Samsung promotes Blu-ray movie rentals to push Blu-ray players

MANILA, Philippines - In this age of movie downloads, Samsung’s introduction of a movie rental service to encourage sales of its Blu-ray players seems one step back into the past to enjoy the present.

But that’s exactly what BluPass is, a promo exclusive to Samsung customers who, just like in the old days, can again rent movies, now in the latest Blu-ray format.

Because of the high-cost of Blu-ray titles (averaging) at P1,500 a copy, not all consumers who bought high-definition flat panel TVs also buy Blu-ray players to watch and enjoy high-definition content.

To remedy this situation, Samsung thought of BluPass, which will give its customers a chance to rent any regular or 3D Blu-ray movie for six months free or for a longer period for a minimum fee.

Beginning today, until the end of the year, customers who purchase a Samsung Blu-ray player or Samsung flat panel TV (LED, LCD, and plasma TV) that comes with a Blu-ray player package, will automatically receive a Samsung BluPass card. They can then register their purchase and BluPass card online to avail themselves of the service.

Once registered, customers can access their BluBox and choose at least 10 titles. The BluPass program has an automatic allocation depending on priority and availability of the titles.

The Samsung BluPass rental is unlimited, provided the card is still valid and the delivery location is within Metro Manila or the nearby provinces (such as Bulacan, Cavite, Laguna, Pampanga, and Rizal).

For both the virtual and physical delivery of BluPass service, Samsung tapped TradePort E-Solutions Inc., a four-year-old e-mall provider, to oversee the back-end and actual delivery of Blu-ray movie copies to Samsung customers nationwide.

According to Jon Sherwin de la Cruz, marketing manager of TradePort, they have multiple copies of 500 different Blu-ray content available in their library beginning this month and would be adding more as the service grows.

“Torrents are not for everyone... they could take a long time to download and storage could be an issue,” said De la Cruz. “With BluPass, Samsung customers get a free ticket to unlimited Blu-ray movies which our messengers would deliver to their homes.”

TradePort guarantees at least next-day delivery at no extra cost for orders received before a certain cut-off time the previous day and that are destined within Metro Manila.

Each customer can rent only one Blu-ray movie at a time. De la Cruz said BluPass rentals impose no due dates or late fines, and their messengers will also be the ones to pick up the movies when the customers are ready to return them and borrow something else.

“We will manage the orders and deliveries online. Customer can specify what they want to borrow first, depending on what’s available, and where they want it delivered,” said De la Cruz.

When the first six-month free period is over, customers can opt to buy a BluPass subscription for another six months to one year. The subscriptions are available for P1,990 (silver) for six months, and for P2,990 (gold) and P3,990 (platinum) for one year.

The most affordable Samsung Blu-ray player that comes with a BluPass is now priced at P6,990. Samsung officials say six out of 10 people who buy Samsung flat panel TV also buy an accompanying Blu-ray DVD player. With BluPass, they hope to also win the remaining four buyers.