Home Media Magazine - March 16-22, 2008 - (Page 12) HIGH-DEF www.homemediamagazine.com CDSA: Analysts Ponder The Blu Future By Chris Tribbey A QUINTA, Calif. — Charles Van Horn, president of the Content Delivery and Storage Association (CDSA), thinks Stephen King would have a field day turning Blu-ray Disc vs. HD DVD into a horror story. “For those of us who have long been involved in the media business, the story of this format war is worthy of the horror novelist who knows how to scare the bejesus out of all of us and knows the true art of a scary ending,” Van Horn told attendees of the 38th annual Content Delivery and Storage Forum March 7. “The war isn’t over, mark my words … That’s because this format war was unlike any other we’ve seen before.” BRIEFS I IMAGE DROPS HD DVD SLATE Image Entertainment said it will stop releasing movies in the HD DVD format, including next month’s Before the Devil Knows You’re Dead and select Imax releases. – Erik Gruenwedel L No, HD DVD likely won’t rise from the grave to haunt the home entertainment industry. But by choosing the more expensive, more complex format, and by allowing for consumer confusion and indifference during a nearly two-year-long format war, the industry could be looking at a scary and uncertain future for Blu-ray, Van Horn said. “Blu-ray and the HD DVD format war confused buyers and delayed purchases,” said Frank Russomano, chairman of the CDSA and president of Imation. “I don’t think we did a good job in this area.” Studio representatives, replicators and analysts discussed Blu-ray’s victory and pondered what’s next for high-definition media. The CDSA also called for a meeting among all the major home entertainDISC PREVIEW ment industry groups to present a unified voice for Blu-ray. Tom Adams, president of Adams Media Research, probably best summed up the feelings expressed by speakers regarding the end of the format war. “It was an unprecedented quick knockout blow for a format war,” he said. Disbelief was widespread when news first emerged in February that Toshiba was giving up on HD DVD, effectively killing it. The abrupt end of the format war caused every research firm to take a second look at the future forecast for Blu-ray, and the results are a mixed bag. There already are nearly 100 devices in the market that play Blu-ray, but all remain expensive See CDSA, Page 26 I BLU-RAY PLAYERS GET DIVX Six new Blu-ray Disc players from Philips, Denon and Panasonic will include DivX playback capability, DivX reported. “Blu-ray technology clearly represents an important standard for the future of digital media, and we’re pleased that our partners continue to recognize DivX technology as an important feature on next-generation devices,” said DivX CEO Kevin Hell. – Chris Tribbey I PHOENIX GOES BLU Phoenix Entertainment Group has canceled its upcoming HD DVD release slate, and will try Blu-ray Disc with the March 25 release of Naked Beneath the Water. On May 6, it will release Paintball The Movie: Court Jesters on Blu-ray. – Chris Tribbey WARNER GOES BATTY FOR BLU By John Latchem Improv Director Previews Blu-ray By Fred Topel irector Zak Penn shot his improvisational comedy film The Grand with high-definition cameras, and the HD transfer of the film couldn’t have pleased Penn more. “I’ve seen versions of the movie where it looks as detailed as it’s ever going to look,” Penn said. Anchor Bay Entertainment will release The Grand theatrically March 21. The Grand follows fictional characters entering a poker tournament, all with unique quirks and backstories. Set in arner Home Video will release Batman Begins on Blu-ray Disc July 8 (prebook June 3) in anticipation of the July 18 theatrical release of its sequel, The Dark Knight. The HD DVD version of the movie is one of the fading format’s top sellers. Two Blu-ray editions are coming: a single-disc at $28.99 and a limited-edition gift set at $49.99. The