Home Media Magazine - November 2-November 8, 2008 - (Page 1) NOVEMBER 2–8, 2008 >> HIGH-DEF Digital Hollywood: HD DVD Stages Revival, Spurs Format War in China By Chris Tribbey ANTA MONICA, Calif. — HD DVD is not dead. It’s found a home in China and has a new name: China Blue HighDef (CBHD). That’s blue with an ‘e.’ The format war loser’s specs have been changed a bit to accommodate China’s set of audio and video codecs. But little else has changed: S BRINGING DIGITAL ENTERTAINMENT TO YOU The DVD Forum’s optical disc will likely have to fight Blu-ray Disc again for high-def dominance starting next year. And Toshiba is again carrying the banner against Sony. “It’s really morphed into a Chineseled effort,” said Forum director Mark Waring, with Sanyo. “The licensing has been started and the wheels are certainly rolling. HD DVD, we’ve See DVD FORUM, Page 28 INSIDE >> HD Plus Expo panelists say HD will improve. >> Blu Friday Sears plans Bluray price cuts for Black Friday. PAGE 10 >> ELEC TRONIC DELIVERY Netflix to Stream Content on TiVo By Erik Gruenwedel nline DVD rental pioneer Netflix and digital video recording pioneer TiVo Oct. 30 began to beta-test delivering movie and episodic television streams directly to the TV. The tests, conducted in several thousand U.S. households, allow Netflix and TiVo Series 3, HD and HD XL subscribers free access to more than 12,000 programming streams. A nationwide rollout of the program is slated for early December. The TiVo agreement marks the fifth streaming deal (of 100 planned) Los Gatos, Calif.-based Netflix has struck with device manufacturers. Others include Samsung and LG Blu-ray players, Microsoft’s Xbox 360 and the proprietary set-top box manufactured by Roku. Online reports said Xbox 360 Nov. Digital Hollywood Sees a Bright Future Panelists agree the industry won’t suffer much from the economy By Chris Tribbey ANTA MONICA, Calif. — A Digital Hollywood panel on the current and future value of digital media took a political turn Oct. 27 when an audience member asked how the industry would be affected should America be«IF YOU’RE come a “spread the wealth” AROUND country next year. FOUR OF FIVE After panelists looked at YEARS NOW, each other, unsure how to THAT’S GOOD. respond to the reference FLAT IS THE to presidential candidate NEW UP.» Barack Obama, Peter Daley, PETER DALEY, VP of tech advisory firm UNION SQUARE Union Square Advisors, fiADVISORS nally said: “Hopefully, that means there’s gonna be some wealth to share.” Like most segments of American business, media and entertainment companies are being affected by the downturn in the economy, the panelists said. Investments into new online ventures are slowing, and advertisers are being O S more careful where they spend their money. On the flipside: As in past difficult economic times, home entertainment fares well, simply because people spend more time at home. “People stop going out to movies and instead watch a DVD or [video-on-demand],” Daley said, adding that the bar for content See PANELISTS, Page 24 RENTAIL PUTS POSITIVE SPIN ON ECONOMIC WOES By Erik Gruenwedel 19 will begin offering the first Netflix streams available in high-definition. Additionally, the online DVD rental pioneer last week announced it will begin using new software that for the first time will let Mac users stream movies to their computers (see story, page 12). See NETFLIX, Page 28 INSIDE >> Disney on Demand TiVo to stream Disney fare. >> Macs Get Netflix Streams On newer Macs. PAGE 12 The troubled economy may spell opportunity for video rental stores, as cash-strapped consumers skip nights out on the town and gravitate toward more economical ways to entertain themselves. Todd Zaganiacz, president of the National Entertainment Buying Group, a coalition of 300 independent video rentailers nationwide, said rental See RENTAIL, Page 28 RETAIL Home A R C H Media RESE MAR KET S HAR E 12% as of 10/26/08 I Blu-ray I DVD Kiosk Companies Seek Legal Advice By Chris Tribbey iosk operators are looking to circumvent Universal Studios Home Entertainment’s new revenue-sharing policy, which has sparked a lawsuit from Redbox. The studio’s new terms for kiosk operators