Home Media Magazine - September 2-8, 2007 - (Page 4) MENU www.homemediamagazine.com FROM THE EDITOR BY STEPHANIE PRANGE, EDITOR IN CHIEF The Storm After the Calm www.homemediamagazine.com J PUBLISHER & EDITORIAL DIRECTOR Thomas K. Arnold ust when we thought the studios in the high-definition disc Senior reporter Chris Tribbey noted that the constant backbattle had picked sides, Paramount Home Entertainment and-forth has resulted in numerous hastily worded petitions and its DreamWorks unit gave up the role of Switzerland to the studios (see page 14) — many of which have garnered (supporting both formats) and allied itself exclusively with HD little support, but lots of attention. DVD. Meanwhile, Warner Home Video data shows that the forSince then, the Blu-ray Disc vs. HD DVD war mat war is the least of our problems. The has intensified, with both sides making Ama- THE BIGGEST REASON FOLKS biggest reason folks don’t want to buy either zon.com a leading battleground (see story, DON’T WANT TO BUY EITHER high-definition format is because they page 10). Also, the Chinese announced a new HIGH-DEFINITION FORMAT IS think they don’t need it. Nearly half think low-priced HD DVD player; Blu-ray supporter BECAUSE THEY THINK THEY DVD is good enough. 20th Century Fox announced the details of two Here’s hoping that the studio and hardDON’T NEED IT. big titles coming to Blu-ray, Fantastic Four: Rise NEARLY HALF THINK DVD IS ware supporters of both formats remember of the Silver Surfer and Live Free or Die Hard; and that, and, instead of launching all their fireGOOD ENOUGH. Sony Pictures Home Entertainment hailed a power at the competition, project the mesquarter million in sales of its Blu-ray titles in Europe. sage that high-definition discs — no matter what format — It’s like watching a very fast-paced tennis game. offer the greatest viewing experience in the home. The battle has gotten so intense that Home Theater Forum’s Offering consistently well-produced products in the highRon Epstein posted a letter to video geekdom on his site asking definition medium also is a must. As consumers buy their everyone to calm down (see page 14). new HDTVs this holiday season, the industry needs to be “Let’s all try to funnel our energy into making the Internet there to provide them with attractive product. a place where those consumers can come for factual information instead of constant name-calling,” he wrote. Stephanie Prange’s e-mail address is sprange@questex.com EDITOR IN CHIEF Stephanie Prange EDITORIAL Managing Editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Angelique Flores Senior Editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Erik Gruenwedel Senior Reporter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Chris Tribbey Assistant Managing Editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . John Latchem Associate Editors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Billy Gil, Kyra Kudick Contributors . . . . . . . .John Gaudiosi, Anne Sherber, Fred Topel, Ralph Tribbey, Holly J. Wagner ART Art Director . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Melbert Sebayan Graphic Designer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Charles Park RESEARCH Market Research Director . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Judith McCourt Market Research Assistant . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Kelly Burner ASSOCIATE PUBLISHER Judith McCourt ADVERTISING 800/338-6700, FAX 714/338-6712 Sales Director . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Judith McCourt 714/338-6741 Advertising Sales Representative . . . . . . . . . . . . John Boezinger 714/338-6704 Advertising Sales Representative . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Julie Savant 714/368-1020 Advertising Sales Representative . . . . . . . . . . . . . Kurt Wohlman 714/338-6749 Group Administrative Coordinator . . . . . . . . . Jennifer Guerena Business Analyst . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Joni Wu For reprints, call 800-290-5460, ext. 100 or HomeMediaMagazine@reprintbuyer.com For direct-mail lists, call Ilene Schwartz, Kroll Direct, 216/371-1667 FAX 216/371-1669 ilene@krolldirect.com C ALE N DAR I CEDIA EXPO 2007 The residential electronics industry holds a vital annual show with the CEDIA Expo. Product introductions and industry networking abound at this one-week conference. Registration closes Aug. 31. Sept. 5-9 Colorado Convention Center, Denver info: www.cedia.net/expo IN THIS ISSUE SEPT. 2-8, 2007 / VOL. 29 / NO. 35 News . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 Writers and film and TV producers will resume talks Sept. 19; Movie Gallery gets another extension from lenders; TLA gets content from Unearthed Films. >> H I G H-D E F MARKETING Marketing Director . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Kristina Kronenberg 714/338-6743 Marketing Manager . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Kaitlyn DeWaard Online Manager . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Renee Rosado PRODUCTION Production Director . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Bonnie Ling Sr. Production Manager . