Home Media Magazine - November 18-24, 2007 - (Page 1) NOVEMBER 18–24, 2007 ‘Get Smart’ Gets Award Top honors at the fourth annual TV DVD Awards, which took place Nov. 12 during a gala dinner in Century City, Calif., went to Time Life/HBO Video’s Get Smart: The Complete Series. See the full list of winners, plus photos from the event. PAGE 12 >> HIGH-DEF BRINGING DIGITAL ENTERTAINMENT TO YOU HOOKED ON FORMAT WAR Sites go as far as shutting down high-def forums By Chris Tribbey hen it comes to HD DVD vs. Blu-ray Disc, you’re bound to hear passionate arguments, angry words, and even outright threats. But it’s not coming from Sony, Toshiba, or even studio spokesmen with a vested, financial interest. It’s the fans who have been most vocal — and controversial — about the new millennium’s format war. See HIGH-DEF, Page 24 Fan-Addicts Black Friday to Bring Out High-Def, Online Bargains By John Latchem RETAIL With Black Friday deals on high-def TVs and players, consumers looking to get a jumpstart on the looming digital transition scheduled for February 2009 will have a golden opportunity this year. “This is the best time for any consumer to transition from standard to high definition,” said Dan de Grandpre, founder and editor in chief of Dealnews.com, a Web site that tracks retail discounts. Blu-ray players and DVDs of “HDTVs are being offered at 50% off from just 300 are among Black Friday specials this year. a few weeks ago. So many HDTVs are less than $1,000. That has never happened before.” have a Samsung 50-inch slim DLP HDTV For example, Best Buy will have a Hewlett- for $799.99, while Target will have a 37-inch Packard 42-inch LCD HDTV for $996.99 (a Olevia 1080i LCD HDTV for $549, and Walsavings of $503); a Philips 1080p upconvert- Mart will reportedly offer a Sanyo 37-inch ing DVD player for $49.99; a Toshiba HD-A3 LCD HDTV for $847 and a Magnavox 1080p player with seven free HD DVD movies for upconvert DVD player for $30. $199.99; a Samsung BD-P1400 Blu-ray Disc While the day after Thanksgiving may be the player with seven free Blu-ray movies for traditional beginning of the holiday shopping $399.99; and a Sony BDP-S300 Blu-ray player frenzy, this year retailers have been enticing for $499.99, with a $100 gift card and a free consumers with great discounts even earlier. In copy of the Spider-Man 3 Blu-ray Disc. the wake of weak October retail gains reported Among other bargains, Circuit City will See BLACK FRIDAY, Page 26 INSIDE >> Good and Cheap Consumers look for inexpensive, quality HDTVs. >> PS3 Deadline Sony sets a goal of 11M by March. Charles Park W PAGE 10 H IG H-DE F MAR KET S HAR E Blu-ray and HD DVD Sales Comparison as of 11/11/07 Week Ended 11/11 Year-to-Date I Blu-ray I HD DVD Since Inception 35% 65% 65% 35% 61% 39% Source: Nielsen VideoScan: First Alert data SETTLEMENT ELUSIVE IN WRITERS STRIKE By Erik Gruenwedel Wal-Mart Shoppers Get Mixed Bag By John Latchem RETAIL Visit a different Wal-Mart, and you’re liable to hear a different story about how to upgrade to high definition. The Home Media Magazine staff visited several locations around Southern California and got mixed results. Some clerks seem to have a clue. Some have none. Some stores don’t even have the players to sell. About the only items consistent at the various locations were movies on HD DVD and Blu-ray >> ELECTRONIC DELIVERY INSIDE No TV? No Problem More than 16M U.S. consumers could move to broadband only in the next three years. N egotiations last week between television writers and producers on issues related to increasing residuals for DVD and new media continued to be tabled — but that didn’t stop the vitriol from both sides. Nick Counter, president of the Alliance of Motion Picture & Television Producers (AMPTP), accused See WRITERS STRIKE, Page 28 Disc, and the availability of HDTVs, the Blu-rayplaying PlayStation 3 (40GB $399, 80GB $499), and the Xbox 360 HD DVD add-on ($169.24). One clerk in a Long Beach store was adept at reading the prices and model numbers from the shelf display, but was of little help otherwise except to suggest that buying Bluray Discs and HD DVDs was more expensive, and that an upconverter may be the way to go. The lone Blu-ray player was displayed See WAL-MART, Page 28 5 Years of Live Xbox Live now boasts more than 8M users. PAGE 11 NEWS DVD sales shift from big openings to slower, steadier runs this quarter, as some consumers wait to buy multiple releases at once. PRODUCT See our Valentine’s Day buying guide, which includes such romantic films as Paramount Home Entertainment’s Stardust. RESEARCH Disney’s delectable Ratatouille topped the national DVD sales chart, while renters said “I do” to Universal’s Chuck & Larry. Page 8 Page 16 Page 22
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