GoPro Slashes 15% of Workforce, Shuts Down Entertainment Division (variety.com)

GoPro has announced that it will lay off more than 200 employees and freeze hiring, amounting to a reduction of about 15% of its workforce. As part of the restructuring, the company is also shutting down its entertainment division. In addition, the company said president Tony Bates will be leaving the company. From a report on Variety: Also Wednesday, GoPro also said Black Friday camera unit sales were up more than 35% year-over-year at leading U.S. retailers. GoPro said its Hero5 Black camera has been the best-selling digital-imaging device in the U.S. since it launched Oct. 2, citing NPD Group data. GoPro shares climbed more than 4% in premarket trading Wednesday on the news. The move appears to spell the end of the struggling company's ambitions to branch out beyond device sales into the entertainment biz, which had included plans to produce original shows. The GoPro entertainment unit has been led by Ocean MacAdams, who previously held programming posts at MTV, Warner Music Group, and the Madison Square Garden Co., after Zander Lurie left in January to become CEO of SurveyMonkey. The division at one point had about 200 staffers, including Bill McCullough, who produced award-winning sports documentaries for HBO, and Joe Lynch, who previously led Time Inc.'s live-streaming initiatives.

Comments

Possible solution

[WormholeFiend]

Sell GoPros to the low-blood-in-the-brain pot smokers from the previous article, who will make crazier videos and in turn promote the GoPro brand? /be a hero

Re:Possible solution

[Anonymous Coward]

Better solution: Sell GoPros full stop.

I think they did two things right: they built a good camera, and they advertised/marketed it very well. The rest was trying to branch out into markets that are already crowded with established players.

Re: Possible solution

[Anonymous Coward]

What is gopro? Never used or seen it. Why is it pro? How is that different from dslr canon?

Re: Possible solution

[Anonymous Coward]

I could buy a GoPro, but right now my son is at home, crying all alone on the bedroom floor cause he's hungry. And the only way to feed him is to sleep with a man for a little bit of money. And his dad is gone, away smoking pot now, in and out of lockdown, I ain't got a job now!

So for you, buying GoPros is just a good time, but for me this is what I call life, mmm!

Re: Possible solution

[Desler]

Go back to bed, gramps.

Re: Possible solution

[Nunya666]

GoPro is an overly-priced digital video recorder. What made it become a successful product is that it includes a waterproof acrylic case that is designed to hold the camera, along with multiple gadgets that let you mount the case to just about anything. Using a GoPro, you can get 1st-person video of outdoor sports activities, without worrying about getting your camera wet.

The problem is the price. $400 (or more) for a sport camera is a bit pricey for many people, including me. Although some models are cheaper than that, most are too much $$$.

I have a GearPro that I bought for less than half the price of a GoPro, and mine works great. It is mounted to my bicycle helmet that I wear while commuting to work on my bike. The video quality is amazing.

Re: Possible solution

[Anonymous Coward]

You make videos of your commute to work??

Re: Possible solution

[Anonymous Coward]

This is what's wrong with millennials.

Re: Possible solution

[Bigbutt]

Hell yea. I do the same for my motorcycle trips to work and back and general running around. Some dill-hole pulling in front of you or running you down can do a he-said/she-said unless you have video proof.

[John]

Re: Possible solution

[Bigbutt]

I got my Silver as a Peer Award from work or I wouldn't have purchased one. Same with the 42" TV. Too bad they killed those awards. Next year I was hunting for a car :D

[John]

Re: Possible solution

[Anonymous Coward]

Hell yea. I do the same for my motorcycle trips to work and back and general running around. Some dill-hole pulling in front of you or running you down can do a he-said/she-said unless you have video proof.

[John]

Oh so you're this guy.

Re: Possible solution

[Anonymous Coward]

Gopro is overrated. These days you can substitute with a cheaper iphone 7 camera.

