Include a BluRay player with the wedding package?
 

Do any of you guys do this?

I don't, but am thinking I probably should, as an option anyway.

Re: Include a BluRay player with the wedding package?
 

Hi Adrian

Brides are not technical and all they really want is clear footage with the dress the right colour and memories of the day. We tend to get way too technical and if they really want it in HD why not give them a media player which is a lot cheaper, but only as an option... ! With photos you can open an album and show your friends ...Video must be as easy so that's why most will appreciate the DVD option ..they can also take it to Grandma's place and watch it too.

IMHO I would simply offer the clips on a thumbdrive (progressive of course) so she can take it to her mates and watch on a laptop . I have yet to find a bride who is prepared to fiddle around with a new player just to watch her wedding!!!

Of course if they ask, then zap in a cheap BD player but cover your costs too!!

Chris

Re: Include a BluRay player with the wedding package?
 

A usb stick, yes, BR player, no. Why? A stick fits in their inside pocket and they can play their film by plugging it into their pc/laptop or any mobile device with a usb connection, even tv's can play HD content directly from a stick these days. They also can easily copy the content for backup. I"ve seen dvd cases that have the possibility to add a dvd and a usb stick so that's another advantage when supplying it to your client. A BR player will just collect dust.

Re: Include a BluRay player with the wedding package?
 

I always include a Blu-Ray (disc, not player) in every package. They know it's coming. The few couples who don't own blu-ray players invariably do by the time they receive their video :)

Re: Include a BluRay player with the wedding package?
 

Including the Bluray player is an excellent idea that I did with my last wedding. You can purchase them cheap. I don't see the value on putting the wedding on a USB stick. The files can easily become corrupted and even deleted. Copying the content can easily degrade the quality of your wedding. Stick with Bluray. The Bluray blanks are of a higher quality than DVD blanks.

Re: Include a BluRay player with the wedding package?
 

Greg - I hear you, but isn't cheaper just to include the free blu-ray disc and have *them* buy the player (if they don't own one?)

Re: Include a BluRay player with the wedding package?
 

You can pick up a Bluray Player for about $40 and when you include one in your wedding proposal it helps you to stick out from the competition. I decided a year ago I am not downgrading to DVD quality anymore.

Re: Include a BluRay player with the wedding package?
 

Hi Greg

In Australia the BD Players never really caught on..and I have yet to find a bride that owns one!! The problem is that what are you going to do when the bride wants to show her parents and more importantly her grandparents her wedding and they have a CRT TV and a DVD player ..Do they disconnect the BD player and then lug their own TV and player (old TV's don't have HDMI ) to Grandma's house????

I still think it's important to make watching your wedding simple so I also will always provide DVD's and then USB so the bride can watch the wedding with the girls on her laptop.

Brides also have little or no interest in technology!! As long as your footage is in focus and the bridesmaids pink dresses are not red or orange, that's all they are looking for ...they are interested in content only and they are not really concerned with media. I did a survey on a National wedding forum and the brides that replied said "I cannot tell the difference" or "my hubby might know something about that but I don't" and "what is HD anyway?"

Give them a copy of the wedding they can run on their iPad or iPhone and they will be over the moon !! but a BD player and disk will be maybe used once and then not again!! Women would consider that a candidate for the "too hard basket"

Chris

Re: Include a BluRay player with the wedding package?
 

Since when does a file degrade in quality if you copy it? If you transcode it into another format, yes, but a plain 1 on 1 copy?

I think supplying a Blu-ray player with every wedding only helps the couple you are giving it to, most of their family will still have a dvd player so there is no benefit in that. Only supplying Blu-ray disks is even further limiting, again for the same reason, no blu-ray player, no playback. A usb stick otoh has a much higher playback possibility. Many devices these day's can playback the content from such a stick so here there is a much larger possibility they can just plug it into the tv at their family and friends and playback.

Another thing to consider when supplying a BR disk when the couple has no BR player, what if 5 years from now they buy a br player and your disk doesn't play on it? All the requests I had for a BR disk the couples had a player so I get quick feedback if it plays. I have had issues with "LTH" Blu-ray disks that caused playback issues.

When supplying a Blu-ray player basically it means you are responsible for it during it's warranty period, if it doesn't work you have to send it back to the manufacturer and get it sorted, the same applies for a usb stick but sending costs will be much cheaper. Then you have the couples that don't understand how it works and call you for support, that I don't see happening with a usb stick.

I would think the way you film and edit the wedding will separate you from the competition, not the hardware you supply with it, people do like "freebies" but the smart ones will figure out it's included in the price anyway. :)

A lot of the couples I meet these days have Ipad or Iphone like devices that can playback media, that's the same then being able to carry photo's with you and show whoever you see, that's the kind of mobility people love, just take out their smartphone and playback the trailer of their wedding.

Re: Include a BluRay player with the wedding package?
 

Hi Noa

Spot on there!! In fact I advertised a big "special" where I offered a Media Player complete with HDMI cable and the bridal video pre-loaded on a USB drive and not one single bride ever wanted the option even though it was FREE!!! Too much info and too much technicality for them ..all they want is a wedding video they can watch and have memories..In fact you could probably shoot it in SD and they would still be happy!! A well shot and edited SD video has way more value than a badly shot wedding on BluRay disk and a free BD player.

It's all about content and presentation, they really couldn't care whether it's on a BluRay, RedRay or GreenRay...it's all mumbo jumbo to them as is HD, SD and all the rest!!

