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Tag: blu-ray

  • One-stop Shop For Blu-ray Licensing Could Reduce Prices


    A "one-stop shop" for Blu-ray player and disc licensing is being set up by Panasonic, Philips and Sony.

    The trio are currently in talks with Blu-ray Disc patent holders, according to Blu-ray.com.

    It reports that the new company, which would be led by former head of IP at IBM Gerald Rosenthal, would have its HQ in the US and offices in Asia, Europe, and Latin America.

    The rationale behind the licensing entity is to offer a single license for Blu-ray Disc products at attractive rates.

    That’s certainly something that would be widely welcomed if it meant Blu-ray prices dropped.

    The proposals include a flat fee to produce Blu-ray products.

  • Can Blu-ray Now Be Regarded As"Mainstream"?


    Sales of Blu-ray discs have climbed to such an extent in Europe that the high-def format is now officially "mainstream".

    At least that’s according to the cross-industry trade body, Digital Entertainment Group Europe(DEGE).

    Funded by the major Hollywood studios, the group says sales of Blu-ray software – which doesn’t include PS3 games titles – has increased five-fold in Europe, from 1.7 million units in 2007 to almost 8.5 million in 2008.

    This has no doubt been helped in part by the falling price of the discs, which are now approaching the level of DVDs.

    But the rising number of Blu-ray disc player owners is also fuelling demand for the software.

    Dedicated deck sales in the UK reached 100,000 in December.

    According to the DEGE, there are now over 2.1 million Blu-ray capable games consoles and standalone players in the UK, almost 1.4 million in France and over a million in Germany.

  • Vudu Halves Cost Of Basic Player


    The cost of VUDU’s basic 250GB VUDU HD player has been halved to USD $150.

    According to the on-demand internet provider the move is not a sign of looming financial problems.

    It stresses that the dramatic price cut is due to positive factors.

    These are cited as a combination of lower component prices, higher movie revenues and increased content demand following strong holiday sales.

    In October, VUDU launched a new video format to rival Blu-ray called HDX.

    It delivers full 1080p at 24 fps to screens 40 inches and up via web distribution using VUDU’s TruFilm compression technology.

    As well as the VUDU HD, the company is reducing the price of its home theater, VUDU XL, to USD $499 and adding in a connectivity pack that previously cost more than $100.

    VUDU’s content library now runs to more than 13,000 movies and TV shows – including what it claims is the world’s largest HD library of more than 1,300 titles.

  • Sony Takes On Pirates By Opening Blu-ray Plant in China


    Sony is turning its sights on the growing high-def market in China with the opening of a Blu-ray manufacturing plant in Shanghai.

    The new plant will produce 500,000 of the high-def discs per month specifically for the domestic market.

    With bootlegging a major problem in China the move by Sony is certainly bold.

    Not least because there are strong doubts over whether Chinese consumers are willing to pay the price premium for Blu-ray.

    Illegal DVDs fetch USD $1 compared to official Blu-ray discs that could cost up to USD $30.

    If successful, the rewards are certainly appealing.

    Blu-ray is growing in China with three Chinese manufacturers making the high-def players and Pioneer, Sony and Panasonic importing devices.

    Sony expects to add around 100 new Blu-ray titles by the end of the year to the 32 currently available in China.

    The company already has Blu-ray disc plants in the United States, Japan and Austria.

    By having a manufacturing plant in China, Sony should be better placed to combat piracy by avoiding import permits and taxes while also releasing movies to consumers faster.

    Sony just reported its first annual operating loss in 14 years and announced that it plans to close one of its two television plants in Japan – Ichinomiya TEC – and cut 2,000 full-time jobs.

    The cutbacks follow last month’s announcement that 16,000 jobs were to be lost.

    Sony is targeting a global headcount reduction of approximately 30 per cent across its TV design operations and related divisions by the end of the fiscal year ending March 31, 2010.

  • Testing Times For Technology Tradeshows


    This year’s Home Media Expo has been cancelled after a 27-year run as a result of the current economic conditions.

