Why Does it Cost $300 to Buy Avatar on 3D Blu-ray? [Rant]

Who’s buying 3DTVs and 3D Blu-ray players? People that watched 3D movies in theaters, then wish to re-live the experience at home. So why are the end movies, like Avatar and Coraline only available as bundles with hardware? What’s the deal?

It’s an issue of greed. Home theater 3D remains to be a crawling infant, meaning many of the population still should buy hardware. But what’s the differentiating factor between Samsung’s 3D set and Panasonic’s, or maybe Sony’s, in the event you’re a Costco shopper? How can normal people tell the adaptation between any Blu-ray player that’s not the PlayStation 3? It’s often impossible, that’s why companies’ ads don’t depend upon specs or saying their version does 3D better.

But what they may be hoping on instantaneously is taking movies hostage so that you can force people’s hands. Don’t believe me? Check this out.

Avatar, probably the most wanted 3D movie of all time, is simply available in a $300 ” starter bundle ” from Panasonic that comes with two rechargeable 3D glasses. Tips on how to Train Your Dragon is in a ” starter kit ” from Samsung for $280, which contains two 3D active shutter glasses. What happens when you already have one form of TV and just want the opposite form of movie? Seems like you get two pair of glasses so that you can’t use to your set.

There’s also Shrek and Monsters vs. Aliens , which your kids will ask you for, because they’re kids, and they need to look their movies in 3D. Because they’re kids. Kids who don’t know the price of $300.

So what once you go on eBay and check out to get some scalped Avatar action? Oh hello, I’m out $150 for a $30 movie. Thanks jerks!

It gets worse. Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs and Coraline are only available if you purchase a Panasonic 3DTV. A TeeVee! And Bolt, which I’m sure is an exceptional dog movie inside the realm of dog movies, is barely gettable with Sony TVs. Same with Michael Jackson’s It really is It.

Retailers are also moving into on the exclusivity. My Bloody Valentine and The Last Airbender are Best Buy exclusives, whereas Amazon has some IMAX movies locked down. This, obviously, is far less of a giant deal, because Best Buy’s movies work just fine on any player.

The good news is that a majority of these appear timed exclusives. Alice in Wonderland was a similar $300ish dollars in the event you bought the pack, but is now available for separate purchase . And there are various less desirable (apparently?) titles like Resident Evil, The Polar Express, Step Up 3D and Cloudy With a possibility of Meatballs that the manufacturers didn’t think would entice anybody to spend $300 on.

Point being, manufacturers seem to have their heads up each other’s asses on this one. If you need people to get on board your 3D train, don’t make content for it so hard to get! Imagine the scenario where you’ll want to only watch NBC’s 3D channel once you had a Samsung TV, then had to get a separate set entirely for ABC’s 3D content. Who’s going to throw down a couple thousand dollars for that scheme?

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This post is tagged: blu-ray player, blu-ray players, movies in theaters, Playstation 3, shutter glasses