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BVA, movie studios spending a few quid to push Blu-ray

by Richard Lawler posted Sep 8th 2009 at 9:38PM

Looks like the British Video Association is looking to push those impressive percentage gains it keeps touting even higher. It's joining forces with the major Hollywood studios on a million pound (only a million (($1.6 million)? well, we are in a recession) ad campaign pushing the "benefits of Blu-ray" on flicks like Terminator Salvation, Inglorious Basterds, Snow White and other high profile titles due this holiday season. The Hollywood Reporter says the plan to broadcast TV spots across all major channels throughout November and December should bring the message that Blu-ray is the best way to enjoy films at home, we just hope someone sits down Peter Bradshaw and indoctrinates him.

Universal, Fox and Summit close VOD-DVD release gap

by Darren Murph posted Feb 10th 2009 at 8:10AM


About two months after a Lionsgate executive spoke out about the phenomenon of day-and-date DVD / VOD releases, and merely days after we heard that digital distribution wasn't expected to overtake packaged media in the near term comes this. Universal, Fox and Summit have all pledged to close or eliminate entirely the gap between when a title is shipped on DVD and when it's available in on-demand form via iTunes or programming providers. At least with some titles, that is. The move is supposedly being made in order to take advantage of the growing thirst for instant gratification when it comes to films, and rather than getting left behind, these three are choosing to adapt to changing customer desires. Not surprisingly, Sony Pictures Home Entertainment is still sticking to a 30 day (or so) delay before it releases a title to VOD, but considering its Q4 figures, it might want to consider hopping on the bandwagon.

Digital Copy becoming more prevalent on Blu-ray Discs

by Darren Murph posted Jan 4th 2009 at 1:57AM

Is it any wonder that Blu-ray Disc buyers are taking advantage of Digital Copy more frequently than ever? According to a recent writeup at TWICE, it's becoming even easier to find 'em. Today, a grand total of 52 BDs, practically all from seven major studios, are available with Digital Copy versions of the movie for playback on portable media players and computers. Unfortunately, the total of Digital Copy-enabled DVDs wasn't available to compare, but we are told that Warner Home Video is leading the charge on the Blu side with 19 Digital Copy-equipped Blu-ray Discs. As for the other guys, Lionsgate and Universal offer eight apiece, while Disney offers up three with a fourth coming in February. So, have you taken advantage of Digital Copy on the BD flicks that you've purchased?

Bizarre survey finds digital copy preferable to downloading

by Darren Murph posted Dec 14th 2008 at 6:40PM

Maybe we're just off our rocker, but we can't figure out what NPD Group hoped to actually discover from this here survey to save our lives. Apparently these folks asked around 1,500 movie buyers (read: clearly not movie thieves) if they preferred purchasing a video that included digital copy or simply downloading it from the internet. Shocker: 79% said they favored the digital copy, while only 21% confessed that they'd rather get a low quality rip from a shady website that could potentially infect their computer with some rare strain of virus. Seriously, what's the point? If you're buying a film in the first place, why wouldn't you want the studio to do the hard work for you and include a portable copy? At any rate, this groundbreaking poll also revealed that 38% of those interested in digital copy "appreciated having a physical disc as a backup," while 27% admitted that they would be "more inclined to buy a portable device in order to take advantage of the digital copy feature." Moral of the story? Let us know, will you?

Studios begin to settle on wholesale Blu-ray Disc prices

by Darren Murph posted Dec 10th 2008 at 2:44AM

While we're still not clear on when Blu-ray Disc prices will fall more in line with newly lowered hardware prices, it seems that movie studios are at least beginning to standardize wholesale stickers. Reportedly, Warner Bros., Paramount, Disney and Sony Pictures Home Entertainment have all priced their BDs for distributors and direct retail accounts between $24 and $26. As expected, none of the studios would comment on the reports, and certain distributors and retailers contacted by Video Business still felt that they were "experimenting with Blu-ray prices and features." Unfortunately, we're still waiting for that one big studio to take a risk and undercut the others, but if Q4 sales don't exceed expectations, we'd expect some drastic measures to be taken early next year.

