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Tag: dvd

  • The Matrix to be released on Blu-ray

    Seven-disc set will include the five Matrix movies, hard-cover book and biogs

    The film that played a major part in converting mainstream audiences to DVD is now to be released on Blu-ray.
    Warner Home Video has announced that they will bring the highly anticipated The Ultimate Matrix Collection to Blu-ray on October 14th.

    The sci-fi action hit starring Keanu Reeves was an immediate success on DVD, particularly in the sell-through category. Previously, most DVD owners were satisfied with renting movies.

    Craig Kornblau, president of Universal Studios home entertainment, recently claimed that Wanted, starring Angelina Jolie, could have a “Matrix-effect” on Blu-ray.

    He suggested that the highly visual nature of the new thriller could be the trigger to mass sales of Blu-ray devices when it is released in the format.

    Whether one movie can have such an effect remains to be seen. However, signs that Blu-ray is gaining momentum have also come from Japan, where shipments of Blu-ray players and recorders in Japan have increased to a six-figure level with 122,000 in June alone.

    This is a dramatic increase compared to May when it was only 82,000 units.
    It is expected that these figures will continue to rise in coming months, as Japanese workers receive a bonus in July and the Olympics in Beijing are held in August.

    Both of these factors are predicted to boost the consumer electronics sector.

    The seven-disc Matrix set will include five BD-50s – one disc for each of the three Matrix films, one for Animatrix, and one for The Matrix Experience – and two DVDs.

    Also included in the set will be a hard-cover book with photos and information from the films.
    Video will be presented in 1080p VC-1 and accompanied by a Dolby TrueHD soundtrack.
    Among the extras with this release are three exclusive In-Move Experience BonusView features, 35 hours of extras and digital download of The Matrix.

  • Blu-ray disc prices could fall in line with DVD

    Warner Brothers is to reduce cost of Blu-ray movies in a development that could see discs being sold for the same price as DVDs

    Warner Home Video is to launch aggressive pricing initiatives for the fourth quarter of 2008, including its most comprehensive Blu-ray Disc promotion yet.

    From September and continuing into the first-quarter of 2009, Warner will offer a Blu-ray point-of-sale rebate programme in which retailers will be able to order participating catalogue titles for around US$11.

    Among the featured titles are The Fugitive, Enter the Dragon, Clockwork Orange, The Shining, The Aviator, Road Warrior and Swordfish.

    The strategy could result in Blu-ray discs at retail being on a par with current DVD prices.

    Even including a retail mark-up, the price paid by consumers should be significantly less than the titles’ current average of US$20 to US$25 retail price at outlets such as Amazon.com and Best Buy.

    The scheme will work by allowing retailers to buy the titles at their present pricing but obtain rebate money back upon the sale of each unit, reducing the cost to around US$11 for retailers.

  • DVD still dominates but Blu-ray sales up

    DVD remains the most popular home entertainment choice but Blu-ray disc sales up more than 500 per cent in the UK

    Sales of Blu-ray discs for the first half of 2008 have grown by 506 per cent compared to the same period last year, according to the British Video Association (BVA).
    Yet, despite the huge increase, the format still only represents 1.2 per cent of the total UK video market, with sales of nearly one million units.
    The BVA’s half-year results show total sales in 2008 are up 3.3 per cent compared with the same period last year, a rise it attributes to the increased level of consumer choice provided by the HD formats – both BD and HD-DVD.
    In the US, DVD also remains the most popular home entertainment choice but there are differences emerging among age groups.

    Lavinia Carey, director general of the BVA, said the availability of DVD, Blu-ray and legal downloading meant viewers now had more options when deciding how to consume their home entertainment. She said this increased supply of choice was  a factor in the growing demand.
    “Last year proved a bumper year for the home entertainment industry with 250 million videos sold and DVD accounting for 99 per cent of that,” she said.
    “We are delighted to see that the half year 2008 figures reveal an increased demand for home entertainment, especially in the current challenging economic climate.”

    Other figures released by the BVA include:
    Ratatouille is the best seller of 2008 so far with over 1.2 million copies sold
    Stardust, Atonement and The Golden Compass have also experienced high sales each exceeding 800 thousand copies on DVD alone.
     Titles such as Family Guy, Die Hard 4, Alien vs Predator and Alvin & the Chipmunks have made 20th Century Fox the best selling studio of the 2008 so far.

    Research from Knowledge Networks in the US found that 98 per cent of the 30- to 43-year-old Gen X and the 13- to 29-year-old Gen Y groups, and 88 per cent of 44- to 54-year-old Young Boomers, said they use DVDs.
    But the report, “How People Use the Video Marketplace”, shows that 67 per cent of Gen Y said they buy DVDs at least once a month, 71 per cent of Gen X and 51 per cent of Young Boomer.
    Additionally, 67 per cent of Gen Y said they rented at least once a month; 65 per cent of Gen X and 44 per cent, Young Boomer.

