Home Media Magazine - August 3-9, 2008 - (Page 26) NEWS Panasonic Exec Says Blu-ray Essential to HD Continued from page 1 on Blu-ray in the fourth quarter. How important is Blu-ray to Panasonic? www.homemediamagazine.com formats, so DVD is primarily used in home-theater-in-a-box applications, in portable applications and DVD recorders. That’s where we still see DVD having some meaning. We do sell DVD players, but for your living room, you are looking for a Blu-ray player. It’s as simple as that. I HM: Which of the current theatrical box office hit releases on Blu-ray will be most important: The Dark Knight, Iron Man, Indiana Jones, etc.? Any preference? I HM: Is the side-by-side visual display still the best tool to promote Blu-ray? fusing to consumers? Tsuyuzaki: I think it is a very efTsuyuzaki: The question really is: fective way. Once you have seen it How important is high-definition to — the picture, sound, interactive Panasonic? As black-and-white went applications — the light bulb goes to color and analog is going to digital, on and people get the “aha.” everything around us is becoming I HM: What is Panasonic doing in terms of high-definition. Big-screen TVs, cam- point-of-purchase displays, kiosks and relatcorders and digital still cameras are all ed efforts to sell/promote the new format? becoming high-definition enabled. Tsuyuzaki: We have Blu-ray endWhat I’ve always said is that Blu- caps at retail. Most of the marketing ray completes high-definition. It not dollars are going into the retail enonly ties together packaged media vironment and not just into generic and laptops; it also does authoring, promotions on awareness. We are archiving and other things. Blu-ray putting our money at retail. The pichas always been in the center of this ture quality is a strong component HD universe. of it. Another component is the 7.1 So from a strategic point of view, surround sound. it is critical to the health and growth I HM: Is BD Live the killer app to fuel Bluof our industry. ray adoption in the United States? I HM: Are consumer electronics manufac- Tsuyuzaki: I wouldn’t call it the killturers doing enough to promote Blu-ray? er app. There are two types of BluTsuyuzaki: The CE industry has al- ray. The profile 1.1 is so-called boways focused on one product cate- nus view [picture-in-picture], which gory at a time. To me, Blu-ray is not is for people who like the basic playjust another disc player. At Panason- back experience of DVD. The profile ic, we have this theme called “Living 2.0 BD Live is really another world in High-Definition” to capture all of on top of Blu-ray. Some people want the CE products we are trying to do. it, some people don’t want it and We are giving [a high-def home ex- others are trying to figure out what perience] to 100 families across the they want to do with it. United States for feedback. We are BD Live is a universe and not an an official sponsor of the Beijing application. Olympics, which is another HD I HM: Is it important that every Blu-ray event. We have four trucks running player have BD Live capability? around the country at retail and cer- Tsuyuzaki: No. Our current Panatain events that demonstrate HD on sonic offerings include a bonus view 103-inch displays. player and BD Live player. They are Working with the studios, be- priced differently because they cater cause you need Blu-ray content, to slightly different segments of the we’ve worked with Disney (mall market. Time will prevail. It is not tour, Sleeping Beauty BD Live gala) designed that one [profile] will win. and 20th Century Fox at NASCAR The format, unlike HD DVD, has two events in California. We will contin- different versions. It’s not as if one is ue to do more, as this fourth quarter better than the other. It has two differwill be a critical time because once ent flavors. you see [Blu-ray], you get it. I HM: Won’t marketing it like that be con- Tsuyuzaki: That is more of a marketing job. And it depends how quickly we can bring forward this universe called BD Live. If that is not compelling enough, then