[dvd-discuss] RE:[DVD-Discuss] Anyone wan to read over a DMCA comment submission?]

[Ronald Austin <ronald(at)caprock-spur.com>]

Ken Arromdee wrote:


<start quote>

The 2000 rulemaking suggests that restriction of DVDs is not very harmful
partly because the works in question "are also readily available in analog
format", so that someone wishing to make a noninfringing use can use the
analog VHS version instead.  This may have been true in 2000, but the 
market
is changing.  Even a casual visit to a video store makes it obvious that 
VHS
is being phased out.  For more detail, I examined the first 15 DVD 
releases on
amazon.com for January 21 2003:

   101 Dalmations II
   2019: After the Fall of New York
   24 Hour Party People
   8 Women
   AV:X.09 - Happy2bhardcore - Old Skool
   Abbott & Costello Show Vol. 5 (and 6)
   Ablaze
   The Adventures of Huck Finn
   An Affair to Remember
   African Thrills/Couples of Boulogne
   Ahmad Jamal Live    Ai Yori Yoshi
   Albino Alligator
   All or Nothing
   All in the Family-Complete 2nd Season
The following are also available on VHS: 101 Dalmations II, 24 Hour Party
People, Abbott and Costello, Ablaze, Adventures of Huck Finn, An Affair to
Remember, Albino Alligator, All or Nothing.  (Scattered episodes of All 
in the
Family are available, but not the whole season).  So about half of new DVDs
have no VHS release--and even this understates the problem because 
several of
the above titles were released on VHS in the pre-DVD era and the makers 
might
not be willing to continue to produce VHS.  It may safely be said that this
trend will continue, and that in the future most DVD content won't be
available in VHS format.

<end quote>

You need to be careful here, the movies you don't see listed for sale on 
VHS are likely "Rental Releases" they are released at an inflated price 
for videostores to purchase to rent out. Often these will have a "retail 
price" of $100.00 ($50 to $80 wholesale depending on your "deal") or 
more. Lately the studios have been  lowering the price of rental VHS 
tapes because of DVD sales. A lot of VHS titles are now available for 
lower prices to stores when purchased in mulitples or thru a 
distributor. Most retail outlets will not get these titles because of 
the price and the fact that they will be available in 3 to 6 weeks after 
the rental window has expired. Generally if the studio thinks that they 
can make more money by selling the movie to the public at the magic $20 
price point they will, otherwise they will put it out for rental and 
sell a bunch of copies at $50 - $80 then 6 weeks later put it out sell 
thru at $20.

I for one don't think this will last long. VHS isn't going to be around 
for much longer and when it does die your statement will be a lot closer 
to the fact. For now * most* movies will be available on both VHS and 
DVD. The All in the Family TV series may well fall thru the "VHS crack". 
You could also put Anime in that catagory because most Anime 
distribitors are moving to DVD only because it's cheaper on them to only 
have one format and their customers tend to be early adopters anyway. My 
videostore is the same, I have already started informing my customers 
that VHS will soon go away and DVD will be the only format I purchase. I 
currentlly have more than 5000 VHS tapes that I will keep renting out, 
but not replace when they die. About 50% of my new releases I do not get 
on VHS, by the middle of 2003 that will be closer to 100%.

What you are talking about *will* happen. It just hasen't happened yet.


Hope this helps...

Ronald