Home Media Magazine - August 31 - September 6, 2008 - (Page 9) www.homemediamagazine.com HIGH-DEF BRIEFS I YAMAHA, PANASONIC TO BOW PRICEY BLU-RAY PLAYERS While consumer electronics manufacturers and retailers slowly reduce the retail price for Blu-ray players for mainstream consumer appeal, Yamaha Electronics is going the opposite direction with the introduction of the BD-S2900 for $1,199.95. Parsons: Blu-ray Key to Pioneer’s HD Strategy By Erik Gruenwedel ndy Parsons, SVP of advanced product development at Pioneer Electronics and chair of the Blu-ray Disc Association promotion committee in the United States, has had a front-row seat at the launch of Blu-ray Disc. Home Media Magazine asked Parsons for an update on the rollout of Blu-ray as well as Pioneer’s plans for the format. promote the new format at retail? Pioneer’s Kuro PDP-6020FD and the Pioneer Elite Blu-ray Disc Player BDP-05FD A Yamaha’s BD-S2900 The profile 1.1 Blu-ray player features 1080p/24fps-compatible HDMI, 12-bit deep color, HD audio bit stream output and picture-in-picture (BonusView). The deep color feature reportedly delivers 4,096 shades of each of the three primary colors for a total of 68.7 billion colors. A so-called virtual package allows for interactivity between a Blu-ray movie and information on a separate SD card. An Ethernet port for Internet connectivity is included. Separately, Panasonic Oct. 1 is planning to bow a $1,450 Blu-ray player (DMR-BR630V) in Japan that allows playback and transfer of VHS content into a digital format. – Erik Gruenwedel I HM: How important is Blu-ray to Pioneer? I MAGAZINE DUBS VIZIO FASTEST-GROWING CE CO. Irvine, Calif.-based HDTV producer Vizio was named the fastest-growing computer and electronics division by Inc. Magazine. Vizio listed revenue of $1.9 billion in 2007 and three-year growth of 4,056%. The magazine also said Vizio’s revenue measured against its employee count gave it the highest revenue per employee of the companies on the list. – Billy Gil Parsons: Blu-ray Disc is a crucial part of our overall high-definition product strategy. We have always believed that optical discs must represent the absolute reference quality for picture and sound, beginning with laserdisc in the very early 1980s, then DVD in the 1990s, and now Blu-ray. There have been dramatic advances in display technology over the past five years, so we think a “best of the best” source is needed to get the most out of these new, high-performance sets. Parsons I HM: Are consumer electronics manufacturers doing enough to promote Blu-ray? Parsons: DVD is a tough act to follow. It’s been a powerful growth engine for the CE industry for years. You don’t want to give your customers the message that DVD is dead — it isn’t — and that the substantial investment they’ve made in that format is now at risk — it’s not. Since all known Blu-ray players can play DVDs, BD manufacturers are clearly acknowledging and embracing DVD’s enormous popularity. The trick is to promote the new format’s advantages without doing so at DVD’s expense. So I think the promotion of the Bluray format is being closely coupled with the growing momentum behind high-definition in general — just look at how much more affordable large, high-def displays are now than they were even two years ago. Hopefully, as high-definition video becomes increasingly mainstream, Blu-ray will naturally overtake DVD as the preferred way to enjoy content. I HM: Is the side-by-side visual display still the best tool to promote Blu-ray? Parsons: It can be a useful tool, but it can also fall into the trap of being perceived as an unemotional, technical exhibit. I happen to think that a very well-executed demonstration of Blu-ray on its own can be enormously persuasive. I am fortunate to have one of our newest 60-inch Kuro displays in my home, and when I show my guests the Blu-ray version of “Planet Earth” or a Pixar film, I don’t need to compare the DVD version to show them how incredible Blu-ray can look. The home entertainment business is all about emotional appeal, and demonstrations that show engaging content at its very best are the most effective ones in my opinion. Parsons: You should be seeing more Pioneer Blu-ray players featured in high-profile places where our target audience buys their gear. We especially like to have our players shown alongside our Kuro line of plasma displays, since both products support complementary features like true 24-frame, 1080p playback of films. We’re really not interested in just moving a lot of BD players or HDTVs as commodity products, but would rather please our customers by providing an exciting, high-quality home theater experience. For that, we need to promote a complete high-definition story — source, display and sound — and this works best with well-designed demo setups that we’re encouraging with a number of our key retail partners. I HM: Is BD Live the killer app to fuel Bluray adoption in the United States? Parsons: I’ve never really agreed with the killer app mentality. What’s the killer app for cell phones? Talking to each other or text messaging? If my kids are any example, it’s both. For Blu-ray, it’s certainly all about the high-def experience, but it’s also about the promise of a much more sophisticated level of interactivity that can deepen the emotional reward of watching a film. The first I HM: What is Pioneer doing in terms of pass is the linear storytelling that displays, kiosks and related efforts to sell/ See PIONEER, Page 22 TOP 20 HIGH-DEF BLU - R A Y D ISC Week ended August 24, 2008 LABEL INDEX TOP 20 HIGH-DEF BD MAR K E T S HA R E Percentage of Sales Per Title vs DVD Week ended August 24, 2008 LABEL PERCENT TITLE TITLE 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 Street Kings Fox 100.00 Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles … Warner 58.83 The Scorpion King 2: Rise of a Warrior Universal 50.05 Hannah Montana and Miley Cyrus: Best of Both Disney 40.00 Batman Begins Warner 39.35 Casino Royale Sony Pictures 32.50 Camp Rock Disney 23.22 Prom Night Sony Pictures 21.16 21 Sony Pictures 17.48 Top Gun Paramount 16.34 The Bank Job Lionsgate 15.37 Planet Earth: The Complete Series BBC Video 14.94 Beowulf Paramount 13.65 Harold & Kumar Escape From Guantanamo Bay Warner 12.04 Gone in 60 Seconds Disney/Touchstone 11.90 Doomsday Universal 11.65 Underworld: Evolution Sony Pictures 11.32 Starship Troopers Sony Pictures 10.91 300 Warner 10.90 10,000 B.C. Warner 10.06 Source: Nielsen VideoScan First Alert data 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 Gone in 60 Seconds Beowulf Underworld: Evolution Starship Troopers Casino Royale Top Gun Planet Earth: The Complete Series Batman Begins Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles … Doomsday 300 The Bank Job 10,000 B.C. Street Kings 21 The Scorpion King 2: Rise of a Warrior Harold & Kumar Escape From Guantanamo Bay Hannah Montana and Miley Cyrus: Best of Both Prom Night Camp Rock Disney/Touchstone Paramount Sony Pictures Sony Pictures Sony Pictures Paramount BBC Video Warner Warner Universal Warner Lionsgate Warner Fox Sony Pictures Universal Warner Disney Sony Pictures Disney 67.32% 58.37% 47.50% 43.64% 38.48% 33.78% 29.91% 18.73% 17.42% 14.75% 13.77% 12.61% 10.35% 9.08% 7.15% 6.95% 6.51% 4.03% 3.86% 1.41% B LU - R AY D I S C COMING UP STREETING Eraser Warner Street Date: 9/2 Every Which Way But Loose Warner Street Date: 9/2 Married Life Sony Pictures Street Date: 9/2 Next Avengers: Heroes of Lionsgate Street Date: 9/2 Outbreak Warner Street Date: 9/2 Then She Found Me Image/ThinkFilm Street Date: 9/2 Transformers Paramount/DreamWorks Street Date: 9/2 Source: Nielsen VideoScan First Alert data August 31–September 6, 2008 Home Media Magazine 9 http://www.homemediamagazine.com
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