Thank God WB aren't waiting for those monkeys at Channel 4.

It's got nothing to do with the HD formats. DVD is coming to/has come to the end of its boom. Most of the 'big name' titles have been released (Star Wars, Indy, Back to the Future, Matrix, Alien, even Blade Runner) and a large percentage of new releases are 'Special' or 'Extended' editions. Basically they are trying to get as much money out of people for new films because the demand for the old classics has declined. How many times can you sell people the same films?

Maybe you haven't noticed it in the States, but I've been adding UK news to this site for years and the prices have definitely been creeping up. It started slowly, with silly RRPs for the Matrix sequels etc, but now the price of most major new releases is artificially inflated (Hot Fuzz was, 300 is). Boxed sets are also sold as half seasons with RRPs that exceed entire seasons in the US. A lot of stuff that would have been £15.99 is now £17.99.

They really are trying to screw every last drop out of a flagging format when it comes to pricing. Normally things reduce in price over time, but new release DVDs of big titles are no more expensive than they were in 1999! £25 for a two-disc release? F**k off.