Re: Possible solution

[Anonymous Coward]

GoPro is an overly-priced digital video recorder. What made it become a successful product is that it includes a waterproof acrylic case that is designed to hold the camera, along with multiple gadgets that let you mount the case to just about anything.

And is rugged enough to survive falling from the sky when it gets knocked off of a skydivers helmet at several thousand feet in the air. That ruggedness is what makes them so popular with adventuring types.

Re: Possible solution

[Oswald McWeany]

I get a $25 gift card to BiLo each year.

Re:Possible solution

[Big Hairy Ian]

15% ProGo

Re: Possible solution

[AmiMoJo]

The price might have been sustainable if equally good or even better models from other manufacturers didn't cost a fraction as much. The reality is that such cameras are practically commodity items now. Billions of cheap phones with 1080p cameras have made the sensors and optics extremely cheap.

They remind me a lot of TomTom. When sat nav was relatively new TomTom units were expensive but worth it. Now even a basic unit is adequate, but not as good as the phone you already own, and indeed the TomTom app is pretty cheap. Yet there they are, still selling dedicated sat nav units for ridiculous money, because some people are loyal to the brand.

Re: Possible solution

[oldcarsmell]

The cheap non-wifi Hero remake is just fine and is all the waterproof camera I ever need. The biggest hangup for me is the extremely inflated accessory cost. For the price of the official "spare parts" bag, I got instead from Amazon a cheap chinese knockoff set with a suction cup, chest mount, head mount, helmet mount, tether, extenders, clips, and more miscellaneous bits. They really need to find what lower price point still works for them without going bankrupt for all of their products if they want to try to recover this holiday season.

Re: Possible solution

[Anonymous Coward]

GearPro is how you pronounce GoPro in Hull, UK

Re: Possible solution

[fbobraga]

+1 informative

Re: Possible solution

[serviscope_minor]

Now even a basic unit is adequate, but not as good as the phone you already own, and indeed the TomTom app is pretty cheap.

I've not used a TomTom in years, but my memory was it sucked much less than my phone. I think they have much better GPS antennas, and possibly more power hungry but better gps chips.

Re: Possible solution

[Anonymous Coward]

i was on my bicycle and hit by a car when they made a right hand turn right on top of me last summer and purchased a knock-off go pro for the same reason..

Re: Possible solution

[ColdWetDog]

The point here is that commodity products, even with significant functional downsides will beat more expensive specialty products most of the time.

Yes, TomToms have a better GPS chip and antenna. But the smart phone works pretty well. Yes, GoPros can survive reentry from orbit but if you're just skateboarding you don't need that sort of build quality.

GoPro lost it's niche and then was unable to push the technology (4K, 5K video, decent battery). Wild expansion into everybody else's niche probably sounded great in the Board Room. In engineering, not so much. Remember, also, that GoPro relied on commodity electronics for it's core. The video and support chips were off the shelf Chinese. Available to anyone else with some cash (or credit or VC funding).

Nothing to see here, move along.

Re: Possible solution

[Nunya666]

This is what's wrong with millennials.

Fuck you and your ignorant assumptions.

I'm 50, and the only reason I make videos of my commute to work is to have video evidence when some a-hole is paying more attention to their phone than to the road. The 2nd day of using the GearPro, someone almost ran into me because they ran a stop sign. Unfortunately, I was still learning how to mount the device so it gets good video, and my video of the incident only showed the road in front of me because the camera was pointed too far down.

Re: Possible solution

[Anonymous Coward]

Unless that GoPro has a homing beacon, good luck finding it after you drop it from several thousand feet.

Re: Possible solution

[Anonymous Coward]

It's not that rare for cyclists and motorcyclists to make videos of their trips for liability reasons. Both vehicles are frequently not seen by inattentive drivers, and drivers will honestly believe that a cyclist or motorcyclist has come out of nowhere before a collision.