it is going to flounder. By working with the studios, we think there is a compelling layer, and it is really for consumers to decide whether they really like it or they like their current [DVD-like] experience. We think you need to push the bar. As a manufacturer, we like to push the bar. I HM: What do you say to consumers who are satisfied with standard DVD? Is there enough of a difference to compel a transition from standard-DVD to Blu-ray? Tsuyuzaki: When we had VHS, I was very happy with the state-of-theart 20-inch televisions. When DVD came around, I think the state-ofthe-art TV was 32 inches. What you are seeing now from our company is on average we sell 50-inch flatscreen TVs. People are buying flatscreen TVs by the millions. When you have such a big screen, and it is demonstrated correctly what that TV is capable of, then Blu-ray becomes a natural complement to that proposition. To those people who say they are happy with standard DVD, when you are connected to a big-screen TV, the detail just isn’t there. I HM: You manufacture upconverting DVD players. Don’t they undercut the argument to buy Blu-ray? Tsuyuzaki: Titles will drive the business. There is no doubt about that. It is a symbiotic relationship with titles that will certainly help drive adoption. Hopefully it is not just the title, but what it can do for you. There will be a few titles at the end of the year that will have BD Live. I hope some will have 7.1-surround sound, which we haven’t fully demonstrated yet. I HM: Will there be a $250 Blu-ray player on the market by Christmas? going to decide that. What you are seeing already is that at $399, we can’t make enough Blu-ray players. We (Panasonic, Sony, Pioneer) all have been airfreighting for the last four months straight. The demand seems to be robust. I think we are on our way to sales of 3.5 million players. If you add that to cumulative year-to-date sales, that is a very healthy robust number going into mainstream adoption. When it comes to mainstream, certain manufacturers will look at pricing. Last week, online blog site Endgadget said we smoked the competition. Hopefully, there is value in things like that. I HM: What’s your fourth-quarter prediction for Blu-ray? Tsuyuzaki: Is this an industry comment or Panasonic? (laughing) The right answer is that the retailer is Tsuyuzaki: Tremendous success. From a hardware point-of-view, I think there will be 20 million Blu-ray devices sold due to Sony’s PlayStation 3, players and laptops, which are an underserved area. As we transition toward HD, Blu-ray is going to complete the whole experience. It is inescapable. At the Ballgame Tsuyuzaki: Blu-ray is also an upconverting DVD player. Many people forget that Blu-ray plays back standard DVDs. Right now we cannot dismiss the impact of the standardDVD market. But what I am seeing is that the DVD player is shifting to your second room, or den or bedroom. We are in a state of transition of Warner Home Video’s American Pastime, about interned Japanese-American families who played baseball, was saluted July 28 at Dodger Stadium. (L-R): producer Kerry Yo Nakagawa, director/writer Desmond Nakano, Dodger pitcher Ramon Troncoso and WHV director of multicultural marketing Cynthia Hong. Photo by: Jon SooHoo/LA Dodgers LATE F L ASHES I CLASSIC NICK ON ITUNES Classic shows from Nickelodeon are available on iTunes at $1.99 an episode, with complete seasons or best-of selections going for $8.99. Available are best-of selections of “The Amanda Show,” “Angry Beavers,” “Clarissa Explains It All,” “Rocket Power,” “Rocko’s Modern Life,” “Rugrats” and “The Wild Thornberrys,” and complete seasons of “Aaahhh Real Monsters,” “As Told by Ginger,” “Doug,” “Hey Arnold” and “Hey Dude.” — Chris Tribbey LG Blu-ray Player Has Netflix “Now we can deliver [our product] while protecting the digital rights of the industry,” said Todd Rosenbaum, CEO of Polar Frog Digital. — Chris Tribbey Clarifications: In an Agent DVD interview with Adam West, he made mention of working on special features for a DVD of the 1960s “Batman” TV show. There