Home Media Magazine - January 6-12, 2008 - (Page 12) HIGH-DEF www.homemediamagazine.com HD an Increasing Part of PCs By Chris Tribbey C drives will increasingly become high-def enabled and will represent a $2 billion take for PC manufacturers by 2012, according to ABI Research. Though the market for high-def disc drives is new, Toshiba and Sony have said high-def drives will eventually be included in all their PCs. “Of that [$2 billion], about twothirds will be accounted for by universal drives, which can play either format,” principal analyst Steve Wilson said. “Few universal drives are sold today, partly because of their higher price. But those prices will fall about the same as Blu-ray players by 2009, and we forecast universal player sales to exceed Blu-ray the following year.” BRIEFS I LG BOWS THEATER SYSTEMS Korea’s LG Electronics will unveil two new home theater systems at the Consumer Electronics Show, including one that will include a dual-format player. The AP3133 includes a 7.1 speaker set-up, an AV receiver, multichannel HDMI switching with 1080p upscaling, HD Radio capabilities and more, and includes an LG Super Blu player which handles both Blu-ray Disc and HD DVD. – Chris Tribbey stone titles, Hidalgo, Unbreakable and Coyote Ugly, will be released on Blu-ray at $29.98 each. – Chris Tribbey P ABI Research data shows 30% of consumers use DVD for data storage on their PCs. Because of the higher capacity of Blu-ray and HD DVD, the market is there for high-def storage as the next thing for consumers. Consumers’ choice for high-def when it comes to a PC purchase seems to be secondary, according to PC industry experts. With digital video cameras going high-def as well, “having the ability to keep it in 1080p from end to end is very important,” said Tony Jasionowski, group manager for Panasonic. However, the need for high-def when buying a PC is becoming increasingly important, said PC panelists at December’s High-Def 2.0 conference in Los Angeles. “We’ve seen quite a migration,” said Boris Teksler, senior director for Hewlett Packard’s intellectual property licensing group. “[We almost] have computers that end up in the stereo cabinet.” Xavier Lauwaert, Sony’s product manager for VAIO product marketing, said: “They’re looking for a PC first, and then as a subsequent calculation, a high-def storage device. The onus is on us to reverse that trend.” Lauwaert suggested that right now, most consumer high-def involves “two-hour boring wedding videos.” Jasionowski, speaking about Bluray, said PC companies must keep in mind Blu-ray was developed “not just with the studios in mind” but also as a storage and recording device. “Look at [Blu-ray’s] capability [for managed copies, recording and storage], and marry it to the YouTubes of the world,” Teksler said. I PANASONIC TO SHOW THINNEST BLU-RAY LAPTOP Panasonic will unveil the thinnest Blu-ray Disc laptop computer drive at the Consumer Electronics Show, with a 9.5mm model, more than 3mm smaller than the previous record holder. The drive reportedly reads and writes Blu-ray Discs, DVDs and CDs. According to media reports, Toshiba hopes to top that for HD DVD with a 7mm drive. – Chris Tribbey I PANASONIC HAS 150-INCH TV Panasonic will debut a 150-inch plasma display at the Consumer Electronics Show, according to a media report. The next largest plasma is Panasonic’s 103-inch model, while the largest overall HDTV is 108 inches, from Sony, according to the report. – Chris Tribbey I DISNEY OFFERS COUPON Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment is offering a $5 coupon good toward the purchase of any Disney Blu-ray Disc. The offer expires Feb. 14. More information can be found at disney.go.com/disneyvideos/ bluray. The coupon can be downloaded at bricks.coupons.com/Start.asp?tqnm=sl2ma gj17007027&bt=xs&o=51671&c=BV&p=Pu xzHmf5. – Chris Tribbey I POWERDVD ULTRA CERTIFIED FOR BD 1.1 Software manufacturer CyberLink Corp.’s PowerDVD Ultra software bundle has been certified by the Blu-ray Disc Association for Profile 1.1 BD playback. This means PCs with the software will be able to use special features on future BD releases that require 1.1. PowerDVD Ultra ($99) offers playback of Blu-ray and HD DVDs, and supports all the audio and video features offered by high-def. – Chris Tribbey AMAZON MAKES BLU-RAY OFFER By Chris Tribbey HD DVD Gets Animated By Chris Tribbey I TOSHIBA ALLIES WITH SHARP Toshiba Corp. will buy large liquid crystal