Re: Possible solution

[Anonymous Coward]

The 2nd day of using the GearPro, I almost ran into someone because I wasn't paying attention to the road because I was fiddling with my camera like a moron.

Fixed that for you.

Re: Possible solution

[Anonymous Coward]

As an American who was on the team that designed the video chip, in Austin, TX, used in t least one GoPro camera I assure you they are not "off-the-shelf" Chinese. GoPro requested specific features which we implemented. Yes, the chip is now available commercially (GoPro didn't want to pay for an exclusive) but it is designed in America and sold by an American company (but the foundry is in Taiwan).

Re: Possible solution

[Anonymous Coward]

I get a $25 gift card to BiLo each year.

I get to temporarily display a plastic "crystal" award, which then journeys on the the next person. HR says it's an "Exciting new incentive program!"

Re: Possible solution

[ShanghaiBill]

You make videos of your commute to work??

I do. I use a $39 dashcam that I bought on Amazon. If I am in an accident, and it is the other driver's fault, I will have a record of exactly what happened. If it is my fault, I can quickly detach the camera from my windshield and hide it in the glove compartment.

Re: Possible solution

[Anonymous Coward]

They remind me a lot of TomTom. When sat nav was relatively new TomTom units were expensive but worth it. Now even a basic unit is adequate, but not as good as the phone you already own, and indeed the TomTom app is pretty cheap.

There's still an advantage to a dedicated TomTom - not using cellular data all the way, through roaming areas, etc.

Re: Possible solution

[I4ko]

Those are very helpful with insurance companies when someone crashes into you.

Re: Possible solution

[thegarbz]

GoPro is an overly-priced digital video recorder. What made it become a successful product is that it includes a waterproof acrylic case

No what made it a successful product was that when it launched it was entirely in a niche with no other cameras in such a small form factor with such a high quality.

The problem is the wider industry has caught up. Even only 2 generations ago the Hero 3 was leaps and bounds ahead of the competition in terms of image quality and capabilities. But unfortunately for them that too has eroded.

Re: Possible solution

[mandark1967]

The 2nd day of using the GearPro, I almost ran into someone because I wasn't paying attention to the road because I was fiddling with my camera like a moron.

Fixed that for you.

The 2nd day of posting on /. I spelled, "Go", incorrectly because I was more concerned with posting as AC than looking at my fucking keyboard. Moron.

Fixed that for you.

Re: Possible solution

[mandark1967]

You make videos of your commute to work??

I do. I use a $39 dashcam that I bought on Amazon. If I am in an accident, and it is the other driver's fault, I will have a record of exactly what happened. If it is my fault, I can quickly detach the camera from my windshield and hide it in the glove compartment.

I do. I use a $39 dashcam that I bought on Amazon. If I am in an accident, and it is the other driver's fault, I will have a record of exactly what happened. If it is my fault, I can quickly detach the camera from my windshield and throw it into the other person's car so they get the ticket.

FIFY

Re: Possible solution

[Anonymous Coward]

and there it is .... "It is mounted to my bicycle helmet that I wear while commuting to work on my bike" ....

Nothing beats /. crazy.

Re: Possible solution

[Anonymous Coward]

It's not just the young snowflakes allot of the older "Boomer" snowflakes stick large camera's on helmets as well and can't understand why so many people laugh at them.

Re: Possible solution

[Solandri]

The price was fine when GoPro was first starting out. Shooting underwater video (or even video where the camera might get wet, like kayaking) meant buying a video camera with a housing costing upwards of a thousand dollars.

GoPro took advantage of technological advancements shrinking the size of a quality video camera to something the size of a webcam, ditching videotape in favor of flash cards. That reduced the size of the waterproof housing needed, allowing them to make the whole thing for a few hundred bucks. That was a lot cheaper than anything else with that capability on the market at the time.

Their problem is that technological advancement has not stopped. Now other companies can make the same stuff they do for less than $100.

