Home Media Magazine - February 3-9, 2008 - (Page 8)

HIGH-DEF www.homemediamagazine.com Research Firm: Blu-ray Win Inevitable By Chris Tribbey echnology research and advisory firm Gartner is calling a Blu-ray Disc victory inevitable, with an analyst saying the decision by Warner Bros. to go exclusively with Blu-ray will make HD DVD throw in the towel by the end of the year. In a brief published in Gartner’s Semiconductor DQ Monday Report, analyst Hiroyuki Shimizu noted that Toshiba is staying in the game by reducing prices on standalone players, but studio support for the competi- BRIEFS I DISNEY OFFERS BD REBATE Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment is offering DVD owners of The Rock, Con-Air and Crimson Tide a $10 mail-in rebate on the purchase of each title in Blu-ray after Jan. 8. To get the rebate, consumers must include an original version of the mail-in rebate form, proof-of-purchase tab or UPC code from the original DVD and Blu-ray titles, in addition to the dated cash register receipt with the store name. Consumers should expect to receive rebates in about six to eight weeks. – Erik Gruenwedel research ﬁrm DisplaySearch. Samsung Electronics led all manufacturers with TV panel revenue of $8.6 billion, a 26% share. – Chris Tribbey T tion may be too much to overcome. “While officially announced as price cuts, this move from Toshiba is an attempt to back up the HD DVD format after the loss [of Warner],” Shimizu wrote. “Warner’s shift from producing in both formats to Blu-ray alone has left HD DVD with just Paramount Home Entertainment and Universal Studios Home Entertainment as its major Hollywood supporters, both of which account for only 30% of all high-def movies.” Shimizu wrote that the move was harmful enough to make the HD DVD Promotional Group postpone and ultimately cancel its CES keynote session. “There is still a lot of support for HD DVD as the de facto standard, from companies such as Paramount, Universal Studios and even Microsoft,” he wrote. “However, Gartner believes that Toshiba’s price-cutting may prolong HD DVD’s life a little, but the limited lineup of film titles will inflict fatal damage on the format. Gartner expects that, by the end of 2008, Blu-ray will be the winning format in the consumer market, and the war will be over.” I WOOLWORTHS GOES BLU U.K. retailer Woolworths said Jan. 28 it will sell HD DVDs only online starting in March, citing 10-to-1 Blu-ray Disc to HD DVD sales during the holiday season. Only Blu-ray will be stocked in the company’s 820 stores. – Chris Tribbey I SUPER BOWL BOOSTS HDTV Super Bowl XLII Feb. 3 is expected to be responsible for more than 2 million HDTV sales, according to a “Sports and Technology” survey jointly conducted by the Consumer Electronics Association and the Sports Video Group. For three straight years the Super Bowl has been the No. 1 driver for HDTV sales, resulting in $2.2 billion in HDTV sales this year alone, according to the two groups. The report was conducted by sampling of nearly 2,300 U.S. adults Jan. 14-21. – Chris Tribbey I BLU-RAY TOUR EXTENDED Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment (WDSHE) and Panasonic Electronics are extending Disney’s Magical Blu-ray Tour to another seven North American cities. The tour is updating its offerings as well: Blu-ray previews of Finding Nemo and The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, and interactive looks at Ratatouille, Cars, Meet the Robinsons and Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End will be showcased. Wrapping up in Toronto Jan. 27, the tour will continue to Raleigh and Durham, N.C.; Nashville, Dallas, Denver and Chicago, where it ends in July. – Chris Tribbey SONIC ENDS EXPANSION OF HD DVD PRO AUTHORING TOOLS By Erik Gruenwedel S onic Solutions Jan. 30 said it will discontinue developing HD DVD authoring tools and focus exclusively on Blu-ray as part of its professional products group. Owners of Sonic’s Scenarist HD DVD authoring software will be eligible for a discount on comparable Blu-ray software. The Novato, Calif.