Home Media Magazine - May 11-17, 2008 - (Page 3)

www.homemediamagazine.com MENU FROM THE EDITOR BY STEPHANIE PRANGE, EDITOR IN CHIEF www.homemediamagazine.com A Disturbing Lull for Blu-ray lu-ray Disc format backers may be blowing an oppor- financial call, Fox chief Peter Chernin said many retailers carry just one or two Blu-ray players, waiting for a manufacturing tunity. We'v e hit a lull in the Blu-ray push. It's almost enough push for third-generation players. He expects the new players to make you wish for the old days of competition with HD DVD. to reach the market by summer and contribute to an upswing At least that would give the Blu-ray format backers some reason of both player and movie sales through the fourth quarter. The third-generation players do seem to be on the way. to make some definitive moves. Right now, things are in limbo, with retailers waiting for the updated Last week Panasonic and Pioneer Electronics announced pending launches of new third-generation Blu-ray players from manufacturers to hit. ª BD player prices remain high and supplies WE'V E HIT A LULL IN THE Blu-ray Disc players with Bonus View (picare limited,º said Applied Business Intelligence BLU-RAY PUSH. IT'S ALMOST ture-in-picture) and BD-Live (Web-enabled interactivity), among other features. Panasonanalyst Steve Wilson in a recent report. ª This is ENOUGH TO MAKE ic's DMP-BD50 player Ð available this spring good for the market because most current playYOU WISH FOR THE OLD Ð retails for $699.95. Pioneer's BDP-51FD ers do not support all [disc] functions.º DAYS OF COMPETITION and BDP-05FD models Ð available this sumGood? I beg to differ. I see it as a potentially WITH HD DVD. mer Ð carry suggested prices of $599 and damaging loss of momentum. Indeed, a recent NPD report found sales of standalone (non $799, respectively. Those prices aren't exactly cheap, and not PlayStation 3) Blu-ray players fell 40% from January to Feb- even close to Iger's $300 tipping point. Here's hoping it's not too little, too late. ruary in the United States and only saw a 2% increase from After beating rival HD DVD, the Blu-ray format seems to have lost February to March. Along with high player prices Ð which Walt Disney Co. chief its drive. Blu-ray backers better find that drive again quickly Ð or Robert Iger noted need to drop to $300 Ð the lack of upgraded, they will find consumers are going to stick with DVD. fully functional Blu-ray Players (with picture-in-picture and other capabilities) has kept format growth subdued. In last week's Stephanie Prange' s e-mail address is sprange@questex.com 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 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Ruby Cardenas 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 MARKETING Marketing Director . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Kristina Kronenberg 714/338-6743 Marketing Assistant . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Kaitlyn DeWaard IN THIS ISSUE MAY 11-17, 2008 / VOL. 30 / NO. 19 News ¼ ¼ ¼ ¼ ¼ ¼ ¼ ¼ ¼ ¼ ¼ CALENDAR I DISPLAY WEEK 2008 Now in its 46th year, the international event gathers scientists, engineers, manufacturers and users in the electronic-display industry. May 18-23 Los Angeles Convention Center, Los Angeles DIGITAL MEDIA Online Manager. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Renee Rosado PRODUCTION Production Director . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Bonnie Ling Production Manager . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Justin-Nicholas Toyama 714/338-6765 Assistant Production Manager . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Brady Gallardo 6 8 14 >> HIGH- DEF Blockbuster co-sponsors an ª Indiana Jonesº race car; DVD revenue is down for Paramount; Starz combines subsidiary management; Cinram posts a loss. 