dvdcopycat.com

Blu-ray Duplication is finally catching on for some of our clients.  The costs for Blu-ray(BD) Duplication has come down very dramatically over the last year which has sparked renewed interest and orders in 2010.  We were paying $14 for a quality Blank BD Disc from TDK at this time last year.  Our blank prices now are near $6.  that is a dramatic reductions.  Some of the lower quality suppliers are closer to $3 per blank, so we are really getting into the affordable range for many of our cutting edge clients who want high def delivery.

Blu-ray player costs have dropped very rapidly also, which is helping to further instigate adoption.

The last real roadblock in making BD more mainstream is the authoring software out there.  So many platforms are still “glitchy” when it comes to outputting your final high def content out to master.  Hopefully as the market adopts, more software developers will add resources into making their platforms more robust.

We have accepted both BD master and hard drives with the BDMV files on them.  We do prefer the BD (blu-ray) master to the hard drive, though, as we have to up-charge for the transfer to the first master disc.

If you need more info for your next Blu-ray Duplication project, just give us a holler at 1-866-210-8768 or email me at brian@dvdcopycat.com.  We will be more than willing to help.

If you are looking for standard DVD,  just jump over to our national DVD site posted here.

DVD Duplication

This has been a very interesting year so far for DVD Copycat. In Jan of 09, we saw one of the worst months we have ever had. This seemed to be an industry wide experience as clients unsure of the economic downturn had a wait and see approach for new budgets in 09. After that things picked up to a reasonable level as the Industry Giants started promoting very agressive price reductions. Our current challenge has been how to continue our high level of service while going through the pains of shrinking margins. We are steadfastly commited to the quality of our DVD and CD Duplication and Replication products and even more commited to maintaining our level of customer service. Personalized service is just words these days in marketing campaigns. Our goal is to be able to provide a level of service that makes a genuine positive impact on our client base. Over the second quarter of 09 DVD Copycat has seen some good growth which I believe is a good indicator that service and attention is still valued, even in this economy.
Our pledge to our customer base is to alway preserve our standards of quality to make a positive impact on their projects while trying to stay within reasonable industry norms for pricing on DVD, CD and Blu-ray Replication and Duplication.

For More Information take a look at our website here optical disc manufacturing.
Or give us a call at 1-866-210-8768

Up until this point in time , Blu-ray manufacturing costs have been cost prohibitive for most smaller Video and Film Professionals.  Just one year ago if one of our clients wanted to publish 1000 retail ready blu-ray discs the rough costs would be approximately $2500 for the mandatory AACS encryption and about $5.50 per unit retail ready.   As the Blu-ray market develops we are seeing manufacturing costs becoming more reasonable and closer to being available to smaller Video and Film creatives.

Currently we are seeing AACS costs at a one time fee of $1500 and a cost of approximately $3.00 per unit for 1000 retail ready Blu-ray units.  Overall compared to last year this is about a 50% reduction in cost to our clients.

In contrast to this are standard definition DVDs which have no mandatory encryption fees and are approximately $1.29 per unit for 1000 retail ready DVDs.

So Blu-ray Replication is about $4.50 per unit for the first 1000 units and $3.00 after that per 1000.

DVD Replication conversly is still much more affordable at $1.29 per unit, but the general cost trends are coming down for Blu-ray Replication.

As Eric Manning pointed out to me in a previous post about the mandatory AACS fee, the Blu-ray Association has required all manufacturers to pay a mandatory AACS fee for every new title produced.  If the Blu-ray Association were to consider an AACS waiver for small producers it would open the flood gate for small producers to go Blu-ray (BD).  This is the only way that I can see Blu-ray Replication truly replacing DVD as a mainstream video medium for ALL video and film producers, not just the big studios.

However, I do feel that we are headed in the right direction. Costs are coming down and the 5% of our clients that can afford Blu-ray Replication can now realize their Hi-def vision.

More information about our Blu-ray Duplication and Replication can be found here.

If you have questions about standard def, Video Disc Manufacturing and DVD Duplication and Replication, contact us at 1-866-210-8768.

Ask for Amy or Brian

So you thought Blu-ray burning was easy?

Below is a Brief Intro Video about Blu-ray and pro-sumer systems for authoring and burning BD-Rs(blu-ray discs).  This reminds me a lot of DVD in its start-up phase.  It was very difficult to find systems and software that are reliable.  The best way to get past the Blu-ray blues is to realize that developing BD discs is going to be challenging and most video professionals will have to work as a community to “debug” this industry.  At some point things will shake out and we should have some good pro-sumer systems for delivering hi-def video on Blu-ray discs.

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Below are some links to forums and help pages that discuss and debug High Definition Video and Blu-ray(BD) burning and duplication.  I belong to many of these forums and post regularly.  I hope this will help you in your quest to put out a great high definition project on Blu-ray Disc.