Re:Possible solution

[mikeiver1]

Problem with them is simple. They chose to use a DCMA take down on a valid review of one of their cameras that was not the glowing and fawning review they desired. So in the end they will never get a purchase from me. If on the other hand they had acted like adults and taken the reviewers noted issues into account rather than acting like little assholes they would have been far better off in my eyes. More to the point, had they tried to address them in the next iteration of the product or firmware update rather than covering them up, I might actually own one now. Fuck GoPro, burn in hell. There are plenty of other great action cameras out there that deserve our support rather than these tools!

Re: Possible solution

[Anonymous Coward]

just attach it to your dog before jumping, here boy

Re: Possible solution

[Anonymous Coward]

Your post makes no sense.

Maybe you were being too quick to post your FTFY and forgot to actually read the thread?

Re: Possible solution

[mattack2]

I admittedly don't have a huge sample size, but just based on a couple of examples, entering addresses in standalone GPS units always seemed way more difficult than on a phone..

e.g. you can't enter 1234 Whichever Road, Wherever City

you have to enter each specific thing individually, with a bad touch keyboard, possibly in a different order on different brands' devices.

I know they often made/make the same kind of complaints about in car nav on the CNET On Cars video podcasts.

Re: Possible solution

[Toshito]

Great Idea.

I had a motorcycle accident in 2013, and since I was recording all my commuting I had a video proof. Insurence guy saw the video, and found the car driver at fault (it was very clear).

And rightly so

[GameboyRMH]

GoPro equipment is madly expensive. You can buy a knockoff such as an SJCAM with similar capabilities for a small fraction of the price. If you buy GoPro, you're paying out the ass for the name.

I got one as a gift, back when "action cameras" were a new thing and I was still rigging up conventional digital cameras, and it failed for no apparent reason a couple years ago (my best guess is maybe heat from the sun killed it, although it didn't have any telltale LCD rainbowing). I already had a lot of gen1 GoPro accessories so I bought one used to replace it, but next time I have to replace or upgrade I'm going to go with a knockoff.

Re:And rightly so

[110010001000]

What knockoff is equivalent to the Hero5 Black? There are so many knockoffs it is hard to tell which are good and which are not.

Re:And rightly so

[SirMasterboy]

Problem is the knockoffs don't seem to match GoPro in my experiences.

SJCAM's newest SJ6 Legend can only do 60Hz at 1080p, 30fps at 2560x1440 and for the 4K mode it says 24Hz but then also says (Interpolated) which probably means it's something more like 15Hz and being motion interpolated to a higher output rate like a TV can interpolate a 24 or 30Hz signal to 120Hz.

A GoPro can do 240Hz 720p, 120Hz 1080p, 60Hz at 2704x1524 (2.7K) and true 30Hz at 4K.

An action cam at least for me should be able to do high framerates since action is best captured at higher framerates and slow motion is also really helpful for filming fast action.

I've tried all sorts of action cameras but I've yet to see one which can match the Go Pro's image quality, speed, and accessory support.

Re:And rightly so

[GameboyRMH]

The knockoffs always lag behind in features, if you want those bleeding-edge features you'll have to shell out the big bucks. Modern action cams are all ridiculously overpowered for non-professional use anyway IMO. I still record my videos in 720p.

The SJCAM 5000X Elite is the closest to the Hero5 Black - SJCAM's cameras seem to be pretty reliable, some friends have had good luck with them, and that's what I'll probably go to next (they use the same mounts as a GoPro so I won't have to change those). If it breaks, I can buy at least 2 replacements before I get close to the cost of a single top-of-the-line GoPro.

Re:And rightly so

[GameboyRMH]

My image quality requirements are admittedly not very high, my 1st-gen GoPro is still doing everything I need in that area. The features I'd like and don't have are things like remote computer control and live streaming, running on external power and maybe H.265 support.