    With the financial situation worsening, the technology event is unlikely to be the only casualty among industry tradeshows.

    The Entertainment Merchants Association said it was planning on holding the Home Media Expo in 2010, according to VideoBusiness.

    It said the organizers felt that they had to temporarily pull the plug to meet the new recession-time realities for studios and retailers.

    While the DVD business suffered its steepest year-to-year declines in 2008 the EMA said the cancellation was not a reflection on the performance of DVD and Blu-ray.

    The economy has already impacted on the first major exhibition of 2009 – the International Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas – which saw visitor numbers drop from 140,000 in 2008 to 110,000 this year.

    Companies are also reconsidering their participation in trade shows, including influential players such as Apple and Nokia.

    Apple announced that this month’s Macworld Conference & Expo was the last at which it would exhibit, preferring instead to reach people in ways other than trade shows.

    Apple has been steadily scaling back on trade shows in recent years, including NAB, Macworld New York, Macworld Tokyo and Apple Expo in Paris.

    Nokia Siemens Networks is also changing its approach to trade shows by scaling back on exhibits.

  • Hardware Confusion A Barrier To Blu-ray Uptake


    With prices of Blu-ray players and discs falling, the high-def format appears to be making some headway after a hesitant start.

    But public ignorance of what hardware is required to fully enjoy Blu-ray is preventing even greater uptake, according to the British Video Association.

    So much so that it has launched a new website with interactive guides to explain to consumers how they can get the best out of their equipment.

    Blurayrevolution.co.uk will also spell out the importance of having an HD-ready TV, a Blu-ray player and a Blu-ray disc to obtain the highest-quality home entertainment possible.

    "One of the current barriers to broader adoption of Blu-ray among mainstream consumers is misunderstanding of the hardware components needed to deliver maximum high-definition images and sound in the home," the BVA explained in a statement.

    A collaborative venture between hardware manufacturers, film studios and distributors supporting the high-def format, the website aims to become the online Blu-ray authority.

    As well as educating the public, it will raise public awareness about the benefits of Blu-ray and be a source of Blu-ray news.

    This will include information about new and forthcoming title releases and hardware player launches.

    The BVA said the launch of the website comes amid increasing optimism for the growth of the format in 2009.

    UK Blu-ray disc sales are forecast to rise to over 17 million over the next 12 months, according to Screen Digest, which equates to 7 per cent of current DVD volumes, but 14 per cent of DVD sales value.

    Hardware sales of stand-alone Blu-ray disc players are expected to hit one million this year, with the total Blu-ray hardware installed base in the UK hitting 4 million – 1.2 million stand-alone players and 2.8 million PS3 units.

  • Blu-ray Growth Bolsters Dipping DVD Sales


    US consumer spending on packaged home entertainment – rental and sales of DVD and high-def disc formats – fell by 5.5 per cent in 2008, to USD $22.4 billion, according to the Digital Entertainment Group.

    Spending on DVD purchases fell more dramatically than the total, declining by 9 per cent, to about USD $14.5 billion, and the shipment of DVD units was down almost 15 per cent in 2008 to 1.4 Billion

    That contrasts with expenditure on high-def discs, primarily Blu-ray Disc, which almost tripled during the year to reach USD $750 million.

    The figures, compliled by DEG with input from all the major studios, which while still dwarfed by those for DVD show that Blu-ray software shipments grew 250 per cent, to 63.2 million units in 2008, from 18 million units in 2007.

    Sales of Blu-ray players, including videogame consoles, meanwhile, grew to almost 10 million units since the format’s launch.
    The trade group said that in the fourth quarter alone, 3 million devices were sold.

    The DEG figures coincide with a SNL Kagan report that says Blu-ray discs will soon rescue the industry.

    Kagan suggests the growth of Blu-ray will eventually make up for losses in the standard-def category.

    "Retail revenue should start to grow again in 2010. Sales should start a short period of growth as high-definition player prices drop below $200 in 2011 and Blu-ray really begins to penetrate the mass market," Kagan says in its report.

