Home Media Magazine - October 5 - 11, 2008 - (Page 14) HIGH-DEF www.homemediamagazine.com ‘BROTHERS’ ON BLU-RAY By John Latchem ary Goetzman has a lot to be thankful for this year. He was executive producer, with Tom Hanks, on the Emmywinning miniseries John Adams. Goetzman also served as executive producer, alongside Hanks and Steven Spielberg, on the World War II miniseries Band of Brothers, which HBO Home Entertainment releases on Blu-ray Disc this Veterans Day, Nov. 11 (prebook Oct. 7). “When you’re making something important and big, you want it to be on the best possible technology,” Goetzman said. “People are excited about Blu-ray, and it has become our standard.” The 10-part miniseries, based on the book by Stephen Ambrose, recounts the story of Easy Company, which parachuted into France on DDay in 1944 and marched through Europe into Germany. It stars Damian Lewis (“Life”), Donnie Wahlberg (Righteous Kill), Ron Livingston (Office Space), Scott Grimes (“American Dad”) G and Peter Youngblood Hills (“Foyle’s War”). The episodes are intercut with the remembrances of the actual veterans whose stories are retold. “It’s a defining moment in American history,” Goetzman said. “For once, we all agreed we had a problem, and we banded together to solve it. We as a nation were all on the same page for this huge, historic event. We agreed there was only one outcome that any of us wanted. It’s the kind of event we want to hear more stories about.” The six-disc Blu-ray set comes in a tin box at $99.98 and includes all the extras from the DVD set, such as the 80-minute documentary We Stand Alone Together: The Men of Easy Company, and other behind-the-scenes featurettes. Exclusive to the Blu-ray edition are “In the Words of Easy Company,” a picture-inpicture commentary from the veterans, and “In the Field With the Men of Easy Company,” an interactive field guide. Goetzman said remastering the miniseries for high-def didn’t present too many challenges. “We were in pretty good shape,” Goetzman said. “Band of Brothers was shot on film, but we always had to deliver it to HBO in high-def.” Band of Brothers originally aired on HBO in 2001 and was released on DVD in 2002, becoming the all-time top TV DVD title in terms of revenue. The miniseries won six Emmys, including outstanding miniseries. As something of a follow-up, Goetzman is re-teaming with Hanks and Spielberg to executive produce The Pacific, which follows the story of several Marines fighting in the Pacific Theater in WWII. The 10-part miniseries will debut on HBO in March 2010, Goetzman said. Goetzman and Hanks also are preparing a miniseries version of 1776, based on the book by John Adams scribe David McCullough. Goetzman hopes to land much of the same cast as Adams, which won a record 13 Emmys. Sony Drops the Price On Two BD Players By Erik Gruenwedel ony Electronics Oct. 1 slashed $100 from the retail prices of two standalone Profile 2.0 Blu-ray players: the BDP-S350 (which now has a BD Live firmware upgrade) to $299 and the BDP-S550 to $399. The BDP-S550 is slated to bow at retail by Oct. 26. BRIEFS I TECHNICOLOR ESTABLISHES FIRST BD TESTING CENTER Replicator Technicolor has established the nation’s first Blu-ray Disc testing center, backed by the Blu-ray Disc Association. The Burbank, Calif.,-based center will offer audio, visual and interactive feature testing. “This will provide a value-added service to the industry and ultimately result in a better user experience