DVD vs VHS manufacture price?

[John Doe]

I've heard that DVD movies are cheaper to make than VHS movies. Is this really the case?

[Sunset Girl]

I've wondered that too, especially when I recall the comparisons between audio cassettes and CDs. CDs are cheaper to make, but people are willing to pay more for them because of the quality.

But DVDs often have a lot more material, so it makes you wonder how much more they have to spend in designing the menus, doing the digital transfer, and all the extra goodies. But I imagine the actual cost of physically producing them is cheaper than VHS. Luckily, there usually isn't much of a price difference for the consumers, except for the occasional bells-and-whistles type special edition. Thank goodness the price is not comparable to LD!

But I don't know the actual price comparisons between the two, and my curiosity is burning. . . does anyone out there know?

[Noukon]

DVDs cost about half as much to produce, package, and ship as VHS tapes. The reason they cost more is, as you mentioned, the money that goes into mastering them. This is the same reason a video game distributed on a DVD disc costs $50... they have to compensate for the production of the content itself, not just the physical medium that they use to distribute it to consumers.