Home Media Magazine - October 28-November 3, 2007 - (Page 1)

OCTOBER 28–NOVEMBER 3, 2007 >> E LE C T R O N I C D E LI V E RY INSIDE Cable Forecast Up Cable industry revenue is projected to top $121 billion by 2017. Consoles Connect Web-enabled game consoles will hit 37 million units next year, research says. Xbox Gets Toons The Xbox Live service for the Xbox 360 console added cartoons. B R I N G I N G D I G I TA L E N T E R TA I N M E N T TO YO U PAGE 14 >> H I G H-D E F A New Definition OF SOUND Both high-def formats take sound to a new level By Chris Tribbey emember DVD audio? Simple, wasn’t it? You had either a Dolby Digital or DTS track on your discs. And any DVD with a 5.1 soundtrack was considered top-notch. But with HD DVD and Blu-ray Disc, audio has become more complicated, leaving the average consumers wondering what they need to appreciate the full experience. True HD, Dolby Digital Plus, DTSHD, higher bitrates and 7.1 (seven!) See SOUND, Page 28 Netflix Beats Street Expects to bridge gap of streaming to the TV next year By Erik Gruenwedel R E TA I L What a difference 90 days can make. Netflix Inc. rebounded from posting its first decline in subscribers to reporting an increase of 286,000 members in the third quarter (ended Sept. 30). The Los Gatos, Calif.based online DVD rental pioneer now has «IN SHORT, IT more than 7 million WAS A GREAT subscribers, up 24% QUARTER. WE ARE from the same time HAPPIER THAN last year. Gross sub- WE WERE 90 DAYS scriber additions (exAGO.» cluding non-renewals) REED HASTINGS, topped 1.29 million, CHAIRMAN down 1% from 1.3 milAND CEO lion last year. Income for the quarter exceeded $15.7 million on revenue of $294 million, compared to profit of $12.8 million and revenue of $256 million a year ago. “In short, it was a great quarter,” Reed Hastings, Netflix co-founder, chairman and CEO, said in a call with investors. “We are happier than we were 90 days ago.” Can you blame his exuberance? Hastings has long contended that Netflix’s immediate challenges had more to do with See NETFLIX, Page 24 R INSIDE >> Free Discs Offers include player price cuts and discs. >> Hip-Hop HD Rapper Method Man has a new HD DVD. PAGE 12 CONSUMERS READY TO EMBRACE HD, IF IT’S CHEAPER AND A SINGLE FORMAT By Thomas K. Arnold ew research from The NPD Group brings good news and bad news for the high-definition disc business, which studios hope will one day replace DVD. Nine out of 10 consumers who have bought a Blu-ray Disc or HD DVD player are extremely satisfied with their purchase, and they plan on replacing up to a quarter of their existing DVD libraries with high-def discs. That’s good news for studios that welcome any See NPD STUDY, Page 12 HIGH-DEF MARKET SHARE Blu-ray and HD DVD Sales Comparison Blu-ray Maintains Edge, Despite ‘Transformers’ By Thomas K. Arnold lu-ray Disc maintains its edge in the format war against rival next-gen contender HD DVD, with Blu-ray titles outselling HD DVD titles by a margin of almost 2to-1 in the first nine months of this year. According to a study by Home Media Research, consumers bought 2.6 million Bluray Discs this year through Sept. 30, and just See BLU-RAY, Page 28 N Week Ended 10/21 49% 51% I Blu-ray I HD DVD Source: Nielsen VideoScan First Alert data B NEWS A group of landlords from Movie Gallery mall locations are seeking to stop more than 500 store closures. PRODUCT Genius Products is sending out Rob Zombie’s Halloween Dec. 18, only 109 days after its theatrical run. RESEARCH Paramount Home Entertainment crashed onto the DVD sales and rental charts with Transformers, taking the top spots on both. Page 8 Page 22

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Home Media Magazine - October 28, 2007 Contents News TV DVD Reviews Pipeline Research Top 20 DVD Sellers Top 20 Rentals and Top 10 Charts Just Announced

Home Media Magazine - October 28-November 3, 2007

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