of Blu-ray Discs,” said Bob Michaels, VP of worldwide DVD compression and authoring services for Technicolor. – Chris Tribbey plasma prices down 27% since August 2006, consumers have more incentive to get an HDTV, PriceGrabber said. Also, because of the digital TV transition, 14% of respondents said an HDTV was their fix. In the next 12 months, 57% of surveyed respondents plan to buy an HDTV, 38% plan to purchase a Blu-ray Disc player and 51% of current HDTV owners are likely to buy a second HDTV set, the report said. – Chris Tribbey S This marks the first time Sony has offered a Blu-ray player below the price of its $399 PlayStation 3, which features a Blu-ray drive. The price reductions, which have been rumored for months, were disclosed on the consumer electronics manufacturer’s site, www.sonystyle. com. I CONSUMERS SEEK HDTVS An HDTV is on the shopping list for many first-time buyers, according to PriceGrabber.com. A survey of 1,915 respondents in September found that of the 43% who didn’t have an HDTV, 73% planned on getting one within the next 12 months. With average LCD prices down 13% and TOP 20 HIGH-DEF BLU-R AY D ISC Week ended September 28, 2008 LABEL INDEX TOP 20 HIGH-DEF B D M A R K E T S HA R E Percentage of Sales Per Title vs DVD Week ended September 28, 2008 LABEL PERCENT TITLE TITLE B LU-R AY D I S C C O M I NG U P STREETING Beetlejuice: 20th Anniversary Warner Street Date: 10/7 Carrie Fox/MGM Street Date: 10/7 The Happening Fox Street Date: 10/7 The Omen Collection Fox Street Date: 10/7 Sleeping Beauty Disney Street Date: 10/7 You Don’t Mess With the Zohan Sony Pictures Street Date: 10/7 PREBOOKING Star Wars: The Clone Wars Warner Pre: 10/7, Street: 11/11 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 Sex and the City: The Movie The Godfather: The Coppola Restoration Transformers Speed Racer Leatherheads The Forbidden Kingdom L.A. Confidential The Nightmare Before Christmas Batman Begins 300 88 Minutes Pirates of the Caribbean Trilogy Madagascar Planet Earth: The Complete Series Predator Blow Made of Honor The Love Guru Run Fatboy Run Troy: Director’s Cut Warner 100.00 Paramount 64.03 Para./DreamWorks 25.09 Warner 19.51 Universal 13.60 Lionsgate 12.09 Warner 11.67 Disney 9.00 Warner 8.81 Warner 8.75 Sony Pictures 8.20 Disney 7.10 Para./DreamWorks 6.95 BBC Video 5.79 Fox 5.75 Warner 5.54 Sony Pictures 5.30 Paramount 4.91 Warner 4.90 Warner 4.77 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 Pirates of the Caribbean Trilogy* Predator The Godfather: The Coppola Restoration L.A. Confidential Blow Troy: Director’s Cut Planet Earth: The Complete Series Madagascar Batman Begins 300 Transformers The Nightmare Before Christmas Speed Racer The Forbidden Kingdom 88 Minutes Run Fatboy Run Leatherheads The Love Guru Sex and the City: The Movie Made of Honor Disney 100.00% Fox 77.08% Paramount 68.25% Warner 51.74% Warner 44.14% Warner 39.48% BBC Video 36.52% Para./DreamWorks 35.35% Warner 32.77% Warner 30.12% Para./DreamWorks 23.50% Disney 18.17% Warner 12.84% Lionsgate 12.58% Sony Pictures 8.80% Warner 6.75% Universal 6.08% Paramount 4.63% Warner 3.37% Sony Pictures 3.22% Source: Nielsen VideoScan First Alert data *Exclusively available on Blu-ray 14 Home Media Magazine October 5–11, 2008 http://www.homemediamagazine.com http://www.pricegrabber.com http://www.pricegrabber.com http://www.sonystyle.com http://www.sonystyle.com
Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Home Media Magazine - October 5 - 11, 2008 Home Media Magazine - October 5 - 11, 2008 Contents News TV DVD Gay/Lesbian Reviews Pipeline Research Top 20 DVD Sellers Top 20 Rentals and Top 10 Charts Just Announced Home Media Magazine - October 5 - 11, 2008 Home Media Magazine - October 5 - 11, 2008 - Home Media Magazine - October 5 - 11, 2008 (Page Cover1) Home Media Magazine - October 5 - 11, 2008 - Home Media Magazine - October 5 - 11, 2008 (Page Cover2) Home Media Magazine - October 5 - 11, 2008 - Home Media Magazine - October 5 - 11, 2008 (Page 1) Home Media Magazine - October 5 - 11, 2008 - Home Media Magazine - October 5 - 11, 2008 (Page 2) Home Media Magazine - October 5 - 11, 2008 - Home Media Magazine - October 5 - 11, 2008 (Page 3) Home Media Magazine - October 5 - 11, 2008 - Home Media Magazine - October 5 - 11, 2008 (Page 4) Home Media Magazine - October 5 - 11, 2008 - Home Media Magazine - October 5 - 11, 2008 (Page 5) Home Media Magazine - October 5 - 11, 2008 - Home Media Magazine - October 5 - 11, 2008 (Page 6) Home Media Magazine - October 5 - 11, 2008 - Contents (Page 7) Home Media Magazine - October 5 - 11, 2008 - News (Page 8) Home Media Magazine - October 5 - 11, 2008 - News (Page 9) Home Media Magazine - October 5 - 11, 2008 - News (Page 10) Home Media Magazine - October 5 - 11, 2008 - News (Page 11) Home Media Magazine - October 5 - 11, 2008 - News (Page 12) Home Media Magazine - October 5 - 11, 2008 - News (Page 13) Home Media Magazine - October 5 - 11, 2008 - News (Page 14) Home Media Magazine - October 5 - 11, 2008 - News (Page 15) Home Media Magazine - October 5 - 11, 2008 - News (Page 16) Home Media Magazine - October 5 - 11, 2008 - News (Page 17) Home Media Magazine - October 5 - 11, 2008 - TV DVD (Page 18) Home Media Magazine - October 5 - 11, 2008 - TV DVD (Page 19) Home Media Magazine - October 5 - 11, 2008 - Gay/Lesbian (Page 20) Home Media Magazine - October 5 - 11, 2008 - Gay/Lesbian (Page 21) Home Media Magazine - October 5 - 11, 2008 - Gay/Lesbian (Page 22) Home Media Magazine - October 5 - 11, 2008 - Gay/Lesbian (Page 23) Home Media Magazine - October 5 - 11, 2008 - Reviews (Page 24) Home Media Magazine - October 5 - 11, 2008 - Reviews (Page 25) Home Media Magazine - October 5 - 11, 2008 - Reviews (Page 26) Home Media Magazine - October 5 - 11, 2008 - Reviews (Page 27) Home Media Magazine - October 5 - 11, 2008 - Reviews (Page 28) Home Media Magazine - October 5 - 11, 2008 - Reviews (Page 29) Home Media Magazine - October 5 - 11, 2008 - Pipeline (Page 30) Home Media Magazine - October 5 - 11, 2008 - Pipeline (Page 31) Home Media Magazine - October 5 - 11, 2008 - Top 20 DVD Sellers (Page 32) Home Media Magazine - October 5 - 11, 2008 - Top 20 DVD Sellers (Page 33) Home Media Magazine - October 5 - 11, 2008 - Top 20 Rentals and Top 10 Charts (Page 34) Home Media Magazine - October 5 - 11, 2008 - Top 20 Rentals and Top 10 Charts (Page 35) Home Media Magazine - October 5 - 11, 2008 - Top 20 Rentals and Top 10 Charts (Page 36) Home Media Magazine - October 5 - 11, 2008 - Top 20 Rentals and Top 10 Charts (Page 37) Home Media Magazine - October 5 - 11, 2008 - Just Announced (Page 38) Home Media Magazine - October 5 - 11, 2008 - Just Announced (Page 39) Home Media Magazine - October 5 - 11, 2008 - Just Announced (Page 40) Home Media Magazine - October 5 - 11, 2008 - Just Announced (Page Cover3) Home Media Magazine - October 5 - 11, 2008 - Just Announced (Page Cover4)
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