gift set also includes script pages, storyboards, and $7.50 toward a Dark Knight ticket. Both versions include an exclusive Dark Knight comic book tie-in. W D The Grand Las Vegas, the film had plenty of visuals to take advantage of HD detail. “That shot where Woody [Harrelson] is outside, the camera spins around him, and you can see all the lights twinkling,” Penn said. “Some of that stuff in HD is incredible. It looks better than film. Vegas at night was built for HD cameras.” The space capacity for Blu-ray may also allow Penn to include additional extra features that wouldn’t fit on a standard DVD release. “I’m looking forward to the Blu-ray version because we couldn’t fit our extras on the DVD because we have so many extras,” he said. “We have an hour-long cut of the final [poker] table that’s cut like a TV show, which if you are into poker you’ll love, and if you’re not, you’ll be bored shitless. That’ll all be on the Blu-ray version.” I SAMSUNG REVERSES STANCE, DROPS DUAL-FORMAT PLAYER Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. last week said it would not bow a second-generation (BD-UP5500) dual format player — 60 days after company executives at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas vowed to maintain HD DVD production. Spokesperson Dan Lantowski told Dealerscope Samsung “always believed” Blu-ray was the ideal format due to greater studio support and long-term capabilities. – Erik Gruenwedel TOP 10 HIGH-DEF SELLERS H IG H -D EF SELLER S Week ended March 9, 2008 FORMAT LABEL INDEX TOP 10 HIGH-DEF SELLERS HI GH- DE F S E L L E RS Aggregate by Title Week ended March 9, 2008 FORMAT LABEL INDEX TITLE TITLE Enchanted H I G H -D E F CO M I NG U P STREETING Enchanted Disney I Am Legend Warner PREBOOKING Blu-ray Street Date: 3/18 Blu-ray Street Date: 3/18 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Beowulf 30 Days of Night American Gangster Planet Earth: The Complete Series Michael Clayton Mr. Magorium’s Wonder Emporium Into the Wild Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End Over California Ratatouille HD DVD Blu-ray HD DVD/DVD Blu-ray Blu-ray Blu-ray HD DVD Blu-ray Blu-ray Blu-ray Paramount Sony Pictures Universal BBC Video Warner Fox Paramount Disney Topics Disney 100.00 80.06 69.98 50.61 48.90 47.35 42.58 41.73 40.80 37.10 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Beowulf 30 Days of Night American Gangster Planet Earth: The Complete Series Michael Clayton Mr. Magorium’s Wonder Emporium 300 Into the Wild Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End Over California HD DVD Paramount Blu-ray Sony Pictures HD DVD/DVD Universal BD; HD DVD BBC Video Blu-ray Warner Blu-ray Fox BD; HD DVD/DVD Warner HD DVD Paramount Blu-ray Disney Blu-ray Topics 100.00 80.06 69.98 61.88 48.90 47.35 44.63 42.58 41.73 40.80 Source: Nielsen VideoScan First Alert data Source: Nielsen VideoScan First Alert data The Golden Compass Blu-ray New Line Pre: 3/18, Street: 4/29 One Missed Call Blu-ray Warner Pre: 3/18, Street: 4/22 The Orphanage Blu-ray New Line Pre: 3/18, Street: 4/22 Aliens vs. Predator Blu-ray Fox Pre: 3/19, Street: 4/15 Juno Blu-ray Fox Pre: 3/19, Street: 4/15 TOP 5 HIGH-DEF BLU-R AY D ISC Week ended March 9, 2008 LABEL INDEX TOP 5 HIGH-DEF HD DVD Week ended March 9, 2008 LABEL INDEX TITLE TITLE 1 2 3 4 5 30 Days of Night Planet Earth: The Complete Series Michael Clayton Mr. Magorium’s Wonder Emporium Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End Sony Pictures BBC Video Warner Fox Disney 100.00 63.21 61.08 59.14 52.12 1 2 3 4 5 Beowulf American Gangster Into the Wild Transformers Top Gun Paramount 100.00 Universal 69.98 Paramount 42.58 Para./DreamWorks 34.65 Paramount 19.05 Source: Nielsen VideoScan First Alert data Source: Nielsen VideoScan First Alert data 12 Home Media Magazine March 16–22, 2008 http://www.homemediamagazine.com
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