Re:And rightly so

[Grishnakh]

The problem here is: how many people really care about having those high-end specs, and are willing to pay $$$$ for them? Sure, if you're a professional skier or whatever, you'll want the Rolls-Royce of action cameras, but if you're just a weekend warrior who wants to record his bike ride, a knockoff for a fraction of the price is going to be all you really want or need. It sounds like this company massively overestimated their potential customer base and expanded too much, and are now finding out that high-end equipment with high-end prices can't be sold to average consumers. There's a reason you don't see Rolls-Royce and Ferrari dealerships at every motor mile.

Re:And rightly so

[SirMasterboy]

Well GoPro does sell a $199 model. Perhaps they need a $99 model as well?

Why can't they be like Canon, or Nikon, or Sony, etc. These companies sell cheap point and shoot cameras to the average masses, but they still continuously research and make new full-frame DSLR models as well for those who want quality.

I downhill ski, water ski, scuba dive, hike, mountain bike, etc and I love going back and editing my videos later and I find the high frame rate and super clear 4K recordings I get from my GoPro let me have a lot more creative freedom in my video editing. $399 for the top model is not exactly breaking the bank like a full-frame pro DSLR either which are thousands once you talk about lenses.

Re:And rightly so

[houghi]

The defacto standard for YouTube is 1080 and 4K is right around the corner and that is where most weekend warriors will post whatever they film.

The thing that they should not have done is expand into areas they are not good in. What they do is sports cameras. They build the entire sports camera industry all by themselves, or as good as.

The GoPro 5 is a new standard wqhere there is no housing anymore. This is a HUGE step in the right direction.
And people are buying a new camera and still be able to use the old one, getting multiple angles.

Filming in 4K while you only need HD has different advantages as well.

Soon it will be so that if you have a 720P movie, nobody will watch it, except you mom, but she is proud of you, no matter what.
There are plenty of people still out there that want to see that high quality. I am one of them and I watch a LOT of non-professional videos. (And what people SHOULD learn is to edit and get sound right)

Re:And rightly so

[drinkypoo]

Well GoPro does sell a $199 model. Perhaps they need a $99 model as well?

You got it in one. In the little square form factor, with 1080p60 as the maximum recording quality, and with video passthru for FPV. One camera to rule all other cheap cameras. They'd outsell hotcakes ten to one.

Re:And rightly so

[fbobraga]

Soon it will be so that if you have a 720P movie, nobody will watch it

very high resolutions on tiny screens: utter nonsense! Fucking millennials!

Re:And rightly so

[avandesande]

1080 doesn't play very well on my VIC-20

Re:And rightly so

[Anonymous Coward]

You should get a new video card.

Re:And rightly so

[Anonymous Coward]

Well GoPro does sell a $199 model. Perhaps they need a $99 model as well?

The Hero is listing at $130 on Amazon.

Re:And rightly so

[thegarbz]

GoPro equipment is madly expensive.

Yes quality costs money. Show us a current camera with side by side comparison of similar video quality and features for a lower price. You can argue that people don't need 4k video at 60fps but that's changing the argument to suit your conclusion.

my best guess is maybe heat from the sun killed it

That's actually interesting since my GoPro has survived several heat related events which I thought would kill it. The worst of which was an starved fire training exercise where you sit in a shipping container and start a large fire on one side. When the air runs out the smoke off the fire has unburnt combustibles and when it gets hot enough this itself can catch fire. The corner of the gopro's case melted and there's lots of black smoke bits permanently embedded in the GoPro's housing which I stupidly mounted above my head instead of on my chest, but it survived to my own amazement and to the amazement of the trainer who said he ruined his knockoff doing the same trick.

But yes, nothing is indestructible. I guess I got lucky with mine.

Re:And rightly so

[mandark1967]

GoPro equipment is madly expensive. (snip)

Mine was more like "Mildly annoyed". Or maybe, "A bit put off"

Re:And rightly so

[drinkypoo]

The Hero is listing at $130 on Amazon.