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Jeannie Hortness 714/338-6732 Assistant Production Manager . . . . . . . . Justin-Nicholas Toyama News/Games . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 Video game console sales soar in July, with Nintendo leading the way; violent, delayed game Manhunt 2 gets an Oct. 31 release date. Toshiba HD-A2 OFFICES 714/338-6700, 800/371-6897, FAX 714/338-6710 homemediamagazine@questex.com 201 East Sandpointe Ave., Suite 500 Santa Ana, CA 92707-8716 News . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 The formats face off on Amazon; HD DVD specs now have a Sonic Solutions patent; Blu-ray may be the new wave of data storage for businesses. I TV DVD AWARDS Home Media Magazine presents the fifth annual TV DVD Awards Nov. 12 at the Hyatt Regency Century Plaza in Century City, Calif. The best TV DVD releases of the past year, as selected by a national consumer vote, will be honored in 15 categories, including best series by decade, best complete-series set and best children’s series. Nov. 12 Hyatt Regency Century Plaza, Los Angeles info: www.homemediaconferences.com Commentary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14 Senior editor Chris Tribbey says all the online talk in the world won’t make people pick a high-def format. Chris Tribbey, Senior Reporter 818-788-8616, FAX 818-530-2486 16130 Ventura Blvd. #570 Encino, CA 91436 >> E LE C T R O N I C D E LI V E RY CREDIT Credit/Collections Director . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Ron Wright Sr. CIRCULATION For subscriptions, please go online to www.homemediamagazine.com For current single copy, back issues or CD-ROM, call 866/344-1315 or 615/377-3322 for outside the U.S. Audience Development Manager . . . . . . . . . . Sarah Joy Obaña BUSINESS QUESTEX MEDIA GROUP INC. “Two and a Half Men” I HIGH-DEF 2.0 Home Media Magazine presents High-Def 2.0, a one-day event that will serve as a preview of what’s in store for the high-definition disc market in 2008, the year the studios have targeted as breakout time for Blu-ray Disc and HD DVD. Coming just weeks before the Consumer Electronics Show, the event will provide a sneak peek of studio announcements expected to be made at CES, along with an overview of plans for the coming year, from marquee titles headed to HD disc to advances in interactivity, technology and packaging. Dec. 13 Hyatt Regency Century Plaza, Los Angeles info: www.homemediaconferences.com TV DVD . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16 News . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12 Jon Cryer discusses his role on “Two and a Half Men” in anticipation of Warner’s first-season release. Holiday Buying Guide . . . . . . . . 18 Our buying guide offers all manner of DVD stocking stuffers for the coming holiday season. iTunes has U.S. TV shows available in the United Kingdom; CartoonNetwork.com has record viewing; Starz and AMD have a Vongo special. President & CEO: Kerry C. Gumas; Executive Vice President & CFO: Tom Caridi; Executive Vice President: Robert S. Ingraham; Executive Vice President: Tony D’Avino; Executive Vice President, Corporate Development: Claudia Flowers; Vice President & General Manager: Don Rosenberg; Vice President, Digital Media: Seth Nichols; Vice President, Human Resources: Diane Evans © 2007 Questex Media Group Inc. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical including by photocopy, recording or information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher. Authorization to photocopy items for internal or personal use, or the internal or personal use of specific clients, is granted by Questex Media Group, Inc. for libraries and other users registered with the Copyright Clearance Center, 222 Rosewood Dr., Danvers, MA 01923 phone: 978-750-8400 fax 978-750-4470; call for copying beyond that permitted by Sections 107 or 108 of the U.S. Copyright Law. For those not registered with the CCC, send permission request in writing to questexpermissions@reprintbuyer.com or call 800-494-9051 ext. 100. Research Reviews . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34 Disney once again rides Wild Hogs to the top of both the DVD sales and rental charts. Will the newfangled Chill Out, Scooby Doo! still appeal to old-school cartoon fans? Will audiences Top 20 DVD Sellers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40 want to lose themselves in horror flick The Invisible? Top 20 Rentals and Top 10 Charts . . . . . . . . . 42 Printed in the U.S.A. Pipeline . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38 Just Announced . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46 Universal outs The Who releases; Sony revives Life of Brian; Koch releases a Golden Compass companion. Fox’s Live Free or Die Hard and Amazing Grace head to DVD. Home Media Magazine September 2–8, 2007 http://www.homemediamagazine.com http://www.homemediamagazine.com http://Amazon.com http://Amazon.com http://www.cedia.net/expo http://www.homemediamagazine.com http://www.homemediaconferences.com http://CartoonNetwork.com http://www.homemediaconferences.com
For optimal viewing of this digital publication, please enable JavaScript and then refresh the page. If you would like to try to load the digital publication without using Flash Player detection, please click here.