Home Media Magazine - October 5 - 11, 2008 - (Page 3) OCTOBER 5–11, 2008 3-D Has Come A Long Way By Chris Tribbey NIVERSAL CITY, Calif. — The exhibit floor at the third annual 3-D Biz Expo included about a dozen HDTV and projector 3-D displays, every one of them with eyepopping images. The future for at-home 3-D may or may not be autostereoscopic (without glasses). But for now, glasses are the way most companies are leaning. And 3-D technology is advancing way beyond the goofy blue-and-red glasses mom and dad once wore. “The technology has come leaps and bounds from where it used to be,” said Buzz Hays, se- U BRINGING DIGITAL ENTERTAINMENT TO YOU Beowulf is heading to 3-D. nior VFX producer, stereoscopic 3-D, for Sony Pictures Imageworks. As for the one no-glasses HDTV at the expo — Philips’ 56-inch QFHD 3D HDTV, available in mid-2009 — both the good and the bad of current autostereoscopic technology were on display. Viewers have to sit at certain spaced-out angles — no closer than 6.5 feet, no farther than 16.5 See 3-D, Page 36 t >> HIGH-DEF >> ELECTRO N IC DELIVERY RealNetworks, Studios File Suits Over DVD Copying By Erik Gruenwedel LEGAL Digital media company RealNetworks Sept. 30 filed a preemptive federal lawsuit against the major studios and DVD Copy Control Association, seeking court approval for software that allows users to legally copy commercial DVDs to their PCs. The studios, via the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA), shortly thereafter filed a countersuit in Los Angeles. District Court seeking a temporary restraining order preventing sales and distribution of RealDVD, which went on sale online the same day for $29.99. The studios also seek unspecified damages. Seattle-based RealNetworks touts the software, which it claims is compliant with CSS encryption, as ideal for consumers who want flexibility, less clutter and a lower risk of damage to their store-bought DVDs. The suit, filed in San Francisco District Court, seeks declaratory judgment against the DVD Copy Control Association, Disney Enterprises, Paramount Pictures Corp., Sony Pictures Entertainment, 20th Century Fox Film Corp., NBC Universal, Warner Bros. Entertainment and Viacom. “RealNetworks took this legal action to protect consumers’ ability to Europeans Slower to Adopt Blu-ray Waiting on U.S. to lead the way By Stephanie Prange RAGUE, Czech Republic — The European DVD market, like that in the United States, is essentially flat, with a few pockets of growth potential in the Eastern exercise their fair-use rights for their purchased DVDs,” the complaint said. In addition to CSS encryption, RealNetworks said the software includes an additional layer of digital rights management that it said effectively restricts the See REALNETWORKS, Page 40 INSIDE >> ‘Iron’ PCs Dell preloads Iron Man on some PCs. >> Big Cities Connected Metropolises on the coasts are most Web-connected. PAGE 16 P and Central European markets, speakers said at the ESCA Europe conference. Meanwhile, Europe is waiting on the United States to help it move into the Blu-ray future. See ESCA, Page 40 >> Testing Blu-ray Technicolor establishes a Blu-ray Disc testing center. NETFLIX GETS STARZ PLAY FILMS FOR STREAMING By Erik Gruenwedel INSIDE PAGE 14 >> ‘Brothers’ on Blu Producer Gary Goetzman talks BD Band of Brothers. >> Sony Cuts BD Prices Sony Electronics cuts $100 off the price of two of its players. N Home A R C H Media RESE MAR KET S HAR E 6% as of 9/28/08 I Blu-ray I DVD Consumers spent $118.94 million on DVDs for the week Blu-ray vs. DVD Sales* Consumers spent $10.92 million on Blu-ray Discs for the week Up 6.87% from the previous week. * Top 20 unit volume 94% Up 23.22% from the previous week. Source: Home Media Research etflix’s fledgling movie-streaming service Oct. 1 took a quantum leap in title selections when it inked a license deal with Starz Entertainment LLC. Financial terms were not disclosed. Netflix subscribers would have free access to about 2,500 premium movies, TV shows and concerts from Englewood, Colo.based Starz’ broadband movie subscription service, Starz Play. Among the initial 1,000 titles available to Netflix’s Watch Instantly streaming service: Spider-Man 3, Ratatouille, Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End, Superbad, No Country for Old Men and Hannah Montana and Miley Cyrus: Best of Both Worlds Concert, among others. Netflix has about 12,000 (largely independent) titles for streaming in addition to more than 100,000 titles for DVD by mail. This is the first time Netflix will offer ‘A’-list titles for streaming. The Los Gatos, Calif.-based online DVD rental pioneer is also tendering a Starz Play-only subscription for $7.99 a month. See NETFLIX, Page 36 NEWS Circuit City posts a bigger-thanexpected loss, with shares dropping comparatively faster than the slumping economy. RESEARCH Consumers were all about sex this week — Sex and the City: The Movie, that is. The Warner comedy topped sales and rentals. PRODUCT The Dark Knight is finally slated to swoop onto DVD and Blu-ray Disc Dec. 9, from Warner Home Video. Page 8 Page 32 Page 38
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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