displays from Sharp Corp. as part of an alliance to realign the flat-panel TV industry, according to Reuters. Toshiba will buy LCD panels from a $3.4 billion factory being built by Sharp in Western Japan to use them in TVs larger than 32 inches and sold under its own brand. Sharp, in turn, will buy semiconductors from Toshiba for use in its own LCD TVs. – John Latchem mazon.com has high-definition specials for those with post-Christmas cash. The online retailer Jan. 1 introduced a buy-one-get-one Blu-ray offer for 92 titles from Warner Home Video, 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment, MGM Home Entertainment and New Line Home Entertainment. The retailer is limiting customers to 25 free titles per order. T he HD DVD North American Promotional Group’s Web site, www.thelookandsoundofperfect.com, has two new animations touting high-def media. Titled “Songs in the Key of HD,” the lighthearted animations feature a cowboy singing to a confused young man. One segment addresses high-definition in general and the other promotes HD DVD as a necessity when going high-def. The animations appear next to a series of live-action commercials promoting www. HDDVDNBC.com that feature former NFL coach Marty Schottenheimer talking about the benefits of HD DVD over DVD, as well as about combo discs and the definition of HD. I MORE DISNEY FILMS ON BD Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment is digging into the catalog for April Fool’s Day releases on Blu-ray Disc. Three Touch- TOP 10 HIGH-DEF SELLERS H IG H -D EF SELLER S Week ended December 23, 2007 FORMAT LABEL INDEX TOP 10 HIGH-DEF SELLERS HI GH- DE F S E L L E RS Aggregate by Title Week ended December 23, 2007 FORMAT LABEL INDEX TITLE TITLE 3:10 to Yuma H I G H -D E F CO M I NG U P STREETING 3:10 To Yuma Lionsgate Mobsters Universal The Pianist Universal Sunshine Fox PREBOOKING Blu-ray Street Date: 1/8 HD DVD Street Date: 1/8 HD DVD Street Date: 1/8 Blu-ray Street Date: 1/8 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 The Bourne Ultimatum The Simpsons Movie Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End Harry Potter and the Order of the … Harry Potter and the Order of the … Planet Earth: The Complete Series Spider-Man 3 Transformers 300 Planet Earth: The Complete Series HD DVD/DVD Blu-ray Blu-ray Blu-ray HD DVD HD DVD Blu-ray HD DVD Blu-ray Blu-ray Universal 100.00 Fox 84.47 Disney 63.85 Warner 57.28 Warner 44.38 BBC Video 42.31 Sony Pictures 34.61 Para./DreamWorks 32.76 Warner 29.96 BBC Video 28.51 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Harry Potter and the Order of the … The Bourne Ultimatum The Simpsons Movie Planet Earth: The Complete Series Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End Blade Runner: Collector’s Edition 300 Spider-Man 3 Transformers Ocean’s Thirteen BD; HD DVD Warner 100.00 HD DVD/DVD Universal 98.36 Blu-ray Fox 83.09 BD; HD DVD BBC Video 69.66 Blu-ray Disney 62.81 BD; HD DVD Warner 59.97 BD; HD DVD/DVD Warner 42.60 Blu-ray Sony Pictures 34.04 HD DVD Para./DreamWorks 32.22 BD; HD DVD/DVD Warner 27.03 Source: Nielsen VideoScan First Alert data Source: Nielsen VideoScan First Alert data TOP 5 HIGH-DEF BLU-R AY D ISC Week ended December 23, 2007 LABEL INDEX TOP 5 HIGH-DEF HD DVD Week ended December 23, 2007 LABEL INDEX TITLE TITLE The Brave One BD & HD DVD Warner Pre: 1/8, Street: 2/5 No Reservations BD & HD DVD Warner Pre: 1/8, Street: 2/12 We Own the Night Blu-ray Sony Pictures Pre: 1/10, Street: 2/12 1 2 3 4 5 The Simpsons Movie Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix Spider-Man 3 300 Fox Disney Warner Sony Pictures Warner 100.00 75.59 67.81 40.97 35.47 1 2 3 4 5 The Bourne Ultimatum Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix Planet Earth: The Complete Series Transformers Blade Runner: Collector’s Edition Universal 100.00 Warner 44.38 BBC Video 42.31 Para./DreamWorks 32.76 Warner 24.95 Source: Nielsen VideoScan First Alert data Source: Nielsen VideoScan First Alert data Home Media Magazine January 6–12, 2008 http://www.homemediamagazine.com http://disney.go.com/disneyvideos/bluray http://disney.go.com/disneyvideos/bluray http://bricks.coupons.com/Start.asp?tqnm=sl2magj17007027&bt=xs&o=51671&c=BV&p=PuxzHmf5 http://bricks.coupons.com/Start.asp?tqnm=sl2magj17007027&bt=xs&o=51671&c=BV&p=PuxzHmf5 http://Amazon.com http://Amazon.com http://www.HDDVDNBC.com http://www.HDDVDNBC.com
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