Home Media Magazine - December 28, 2008 - (Page 6) NEWS BRIEFS I LCD TVS TO SEE SALES DROP Since 2000, LCD HDTV manufacturers have enjoyed year-over-year sales growth. According to research firm DisplaySearch, that’s going to change in 2009. The state of the economy and the drop in retail prices will result in a drop in shipments and as much as a 16% drop in revenue from 2008, to $64 billion. Nearly 120 million LCD HDTVs will be shipped, down nearly 12 million from the firm’s previous forecast, with lowered growth in North America, Japan and Western Europe; 32-inch HDTVs will see the largest drop off, as demand for those sizes drops. – Chris Tribbey according to Reuters. About 15% of U.S. households currently receive analog-only transmissions, Reuters reports. Cable customers will automatically be switched to digital transmissions when the government-mandated change happens. According to Reuters, consumer advocacy groups had criticized cable companies for offering confusing new channel packages or resetting rates along with the change to digital. The National Cable and Television Association now says it will provide free equipment and service to all-analog cable households through June 2009. – Billy Gil www.homemediamagazine.com Roku Says Netflix Box Can Offer HD Streams By Erik Gruenwedel oku, manufacturer of Netflix’s proprietary $99 digital set-top box, said it has developed technology that allows for streaming of highdefinition content via a broadband connection. Saratoga, Calif.-based Roku said advances in compression technology now allow for distribution of HD content streams on an average broadband connection. The company said it would deliver the software early next year as an upgrade to all Roku players without charge. The privately held company said additional thirdparty suppliers of HD content for the Netflix box are R I LAST-MINUTE SHOPPING IS THE NORM The Sony BDP-S350 Blu-ray Disc player was No. 5 on PriceGrabber’s top 10 products consumers have been shopping for online since Black Friday, according to its Consumer Electronic Pricing Trends and Forecast report. The report also finds that, of the more than 2,000 consumers surveyed, one out of three shoppers is buying consumer electronics for Christmas, or asked for one. However, on a whole, consumers are waiting until the last minute to do their shopping, with nearly 20% of shoppers waiting until after Dec. 15. “It appears that online shoppers are putting off their shopping until the last two weeks this December or waiting for any last-minute deals,” the report reads. Retailers have done their best to move consumer electronics out the door by lowering prices: in year-over-year pricing, the price for a PlayStation 3 has dropped nearly 60%, Xbox 360s are down 47% and Blu-ray player prices have dropped 49%. – Chris Tribbey expected in 2009. Richard Doherty, research director for The Envisioneering Group in Long Island, N.Y., believes the Roku box is the top consumer electronics device in 2008, considering its price, functionality and easeof-use. “No other HD device delivers as diverse a catalog of HD entertainment along with flexible HDTV connections and incomparable price-value as Roku,” Doherty said. “More and more HD video programming is instantly available, making Roku even more valuable over time than many expensive [digital video recorders] and leased services.” I JOOST APPLICATION EVOLVES INTO VIDEO SITE Former Web video application Joost will now serve as video Web site Joost.com, according to PC Magazine. “With our new Web site, you’re able to watch all of our videos – TV shows, music videos, and films — right in your Web browser,” Joost told PC Magazine. The company has discontinued its original Joost software application. Users can no longer watch videos in the Joost software application but can find all of Joost’s videos on Joost.com. Joost provides professional content only, unlike sites such as YouTube.com that are populated mainly by user-generated content. – Billy GIl RIAA Halts Strategy of Suing Individual Music Downloaders By Chris Tribbey he Recording Industry Association of America’s (RIAA) decision Dec. 19 to abandon its years-long practice of suing individuals who illegally download and share music was something it should have done long ago, according to Fred von Lohmann with the Electronic Frontier Foundation. “Many people forget