I don't want a Hero, I want a smaller and lighter cam. If I thought it would work worth a piss I'd use a BitEye (even though it only has 1080p30) but the reviews are quite uneven, and I'd like something with some accessory support. I'm willing to make a gimbal body for the BitEye, but I just don't think it's worth the effort.

A $100 camera with one lens setting and no high speed recording in the body of gopro's smaller $200 camera would be ideal, but it has to have the CVBS passthrough that camera is missing to be useful. By the same token, Panasonic might be able to sell some of their crappy $100 cameras if they had included CVBS out on the uSD cable, but they didn't. Those cameras have extremely poor bitrate, so they aren't really up to the task of doing 1080p.

GoPros are big and heavy and unaerodynamic. They're well-supported and they have high speed modes I don't need. I want well-supported and without things I don't need.

Re:And rightly so

[scatbomb]

Yes, which is precisely why they wanted to expand *out* of the hardware business. I guess they're giving up, and it's probably not a good sign.

Re:And rightly so

[Anonymous Coward]

We don't need another Hero

Re:And rightly so

[PCM2]

Sure, if you're a professional skier or whatever, you'll want the Rolls-Royce of action cameras, but if you're just a weekend warrior who wants to record his bike ride, a knockoff for a fraction of the price is going to be all you really want or need.

A weekend warrior who spent $3,500 on a carbon fiber bicycle or set of skis might be convinced otherwise.

Good

[MeNeXT]

Now if they just change the terms of service that the license that the user grants to GoPro is just for their site and that any content uploaded by the user will not be used anywhere else without the express written permission from the user, would give them a perpetual low cost advertising medium.

Most people producing video have the occasional lucky shot that attracts attention but the people who take the time to edit and tell a story are not likely to post it on a site where the terms of service allows them to monetize the video any way and anywhere they choose.

Hipster flash in the pan

[Anonymous Coward]

Every overpaid hipster now has one, nobody's buying any more GoPros.

Almost....

[Cytotoxic]

GoPro said its Hero5 Black camera has been the best-selling digital-imaging device in the U.S. since it launched Oct. 2,

Well, except for the iPhone.

And the Samsung Galaxy line...

And probably the Pixel.

But if we exclude multi-function imaging devices....

Re:Almost....

[dunkelfalke]

Phones are not imaging devices and their cameras suck donkey balls.

Re:Almost....

[fbobraga]

An adult discussion is not compatible with /., huh?!

Yeah, GoPro

[GeekWithAKnife]

Got one as a present. Videos look nice butc I learn that;

Getting quality footage is hard and gets in the way of the activity.

I'm not a cameraman and should never quit my day job to become one.

There's always some fucking annoying mount to get, fix, attach or remove.

Batties, storage and lens dirty are always an issue.

There's far better options online and most people would not care much to see yours because "awesome" stuff is like garbage these days.

There's a fuckton of shit to do with the money a GoPro is sold for these days.

I am not a hero and neither is 99.999% of people.

Re:Yeah, GoPro

[fisted]

Burma Shave.

Re:Yeah, GoPro

[Anonymous Coward]

Use it to film shaky cam gloryhole videos of yourself in gas station bathrooms.

Re:Yeah, GoPro

[Nidi62]

I figured the GoPro craze was doomed a year ago when I saw a person at the outlet mall near my house walking around with a GoPro mounted on his dog's back. Unless people are involved in action sports or in certain types of TV productions most of the people that bought GoPros don't really have anything to film so won't keep buying more cameras. GoPro got too big too fast. They should have stayed private, stuck to their niche, and they could make a very solid profit for many years. Why a camera maker ever thought it was a good idea to create an entertainment division is beyond me. They really shouldn't have even developed their own drones, at least not initially. They would have been better off partnering with a more established drone manufacturer.

Re:Yeah, GoPro

[houghi]

The drone is good and a good variation on their action camera line. The issue that it is is that the new DJI is so much better. If that one would not have been available, theu would have had a killer.

