Home Media Magazine - September 21, 2008 - (Page 40) NEWS www.homemediamagazine.com Legend Invests in Future By Thomas K. Arnold SUPPLIER Legend Films, a San Diego-based entertainment and digital media company, has closed on a $5 million stock offering and will use the money to invest in its new 3-D conversion technology, its home entertainment business and its Web 2.0 business. The lead investor in the stock purchase was Augustus Ventures Ltd., with participation by Legend’s largest shareholder, Boston equity fund Par Investment Partners. Legend has partnered with digital imaging firm Passmorelab to develop technology and processes for converting standard 2-D film and video into stereoscopic 3-D, both in theaters and in homes. Legend Films founder Barry Sandrew said the conversion process is an outgrowth of the company’s restoration and colorization of classic films and video. Dell Debuts a Burn-to-DVD PC Drive Continued from page 6 Most recently Legend produced Paramount’s 2007 color release of It’s a Wonderful Life, with Holiday Inn coming Oct. 14 from Universal. Legend also recently acquired the exclusive DVD distribution rights to 38 feature films never before available on DVD, which it will self-distribute to retail, largely through such key accounts as Best Buy, Target Stores and Amazon.com Legend also has launched an interactive Web site, RiffTrax.com, where consumers can download commentaries from “Mystery Science Theater 3000” star Michael J. Nelson and others and listen to them in sync with their own DVDs or downloaded movie content. RiffTrax’s latest feature is iRiffs, where users can upload their own commentaries on any movie and sell them to fans worldwide. interest from both consumers and studios in digital distribution,” said Tom Adams, president of Adams Media Research. Adams said key factors contributing to consumers heretofore not purchasing movies electronically included worries about longterm ownership and portability of the downloaded file. “Providing the security of a DVD back-up and the assurance that the file will play on the majority of standard DVD players … is a key step forward,” he said. Marina del Rey, Calif.-based CinemaNow will initially offer 100 new releases and library titles from Warner Home Video, Sony Pictures Home Entertainment, Universal Studios Home Entertainment, Paramount Home Entertainment and Lionsgate, according to a spokesperson. CinemaNow last year began using Roxio Venue burning software with CSS protec- tion. The service, and rival Movielink, in 2006 began offering burn-to-DVD movies utilizing fluxDVD copy protection from Germany’s ACE GmbH, which wasn’t compatible with all DVD players. Richard Doherty, media analyst with The Envisioneering Group, said proliferation of burn-to-DVD drives could be a boon to CinemaNow and its attempt to wrestle content beyond streaming from 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment, Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment and MGM Home Entertainment. He believes Real Networks, which last week announced new technology for legally copying commercial DVDs to your PC, will soon strike up a similar burn-to-DVD deal with Sonic. “The convenience factor of burn-to-own is great, but the real immediacy of it is not going to be fully revealed until a few more deals are done,” Doherty said. NPD Study Says Packaged Media Is Still Strong Continued from page 1 streaming movies and TV shows from the Web. The results, based on a sample of more than 11,000 consumers, demonstrate that, unlike the pattern in the music industry, consumers still prefer packaged media when it comes to watching Hollywood movies in the home. “Everyone is guessing when video-ondemand (VOD) and digital downloads will spell the end for packaged media,” said Russ Crupnick, senior industry analyst for entertainment with The NPD Group. “At this point, digital video is still an extremely small part of overall consumer entertainment spending.” Specifically the report found that 41% of dollars budgeted for movies and video was spent on DVD movie purchases, 11% for purchases of TV programs on DVD and 29% on DVD rentals (including Netflix, Blockbuster Online and other videosubscription services). In addition 18% was spent on movie tickets. When asked how they watched a fulllength movie in the past three months, 67% of respondents said they viewed a DVD they owned, while 50% watched a rented DVD and 18% opted for a VOD movie. Another 8% said they viewed movies on portable media devices, while 6% downloaded a movie from a free file-sharing service and watched on a computer or TV. Just 2% paid for a digital video download from the Web; however, more than half (52%) reported visiting sites such as YouTube to watch streaming video. Crupnick said the near-term talk of a digital revolution in movie distribution is overblown. But, as witnessed in music, new content delivery vehicles can take root among consumers quickly, he said. “That’s why many home video companies are aggressively pursuing digital strategies,” he said. “The inflection point will come — it’s just not coming tomorrow.” Crupnick P E O P LE CLASSIFIED SHOWCASE BUSINESS SERVICES PA C K A G I N G I MOVIE GALLERY APPOINTS EXECS Movie Gallery has named Craig J. Miller chief information officer, handling information technology for the company and reporting to president and CEO C.J. (“Gabe”) Gabriel Jr. The company also has appointed Guy Marsala to the role of EVP of operations, reporting directly to Sherif Mityas, COO of Movie Gallery. He will manage store operations, field support operations and loss prevention. “We welcome Craig and Guy to the Movie Gallery team and are pleased to have found two strong leaders with solid backgrounds in retail operations,” Gabriel said. Miller has more than 25 years of IT experience, most recently