that the motion picture studios subtly did the same thing, but they largely gave up that approach a year ago,” he said. “No press releases, no big stories. They just quietly abandoned the ‘sue your customers’ strategy.” The RIAA has taken tens of thousands of individuals to court over illegal downloads in the past five years, while the studios and the Motion Picture Association of America T I CABLERS OFFER EQUIPMENT FOR DIGITAL TV TRANSITION U.S. cable companies such as Comcast will give their customers free equipment for the transition from analog to digital TV signals taking place Feb. 17, 2009, Circuit City Gets Financing as Same-Store Sales Plummet By Erik Gruenwedel ankrupt Circuit City Stores Dec. 22 received court approval for $1.1 billion debtor-in-possession financing that will allow the Richmond, Va.-based consumer electronics chain to maintain operations and pay vendors, employees and related expenses, according to a filing. The retailer also disclosed that same-store sales (open at least 12 months) at Circuit City locations not slated for closure had fallen 43% to 50% since the Nov. 10 bankruptcy filing — down significantly from previous budgeted comp declines of 35%. “With the continued deterioration of the macroeconomic climate, results from other retailers and our operating under Chapter 11 reorganization protection, the fact that our sales are somewhat weaker than our have largely gone after Web sites and peer-to-peer (P2P) services that violate copyrights, rarely taking individuals to court. Though the recording industry has won some high-profile cases — including one $220,000 judgment against a single mother in Minnesota — it has been widely chastised by watchdog groups for fighting a war it can’t win, and attacking people who are in essence potential customers. “The movie studios are pretty much offering their content for free [on adsupported streaming sites]. They’re groping their way toward the future much more ambitiously than the recording industry,” von Lohmann said, pointing to collapsed release windows and day-and-date digital delivery and VOD with DVD. First reported by the Wall Street Journal, the RIAA’s decision to stop suing individuals and instead work with Internet Service Providers (ISPs) to monitor users’ file-sharing activity was a good move, according to digital public interest group Public Knowledge. “We are pleased that the RIAA has decided largely to drop its counterproductive strategy of suing its customers,” said Gigi B. Sohn, president and co-founder of Public Knowledge. “We also have no objections to the RIAA working closely with ISPs to pass along notices to those suspected of file-sharing, although ISPs should not be put into the improper role of ‘copyright cop.’” Marty Lafferty, CEO of the Distributed Computing Industry Association (DCIA), which works to See RIAA, Page 20 original forecast should not be considered a negative,” spokesman Bill Cimino said in a statement. “We are improving our gross margin rate and that is helping to offset the sales number as well as helping us manage our DIP (debtor-in-possession) budget.” Separately, the court allowed Circuit City to void severance payments to 40 former employees, including CEO Philip Schoonover, who was to receive $1.8 million in belated compensation and benefits, according to a filing. Circuit City also clarified a Credit Suisse report that said it would shutter additional stores to the 155 locations previously disclosed. “Circuit City has not announced any plans for additional store closures,” the chain said in a statement. THEATRICAL CATALOG ON DVD* TITLE COUNTS BY DECADE 2,400 2,286 2,170 1,955 2,000 1,661 1,600 1,648 1,790 1,793 Since the launch of DVD in 1997 there have been more than 13,000 theatrical library titles released on the format. These are English-language films with sound, released theatrically prior to 1997. More units have been generated in this category than any other product group. New theatrical runs second, and direct-to-video (nontheatrical) is third. Films from 1970 onward have received the greatest release focus, but as the vaults are emptied, we might expect to see films from the 1950s and 1960s revisited as packagedmedia release options. — Ralph Tribbey 1,200 1928-1939 1940-1949 1950-1959 1960-1969 1970-1979 1980-1989 1990-1996 * Results through Dec. 5, 2008. Includes DVDs released