Re:Yeah, GoPro

[DNS-and-BIND]

• GoPro people like to think of themselves as heroes. It's being part of a brand, it's marking yourself as different when you walk down that trail with a camera sticking off your forehead. They feel special, and that's a very important feeling.
• Documenting yourself doing an activity is more important than actually doing the activity. Witness the sea of phones recording at concerts.
• You can get a GoPro clone like the SJCam SJ4000 for less than a hundred bucks. Most people can't tell the difference in the footage.

Re:Yeah, GoPro

[fbobraga]

Getting quality footage is hard and gets in the way of the activity.

That's why exists cinema/photography courses, you know...

Re:Yeah, GoPro

[TheSync]

Hah, I love the GoPro video from my dog's back!

Re:Yeah, GoPro

[Anonymous Coward]

Myanmar Shave.

Re:Yeah, GoPro

[neilo_1701D]

The drone is good and a good variation on their action camera line. The issue that it is is that the new DJI is so much better.

Well, that and the Karma had a nasty habit of loosing power and falling out of the sky.

From an optics point of view, the newer DJI's don;t have anything like the lens distortion a GoPro has. Assuming that the Karma was a near perfect beast, the DJI competitor, the Mavic, has the latest in DJI optics and the image is great.

Plus there is the cost: the Mavic is about the same price as the Karma was - but with the Karma you still needed to buy a GoPro if you didn't already have one. The Mavic has the camera included.

Re:Yeah, GoPro

[thegarbz]

Getting quality footage is hard and gets in the way of the activity.

You're doing it wrong, and if an accessory or strap or anything is even remotely difficult to use, you're doing that wrong too.

There's far better options online

Oh?

Re:Yeah, GoPro

[Solandri]

Getting quality footage is hard and gets in the way of the activity.

There's far better options online and most people would not care much to see yours because "awesome" stuff is like garbage these days.

I am not a hero and neither is 99.999% of people.

If you're buying something like a GoPro in hopes of shooting quality video and becoming in Internet star, then yeah there's a 99.999% chance you're going to be disappointed.

But if you're buying it to record family outings and personal events for sentimental reasons, it's actually a pretty good tool. Small, stays out of the way, and does a pretty good job for its size. The quality of the footage doesn't really matter when the footage is just to help your family reminisce about the activity later. If you want production-quality video of your outing, just hire a professional videographer to go along with you. Let him worry about all the gear, mounts, bags, repairs, batteries, dirt, and getting good shots.

Re:Yeah, GoPro

[GeekWithAKnife]

While I do agree it's important to note that the only reason we're taking pictures and recording everything is because in past decades it was much harder.

Once upon a time to take a picture the entire family would line-up and dress for the "special occasion". A picture used to be special, a short film as well but that's not the case any more. Now we have a state that there's so much data that we're bound to disregard most of it.

Imagine 5 generations ahead where we have tens of thousands of pictures and short recordings of people. Most of it is going to be discarded.

Sure it's always nice to have those few moments or that family gathering when everyone was having fun and capture it. Must you have a GoPro for that? -most people are quite happy with using their phones.

Re: Finally!

[Anonymous Coward]

owners are allowed not to take responsibility for the lives of their slaves.

It is ok if someone dies, but not ok to lower profit.

There is a dilemma - a slave can increase profit, but not at the expence of a murdered incompetent owner.

Sometimes a company does one thing well.

[ZorinLynx]

When a company does one thing really, really well, they should probably stick to that. GoPros really are the best action cameras around. That's what they're known for. If the company owner wanted to start a side business creating original entertainment content that's fine, but it shouldn't have been under the GoPro name, or connected directly to the company.

Re:Sometimes a company does one thing well.

[OverlordQ]

> GoPros really are the best action cameras around.

No, they're really not, that's their marketing department. You probably weren't around for FocusGate, when they shipped out tons of 3+'s that had serious focusing issues and refused to admit to it for the longest time.