    The pattern starts to diverge with Web-delivered content, with 52 per cent of Gen Y, 37 per cent of Gen X and just 21 per cent of Young Boomers saying they stream video.
    With downloading, the breakdown is 37 per cent Gen Y, 18 per cent, Gen X and 11 per cent, Young Boomer.

    However, both younger and older generations indicate they normally do not pay for this new media video usage. With video streams, 3 per cent of Gen Y said they bought monthly; 4 per cent, Gen X and 3 per cent, Young Boomers. With video downloads, 2 per cent of Gen Y said they bought monthly, 2 per cent Gen X and N/A for Young Boomers.

    David Tice, VP and group account director at Knowledge Networks said DVDs were the “bread and butter” of content providers.
    “But the growing availability of video in digital forms is impacting on peoples’ expectations,” he said.
    “We found, for example, that 84 per cent of consumers expect to be able to watch video on the device of their choice.”
    The question is, will consumers be willing to pay for the convenience of access in the digital world? And how can content and service providers encourage repeat use and buying in the new media? We’re interested in hearing your thoughts.

  • Pioneer develops 400 GB Blu-ray disk


    Pioneer     has developed a Blu-ray compatible disk that can hold 400GB of data on 16 layers.
    The company currently only has a read-only disk available but expects to be able to produce recordable discs.
    Each of the layers can hold 25 GB of data – equivalent to one single “standard” Blu-ray disc layer.

    Multi-layer disks have existed for a while. Normal DVD players and burners are usually able to read and write to dual-layer disks.
    It has been a challenge for Pioneer to get a clear signal from each of the recording layers of the disk, without picking up distortion from other layers.

    The electronics company invented a disk structure that reduces crosstalk from adjacent layers, resulting in a 16-layer optical disk that can playback high-quality signals from every layer.
    No infomration has been given so far on availability and pricing.

  • Former backer of Toshiba's "defeated" HD DVD format to release first Blu-ray Disk player










    Onkyo, the A/V manufacturer that backed the high def DVD format and sold around 2,000 players, is to launch its first BD player later this year.
    The company had flagged up its intention to let bygones be bygones and join the other “side” shortly after Toshiba announced that it would concede the format war last February.
    It discontinued production of its HD DVD players, while assuring existing customers they would continue to receive full product support and service.
    A company statement also said it’s R&D team had “maintained a parallel development programme for the competing Blu-ray technology”.
    The results of that effort are an as-yet un-named Blu-ray player which has been designed to be partnered with the company’s high-definition A/V receivers that come equipped with 1080p HDMI processing and Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD Master Audio decoding.
    Product and pricing details will be announced in advance of the product’s official entrance into the market.



  • Movies from every major Hollywood studio now available in HD


    The Weinstein Company became the final major studio in Hollywood to release movies in high def.
    It has announced that its first offering in HD is to be the horror movie The Mist, which will be released in Blu-ray this August 5th.
    The Weinstein company, distributors of Dimension Films, briefly supported HD DVD, but pulled out before releasing a title after the format’s downfall.
    The extensive extras present on the standard DVD are set to be included on the Blu-ray.
    These features include and audio commentary with director Frank Darabont, making-of featurettes, deleted scenes, and theatrical trailers.
    Both the original theatrical version and the stylised black and white version of the movie will each be present and each on their own disc.
    Each will be presented in 1080p with a Dolby TrueHD 5.1 audio track. Price has been listed at US$ 34.98.

  • Sony outlines plans for Blu-ray, PS3 video downloads, games and BRIC nations


    The world’s second-largest maker of consumer electronics aims to double its revenue in Brazil, Russia, India and China within three years by bolstering sales in seven main businesses including Bravia televisions and Blu-ray disc players.
    Sony’s plans for sales of electronics to so-called BRIC nations will rise to 1.2 trillion yen (US$11.1 billion) by the 12 months ending March 31, 2011, from 600 billion yen last fiscal year.
    Speaking in Tokyo, Sony chairman and CEO, Howard Stringer, was presenting the company’s mid-term corporate strategy, which included the first concrete details on the plan for on-demand video content, including a launch window of later this summer.
    After touting an installed base of 50 million network-enabled PS3 and PSP units and a plan to achieve profitability this year, Stringer outlined a large-scale video service for Sony’s entire empire.
    The as-yet-unnamed video store is described as a “premium film and TV service”. Aside from Sony titles, no other content deals have been announced.
    Stringer also said Sony expects its Blu-ray Disc-related business to approach US$ 10 billion in annual revenue within three years, while returning its games and liquid-crystal display TV operations to profitability.
    The company’s goal is to add Blu-ray-related operations to its portfolio of “trillion yen businesses” (US$ 9.27 billion), which include LCD TVs, gaming and mobile phones, by the fiscal year ending March 31, 2011.
    “We are very pleased with the cross-divisional cooperation that led the success of the Blu-ray format,” said Howard Stringer. “Blu-ray Disc has positive implications for our hardware, software and game business.”
    He estimated that 15 million Blu-ray players and PlayStation 3 game consoles, which include the players, have been sold worldwide.
    Earlier this month, Sony said its electronics division’s operating income for the year ended March 31 more than doubled to 356 billion yen (US$ 3.3 billion) as electronics sales rose 8.9 per cent to 6.61 trillion yen (US$ 61.3 billion). The company didn’t specify Blu-ray-related sales or earnings.
    Additionally, Sony expects its liquid-crystal-display TV business to be the world’s largest within three years.
    For the first quarter, Sony’s 13 per cent market share trailed only Samsung’s 20 per cent among global LCD TV units, though in North America, the company was leap-frogged by closely held Vizio.
    “Three years ago, we had no significant presence in the LCD TV business,” said Stringer. “Today, we are competing well for first place for worldwide market share due to the strength of our Bravia lineup.”
    Finally, the company said 90 per cent of its electronics categories would be both network-connectable and wireless-enabled in an attempt to capitalize on its leadership position in LCD TVs, high-definition DVD players and game consoles.