and subsequently discontinued. Theatrical Catalog defined as English-language films released theatrically prior to the launch of DVD in 1997. I RELEASE ACTIVITY FOR DVD Titles in Release Through Week Ended Dec. 18, 2008 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Total Net DVD Titles Announced and/or In Release Through April 30, 2009 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 94,457+256 94,880+277 I RELEASE ACTIVITY FOR BLU-RAY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . As of Week Ended Dec. 18 Released 1,042 Scheduled 123 Home Media Magazine December 28, 2008–January 4, 2009 http://www.homemediamagazine.com http://www.Joost.com http://www.Joost.com http://www.YouTube.com
Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Home Media Magazine - December 28, 2008 Contents News Gay & Lesbian Reviews TV DVD Pipeline Just Announced Hollywood Goes High Def Supplement Home Media Magazine - December 28, 2008 Home Media Magazine - December 28, 2008 - (Page Cover1) Home Media Magazine - December 28, 2008 - (Page Cover2) Home Media Magazine - December 28, 2008 - Contents (Page 3) Home Media Magazine - December 28, 2008 - Contents (Page 4) Home Media Magazine - December 28, 2008 - Contents (Page 5) Home Media Magazine - December 28, 2008 - News (Page 6) Home Media Magazine - December 28, 2008 - News (Page 7) Home Media Magazine - December 28, 2008 - News (Page 8) Home Media Magazine - December 28, 2008 - News (Page 9) Home Media Magazine - December 28, 2008 - News (Page 10) Home Media Magazine - December 28, 2008 - News (Page 11) Home Media Magazine - December 28, 2008 - News (Page 12) Home Media Magazine - December 28, 2008 - News (Page 13) Home Media Magazine - December 28, 2008 - Gay & Lesbian (Page 14) Home Media Magazine - December 28, 2008 - Gay & Lesbian (Page 15) Home Media Magazine - December 28, 2008 - Reviews (Page 16) Home Media Magazine - December 28, 2008 - Reviews (Page 17) Home Media Magazine - December 28, 2008 - TV DVD (Page 18) Home Media Magazine - December 28, 2008 - Pipeline (Page 19) Home Media Magazine - December 28, 2008 - Pipeline (Page 20) Home Media Magazine - December 28, 2008 - Pipeline (Page 21) Home Media Magazine - December 28, 2008 - Just Announced (Page 22) Home Media Magazine - December 28, 2008 - Just Announced (Page 23) Home Media Magazine - December 28, 2008 - Just Announced (Page Cover4) Home Media Magazine - December 28, 2008 - Just Announced (Page Tab1) Home Media Magazine - December 28, 2008 - Just Announced (Page Tab2) Home Media Magazine - December 28, 2008 - Hollywood Goes High Def Supplement (Page hghd1) Home Media Magazine - December 28, 2008 - Hollywood Goes High Def Supplement (Page hghd2) Home Media Magazine - December 28, 2008 - Hollywood Goes High Def Supplement (Page hghd3) Home Media Magazine - December 28, 2008 - Hollywood Goes High Def Supplement (Page hghd4) Home Media Magazine - December 28, 2008 - Hollywood Goes High Def Supplement (Page hghd5) Home Media Magazine - December 28, 2008 - Hollywood Goes High Def Supplement (Page hghd6) Home Media Magazine - December 28, 2008 - Hollywood Goes High Def Supplement (Page hghd7) Home Media Magazine - December 28, 2008 - Hollywood Goes High Def Supplement (Page hghd8) Home Media Magazine - December 28, 2008 - Hollywood Goes High Def Supplement (Page hghd9) Home Media Magazine - December 28, 2008 - Hollywood Goes High Def Supplement (Page hghd10) Home Media Magazine - December 28, 2008 - Hollywood Goes High Def Supplement (Page hghd11) Home Media Magazine - December 28, 2008 - Hollywood Goes High Def Supplement (Page hghd12) Home Media Magazine - December 28, 2008 - Hollywood Goes High Def Supplement (Page hghd13) Home Media Magazine - December 28, 2008 - Hollywood Goes High Def Supplement (Page hghd14) Home Media Magazine - December 28, 2008 - Hollywood Goes High Def Supplement (Page hghd15) Home Media Magazine - December 28, 2008 - Hollywood Goes High Def Supplement (Page hghd16) Home Media Magazine - December 28, 2008 - Hollywood Goes High Def Supplement (Page hghd17) Home Media Magazine - December 28, 2008 - Hollywood Goes High Def Supplement (Page hghd18) Home Media Magazine - December 28, 2008 - Hollywood Goes High Def Supplement (Page hghd19) Home Media Magazine - December 28, 2008 - Hollywood Goes High Def Supplement (Page hghd20)
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.