Home Media Magazine - June 29 - July 5, 2008 - (Page 12)

NEWS Opening Session Speakers Hail Disc’s Promising Future consumer adoption of the new for“There is no market shift to digital,” mat exceeded that of standard DVD he said. “There is market growth to during its early days 11 years ago and that it is “only a matter of time” before digital.” Addressing a keynote panel discus- a complete transition occurs. “I think it is going to be huge,” said sion about the growth opportunities Blu-ray presents, moderator Thomas panelist Mike Dunn, president of K. Arnold, publisher and editorial di- 20th Century Fox Home Entertainrector of Home Media Magazine, said ment. “The momentum is there; you Continued from page 1 www.homemediamagazine.com high-definition entertainment. Still, James McQuivey, VP and principal analyst with Forrester Research, said challenges remain in convincing consumers of the need to transition to Blu-ray from standard DVD. “The challenge is how do you make them feel the need to do it sooner rather than later,” McQuivey said. The analyst said many consumers view Blu-ray as “DVD plus,” which he said isn’t incorrect considering the nascent status of BD Live, which allows players to be connected to the Internet. “So, it’s going to be hard to convince them that it is time to change,” McQuivey said. He said the panel’s enthusiasm for Blu-ray could only be realized if there is a unified “channel environment” of stores, distributors, retailers and consumer electronics manufacturers who address consumers with one voice. “That will cause consumers to realize, ‘Oh, that is the way of the future. That’s what I have to do,’” he said. “And they will do it sooner rather than later.” Panelists agreed that lower-priced upconverting DVD players that claim to play standard DVD in high-definition only confuse the consumer and hinder Blu-ray adoption. Dunn said that as Blu-ray realizes its full functionality, increasing numbers of consumers would eventually give in to their inner “HD snobs” and adopt the format. “As [Profile 2.0, Web-connected] player availability starts to expand, you’ll see that the word-of-mouth will take off,” Dunn said. Keyes said Blockbuster has dedicated the center of its stores to showcase Blu-ray point-of-purchase displays, with plans to roll out greater Blu-ray movie selections alongside standard DVD on store walls. “We want to put the Blu-ray copy right in front of [the customer’s] face,” Keyes said. Rich Marty, VP of new business development with Sony Pictures Home Entertainment, highlighted the features of BD Live using a Bluray copy of Men in Black that allowed viewers in different locales to play a game together. At the end of the session, Eric Doctorow, GM of MGM Home Entertainment, announced the industry’s top retailers, which included independent single-store winner Video Plus & Tanning in Rice Lake, Wis.; independent multiple-store winner Kent Smith with Island Video in Seattle; mass merchant/grocery winner Giant Eagle; chain entertainment specialist winner Hastings Entertainment, based in Amarillo, Texas; and online retailer of the year Netflix. see it in the first couple quarters of the year. Every title is selling double what the last [Blu-ray] title did.” Dunn said Blu-ray would help home entertainment revenue rebound to $22 billion by 2011. He said standard DVD would continue to play a significant part and that the transition to Blu-ray must be managed carefully. Jim Keyes, CEO of Blockbuster Inc., said Blu-ray represents a “classic lifecycle extender” for packaged media. Eisuke Tsuyuzaki, VP of corporate development of Panasonic Corp. of America and GM of its Blu-ray Disc Group, said Blu-ray would help satiate burgeoning households acquiring larger flat-screen televisions and in need of (Touching Evil) After an accused rapist confesses to brutally slaughtering his family in a small town in Texas, renowned clinical psychiatrist Dr. Tony Hill (Robson Green) is called in as an expert witness. But there are dark secrets in the town, and someone is willing to kill to keep them buried. KOC-DV-6541 UPC: 7-41952-65419-3 ISBN: 1-4172-3060-6 • SRP: $24.98 Running Time: 90 minutes • Mystery Dolby Digital • 16x9 Anamorphic Production Year: 2008 NATIONAL MARKETING & PUBLICITY CAMPAIGN Including Targeted Print, TV and Internet Advertising: Strand Magazine, BBC America, DVD Talk, PopMatters and more! Pre-Book Date: 7/8/08 Street Date: 8/5/08 Watch WIRE IN THE BLOOD clips at WWW.KOCHCLIPS.COM For more information visit WWW.KOCHB2B.COM © 2007 Coastal Productions Limited. Authorized for sale in the United States and Canada under a license with Southern Star. All rights reserved. Kochb2b.com 12 http://www.homemediamagazine.com http://WWW.KOCHCLIPS.COM http://WWW.KOCHB2B.COM http://Kochb2b.com

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