Sony ‘overreached’ including Blu-ray in PS3
November 6, 2006
From Eurogamer: “Sony’s Phil Harrison has admitted that the company “overreached” with its decision to include a Blu-ray drive in PlayStation 3.
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Criterion won’t enter Blu-ray vs. HD DVD battle yet
November 6, 2006
From EngadgetHD: “Unlike many fans of either format Criterion has so far been satisfied to sit on the sidelines and let things transpire as they may, and for the time being they will continue to. On the new Criterion Collection blog executive Peter Becker spelled out the company’s view on the ongoing tiff between HD DVD and Blu-ray. Criterion benefited by moving from making well-received laserdiscs to the DVD format early on, but with the lack of a single standard, it is left with the choice of either alienating some customers, or creating two sets of inventory for all of its content.”
Insert product here: High-def DVDs have space to sell
November 6, 2006
From NYTimes via News.com: “Some car chases in movies are so over the top that you might find yourself mentally trying to add up the cost of all the wreckage.
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All The King’s Men
November 6, 2006
Written and directed by Academy Award®-winner Steven Zaillian (Best Writing, Schindler’s List, 1993), All The King’s Men arrives on a special edition DVD and Blu-ray Disc® from Sony Pictures Home Entertainment on December 19.
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Beverly Hills, 90210 Stars Reunite for DVD Party
November 6, 2006
From People: “The stars, some of whom had seen each other at Priestley’s 2005 wedding, almost didn’t show up for the event – some cast members discussed skipping the launch because they won’t benefit financially from DVD sales, which were not written into their original contracts. But Ziering, 40, helped bring the group together. “I called up the guys, and we all got together for lunch to talk about this whole DVD party,” he said. “The product of 9-0 is very powerful all over the world, and we wanted to make sure that everybody was recognized fairly.” “
X-Men: The Last Stand due on Blu-ray November 14th
November 3, 2006
From EngadgetHD: “There has been considerable speculation over when Twentieth Century Fox would put out one of its biggest recent titles on the Blu-ray format and it has finally answered that question. X-Men: The Last Stand is set for release November 14th, specifically timed to be on store shelves for the release of the PlayStation 3 November 17th. Carrying an MSRP of $39.98, the film is authored in standard HDMV using MPEG-4 AVC compression and includes such extras as a 6.1 DTS ES HD Lossless Master Audio soundtrack, two commentary tracks, twelve deleted scenes and a Marvel Trivia Track enabling pop=up bits of information and comic panels referencing different information about the characters during the movie.”
The Devil Wears Prada Comes to DVD December 12 on Blu-ray Disc
November 1, 2006
From MovieWeb: “Furthering its unwavering commitment to the Blu-ray Disc (BD) format, the only high-definition packaged media platform broadly supported by the film, music, gaming, computing and consumer electronics industries, Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment announced five additional titles scheduled for release in December including the $120 million box office smash and one of the most buzzed about films of the year The Devil Wears Prada as its second BD/DVD day-and-date release on December 12. Like the Studio’s first day-and-date BD/DVD release, Ice Age: The Meltdown on November 21, the release of The Devil Wears Prada on the BD format will benefit from a multi-million dollar promotional marketing campaign. Each of Fox’s BD releases is available for the suggested retail price of US$39.98/C$49.98.”
Vivid to Bring First Adult Title to Blu-ray, HD DVD
November 1, 2006
From Hi-Def Digest: “How do you know when a home video format is about to take its next big leap towards mainstream acceptance? When it becomes embraced by the adult industry, in this case giant Vivid Entertainment, which is planning to release its first adult title on high-def in 2007. Vivid, considered the leading studio for adult entertainment (and also home to the Julia Roberts of porn, Jenna Jameson), plans to support either Blu-ray or HD DVD — or perhaps both — with an as-yet-unnamed launch title sometime early next year, reports Home Media Retailing.”
DVD Savant: Astaire and Rogers, Boris Karloff and Marie Antoinette
November 1, 2006
From DVD Talk: ” This week the DVD Savant has a number of new reviews including: Astaire and Rogers Ultimate Collector’s Edition - Warners finishes off the remaining Astaire-Rogers musical wonderments; Icons of Horror Collection: Boris Karloff - Columbia puts out the last four of its Boris Karloff features; Hands Over the City - Francesco Rosi’s gripping tale of corruption in Naples; Who Wants to Kill Jessie?”
Wii to get DVD functionality in Japan
November 1, 2006
From Geek.com: ” In its wisdom, Nintendo decided to do a U-turn on the lack of DVD playback for the Wii decision, but only in Japan. The news was reported in the latest edition of games industry magazine Edge and later confirmed through a spokesperson to GamesIndustry BIZ. Previously, Nintendo has claimed DVD playback would not be a feature of the Wii , because standalone players were so cheap to buy.”
‘Baywatch’ stars reunite for DVD release
November 1, 2006
From USA Today: “Pamela Anderson and David Hasselhoff together again, beachside. The former Baywatch stars were in a Santa Monica hotel, just off the Pacific Ocean, Monday night for an event trumpeting the release of DVD box sets of the first two seasons of their long-running series.”
DreamWorks profits on ‘Madagascar’ DVD
November 1, 2006
From CNN Money: “DreamWorks said “Madagascar” contributed about $24.1 million on revenue from home video sales and a benefit from a partial reduction in reserves established for store returns and other distribution costs. The film has sold an estimated 20.4 million DVD units. “Wallace and Gromit: Curse of the Were-Rabbit” generated revenue of about $17.2 million on domestic pay television and sales of an estimated 5.1 million DVD units.”