Home Media Magazine - January 11, 2009 - (Page 3) www.homemediamagazine.com MENU FROM THE EDITOR BY THOMAS K. ARNOLD, PUBLISHER www.homemediamagazine.com Exaggerating Reports of Disc’s Demise PUBLISHER & EDITORIAL DIRECTOR Thomas K. Arnold EDITOR IN CHIEF Stephanie Prange EDITORIAL Managing Editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Angelique Flores Senior Editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Erik Gruenwedel Senior Reporter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Chris Tribbey Assistant Managing Editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . John Latchem Associate Editors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Billy Gil, Kyra Kudick Contributors. . . . . . . . . John Gaudiosi, Anne Sherber, Fred Topel, Ralph Tribbey, Holly J. Wagner Intern . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Michael Lee T ART Art Director . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Melbert Sebayan Graphic Designer. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Charles Park RESEARCH Market Research Assistant . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Kelly Burner ADVERTISING 800/338-6700, FAX 714/338-6712 Advertising Sales Representative . . . . . . . . . . . . John Boezinger 714/338-6704 Advertising Sales Representative . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Julie Savant 714/368-1020 Advertising Sales Representative . . . . . . . . . . . . . Kurt Wohlman 714/338-6749 Business Manager . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Joni Wu Group Administrative Coordinator. . . . . . . . . . Jennifer Guerena For reprints, call 800-290-5460, ext. 100 or HomeMediaMagazine@reprintbuyer.com For direct-mail lists, call Ilene Schwartz, Kroll Direct, 216/371-1667 FAX 216/371-1669 ilene@krolldirect.com he New York Times is in trouble. The august newspaper I don’t know of anyone who has successfully downloaded last week announced it will begin accepting banner ads an HD movie. But a good dozen of my friends have in recent on its front page, a desperate move that comes after staff weeks purchased a Blu-ray Disc player, and one recent Blu-ray reductions, page cuts and plans to remortgage its Manhattan convert just had a fit when Netflix erroneously sent her a DVD headquarters. rather than a Blu-ray. I hate to pick on anyone when they’re down, but the Times also This anecdotal evidence is supported by success stories such has been duped by those who would have you believe that pack- as Warner’s The Dark Knight, which sold 600,000 Blu-rays its aged media is doomed, and that pretty soon first day in stores and a whopping 1.7 million we’ll be downloading all our entertainment. DESPITE THE DOWN ECONO- high-def discs worldwide its first week. In the story “Blu-ray’s Fuzzy Future,” a pair MY, BLU-RAY HAS DOUBLED And now comes a new study that shows Bluof reporters write “discs of all kinds may soon ITS MARKET SHARE OF THE ray is catching on faster with consumers than become obsolete as a new wave of digital TOP 20 TITLES OVER THE LAST DVD. Statistics compiled by EngadgetHD media services starts to flow into the living SIX MONTHS, ACCORDING TO and Pali Capital’s Richard Greenfield show room” and then fire off a quote from Roger THE STUDY. that about 2.5 million standalone Blu-ray Disc L. Kay, president of Endpoint Technologies players have been sold in the last two years, Associates, a research and consulting company I’ve never heard compared with just 1.2 million DVD players in the first two of. Kay proclaims, “The Blu-ray format is in jeopardy simply years of its life cycle. because the advent of downloadable HD movies is so close. Moreover, despite the down economy, Blu-ray has doubled Streaming video from the Internet and other means of direct its market share of the top 20 titles over the last six months, digital delivery are going to put optical formats out of business according to the study. entirely over the next few years.” That hardly sounds like a format with a “fuzzy future.” Say what? That hasn’t even come close to happening in the music world, which is a good 10 years ahead of video. Thomas K. Arnold’s e-mail address is tarnold@questex.com Home Media Magazine celebrates its 30th anniversary this year. Each issue will take a look back on some of the top stories in the home entertainment industry over the years. (See page 4.) MARKETING Marketing Director . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Kristina Kronenberg 714/338-6743 Marketing Coordinator . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Kaitlyn DeWaard DIGITAL MEDIA Online Manager. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Renee Rosado PRODUCTION Production Director . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Bonnie Ling Production Manager . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Jennifer Evans 714/338-6769 OFFICES 714/338-6700, 800/371-6897, FAX 714/338-6710 homemediamagazine@questex.com 201 East Sandpointe Ave., Suite 500 Santa Ana, CA 92707-8716 News …………………………… 4 5 >> HIGH- DEF ON THE WEB Feb. 3-4 IN THIS ISSUE JAN. 12-18, 2009 / VOL. 30 / NO. 2 Genius Products’ begins restructuring following its stock de-listing; Trans World’s December sales are down; Lionsgate to buy TV Guide’s network and site. El Norte News ………………………… I READ OUR FULL REVIEWS Our Web site has expanded versions of the reviews you see in the magazine, plus some reviews you won’t see in print. Go to www.homemediamagazine.com/news-list/Reviews for our frequently updated Reviews section. This week features extended reviews of political farce Swing Vote and the Blu-ray Disc of influential indie film El Norte. Chris Tribbey, Senior Reporter 818-788-8616, FAX 818-530-2486 16130 Ventura Blvd. #570 Encino, CA 91436 News …………………………… Ascent Media Group forms a BD Live task force; A Pioneer HDTV is named video product of the year at CES; Vizio seeks lower patent fees. CREDIT Credit/Collections Director . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Ron Wright Sr. CIRCULATION For subscriptions, please go online to www.homemediamagazine.com For current single copy, back issues or CD-ROM, call 866/344-1315 or 847/763-9594 for outside the U.S. Audience Development Manager. . . . . . . . . . . . Debbie Gullian Circuit City’s bankruptcy is to Best Buy’s benefit, according to one Wall Street analyst; Netflix sets up an indie film competition. >> EL ECTRONIC D EL IV ERY News ………………………… Cine Mercado ………………… 10 Research shows the Latin American market is moving toward more LCD TV shipments; Univision and Comcast sign a distribution agreement. Blockbuster content on Web-enabled TVs at CES; Macrovision brings Web content to the TV; Warner, Paramount deliver content to SD cards. BUSINESS QUESTEX MEDIA GROUP INC. President & CEO: Kerry C. Gumas; Executive Vice President & CFO: Tom Caridi; Executive Vice President: Robert S. Ingraham; Executive Vice President: Tony D’Avino; Executive Vice President, Corporate Development: Claudia Flowers; Executive Vice President: Jon Leibowitz; Vice President, Digital Media: Seth Nichols; Vice President, Human Resources: Diane Evans © 2009 Questex Media Group Inc. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical including by photocopy, recording or information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher. Authorization to photocopy items for internal or personal use, or the internal or personal use of specific clients, is granted by Questex Media Group, Inc. for libraries and other users registered with the Copyright Clearance Center, 222 Rosewood Dr., Danvers, MA 01923 phone: 978-750-8400 fax 978-750-4470; call for copying beyond that permitted by Sections 107 or 108 of the U.S. Copyright Law. For those not registered with the CCC, send permission request in writing to questexpermissions@reprintbuyer.com or call 800-494-9051 ext. 100. WWW.HOMEMEDIAMAGAZINE.COM Research ……………………… 16 Eagle Eye soars to the top of the DVD sales and rental charts. CALENDAR I THE FUTURE OF PACKAGED MEDIA ‘09 Top 20 DVD Sellers ……………………… 16 Top 20 Rentals and Top 10 Charts ……… 17 The Entertainment Merchants Association (EMA), the Content Delivery and Storage Association (CDSA) and the Media-tech Association (MTA) team for an event on the packaged media supply chain. Hilton Los Angeles, Universal City, Calif. Info: www.futurepackagedmedia.com Printed in the U.S.A. I PEVE DIGITAL ENTERTAINMENT Swing Vote Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa Reviews ………………………… 12 Just Announced ……………… 20 Will Swing Vote win over fans of political comedies? Will Bruce Campbell fans be in on the joke in My Name Is Bruce? Is My Best Friend’s Girl worth pursuing? Paramount plans for Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa; Genius gets naughty with Zack and Miri Make a Porno; Fox scares up The Haunting of Molly Hartley. For the second year, Europe’s longest-running home video conference teams with global media analysts Screen Digest in an effort to address key issues facing the global home entertainment industry. March 12-13 Cité Internationale Universitaire in Paris Info: www.peve.screendigest.com January 12–18, 2009 Home Media Magazine http://www.homemediamagazine.com http://www.homemediamagazine.com http://www.homemediamagazine.com/news-list/Reviews http://www.homemediamagazine.com/news-list/Reviews http://www.homemediamagazine.com http://WWW.HOMEMEDIAMAGAZINE.COM http://www.futurepackagedmedia.com http://www.peve.screendigest.com
Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Home Media Magazine - January 11, 2009 Contents News Cine Mercado Reviews Research Top 20 DVD Sellers Top 20 Rentals and Top 10 Charts Just Announced Home Media Magazine - January 11, 2009 Home Media Magazine - January 11, 2009 - (Page 1) Home Media Magazine - January 11, 2009 - (Page 2) Home Media Magazine - January 11, 2009 - Contents (Page 3) Home Media Magazine - January 11, 2009 - News (Page 4) Home Media Magazine - January 11, 2009 - News (Page 5) Home Media Magazine - January 11, 2009 - News (Page 6) Home Media Magazine - January 11, 2009 - News (Page 7) Home Media Magazine - January 11, 2009 - News (Page 8) Home Media Magazine - January 11, 2009 - News (Page 9) Home Media Magazine - January 11, 2009 - Cine Mercado (Page 10) Home Media Magazine - January 11, 2009 - Cine Mercado (Page 11) Home Media Magazine - January 11, 2009 - Reviews (Page 12) Home Media Magazine - January 11, 2009 - Reviews (Page 13) Home Media Magazine - January 11, 2009 - Reviews (Page 14) Home Media Magazine - January 11, 2009 - Reviews (Page 15) Home Media Magazine - January 11, 2009 - Top 20 DVD Sellers (Page 16) Home Media Magazine - January 11, 2009 - Top 20 Rentals and Top 10 Charts (Page 17) Home Media Magazine - January 11, 2009 - Top 20 Rentals and Top 10 Charts (Page 18) Home Media Magazine - January 11, 2009 - Top 20 Rentals and Top 10 Charts (Page 19) Home Media Magazine - January 11, 2009 - Just Announced (Page 20) Home Media Magazine - January 11, 2009 - Just Announced (Page 21) Home Media Magazine - January 11, 2009 - Just Announced (Page 22) Home Media Magazine - January 11, 2009 - Just Announced (Page 23) Home Media Magazine - January 11, 2009 - Just Announced (Page 24) Home Media Magazine - January 11, 2009 - Just Announced (Page 25) Home Media Magazine - January 11, 2009 - Just Announced (Page 26)
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