Top 10 films that should be released on Blu-ray -- do you agree?

by Darren Murph posted Oct 26th 2008 at 10:28PM


Sound & Vision has a rather interesting article up about the ten films that it most wants to see released on Blu-ray, and while we concur with the most of 'em, we're interested to see what you readers think as well. Before delving into your fanboy-ish desires, however, it's important to note that past popularity isn't necessarily a sign that a particular movie will be re-released on BD. As we've learned before, there are quite a few variables that studios take into consideration outside of just public perception. We're tempted to blurt out all ten right here for discussion, but we know how disgruntled some of you folks get when spoilers are sprung on you.

DreamWorks and Paramount make breakup official, hands out tissues

by Darren Murph posted Oct 10th 2008 at 4:13PM


And to think, most of you probably had no idea that these two were even having issues. After Paramount's parent company, Viacom Inc., acquired DreamWorks in 2006 for $1.6 billion, things were never exactly pleasant. Now, the two have finally hammered out a deal that will enable them to part ways and retain "joint custody," if you will, of around 40 movie projects. Where do things go from here? Spielberg and his team of executives are out to form an "independent studio backed by one of India's biggest conglomerates, Reliance ADA Group, which plans to invest $550 million for a 50% stake." Under the settlement, Spielberg's new firm (which will still go by DreamWorks) will take the lead on upwards of 20 film projects currently owned by Paramount. As with most divorces, this one too is filled with complexities -- if you're into that, tap the read link for all the minutiae.

[Image courtesy of Kinoweb]

Blu-ray studios get graded, Sony Pictures comes out on top

by Darren Murph posted Oct 8th 2008 at 1:58PM


Kudos, Sony Pictures Home Entertainment -- you've apparently been doing quite well in the Blu-ray department this year. The folks over at Sound & Vision recently took a hard look at a number of BD-releasing studios this year in order to give 'em all the grade they deserve. As for criteria? Critics looked at the "technical prowess of the audio and video presentations, the adoption or avoidance of available Blu-ray exclusive technologies (BD-Live, etc.) and the breadth and diversity of their releases as well as their reaction to the unique challenges of the latest evolution of the BD market." Interested to see how the rest of the competition fared? Give the read link a look for all the dirt.

Paramount to offer $10 rebate for select Blu-ray Disc upgrades

by Darren Murph posted Aug 15th 2008 at 10:21AM


Who knows, maybe this holiday season will be a decent time to stock up on Blu-ray Discs. Exactly one month after hearing that Warner would be lowering the BD price bar this winter on a slew of its titles, in comes word that Paramount Home Video is preparing a promotion of its own. Reportedly, the studio will be offering movie collectors a $10 rebate when they upgrade select DreamWorks and Paramount DVDs to Blu-ray Discs. Blu-ray copies of Transformers, The Godfather, Old School, Stardust, Sweeney Todd and Zodiac will be eligible for the rebate, with the purchase having to be made by December 31st, 2009. For all the fine print (there's not too much), the read link has you covered.

[Via CDFreaks]

Warner Bros. to trim theatrical slate, focus on Blu-ray / VOD

by Darren Murph posted Jun 11th 2008 at 12:47AM


Although it was tough to see then, the writing has been on the wall in hindsight. After Warner Bros. absorbed New Line Pictures, characterizing it as a "redundant infrastructure," it's now looking to focus less on cranking out blockbuster theatrical releases and more on pushing Blu-ray / VOD adoption. Jeff Bewkes, president and CEO of Time Warner Inc., has noted that the studio will trim its theatrical slate in half from two years ago, as it hopes to garner more profits by simply "building wider consumer adoption of Blu-ray" and expanding day-and-date VOD releases. Even more interesting was Bewkes assertion that the "expansion of Blu-ray, VOD and related improvements in electronic distribution by moving away from physical DVD would help grow filmed entertainment." After looking at a few motion picture budgets, it's pretty easy to see why distribution looks so delicious. [Disclosure: Engadget is part of the Time Warner family]

[Thanks, xdragon]

How are back catalog titles chosen for Blu-ray release?

by Darren Murph posted Jun 10th 2008 at 9:21PM


C'mon, you know you've asked yourself this. After all, aren't we all tense with anticipation just waiting to see what titles studios are planning to re-release on BD, only to kvetch mightily after our favorite flicks get pushed aside for films that "no one will watch?" Thankfully, Sound & Vision has taken at least some of the mystery out and has revealed five shortcuts to getting a film released on Blu-ray. Essentially, studios are looking for titles that will enable BD setups to shine, and if the movie has proven popular in the past, there's a decent shot the demand will be there for a BD release. Additionally, studios love re-releasing originals when a sequel is in theaters, and of course, if it can stop long enough to hear fans clamoring for a specific title, that too could urge them to crank out a 1080p edition. Be sure and give the read link a visit for the full rundown.