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 ¼ ¼ ¼ ¼ ¼ ¼ ¼ ¼ ¼ ¼ ¼ Pioneer' s BDP-05FD info: www.sid2008.org Chris Tribbey, Senior Reporter 818-788-8616, FAX 818-530-2486 16130 Ventura Blvd. #570 Encino, CA 91436 Potter and Transformers lead EMA Award noms; EMA honors Pauly Shore; the upcoming ESCA and Home Media Magazine conferences co-locate. News ¼ ¼ ¼ ¼ ¼ ¼ ¼ ¼ ¼ ¼ CREDIT Credit/Collections Director . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Ron Wright Sr. Commentary ¼ ¼ ¼ ¼ ¼ ¼ ¼ ¼ 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. . . . . . . . . . . Sarah Joy Obaña Senior reporter Chris Tribbey says P4P technology may make illegal downloads even easier. Pioneer and Panasonic reveal third-generation Blu-ray players; BDLive.com launches for special feature developers; Criterion slates BD titles. I TRANSFORMATIONS: THE SEVENTH ANNUAL HOME ENTERTAINMENT SUMMIT The home entertainment industry' s most prestigious annual gathering of studio executives, analysts and other industry leaders. This year' s conference comes just as the format war has ended, setting the stage for a transition from standard DVD to Blu-ray Disc. June 16-17 Hyatt Regency Century Plaza, Century City, Calif. info: www.homemediaconferences.com >> EL ECTRONIC D EL IV ERY ª30 Rockº 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; Vice President & General Manager: Don Rosenberg; Vice President, Digital Media: Seth Nichols; Vice President, Human Resources: Diane Evans © 2008 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. I EMA'S HOME MEDIA EXPO 2008 ªThe North Face Expeditionsº TV DVD ¼ ¼ ¼ ¼ ¼ ¼ ¼ ¼ ¼ ¼ Cine Mercado ¼ ¼ ¼ ¼ ¼ ¼ ¼ Reviews ¼ ¼ ¼ ¼ ¼ ¼ ¼ ¼ ¼ ¼ Pipeline ¼ ¼ ¼ ¼ ¼ ¼ ¼ ¼ ¼ ¼ 16 18 22 26 News ¼ ¼ ¼ ¼ ¼ ¼ ¼ ¼ ¼ ¼ Voom HD slates high-def cable content on DVD; BBC skeds Spaced; Paramount has animated Transformers. Zune expands its online store to include more video; Lycos unveils a VOD rental service; HP adds YouTube to its Web-connected products. The Home Media Expo gathers players from all over the home entertainment field, such as buyers, entertainment retailers, suppliers, distributors and sellers of home entertainment content. June 24-28 The Palms Hotel & Casino, Las Vegas info: www.homemediaexpo.com Latino music DVD sales showed growth in 2007; Paramount plans to release big titles en Español. Research ¼ ¼ ¼ ¼ ¼ ¼ ¼ ¼ ¼ ¼ ¼ 28 29 Printed in the U.S.A. Fox's 27 Dresses sashayed to the top of the DVD sales and rental charts. I SAN DIEGO COMIC-CON INTERNATIONAL 2008 The San Diego Comic-Con enters its 39th year as the country' s premier comics and popular arts convention with a brand new slate of special guests, themes and anniversaries, and programming. July 24-27 San Diego Convention Center, San Diego, Calif. info: comic-con.org Is Indiana Jones: The Adventure Collection worth raiding your wallet? Top 20 DVD Sellers ¼ ¼¼¼¼¼¼ Top 20 Rentals and Top 10 Charts ¼ ¼ ¼ Legendary music documentary All You Need is Love makes its DVD debut; Web spoof 305 is expanded to a DTV; Jon Favreau ponders the Iron Man DVD. Just Announced ¼ ¼ ¼ ¼ ¼ ¼ Disney breaks out Step Up 2: The Streets; Sony Pictures draws up Persepolis. May 11±1 7, 2008 Home Media Magazine http://www.homemediamagazine.com http://www.homemediamagazine.com http://www.sid2008.org http://www.homemediamagazine.com http://www.homemediaconferences.com http://www.homemediaexpo.com http://comic-con.org

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Home Media Magazine - May 11-17, 2008

Home Media Magazine - May 11-17, 2008 Contents News News News News Commentary TV DVD Cine Mercado Reviews Pipeline Research Top 20 DVD Sellers Top 20 Rentals and Top 10 Charts Just Announced Christian Entertainment Review Contents Product Profile Talent Profile Retail Profile Reviews New Releases

Home Media Magazine - May 11-17, 2008

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