.
I read my confirmation messages when I got home and noticed that the 1 minute guarantee was still in effect….perhaps this is a permanent thing? I called customer service and explained my situation and was given $10 credit…well a coupon that has still not come yet. Giving them a little time to comply.
January Pickup 2 @ Best Buy D.C.
Okay…SeaQuest DSV Season 2 finally arrives to DVD! Bestbuy is $10 less than retail and is the best price out there. I will fast track this one…..Get to the store after getting the "Order Ready" email message….and hmm….item could not be found? What is up? I go to the shelf and bring it back to her and she had still not found it. She gave me $10 off instantly. She said it was picked…but it was no where to be found.
Summary
I use store pickup just to be sure the item I want is in stock to not waste a trip so I will likely still use it, but man, what a headache…..I am wondering if I should just pick them up when I get to the store before going over to the pickup counter?
Mind you….I have NEVER had a problem with store pickup and I have probably used it 50 times…so I am still going to give it a try 🙂
Movie List Updated
HD Invades Jason's Movie List
While waiting for a friend at Best Buy at 4:30 AM for one of those great $399 laptop deals, I had plenty of time to look at the Best Buy ad. Being an tech geek that I am, that is always a bad thing. I picked up a Toshiba A30 1080p HD Player and a few HD DVDs. I ultimately went with this format because Sony has in the past failed in releases of technology…Beta being an example, and the existance of "Combo DVDs." These disks have the standard movie on one side and HD on the other making it possible for those without an HD Player to view the movies I have. While not every disk is a dual format disk, no Blueray disks are.
If you volunteer or work with me, visit my movie page and drop me a message and borrow some disks
My Movie List