As an example my wife watches TV and it's an older 4:3 program and then it switches to a 16:9 in Full HD and she never bats an eyelid ...When I ask if she notices the quality difference and difference aspect ratios I get told "Quiet, I'm watching the story" ...That summed it up rather neatly for me!!

Chris

Re: Include a BluRay player with the wedding package?
 

I think the best way to find out is to do a survey like you did to find out what the brides want (we have to face it it's usually the bride that wants a movie) instead of supplying them what we think is the best option. That actually got me thinking as we do have a big wedding forum in Belgium and it might be a good idea to prepare a survey list and ask the owners if they can publish this, I think we will be very surprised about the outcome.

Re: Include a BluRay player with the wedding package?
 

How many people have bluray players probably varies by region or city, at least I suspect this is true. In Columbus, Ohio, 100 miles north of us here in Cincinnati, fewer people I knew owned Bluray. Can't explain it, it's weird.

About 75% of my brides own Bluray players. The rest buy them when I tell them I'm giving them a free Bluray disc of their wedding.

Re: Include a BluRay player with the wedding package?
 

Exactly the case here in Boston. More and more of my clients *only* order blu-ray discs. And at least 75% of them (bride/groom) already have a player. And the other 25% have a player by the time they own their free disc :)

Re: Include a BluRay player with the wedding package?
 

A lot of the younger grooms play video games, ie Sony Playstation. The playstation can play back blu ray as well as hd files from a thumbdrive. Ask them if they have a Playstation, chances are they might.

Re: Include a BluRay player with the wedding package?
 

We always deliver on Blu-ray & if they don't have a Blu-ray player then I tell the groom that now he will be able to get permission to buy a PS3:-)

Re: Include a BluRay player with the wedding package?
 

Maybe its just the market here in Washington, but ALL my clients request it on Bluray. My packages automatically come with both, that way they can keep the hi def version for themselves, and then mail the dvd versions to mom/dad, gram/gramps who probably dont even know what bluray is!

Re: Include a BluRay player with the wedding package?
 

for those doing usb stick...i'm thinking about trying this...

a couple of questions?

what format to deliver? guessing h.264
what size of usb you use? 8gb, 16gb? more or less?
how long is the movie? 30min, 45min, 1hr?
i guess you include the highlight too, right?
do you format the usb pen drive? FAT32 only accepts max 4gb, right?


thank you.

Re: Include a BluRay player with the wedding package?
 

By the way, I'm sure you guys are aware, but there seem to be a lot of companies that make custom-designed USB drives. A quick Google search for "wedding USB stick" led me to:

-- http://blog.davidrobinfilms.com/2011...-are-numbered/
-- 8 Charming Wedding Flash Drives | Let Me See Your Package
-- Wedding Gift Usb Memory Stick,Buy Quality Wedding Gift Usb Memory Stick from Manufacturers and Suppliers on Alibaba.com
-- Novelty and Customised USB Sticks for Weddings | Memories in a Flash | Wedding Memories

Seems to be the case that couples give them to guests as souvenirs. (Potential business opportunity here? If you shoot a pre-wedding video for the couple, offer to sell them customised copies on USB sticks to give to guests?)

Re: Include a BluRay player with the wedding package?
 

Hi Adrian

Did you find any local ones where you can just buy half a dozen or so "generic" "Our Wedding" drives??

I found plenty of local suppliers but they want a minium order of 50 USB drives so you are outlaying nearly $1K for drives that would last me nearly 3 years!!! I'd like to be able to buy wedding drives as and when I need them rather than have custom ones made up and they just sit in a box tying up your funds that could be better used elsewhere!

Osmany?? I do mine as a 1280x720 video file in MP4 format so it will play on most computers (and some TV's too) brides are most likely to show girlfriends on their laptops!

Chris

Re: Include a BluRay player with the wedding package?
 

I showed clients Bluray first. Then at the end show them the same wedding on DVD. Then they can decide if they want to pay additional to get BluRay disc. You can always send them links at amazon to buy BD player for $60. I won't include them in my package.

Re: Include a BluRay player with the wedding package?
 

Chris I found the same as you that to get personalised branded drives does involve an outlay for about £500s worth. What I did was to get regular ones with very small branding on the side and make a print template to fit the side. I then printed with not only my brand but the names as well and stuck it over the manufacturers logo. As the drive doesn't go into the computer there's no chance of the label causing a problem. Printed on thin glossy paper it looks very good. I used light weight photo paper and printed all of the upcoming jobs on one sheet then cut them off the sheet as needed. At around £15-20 a drive it's a more economically efficient way with no redundant drives at the end of the year as you can buy just the number and sizes of drives that you need.

Re: Include a BluRay player with the wedding package?
 

Osmany?? I do mine as a 1280x720 video file in MP4 format so it will play on most computers (and some TV's too) brides are most likely to show girlfriends on their laptops!

Chris[/quote]


Hi Chris.

thanks for your answer.

what size of pen drive do you use? is it formatted on FAT32 or something else? I believe FAT 32 wouldnt allow to transfer file bigger than 4gb...what do you do?

i will add pen drives to my delivery...but have to figure it out.

Thanks

Re: Include a BluRay player with the wedding package?
 

Hi Osmany

The drives are standard FAT32 but I rarely go anywhere near the 4GB limit ...When I do weddings I do them in "clips" Each clip is basically an event with a title and it fades to black at the end (and the title starts black too) so they play seamlessly together as one video but give the viewer's brain a chance to 'reset' so they don't get bored. On the DVD they just play as per the menu and on the USB the bride can select which clips she wants to show her friends (Let's face it, no friend REALLY wants to watch the whole wedding) so clips are easier to work with, edit with and show with!

Chris