Home Media Magazine - Hollywood Goes High-Def - September 2008 - (Page hghd8) industry roundtable FABQ T Gordon Frequently Asked Blu-ray Questions Keyes: It is very important. There are very few opportunities to extend the life cycle of any product. And since physical DVDs have been such a huge portion of our product assortment, obviously an enhancement that extends the life cycle of that product is huge for us. So it is important for us to jump on that bandwagon and increase adoption as quickly as possible. Blu-ray offers two opportunities for Blockbuster. We are trying to transform our business more into a retail model, and that is for long-term self-preservation. The more we use what are excellent retail locations to sell things, as opposed to just rent things, [the more] there is life beyond physical distribution of content. So Blu-ray, when it comes to retail, gives us a big advantage. Now, it is a new reason for the customer to buy in our store as opposed to just rent in our store. Gordon: Blu-ray is the future of packaged media because it offers unparalleled sound and picture quality. When it comes to the DEG, we really embrace all forms of digital entertainment. Tsuyuzaki: As black-and-white went to color and analog is going to digital, everything around us is becoming high-definition. Big-screen TVs, camcorders and digital still cameras are all becoming high-definition enabled. What I’ve always said is that Blu-ray completes high-definition. It ties together not only packaged media and laptops; it also does authoring, archiving and other things. Blu-ray has always been in the center of this HD universe. So from a strategic point of view, it is critical to the health and growth of our industry. Parsons: Blu-ray is a crucial part of our overall high-definition product strategy. We have always believed that optical discs must represent the reference quality for picture and sound, beginning with laserdisc in the very early 1980s, then DVD in the 1990s and now Blu-ray. There have been dramatic advances in display technology over the past five years, so we think a “best of the best” source is needed to get the most out of these new, high-performance sets. Of course nothing can quite match the impact of a well-designed, high-quality movie theater, but a state-of-the-art high-def Blu-ray home theater system comes closer to this benchmark than ever before. Continued on page 10 » Hamburger Keyes By Erik Gruenwedel he Hollywood studios aren’t alone in pushing Blu-ray Disc during the critical fourth quarter. From consumer electronics manufacturers to retailers and industry organizations, promoting Blu-ray Disc software and hardware to consumers is priority No. 1. Nearly a year removed from the contentious format war with HD DVD, Blu-ray enters the all-important 2008 holiday shopping season as a legitimate successor to DVD. With Bonus View (picture-in-picture) and BD Live (Internet connectivity), the surface has just been scratched regarding enhanced-content options studios can offer consumers. Home Media Magazine asked six key industry executives what Blu-ray means to their companies and organizations and what they are doing to ensure the format’s retail success. Participants are Jim Keyes, CEO of Blockbuster Inc.; Jill Hamburger, VP of entertainment for Best Buy; John Marmaduke, CEO of Hastings Entertainment; Eisuke Tsuyuzaki, VP of corporate development for Panasonic Corp. of America and GM of its Blu-ray Disc Group; Marty Gordon, chair of the communications committee for DEG: The Digital Entertainment Group and VP of business development for Philips Electronics; and Andy Parsons, SVP of Pioneer Electronics. I HM: The home entertainment industry is putting a major emphasis on Blu-ray in the fourth quarter with an unequaled number of new releases and marketing. How important is the format to your company/organization? Marmaduke Parsons Tsuyuzaki Hamburger: Blu-ray is primed to be a hot gift this holiday season. We know that customers who have invested in HD home theater systems want to watch HD content, and Blu-ray is the best way to get the most out of your movie-watching experience. This will be the first holiday season in which we can talk to customers about Blu-ray without the distraction of a format war. We can focus on showcasing the picture, sound and features of the format. Marmaduke: We think it could be a gamechanger. Customers get the appeal of Blu-ray when they see the side-by-side comparison on a flat-screen HDTV. 8 HOLLYWOOD goes HIGH-DEF September 2008
Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Home Media Magazine - Hollywood Goes High-Def - September 2008 Hollywood Goes High-Def - September 2008 Fourth-Quarter Blowout Industry Roundtable High-Def Data Tables Blu-Ray Disc Listings Home Media Magazine - Hollywood Goes High-Def - September 2008 Home Media Magazine - Hollywood Goes High-Def - September 2008 - Hollywood Goes High-Def - September 2008 (Page hghd_c1) Home Media Magazine - Hollywood Goes High-Def - September 2008 - Hollywood Goes High-Def - September 2008 (Page hghd_c2) Home Media Magazine - Hollywood Goes High-Def - September 2008 - Hollywood Goes High-Def - September 2008 (Page hghd1) Home Media Magazine - Hollywood Goes High-Def - September 2008 - Hollywood Goes High-Def - September 2008 (Page hghd2) Home Media Magazine - Hollywood Goes High-Def - September 2008 - Hollywood Goes High-Def - September 2008 (Page hghd3) Home Media Magazine - Hollywood Goes High-Def - September 2008 - Fourth-Quarter Blowout (Page hghd4) Home Media Magazine - Hollywood Goes High-Def - September 2008 - Fourth-Quarter Blowout (Page hghd5) Home Media Magazine - Hollywood Goes High-Def - September 2008 - Fourth-Quarter Blowout (Page hghd6) Home Media Magazine - Hollywood Goes High-Def - September 2008 - Fourth-Quarter Blowout (Page hghd7) Home Media Magazine - Hollywood Goes High-Def - September 2008 - Fourth-Quarter Blowout (Page hghd8) Home Media Magazine - Hollywood Goes High-Def - September 2008 - Fourth-Quarter Blowout (Page hghd9) Home Media Magazine - Hollywood Goes High-Def - September 2008 - Fourth-Quarter Blowout (Page hghd10) Home Media Magazine - Hollywood Goes High-Def - September 2008 - Fourth-Quarter Blowout (Page hghd11) Home Media Magazine - Hollywood Goes High-Def - September 2008 - Industry Roundtable (Page hghd12) Home Media Magazine - Hollywood Goes High-Def - September 2008 - Industry Roundtable (Page hghd13) Home Media Magazine - Hollywood Goes High-Def - September 2008 - High-Def Data Tables (Page hghd14) Home Media Magazine - Hollywood Goes High-Def - September 2008 - High-Def Data Tables (Page hghd15) Home Media Magazine - Hollywood Goes High-Def - September 2008 - High-Def Data Tables (Page hghd16) Home Media Magazine - Hollywood Goes High-Def - September 2008 - High-Def Data Tables (Page hghd17) Home Media Magazine - Hollywood Goes High-Def - September 2008 - Blu-Ray Disc Listings (Page hghd18) Home Media Magazine - Hollywood Goes High-Def - September 2008 - Blu-Ray Disc Listings (Page hghd19) Home Media Magazine - Hollywood Goes High-Def - September 2008 - Blu-Ray Disc Listings (Page hghd20) Home Media Magazine - Hollywood Goes High-Def - September 2008 - Blu-Ray Disc Listings (Page hghd_c3) Home Media Magazine - Hollywood Goes High-Def - September 2008 - Blu-Ray Disc Listings (Page hghd_c4)
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