Re:Sometimes a company does one thing well.

[ZorinLynx]

Pretty much, yep.

Re:Sometimes a company does one thing well.

[Anonymous Coward]

except for the new sony action cams, they are better than the new go pros, the mavic is also better than the karma, the only thing gopro is the best at is marketing.

Will anyone record the meeting?

[gachunt]

I wonder if anyone will record/stream the meeting where they are getting fired.

Who?

[Anonymous Coward]

How does something this insignificant even make the news?

Apple future

[fbobraga]

to sell overpriced shit seems to not last long...

Action camera yes, GoPro no

[Anonymous Coward]

For many years now I've been using a Contour action camera when skiing to chronolog my vacations. I've found it much more pleasant to use than a GoPro, for a short while they were technologically ahead (they bluetooth connectivity first), and you don't look like a damned Teletubby wearing one. Video quality is excellent, too. If something happened to it, I would replace it with another, I would not buy a GoPro.

Positive spin

[XSportSeeker]

I love how GoPro keeps trying to put a positive spin to it.... of course, those statements were made for shareholders.

"GoPro also said Black Friday camera unit sales were up more than 35% year-over-year at leading U.S. retailers"
Up more than 35% on Black Friday and in the year they finally released a new line after two years... that's little to nothing. Last year they had no new products to show, and the hype was already dead... I'd say a 35% increase from last year is still a defeat - GoPro Hero 5 launch didn't have much of an effect.

"GoPro said its Hero5 Black camera has been the best-selling digital-imaging device in the U.S. since it launched Oct. 2, citing NPD Group data"
What's a digital-imaging device? A special category created for GoPro? Because it sure doesn't figure in the best selling cameras category, and on camcorders previous models seems to be selling more than the current (at least according to Amazon)... because price.

"GoPro shares climbed more than 4% in premarket trading Wednesday on the news"
Climbing 4% from this close to the historical lowest it has ever been is not much... just search for GoPro stock price and set the graph to 5 years.
Truth is, the company stock has been in freefall since August last year... the new releases managed to stop it a bit, but not reverse the trend.
The hype is over. GoPro needs to lower prices, cut the fat, and reinvent itself. Too bad the Karma thing failed hard though...

It's bad for all those people losing jobs, but unfortunately, if GoPro keeps going the same way it has been, they won't be able to recover. Honestly, I think it's still not enough. They'll need to come up with a completely new concept for the next line that really goes out of the original mold. Return to their core idea. Offer a new more portable than ever camera that is cheaper than any other brand and accessible enough for anyone to get.
If the GoPro Hero 6 is anything like a GoPro Hero 5 with spec updates, the company will be dead right after it.

Not that I like that... GoPro helped bring prices of action cameras to the absolute lowest, made the competition work hard to offer similar products, and made an entire category of camcorders a thing. Technology for the line of camcorders improved quite a lot over the years thanks to their initial evolution. They promoted extreme sports in a way never seen before, and their cameras were used for a bunch of cool new stuff. But the company has to go to a new direction and not try to re-invent the wheel right now, or it'll soon be too late.

Re:Positive spin

[scatbomb]

Right, they had a product that filled a niche in the market and that was enough at first. But making hardware is not a good business unless there are some major barriers to entry for the competition. Unfortunately, that is probably not the case for a camera with a protective cover. They will not thrive and may not survive as solely a hardware company where anybody can mimic their features and undercut their prices. This attempt to pivot into a media company made tons of sense, I wonder what went wrong.

Say, That's Not a Bad Idea...

[Anonymous Coward]

You do realize, do you not, that a camera sucking donkey balls, would be awesome GoPro footage!! Upload that to YouTube or Vimeo right now! Give the people what they want!!

Pigs

[DrYak]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?...

Who needs a homing beacon to find it again ?
Just ask the pigs from the pig-pen where it fell...