Home Media Magazine - October 14-20, 2007 - (Page 18) HIGH-DEF BRIEFS I AMAZON DEBUTS HD 101 Amazon.com has bowed High-Def 101. The interactive link offers educational tips, videos, articles, weekly blogs, forums and product offerings on a variety of HD-related issues. Ron Sanders, president of Warner Home Video, said the site is critical during the important holiday shopping season. – Erik Gruenwedel www.homemediamagazine.com Some BD Hardware Owners Have Problems With Fox Discs By Chris Tribbey he Blu-ray Discs of Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer and The Day After Tomorrow have both been met with positive reviews for their picture and sound. But owners of some Samsung and LG Blu-ray players are reporting problems with the discs. The LG BH100 and the Samsung BDP-1200 reportedly won’t recognize the discs at all, and owners of the Samsung BDP-1000 are reporting the discs freeze at points. No other Blu-ray player, including the PlayStation 3, has had any SPIELBERG FILMS WILL NOT COME TO HD DVD By Erik Gruenwedel spokesperson for the HD DVD Promotions Group confirmed that a slide presentation by Universal Studios Japan at last weekend’s CEATAC confab incorrectly portrayed that Steven Spielberg titles would be coming to HD DVD. The slide displayed forthcoming releases of Steven Spielberg-directed classics Jaws, E.T. — The Extra-Terrestrial and Jurassic Park, and Spielbergproduced movies Casper, Back to the Future and Babe as coming to HD DVD from Universal Studios Home Entertainment. In January, the HD DVD Promotions Group was forced to issue an apology to Universal and Spielberg when it inadvertently announced on its Web site the pending HD DVD releases of Jaws, E.T. and Jurassic Park. In a statement from Universal, the studio said reports coming out of Japan relating to Steven Spielberg titles being released on HD DVD were inaccurate. “Universal has not made any formal announcements regarding Spielberg catalog titles coming to HD DVD at this time,” the studio said. T I HD CHANNELS EXPAND Roughly 60 high-def TV channels are available, according to Nielsen. By year’s end, there should be more than 100. At the DVD Forum’s North America DVD Conference more were announced. ESPN’s 24-hour news channel will go HD next spring, said ESPN’s Bryan Burns. Other channels owned by parent company Disney, including ABC Family, the Disney Channel and Toon Disney, will be available in HD next year, he said. – Chris Tribbey reported issues with the discs. Steve Feldstein, SVP of marketing for 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment, said the issue is with the hardware, not the software. “It plays great with a firmware upgrade,” he said. “The more important thing is getting the word out that consumers need to keep an eye on the Web for firmware.” Both LG and Samsung have confirmed firmware fixes are on the way for the LG BH100 and the Samsung BDP-1200, while the firmware update for the Samsung BDP-1000 is now available. A New Line to Bow ‘Pan’s Labyrinth,’ BCI to Release ‘Ultimate Force’ on Both HD Formats By Chris Tribbey ew Line Home Entertainment will bow one of its top catalog titles, Pan’s Labyrinth, on both Blu-ray Disc and HD DVD Dec. 26, the first simultaneous dual-format high-def release for the studio. Extras include an interactive “Director’s Notebook,” still galleries, a I REPORT: HOUSING SLUMP MAY IMPACT LCD TV SALES A slumping housing market, exacerbated by the sub-prime mortgage crisis, is expected to negatively impact sales of LCD TVs through the holidays, according to a report. Isuppli Corp. said the credit crunch could limit consumer disposable income and purchase of luxury items such as flat-panel TVs. – Erik Gruenwedel N storyboard, a segment of the “Charlie Rose Show” featuring director Guillermo Del Toro, two featurettes, a picture-in-picture commentary, an audio commentary, trailers, promos and behind-thescenes footage. The HD DVD also will include some Webenabled content. In other high-def news: After a false start out of the gate at the Home Media Expo in Las Vegas this summer, BCI will street the martial arts adventure Ultimate Force on Blu-ray Disc and HD DVD Nov. 13. Notable is the SRP for the high-def offerings: The HD DVD will be $19.98 while the Blu-ray will have a $24.98 price tag. Extras include a making-of featurette, an interview with star Mirko Cro-Cop Filipovic and footage of him training. TOP 10 HIGH-DEF SELLERS TOP 10 HIGH-DEF SELLERS H I G H-D E F S E LLE R S Week ended October 7, 2007 TITLE FORMAT LABEL INDEX H I G H-D E F S E LLE R S Aggregate by Title Week ended October 7, 2007 TITLE FORMAT LABEL INDEX A Mighty Heart H I G H-D E F TH I S WE E K STREETING THIS WEEK A Mighty Heart HD DVD Paramount Street Date: 10/16 AC/DC: Live at Donington Blu-ray Sony Pictures Street Date: 10/16 The Invisible Blu-ray Disney Street Date: 10/16 Masters of Horror: Season 1 Blu-ray Starz/Anchor Bay Street Date: 10/16 The Reaping BD & HD DVD Warner Street Date: 10/16 Return to House BD & HD DVD Warner Street Date: 10/16 Transformers HD DVD Para./Dreamworks Street Date: 10/16 PREBOOKING THIS WEEK 0/00 Cars Disney/Pixar Blu-ray Pre: 10/15, Street: 11/6 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver … Knocked Up 300 Bram Stoker’s Dracula Top Gun 300 Troy: Director’s Cut Halloween Planet Earth: The Complete Series Next Blu-ray HD DVD/DVD Blu-ray Blu-ray HD DVD HD DVD/DVD Blu-ray Blu-ray Blu-ray HD DVD Fox 100.00 Universal 21.11 Warner 13.91 Sony Pictures 10.87 Paramount 9.23 Warner 8.19 Warner 8.01 Starz/Anchor Bay 7.74 BBC Video 6.88 Paramount 5.62 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver … 300 Knocked Up Planet Earth: The Complete Series Troy: Director’s Cut Bram Stoker’s Dracula Top Gun Halloween We Are Marshall Galapagos Blu-ray BD; HD DVD/DVD HD DVD/DVD Blu-ray; HD DVD Blu-ray; HD DVD Blu-ray HD DVD Blu-ray BD; HD DVD/DVD Blu-ray; HD DVD Fox 100.00 Warner 22.10 Universal 21.11 BBC Video 12.44 Warner 11.72 Sony Pictures 10.87 Paramount 9.23 Starz/Anchor Bay 7.74 Warner 7.16 BBC Video 7.04 Source: Nielsen VideoScan First Alert data Source: Nielsen VideoScan First Alert data TOP 5 HIGH-DEF B LU-R AY D I S C Week ended October 7, 2007 LABEL INDEX TOP 5 HIGH-DEF H D DVD Week ended October 7, 2007 LABEL INDEX TITLE TITLE 1 2 3 4 5 Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer 300 Bram Stoker’s Dracula Troy: Director’s Cut Halloween Fox 100.00 Warner 13.91 Sony Pictures 10.87 Warner 8.01 Starz/Anchor Bay 7.74 Source: Nielsen VideoScan First Alert data 1 2 3 4 5 Knocked Up Top Gun 300 Next Planet Earth: The Complete Series Universal Paramount Warner Paramount BBC Video 100.00 43.72 38.80 26.64 26.30 Source: Nielsen VideoScan First Alert data 18 Home Media Magazine October 14–20, 2007 http://www.homemediamagazine.com http://Amazon.com
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