-based software manufacturer said it will continue offering technical support to HD DVD customers. Rolf Hartley, SVP and GM of Sonic’s professional group, said the decision was not an endorsement of Blu-ray but rather a response to market demand. “We don’t comment on the dynamics of the format war, and we’re not trying to leverage that in either case,” Hartley told Consumer Electronics Daily. The move does not affect Sonics’ Roxio (consumer software) and ATG (licensing technologies) divisions that will continue to offer both formats, according to spokesperson Chris Taylor. Citing increased Blu-ray demand at the consumer level, Sonic said it will allocate greater R&D resources to the format, specifically to evolution of interactive component BD Live. “Going forward, the group will direct its format expertise on helping our professional customers fulfill the promise of Bluray Disc, including BD-Live, and aligning with a broader company strategy to enable the secure and efficient digital-distribution of video entertainment,” CEO Dave Habiger said. Hartley said development of BD Live and BD-Java could expand the digital delivery channel. “We’re building our solutions in support of video delivery beyond professional packaged media and assisting in the enhancement of emerging distribution platforms,” Hartley said. I STUDY: MANY WILL WATCH THE SUPER BOWL IN HD A study by Comcast shows more than half of men and more than 40% of women were going to make an effort to watch Sunday’s Super Bowl game in high-def. The study, which sampled 662 adults who either own HDTVs or are interested in high-def, found that whether or not the game is in HD played a big part in how and where people watch it. – Chris Tribbey I 86M LCD TVS SHIPPED IN ’07 LCD TV panel manufacturers shipped 86 million units in 2007, a 58% increase from 2006 that was helped by nearly 28 million units shipping in the fourth quarter alone, according to a new report from TOP 10 HIGH-DEF SELLERS H IG H -D EF SELLER S Week ended January 27, 2008 FORMAT LABEL INDEX TOP 10 HIGH-DEF SELLERS HI GH- DE F S E L L E RS Aggregate by Title Week ended January 27, 2008 FORMAT LABEL INDEX TITLE TITLE The Assassination of Jesse… H I G H -D E F CO M I NG U P STREETING The Assassination of Blu-ray Warner Street Date: 2/5 Elizabeth: The Golden HD DVD Universal Street Date: 2/5 The Jane Austen Book Blu-ray Sony Pictures Street Date: 2/5 Wall Street Blu-ray Fox Street Date: 2/5 PREBOOKING Appleseed: Ex Machina Blu-ray Warner Pre: 2/5, Street: 3/11 August Rush Blu-ray Warner Pre: 2/5, Street: 3/11 Sleuth Blu-ray Sony Pictures Pre: 2/7, Street: 3/11 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Saw IV The Game Plan 3:10 to Yuma Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End Good Luck Chuck 300 Planet Earth: The Complete Series Ratatouille War Superbad Blu-ray Blu-ray Blu-ray Blu-ray Blu-ray Blu-ray Blu-ray Blu-ray Blu-ray Blu-ray Lionsgate Disney Lionsgate Disney Lionsgate Warner BBC Video Disney Lionsgate Sony Pictures 100.00 70.83 48.21 36.35 35.58 34.51 32.49 26.03 23.05 22.63 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Saw IV The Game Plan 3:10 to Yuma 300 Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End Good Luck Chuck Planet Earth: The Complete Series Blade Runner: Collector’s Edition Ratatouille War Blu-ray Blu-ray Blu-ray BD; HD DVD/DVD Blu-ray Blu-ray BD; HD DVD BD; HD DVD Blu-ray Blu-ray Lionsgate Disney Lionsgate Warner Disney Lionsgate BBC Video Warner Disney Lionsgate 100.00 70.83 48.21 39.26 36.35 35.58 34.74 28.57 26.03 23.05 Source: Nielsen VideoScan First Alert data Source: Nielsen VideoScan First Alert data TOP 5 HIGH-DEF BLU-R AY D ISC Week ended January 27, 2008 LABEL INDEX TOP 5 HIGH-DEF HD DVD Week ended January 27, 2008 LABEL INDEX TITLE TITLE 1 2 3 4 5 Saw IV The Game Plan 3:10 to Yuma Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End Good Luck Chuck Lionsgate Disney Lionsgate Disney Lionsgate 100.00 70.83 48.21 36.35 35.58 1 2 3 4 5 The Bourne Ultimatum Transformers The Kingdom Blade Runner: Collector’s Edition Batman Begins Universal 100.00 Para./DreamWorks 92.75 Universal 77.16 Warner 54.89 Warner 45.56 Source: Nielsen VideoScan First Alert data Source: Nielsen VideoScan First Alert data Home Media Magazine February 3–9, 2008 http://www.homemediamagazine.com

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Contents News Commentary Reviews Pipeline Research Top 20 DVD Sellers Top 20 Rentals and Top 10 Charts Just Announced

Home Media Magazine - February 3-9, 2008

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