  • DVD still dominates the movie market but Blu-ray set to overtake by 2012


    The Entertainment Merchants Association (EMA) expects sales of Blu-ray disks in the US to exceed those of standard DVDs by 2012.
    In its latest Annual Report on the Home Entertainment Industry, the EMA reports that home video continues to dominate the movie market.
    This segment of the market had sales of approximately US$24 billion, making it the largest segment of consumer movie spending by far, accounting for 49% of total consumer movie spending in 2007.
    In the video game market, game software sales increased 34% in 2007, to a total of US$8.6 billion.
    EMA is the not-for-profit international trade association that represent s the interests of the home entertainment industry.
    The report said that nearly 9 million high-definition discs were sold in 2007, for which consumers spent more than US$260 million.
    But it projected that in 2012, sales of Blu-ray Discs will have outstripped those of standard DVDs and will generate sales of US$9.5 billion.
    Bo Andersen, president and CEO of EMA, said the report provided comprehensive data on and analysis of sales and rentals of DVDs, Blu-ray Discs, video on demand, computer and console video games, and competing technologies.
    He said DVD still dominated the movie market but consumers were swiftly adopting new technologies.
    “Consumers remain enamored with DVD and video games even as they incorporate new forms of entertainment media into their consumption patterns,” he said.
    “New generations of hardware and software, and alternative delivery channels, will ensure that home video and video games remain phenomenally popular entertainment options for the American public for years to come.”
    Other statistics in the report included:
     Home video generated US US$15.9 billion in sales and US$8.2 billion in rentals in 2007.
     There were 12,177 DVDs released in 2007, down from a peak of 13,950 in 2005.
     Home video spending is projected to increase to US$25.6 billion in 2012.
     Traditional rental stores, dominated by Blockbuster, accounted for 73% of the rental business in 2007.
     Online subscription rental (such as Netflix and Blockbuster’s Total Access) were 25% of the market. Kiosk rental doubled its market share to 2%.

  • Could Angelina Jolie do for Blu-ray what Keanu Reeves did for DVD?


    The idea that one movie could transform a technology from niche to mainstream may seem extreme.
    Yet that is what Craig Kornblau, president of Universal Studios home entertainment, is suggesting will be the effect of the yet-to-be released new thriller starring Angelina Jolie.
    The studio executive believes the film’s highly visual nature could be the trigger to mass sales of Blu-ray devices.
    James McAvoy plays an average guy who’s recruited by Jolie to become a contract assassin.
    Kornblau told Variety Magazine he thought Wanted, which is released in US cinemas on Friday, could do for HD disks what The Matrix did for the standard-def DVD.
    The Matrix, a sci-fi action hit starring Reeves, was an immediate success on DVD, particularly in the sell-through category.
    Previously, most DVD owners were satisfied with renting movies.
    “What The Matrix did for DVD, this could do for Blu-ray,” said Kornblau.
    Variety reported that an audience at an LA Film Festival screening of Wanted applauded the action scenes half-a-dozen times, a reaction unseen since the premiere of The Matrix.
    Kornblau, who was attending the festival, did not say when the movie would be available on Blu-ray.
    But the studio could be preparing to coincide the release with the much speculated introduction of Blu-ray players priced at under US $200.

  • Up close and personal – porn industry turns on to high definition


    A leading maker of adult movies is to release all new titles on Blu-ray Disc as well as on standard definition DVD.
    Digital Playground says it is the first mainstream studio to opt for the “same day” treatment for HD discs.
    The porn maker will also begin converting one previously released title to Blu-ray every week.
    Such a move is likely to lead to a dramatic increase in the number of adult titles available on Blu-ray.
    Samantha Lewis, CEO of Digital Playground, which has already released 21 HD sex films, said it was the first adult studio to make dual releases.
    “DP has become the first adult studio to make all their Blu-ray releases day and date with standard DVD,” she said,
    “This is something no mainstream studio has done yet, so it’s quite noteworthy for the future of the Blu-ray format."
    The studio’s library includes such films as Pirates and Cheerleaders.