Still not cheap enough, not by a long shot. Seriously, it's the content that matters, the extra resolution is just a (nice) bonus. Sure, I won't ever watch some shaky hand-held-camera captures of movies, but the difference between DVD and Blu-ray is not that humongous. Sure, I would pay extra, but how much extra? Considering I bought all the Fireflys (presents and own) for less than 15 euros, so 100% markup on extra resolution for the same content is just too much. Especially as the production costs really don't warrant it: Blu-ray production will be pretty damn close to DVD when (if) they reach the same sales.

And, the cost is not all of it... Give me Blu-ray without DRM and I might consider, as it is now I'll rather spend my money on other entertainment, comics etc. As long as they can't guarantee that their content plays on my computer and not just a dedicated player, I can guarantee that they won't see my money.

Ah well, sorry about ranting. If somebody buys, good for them. I do see the reasons to. And maybe further sales could help bringing out Serenity II, one can always hope.

Eerikki | June 09, 09:05 CET

Thank you for letting us know about this great sale! It's what I was hoping for! I snapped it up!

I understand there are little extras thrown in on the Blu-ray versions of Firefly and Serenity, which is a treat, so I bought them both. And I am very happy to buy them to show support for Nathan and crew!

Thanks again!

Kcat | June 09, 10:10 CET

@Eerikki - I think there are two points here you're forgetting: 1. There are additional extras on the Blu-Ray not found on the standard edition. 2. Firefly was actually shot in High Definition, so the Blu-Ray is going to look substantially better than something that was transferred from basic video (Tape) or film (El Mariachi). I don't know what the forty dollar price tag translates to in euros, but in the states, that's pretty good for 14 episodes of a series presented in its original, uncompressed format. If I could afford this right now (I can't), I'd definitely grab it, even though I already own Firefly (on regular DVD) and don't even have a Blu-Ray player! :)

kungfubear | June 09, 10:37 CET

Yes, I don't mean to say that the image quality wouldn't be better, because obviously it is. Although, as you mentioned, some older movies and especially series' do not benefit, but the ones that do, really do. Still, I'm not convinced it's worth the 100% markup (15 euros is roughly 20 usd). Especially as I believe the special effects weren't optimized for the hd (I vaguely remember something like this, might have been another series though).

Regardless, I do think the $40 is too much, albeit it is indeed cheaper than many. But, because a 20 year old movie in Blu-ray now costs 30 euros (45usd), dropping it to 20 doesn't make it cheap. Naturally, it's all relative, and the point about extras is valid, but to me the price is not there yet. I'm sure the novelty runs out soon, and then the prices will drop, until that I'm happy not buying any new media.

Though I have to say, unless they manage to improve the distribution infrastructure to even half as easy-to-use and intuitive as , I might keep on not buying stuff. I used to buy alot of the good movies / series' I already watched, but now I've encountered one too many "You wouldn't steal a car" -ad and one too many "drm drm, you can't play this with your computer dvd player". Thanks but no thanks, I'm willing to pay for the content, but if I can't pay and be without the nags about being criminal, I'll just borrow my stuff from the internets, thankyoucomeagain.

(Yes, there are two points, prices and drm. Both need improving, though discount DVD:s are currently at the price-point where the only issue really is the DRM.)

Eerikki | June 09, 11:08 CET

Huh. Your DVDs have DRM restrictions on them? Or, are you talking about specific Region DVDs, like not being able to play a US disc on a UK-made player, for example? If that is the case, there are free, perfectly legit programs that allow you to play any and all DVDs on your computer, no matter where they come from. Alternatively (at least in the US), many DVD drives are region free already.

I think you're right about the visual effects issues with the DVDs. Since the VFX were rendered on video, Fox wouldn't pony up the dough to have the footage upped to HD (I think they would've had to actually go back and redo the CGI or something, which would be expensive and cost labor). Although, I've heard from most that the upconversion (to DVD quality) on these shots are not too jarring from everything else, but your mileage may vary.

I get what you're saying with those numbers. Thanks for putting it into context for me. It's similar to when I was in a Sam Goody (music and DVD store) at a mall and saw Wonderfalls for 50 dollars, but I was able to order it online for 20. I, too am growing tired of the anti-theft ads. For one thing, who are these annoying ads for?

The people who do download torrents (which I don't personally consider stealing, but that's a rant for another time) or buy/outright steal bootlegged DVDs are not suddenly going to change their ways after seeing this ad, even multiple times. They'll keep on keepin' on, as they say. And the ones who don't do all that, well these ads don't apply to them anyway. They're just taking up space on the DVDs that could be used to help strengthen the image, even just by a little, and God help you if you can't skip past them! :)

kungfubear | June 09, 11:35 CET

I lucked out. Our local electronics store had a large Boxing Day sale, last year, and I was able to pick up the set for around $15 - $20. Should've bought more.

Knuckleball | June 09, 12:10 CET

I bought it prior to now during a sale and it's utterly gorgeous. A note on HD - things shot on film generally transfer well, things shot on video are less likely to see major improvement. It's not the 'when' so much as the 'what' it was shot, on. I'm with you on irritation at RCE/region-coding/region-locking, at least BD has fewer regions to contend with than DVD. Things like "this operation is not allowed" are irritating as all get out as well. Of course the "you wouldn't steal a car" ads don't make it to the pirated copies and would likely be removed by anyone ripping for personal fair-use use at home, depending how they roll :).

zeitgeist | June 09, 13:37 CET

Finally! I've been waiting for Amazon to do a special on the Firefly Blu-ray ever since it came out and they also have a good deal on the Serenity Blu-ray (43% off), so I got both.

By the way Firefly is currently the Number 2 selling Blu-ray on Amazon and Serenity is Number 12. Can they get to Number 1 and 2?

Zoic_Fan | June 09, 15:29 CET

Just ordered my copy, been waiting for a great deal like this one! Yay.

Wyndam_ | June 09, 16:53 CET

Yay, I've been waiting for this!

Mal'sGal | June 09, 17:19 CET

Yay! Thanks for the heads up! I've been waiting for this to go down to $39.99 or lower for a while now. I just couldn't justify the absurdly high price before. I agree that $39.99 is still too expensive, but it's something I can stomach. Now if only they'd drop the Twin Peaks set to $39.99. Then we'd really be in business. :)

mikejer | June 09, 17:22 CET

thanks for this, been waiting for it to drop on bluray (someone stole my firefly on regular dvd).

I don't see how anyone could say 40 bucks is to much. I hear this alot with TV shows on bluray. How much are bluray movies? 15-25 bucks? People pay that for a 2 hour movie, TV sets give you way more bang for your buck and are more rewatchable IMO.

seermagicx | June 09, 18:20 CET

Firefly is still Number 2 on Blu-ray and Serenity has moved up to Number 7!

Zoic_Fan | June 09, 18:27 CET

Firefly reached #1!

On Nathan Fillion's MySpace page, Lemia, the random princess, said:

"Jun 10 2009 10:32 AM At amazon.com: Firefly on Blu-Ray is #1 in Television and #2 in Blu-Ray, in new releases and pre-sales. It'll be in stock June 13th. Serenity is #6 in Blu-Ray new releases and pre-sales. So, even in these tight economic times, the Browncoats are showin' the love! Shiny Day All! xx -L"

Go Browncoats!!!

Kcat

[ edited by Kcat on 2009-06-10 20:11 ]

Kcat | June 10, 20:09 CET