DVD MOVIES REELING IN RENTERS NEW DIGITAL VIDEO DISC TECHNOLOGY SLOWLY CATCHING ON
Jeff Richgels The Capital Times
12/19/97
The Capital Times
All
Page 1C
(Copyright (c) Madison Newspapers, Inc. 1997)
When John Radtke and Pete Ansay bought the Video Max store at 6642 Mineral Point Rd. about a month ago, they inherited about 2,000 movies on laser discs, so it seemed a natural move for them to add movies on the latest technology -- DVD (digital video disc) -- at the store.
"It was just a common sense move," says Radtke, who with Ansay had bought the Video Max at 5268 Williamsburg Way a couple of years ago. "We already had an audience captivated by high technology."
For non-techheads, DVD uses digital technology to provide incredible video and audio compared with VCR tapes. DVD and laser discs provide similar digital quality, but DVDs can carry more -- full director's cuts of movies, multiple formats, extras such as bios about actors, even multiple endings to the same movie.
Some proponents predict that DVD players will bury VCRs in the same way compact disc players obliterated record players in the past decade.
But DVD is still in its infancy and, for now, Video Max apparently is the only local outlet renting movies on DVD .
Those other outlets likely will get a push from the increasing numbers of consumers buying DVD players.
"The more machines that are out there, the more it's worth it for the rental places to stock the movies," says Mark Leitermann, American's video marketing manager.
And vice versa, of course. "I think more rentals will help the overall hardware sales," Leitermann says.
Sales have been stronger than expected for DVD players at American, Leitermann says.
American has about 10 models of DVD players ranging from $399 to $1,000. The chain has sold more than a thousand players since it began selling them last March. American also has more than 130 DVD movies for sale priced from $9 to $24, compared with $14 to $19 for movies on VHS.
"We're having a great fourth quarter with them -- surprisingly good, as a matter of fact," he says. "I think there's a much better understanding out there by consumers, so that when they're looking at a movie machine, the VHS isn't always the option. There's been a lot of publicity (about DVD ) and people are asking, 'What's that movie on that disc thing?' "
For now, though, Madison area DVD owners will have to head to Video Max on Mineral Point Road to rent a movie on DVD .
Neither Movie Gallery nor Video Station is carrying movies on DVD yet.
"It's just a little too early for us," said Steve Wempner of Video Station. "We've got to wait until the market is established."
Planet Video isn't yet carrying movies on DVD here, but it has been experimenting with the format in three of its Milwaukee area stores for the past month. One is in a high-income area, another a middle-income area and the third a low-income area. Each store has about 50 titles on DVD , all renting for the same price as the same title on VHS to allow easy gauging of the results. (Craig Wyse, director of product management for the 32-store chain, says DVD and VHS prices will be very close once the test period passes.)
The results have been mixed, Wyse says.
"In every store everybody is interested," he says. "Customers are asking questions. But in the higher-income store, where they do a lot of laser disc business, the rentals are three and four times what they are in the other two stores."
Those results bode well for Madison, where laser disc rentals already do well in many areas, Wyse says.
"Madison is a market that does very well with the laser discs, so if I were to pick more stores to put on DVD today, it would be Madison," he says. "It may not be too long at all -- I'm thinking sometime in the second or third quarter (of 1998)."
Video Max has nearly 100 movies on DVD at its Mineral Point Road store and is adding new titles at a rate of 20 to 30 per week.
"They're very easy to get ahold of," Radtke says. "The bigger studios are day in and day out putting new titles on DVD . All the new hits are now put on DVD ."
In part due to the industry's DVD push, Radtke says he is paying only $10 to $30 for a DVD copy of a movie vs. $70 to $100 for a VHS copy.
Video Max charges the same for both types: $3.50 for a two-day rental of a first-run movie.
DVD rentals have averaged about 10 to 15 per day, compared with 30 to 60 per day for VHS rentals.
"DVDs are doing mighty impressive compared with what we thought they were going to do, to be honest with you," Radtke says.
There has been no typical DVD renter, Radtke says.
"It's been all kinds of people," he says, "not just higher-income folks. What we're finding is that the average person is giving it a shot. It's anyone who loves movies."
Video Max hasn't yet put DVDs at Williamsburg Way, where laser discs didn't work too well.
"But," says Radtke, "I have had people (at the Williamsburg Way store) asking me for DVD and we'll probably be moving that way after Christmas."
DAVID SANDELL/THE CAPITAL TIMES Peter Ansay, co-owner of Video Max, shows off the store's collection of DVDs. Video Max is the first video store in Madison to stock DVDs to rent, but others are expected to follow soon.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Copyright c 1997 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved. |