    Blu-ray players in the US dipped under USD $200 at the end of 2008 and Vizio is to launch a USD $199 Blu-ray player in April.

    Kagan said Blu-ray sales represented less than three percent of home video revenue in 2008. But the research firm projects that it will grow to around 19 percent by 2011.

  • Hybrid Disc Plays On Blu-ray and DVD


    Japan-based Infinity Storage Media has launched the first Blu-ray / DVD hybrid disc.

    The disc sports a single-layer of Blu-ray (25GB) on one side and a conventional dual-layer DVD (8.5GB) on the other.

    Essentially it works by having different permeable layers for DVD and Blu-ray and different thicknesses between them.

    Since the lasers penetrate to different depths, it allows either the DVD or Blu-ray to be read depending on what player the disc is on.

    Obviously, the main benefit of the hybrid is that it’s backward compatibility.

    This means that users can switch it between their Blu-ray and DVD players without the need to have two different copies.

    The Japanese market is to be the first to benefit with the release of locally-made drama Code Blue.

  • Blu-ray Growing In Popularity – Except With Yahoo


    It’s fitting that after a roller-coaster year for Blu-ray the high-def format should end 2009 on a high AND a low.

    With sales in the US encouraging, a poll by Zogby International shows that Blu-ray players are one of the most wanted holiday gifts this season for HDTV owners.

    The players are only beaten by consumers looking for a second HDTV.

    Overall, Blu-ray players received 30 per cent of the vote, beating other popular gifts such as GPS systems, Nintendo Wii, and MP3 players.

    On a low note was the decision by Yahoo to put Blu-ray at number three in its year-end Best and Worst Tech Products list.

    A key complaint about the format was the continued high price of discs despite the plumetting cost of players.

    Yahoo also wasn’t happy with the slowness of the technology, including its lengthy boot-up time.

    The Zogby results were part of an online poll conducted between December 2-4 which polled 1,726 HDTV owners asking them which gift they would like to receive this holiday season.

    Of those who responded, 66 per cent indicated they would be purchasing titles for themselves.

    More than half the respondents (55 per cent) said they would be purchasing titles for friends and family who owned Blu-ray Disc players.

    Not surprisngly given its early sales figures, the poll also found that The Dark Knight is the most anticipated title this holiday season, followed by
    Mamma Mia, Wall-E, The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian and Hancock.

    Reports suggest that sales of Blu-ray titles in the US and UK are picking up well.

    Figures for the UK show that sales reached 462,500 units in November, an increase of 165 per cent over the previous month.

    While final December numbers aren’t available until January, initial sales are encouraging – helped considerably by the success of The Dark Knight.

    A total of 6.5 Million units have been sold in Europe to date (up 320 per cent), with the market share expected to double next year to 6 per cent.

    So far, roughly 800,000 stand-alone Blu-ray Disc players have been sold in Europe, but that number is expected to triple for next year, up to 2.5 Million
    .

  • XStreamHD Beams "Blu-ray" Quality Video Direct-to-Home


    XStreamHD has successfully tested a transport system that delivers Full HD movies, music, and games directly to subscriber homes via satellite.

    The system, tested on the AMC-16 satellite at 85 degrees west ongitude, will be able to provide content throughout North America.

    XStreamHD, which first announced its plans for the innovative new satellite delivery system in January at CES 2008, had expected to launch the service in October.

    George Gonzalez, founder and CEO of XStreamHD, said today that the service will be able to deliver Full HD (1080p) content to homes, independent of Internet or cable congestion, by unlocking existing FSS (Fixed Satellite Service) capacity.

    He said the XStreamHD test had shown that the network’s could deliver Blu-ray quality video with up to 7.1 lossless channels of DTS Master Audio.

    The company is to offer its customers access to movies, HDTV, music and electronic games.

    There’s no word yet about partnerships for movies or HDTV content but as XStreamHD will be showcasing its transport system next month at the 2009 Consumer Electronics Show, more might be revealed then.