as SVP at Bank of America. Marsala has more than two decades of sales, operations and general management experience, most recently as division president and COO at Corinthian Colleges Inc., a career-education company. — Billy Gil closely with Warner Premiere president Diane Nelson to shape the group’s strategy, identifying projects and filmmakers for the group to take on. “The direct-to-consumer business continues to evolve every day, and Matt is an important part of Warner Premiere’s success in this challenging yet exciting environment,” Nelson said. — Billy Gil USED TAPES & DVDS CO M P U T E R S O F T WA R E I SUMMIT NAMES KIRKPATRICK PRESIDENT, WORLDWIDE MARKETING Summit Entertainment has formally named Nancy Kirkpatrick president of worldwide marketKirkpatrick ing. In her new role she will create and oversee the marketing campaigns for Summit’s annual slate of 10 to 12 theatrical releases as well as ancillary projects. She will report to Summit’s CEO Bob Hayward. Prior to accepting the position, Kirkpatrick served as a consultant to Summit. Her previous executive experience includes stints as SVP of domestic publicity at Warner Bros. and EVP of worldwide publicity for Paramount’s Motion Picture Group. — Kyra Kudick REDUCING YOUR INVENTORY? We Buy VHS, and also DVD & Video Games I WARNER PREMIERE UPS BIERMAN Warner Premiere, the direct-to-video division of Warner Home Video, has promoted Matt Bierman to SVP of production. Bierman previously served as VP of production for Warner Premiere. In his new post he will work xtreme deo E 733-7370 (203) Vi 40 Home Media Magazine September 21–27, 2008 http://www.homemediamagazine.com http://www.Amazon.com http://www.RiffTrax.com http://www.corporate.com http://www.rapidrental.com
Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Home Media Magazine - September 21, 2008 Home Media Magazine - September 21, 2008 Contents News High-Def News Electronic Delivery News Women in Home Entertainment Reviews Research Top 20 DVD Sellers Top 20 Rentals and Top 10 Charts Just Announced Home Media Magazine - September 21, 2008 Home Media Magazine - September 21, 2008 - Home Media Magazine - September 21, 2008 (Page Cover1) Home Media Magazine - September 21, 2008 - Home Media Magazine - September 21, 2008 (Page Cover2) Home Media Magazine - September 21, 2008 - Home Media Magazine - September 21, 2008 (Page 1) Home Media Magazine - September 21, 2008 - Home Media Magazine - September 21, 2008 (Page 2) Home Media Magazine - September 21, 2008 - Home Media Magazine - September 21, 2008 (Page 3) Home Media Magazine - September 21, 2008 - Home Media Magazine - September 21, 2008 (Page 4) Home Media Magazine - September 21, 2008 - Contents (Page 5) Home Media Magazine - September 21, 2008 - News (Page 6) Home Media Magazine - September 21, 2008 - News (Page 7) Home Media Magazine - September 21, 2008 - High-Def News (Page 8) Home Media Magazine - September 21, 2008 - High-Def News (Page 9) Home Media Magazine - September 21, 2008 - High-Def News (Page 10) Home Media Magazine - September 21, 2008 - High-Def News (Page 11) Home Media Magazine - September 21, 2008 - Electronic Delivery News (Page 12) Home Media Magazine - September 21, 2008 - Electronic Delivery News (Page 13) Home Media Magazine - September 21, 2008 - Women in Home Entertainment (Page 14) Home Media Magazine - September 21, 2008 - Women in Home Entertainment (Page 15) Home Media Magazine - September 21, 2008 - Women in Home Entertainment (Page 16) Home Media Magazine - September 21, 2008 - Women in Home Entertainment (Page 17) Home Media Magazine - September 21, 2008 - Women in Home Entertainment (Page 18) Home Media Magazine - September 21, 2008 - Women in Home Entertainment (Page 19) Home Media Magazine - September 21, 2008 - Women in Home Entertainment (Page 20) Home Media Magazine - September 21, 2008 - Women in Home Entertainment (Page 21) Home Media Magazine - September 21, 2008 - Women in Home Entertainment (Page 22) Home Media Magazine - September 21, 2008 - Women in Home Entertainment (Page 23) Home Media Magazine - September 21, 2008 - Women in Home Entertainment (Page 24) Home Media Magazine - September 21, 2008 - Women in Home Entertainment (Page 25) Home Media Magazine - September 21, 2008 - Women in Home Entertainment (Page 26) Home Media Magazine - September 21, 2008 - Women in Home Entertainment (Page 27) Home Media Magazine - September 21, 2008 - Women in Home Entertainment (Page 28) Home Media Magazine - September 21, 2008 - Women in Home Entertainment (Page 29) Home Media Magazine - September 21, 2008 - Women in Home Entertainment (Page 30) Home Media Magazine - September 21, 2008 - Women in Home Entertainment (Page 31) Home Media Magazine - September 21, 2008 - Women in Home Entertainment (Page 32) Home Media Magazine - September 21, 2008 - Women in Home Entertainment (Page 33) Home Media Magazine - September 21, 2008 - Reviews (Page 34) Home Media Magazine - September 21, 2008 - Reviews (Page 35) Home Media Magazine - September 21, 2008 - Reviews (Page 36) Home Media Magazine - September 21, 2008 - Reviews (Page 37) Home Media Magazine - September 21, 2008 - Top 20 DVD Sellers (Page 38) Home Media Magazine - September 21, 2008 - Top 20 Rentals and Top 10 Charts (Page 39) Home Media Magazine - September 21, 2008 - Top 20 Rentals and Top 10 Charts (Page 40) Home Media Magazine - September 21, 2008 - Top 20 Rentals and Top 10 Charts (Page 41) Home Media Magazine - September 21, 2008 - Just Announced (Page 42) Home Media Magazine - September 21, 2008 - Just Announced (Page 43) Home Media Magazine - September 21, 2008 - Just Announced (Page 44) Home Media Magazine - September 21, 2008 - Just Announced (Page Cover3) Home Media Magazine - September 21, 2008 - Just Announced (Page Cover4)
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