would prohibit renting or selling Universal DVDs until 45 days after they first street; limit Consumers spent $123.16 million on DVDs for the week Blu-ray vs. DVD Sales* Consumers spent $17.71 million on Blu-ray Discs for the week K the number of Universal DVDs the kiosk operator can stock; and require kiosk operators to destroy Universal DVDs after they leave the kiosks, instead of being sold as used to consumers. The policy change would take affect Dec. 1. Redbox has filed suit against the studio over the proposals, claiming they misuse copyrights See ANALYST, Page 24 Down 4.83% from the previous week. * Top 20 unit volume 88% Down 1.26% from the previous week. Source: Home Media Research NEWS DreamWorks Animation SKG’s Q3 is down, but president and CFO Lew Coleman says Kung Fu Panda will help spur the fourth quarter. RESEARCH Universal’s The Incredible Hulk muscles the latest “Indiana Jones” installment out of the top spot on all three major charts. PRODUCT David Lynch discusses the contents of his new Lime Green Set, due Nov. 18 from Ryko, as well as his thoughts on home entertainment. Page 8 Page 20 Page 26
Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Home Media Magazine - November 2-November 8, 2008 Home Media Magazine - November 2, 2008 Contents News News News TV DVD Independent Film Reviews Research Top 20 DVD Sellers Top 20 Rentals and Top 10 Charts Just Announced Christian Entertainment Review Home Media Magazine - November 2-November 8, 2008 Home Media Magazine - November 2-November 8, 2008 - Home Media Magazine - November 2, 2008 (Page Cover1) Home Media Magazine - November 2-November 8, 2008 - Home Media Magazine - November 2, 2008 (Page Cover2) Home Media Magazine - November 2-November 8, 2008 - Home Media Magazine - November 2, 2008 (Page 1) Home Media Magazine - November 2-November 8, 2008 - Home Media Magazine - November 2, 2008 (Page 2) Home Media Magazine - November 2-November 8, 2008 - Home Media Magazine - November 2, 2008 (Page 3) Home Media Magazine - November 2-November 8, 2008 - Home Media Magazine - November 2, 2008 (Page 4) Home Media Magazine - November 2-November 8, 2008 - Home Media Magazine - November 2, 2008 (Page 5) Home Media Magazine - November 2-November 8, 2008 - Home Media Magazine - November 2, 2008 (Page 6) Home Media Magazine - November 2-November 8, 2008 - Contents (Page 7) Home Media Magazine - November 2-November 8, 2008 - News (Page 8) Home Media Magazine - November 2-November 8, 2008 - News (Page 9) Home Media Magazine - November 2-November 8, 2008 - News (Page 10) Home Media Magazine - November 2-November 8, 2008 - News (Page 11) Home Media Magazine - November 2-November 8, 2008 - News (Page 12) Home Media Magazine - November 2-November 8, 2008 - TV DVD (Page 13) Home Media Magazine - November 2-November 8, 2008 - Independent Film (Page 14) Home Media Magazine - November 2-November 8, 2008 - Independent Film (Page 15) Home Media Magazine - November 2-November 8, 2008 - Reviews (Page 16) Home Media Magazine - November 2-November 8, 2008 - Reviews (Page 17) Home Media Magazine - November 2-November 8, 2008 - Reviews (Page 18) Home Media Magazine - November 2-November 8, 2008 - Reviews (Page 19) Home Media Magazine - November 2-November 8, 2008 - Top 20 DVD Sellers (Page 20) Home Media Magazine - November 2-November 8, 2008 - Top 20 DVD Sellers (Page 21) Home Media Magazine - November 2-November 8, 2008 - Top 20 Rentals and Top 10 Charts (Page 22) Home Media Magazine - November 2-November 8, 2008 - Top 20 Rentals and Top 10 Charts (Page 23) Home Media Magazine - November 2-November 8, 2008 - Top 20 Rentals and Top 10 Charts (Page 24) Home Media Magazine - November 2-November 8, 2008 - Top 20 Rentals and Top 10 Charts (Page 25) Home Media Magazine - November 2-November 8, 2008 - Just Announced (Page 26) Home Media Magazine - November 2-November 8, 2008 - Just Announced (Page 27) Home Media Magazine - November 2-November 8, 2008 - Just Announced (Page 28) Home Media Magazine - November 2-November 8, 2008 - Just Announced (Page Cover3) Home Media Magazine - November 2-November 8, 2008 - Just Announced (Page Cover4)
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