Analyst says consumers didn't end format war

by Darren Murph posted Feb 23rd 2008 at 8:04AM


As we poked and prodded through the ups and downs of the format war, we noticed a recurring theme -- HD DVD seemed to have things going in its favor on more than one occasion. Consumers adored the low priced hardware, studios were coming on board and Sony's PlayStation 3 (along with all the other Blu-ray players) was priced extraordinarily high. Not to mention Sony's absolutely awful track record with formats. In a recent interview with ABI Principal Analyst Steve Wilson, BetaNews found that he believed that the outcome of the format war wouldn't necessarily benefit the consumer. Besides being more expensive and less developed, some Blu-ray players have had quite the time performing as advertised. According to ABI, "it wasn't customers' likes or dislikes that powered the fatal blow in the format war, it was Warner Bros.' decision to switch allegiance to Blu-ray, along with subsequent moves to dump HD DVD by major retailers such as Wal-Mart, Netflix and Blockbuster." Frankly, we can't argue with that one iota.

[Thanks, Andrew]

Starz inks deals with five major studios, looks to bolster lineup

by Darren Murph posted Jan 24th 2008 at 3:13AM

Feeling as if Starz's offerings are a bit stale of late? Apparently, so did its management team, as it went out and landed deals with five major studios with the sole purpose of bulking up its movie lineup. Reportedly, the network inked "exclusive first run output deals with Sony Pictures Television and Disney-ABC Domestic Television" that are set to last "well into the next decade," and just in case that wasn't enough to keep your clicker on the counter, it also picked up a number of library acquisitions from Warner Bros. Domestic Television Distribution, MGM Worldwide Television Group and Universal Pictures. More specifically, Starz should receive some 1,200 top movie titles and TV series from the latter three's film vaults, and the content can be distributed across Starz HD, Starz On Demand and even Vongo. For more details and a glimpse at what's on the horizon, hit up the read link below.

[Via MultiChannel News]

Warner to finally go Blu-ray-only at CES?

by Erik Hanson posted Dec 7th 2007 at 12:27PM

Warner balancing on rocks - Photo by red5standingby at http://www.flickr.com/photos/red5standingby/874890571/Another day, another format war rumor. Business Week has a lengthy writeup on the possibility of lone dual-format holdout Warner Brothers switching to Blu-ray exclusively, and how it could affect the outcome of the long-running feud between high-definition disc formats HD DVD and Blu-ray. The rumor gets its seed from vice-chairman of Lionsgate Michael Burns, who claims that Warner will be turning blue soon. With Warner on their side, the Blu-ray studios would hold a 70% market share for the DVD market. Of course, if Warner shifts red, then the studio market will again be split into two equal halves, and consumers are left to wait and see if one format can outsell, outspend, or outlast the other until only one format remains. The stakes are so high that top execs from both camps are banging down Warner's door with personal meetings -- and possibly even truckloads of cash -- to get Warner to turn to their side. One thing you can be sure of is that Warner is going to be keeping an extra close eye on the dual-format release of Harry Potter next week for guidance.

[Thanks, Michael P.]

Lionsgate announces upcoming Blu-ray titles

by Darren Murph posted Jan 8th 2007 at 8:41PM

We've seen various slates of HD DVD / Blu-ray titles come out today, and heading up the rear of the release lists is none other than Lionsgate. While a Lionsgate film (The Descent) has caused quite a bit of fuss lately, the studio is hoping to create some positive PR noise by announcing that 40 BD titles should be hitting shelves with its name on it during this year, starting with Crank. It also highlighted the Golden Globe-winning TV series Weeds would be making its way to Blu-ray disc, as well as Ultimate Avengers I and II on the animation side. If you're anxious to get a few more Lionsgate productions in your collection, Employee of the Month is landing on January 16th, while the sure-to-be-successful Saw III hits on the 23rd. Overall, Lionsgate's 2007 list is far from spectacular, but it's got a bit of everything mixed in, including one of our personal favorites: Reservoir Dogs on February 6th. Click on through to see the first 21 titles to be released from Lionsgate on Blu-ray disc this year.

Continue reading Lionsgate announces upcoming Blu-ray titles





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