are currently no plans for a TV DVD release of the show. Also, in the DreamWorks story on page 4, it should have been noted that DreamWorks Animation’s Bee Movie is out on Blu-ray. I BURN KIOSK TO GET CSS Polar Frog Digital, which currently has a dozen download-to-burn kiosks scattered across the United States, is aiming to add a whole lot more by the end of the year. The company has partnered with Nero Inc. to bring Content Scramble System (CSS) encryption to its DVDs, hoping the movie will offset studio concerns that the content isn’t protected. Polar Digital now will move to convince retailers and studios to try the kiosks. Continued from page 1 innovation leader in consumer electronics, combining the best of broadband and Blu-ray connectivity,” said Netflix chairman and CEO Reed Hastings. “LG was the first of our technology partners to publicly embrace our strategy for getting the Internet to the TV, and is the first to introduce a Blu-ray player that will instantly stream movies and TV episodes from Netflix to the TV.” LG Electronics USA President Teddy Hwang added, “As Bluray player sales are expected to triple in three years, consumers are craving content and seeking a premium home entertainment experience. The BD300 … provides consumers with an advanced high-def disc player with unparalleled flexibility.” LG announced the player will likely add other Web sites beyond Netflix down the line. It does not have wireless capability. HOME MEDIA MAGAZINE (ISSN 1934-9882) is published weekly 51 times per year (weekly except for one week at the end of December) by Questex Media Group, Inc., 306 West Michigan Street, Suite 200, Duluth, MN 55802. Subscription rates: $49.99 for one year in the United States and Possessions; $79.99 for one year in Canada and Mexico; all other countries $99.99 for one year (by surface mail). Add $75 annually for air-expedited servi http://www.homemediamagazine.com
Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Home Media Magazine - August 3-9, 2008 Home Media Magazine - August 3-9, 2008 Contents News In Focus TV DVD Reviews Pipeline Research Top 20 DVD Sellers Top 20 Rentals and Top 10 Charts Just Announced Home Media Magazine - August 3-9, 2008 Home Media Magazine - August 3-9, 2008 - Home Media Magazine - August 3-9, 2008 (Page 1) Home Media Magazine - August 3-9, 2008 - Home Media Magazine - August 3-9, 2008 (Page 2) Home Media Magazine - August 3-9, 2008 - Contents (Page 3) Home Media Magazine - August 3-9, 2008 - News (Page 4) Home Media Magazine - August 3-9, 2008 - News (Page 5) Home Media Magazine - August 3-9, 2008 - In Focus (Page 6) Home Media Magazine - August 3-9, 2008 - In Focus (Page 7) Home Media Magazine - August 3-9, 2008 - In Focus (Page 8) Home Media Magazine - August 3-9, 2008 - In Focus (Page 9) Home Media Magazine - August 3-9, 2008 - In Focus (Page 10) Home Media Magazine - August 3-9, 2008 - In Focus (Page 11) Home Media Magazine - August 3-9, 2008 - TV DVD (Page 12) Home Media Magazine - August 3-9, 2008 - TV DVD (Page 13) Home Media Magazine - August 3-9, 2008 - Reviews (Page 14) Home Media Magazine - August 3-9, 2008 - Reviews (Page 15) Home Media Magazine - August 3-9, 2008 - Reviews (Page 16) Home Media Magazine - August 3-9, 2008 - Reviews (Page 17) Home Media Magazine - August 3-9, 2008 - Reviews (Page 18) Home Media Magazine - August 3-9, 2008 - Pipeline (Page 19) Home Media Magazine - August 3-9, 2008 - Top 20 DVD Sellers (Page 20) Home Media Magazine - August 3-9, 2008 - Top 20 DVD Sellers (Page 21) Home Media Magazine - August 3-9, 2008 - Top 20 Rentals and Top 10 Charts (Page 22) Home Media Magazine - August 3-9, 2008 - Top 20 Rentals and Top 10 Charts (Page 23) Home Media Magazine - August 3-9, 2008 - Just Announced (Page 24) Home Media Magazine - August 3-9, 2008 - Just Announced (Page 25) Home Media Magazine - August 3-9, 2008 - Just Announced (Page 26) Home Media Magazine - August 3-9, 2008 - Just Announced (Page 27) Home Media Magazine - August 3-9, 2008 - Just Announced (Page 28)
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