The new skinny on DVD
Multi-disc packages slim down; high-def starts in smaller size
By Susanne Ault -- Video Business, 2/17/2006
FEB. 17 | With the looming introduction of two new high-definition disc formats threatening to create a space crisis on retailers’—and consumers’—already crowded shelves, several suppliers are slimming down their disc packaging.
Warner Home Video and A&E are launching multi-disc DVD sets this year that are 30% to 50% smaller than the studios’ original box-set packaging. Meanwhile, Koch distributed-label Passport Video claims to have shaved roughly 70% off the size of its box sets.
“If there’s a demand for a new category, like high-def, we’ll absolutely make room for it,” Virgin buyer Chris Anstey said. “But although our stores can accommodate a huge array of DVD product, we have to recognize that people’s homes usually cannot. This is why it is crucial for distributors to be more conservative with the size of their DVD.”
Packaging companies such as AGI and Nexpak are offering studios a slew of options to squeeze more discs into a DVD set.
An increasingly popular flipping tray is one solution offered by both companies, under the respective brands Digistack and Versapak. Discs snap onto thin, individual plastic pieces that consumers turn as they would pages of a book.
Buena Vista Home Entertainment’s Grey’s Anatomy, Passport’s The Andy Griffith Show Collection and Warner/HBO Video’s The Wire all use tray mechanisms.
“It’s great news for distributors, because titles take up less space in warehouses, and they save on freight [costs], and retailers are able to get more out of their shelf space,” Passport president Herb Dorfman said. “Our cost of goods savings are letting us release titles at $20 SRP that would have been $29.99 before.”
This month, Nexpak launched a multiple-disc tray improvement that fits 10 discs into a case just 1¼ inch wide. Since August, the company has offered a three- to six-disc package that is 1 inch wide.
Nexpak also introduced a Triple-Amaray product in February. This fits three discs onto trays and is the same size as a standard Amaray case.
Starting with its Lucy & Desi Collection on May 9, Warner is re-configuring all of its catalog box sets with super slim Amarays.
“We want to be friendlier for retail placement,” Baker said. “Many of our [upcoming] box sets contain five, six, seven or eight films. Having a slimmer box will make a big difference with retail and storage at home.”
A&E Home Video recently kick-started an initiative to whittle down its TV box sets. The supplier is integrating Nexpak’s ThinPak system—in which discs are folded into the casing like a fan—to halve the packaging size for such titles as Horatio Hornblower and Upstairs, Downstairs.
“Obviously, there are shelf space constraints at retail and at people’s homes,” A&E VP sales and marketing Kate Winn said. “That is a big part of our upgrade initiative, to take some great evergreen franchises” and knock down the box dimensions.
Although details are still being hammered out, high-def titles are shaping up to be tinier than their standard DVD counterparts.
It’s estimated that packages for both HD DVD and Blu-ray single-disc titles will be 11mm thick apiece, down from standard DVD’s approximately 15mm package.
“There’s a desire to max the number of units that can be racked at retail, and there’s a desire to have a clear difference between traditional DVD and HD DVD and Blu-ray,” said Richard Roth, AGI’s executive VP sales and marketing. “I think also from a design perspective, the coolest things these days are light and small.”
Retail seems to be largely embracing the new disc size for high-def.
“Smaller doesn’t pose as many problems as bigger would,” National Entertainment Buying Group president Todd Zaganiacz added. “It’s going to be very important to distinguish between the formats.”