One of my favorites that is very thorough is Videohelp.com the have many good topics http://forum.videohelp.com/

VideoMaker.com has a good hi-def forum

http://videomaker.com/community/forums/forum/high-definition

Blu-ray.com has a good forum on Blu-ray burning, pc, drives media and sofware

http://forum.blu-ray.com/forumdisplay.php?f=35

Digital Video Forums has a Blu-ray Forum

http://forum.digital-digest.com/forumdisplay.php?f=104

If you need duplications of your project look at our services on Blu-ray(BD) Duplicaton Serices

Or you can always contact me directly at 415-929-1581 for questions on Blu-ray Duplication

After CES this week the consensus from the Blu-ray bullish have continued to confirm adoption of this new Video Technology.
Despite the sagging economy, some in the industry are predicting a six fold increase in sales of Blu-ray(BD) discs and players.

I personally think that despite the online downloading potential in the coming years for Hi-def video, the general population likes to have something new and “gadgety” and fun to that they can possess. Blu-ray discs are seem to have a place in this gadget seeking behavior.

As more of the general population understand the benefits that Blu-ray offers, I believe the BD nay sayers will be surprised with the overall popularity and adoption of this new Video Format.

DVD Copycat
www.dvdcopycat.com
CD, DVD and Blu-ray(BD) Duplication

To all of DVD Copycat’s business associates!

During a time of financial difficultly, I am humbled to say that DVD Copycat Inc. has done very well this year. We continue to grow aggressively and I can’t emphasize enough my most sincere thank-you to all of our customers and suppliers that have made this year a success. Between our customers, suppliers, and DVD copycat we form more than just a business mechanism, but a community of Business Professionals, Film, Video and Music individuals. It is this community that brings us to work everyday. To help promote and provide for great CD, DVD and Blu-ray(BD) projects.
Thanks very much for our 2008. I look forward to 2009!
Brian Fisher

DVD Copycat Inc.
Services for DVD Duplication & Replication

Well it seems like there has been very little good news on the economic front these days. I personally have many friends and colleagues that are feeling the direct impact of this economic downturn.
With pocketbooks shrinking, it makes it even more difficult for the average consumer to go out and buy that new blu-ray player. Even though I have been seeing specials for Blu-ray Disc (BD) player under $200 dollars, I will be curious to see how many consumers have the extra money to buck up for the latest and greatest in Hi-def video.
I personally like Blu-ray. We have a player in our home and I enjoy the better picture, and just as importantly ,I get a bit of a personal rush when I know its the newest thing for Video. When our Netflix comes in the mail and it has a blu-ray disc in it, it is a bit more fun.
That being said, I believe this Christmas Season will be very tell-tale for the future of Blu-ray Disc.

Video and Film professionals who wish to shoot and publish their projects in Hi-Def have, to this point, been frustrated with the prohibitive costs associated with manufacturing a Blu-ray Disc.

Say an average filmmaker or video professional wants to make 1000 copies of their film and put it on Blu-ray(BD) Disc.   Unlike DVD, they will have to pay a mandatory up front AACS licensing fee.  Going rate is about $1500 to $2000 plus an ongoing royalty.

After paying this mandatory licensing fee, it will cost approximately $3.5 per unit to manufacture a Blu-ray package that is ready for distribution and sale.

For a typical standard definition DVD, there is no mandatory licensing fee for encryption and the cost would be approximately $1.49 per unit to manufacture.

Comparing these costs, a filmmaker  will have to pay an extra 266% over the cost of a standard DVD to publish on Blu-ray Disc.  Almost every client I have spoken to about these costs has declined to go Blu-ray.

As economies of scale take effect, the costs to manufacture Blu-ray Discs will likely come down and eventually be similar to DVD costs.  However, the real barrier to smaller companies adopting hi-def is the mandatory AACS licensing fee imposed by AACS Licensing Administrator, LLC.  This additional $1500-$2000 (plus per piece royalty), will likely be too expensive for most, and is just one more barrier to widespread adoption of Blu-ray Disc technology.

My hopes are that AACS Licensing Administrator, LLC. drops the mandatory licensing fee for smaller Blu-ray Disc orders.  If they do not, I suspect that an entire market of filmmakers and video professionals will be choosing DVD over Blu-ray Disc for the distribution of their projects.

For more information on Blu-ray Disc Duplication and Replication you can contact us directly:

Brian G Fisher

DVD Copycat

745 Fillmore, #101

San Francisco, CA 94117

www.dvdcopycat.com

415-929-1581

Well there is some promising news for Blu-ray Duplication (BD-R Duplication).  In late 2007 When the first burnable Blu-ray discs came out blank disc costs were quite high.  For most industry professionals, releasing a small project in Hi-def on Blu-ray discs was completely cost prohibitive.  For quality printable surface BD-R discs the average cost to our client was around $60.  Over the course of the last year there has been dramatic drops in the cost of burnable Blu-ray discs.  We have seen cost come down for our top quality discs by 40%.

This is good news to the filmmaker or video professional who is shooting in Hi-def.   If the current trend continues Blu-ray Duplication for smaller runs of discs (5-500 discs) should come within a much more cost effective price range.

IF the current trend continues, we hope to see 2009 as the first year where an order of, say 50 Blu-ray discs, is financially justifiable for the high end projects, and anticipate widespread adoption in 2010.

At DVD Copycat, we are very encouraged by these cost reductions and continue to provide Blu-ray Duplication for a wide range of Hi-def video projects.

For more information regarding Blu-ray Duplication contact us at: www.dvdcopycat.com

or call toll free at 1-866-210-8768

local 415-929-1581