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Studios Preview CES Blu-ray, HD DVD Title Announcements
Thu Jan 03, 2008 at 11:00 AM ETTags: CES 2008, Disc Announcements, Sony, Warner, Paramount, Fox (all tags)
CES is still a few days away, but several studios are providing a sneak peek at some major 2008 Blu-ray and HD DVD titles expected to be officially unveiled at the annual confab.
Among the studios previewing their 2008 plans for Home Media Magazine this week in a special pre-CES high-def studio roundtable were Warner, Fox, Sony and Paramount/DreamWorks.
On the Blu-ray front, Fox's Mike Dunn indicated that the studio is eyeing extensive day-and-date support of its top titles this year, with such current and future theatrical releases as 'Alien vs. Predator: Requiem,' 'Horton Hears a Who,' '27 Dresses,' 'The List,' 'Babylon A.D.' and M. Night Shyamalan's 'The Happening' all expected to debut simultaneously with the DVD versions.
Sony prez David Bishop similarly pledged continued day-and-date support throughout 2008, naming 'Hancock' and 'The DaVinci Code' sequel 'Angels & Demons' as two of its top titles earmarked for Blu-ray.
For HD DVD fans, Paramount/DreamWorks' Kelly Avery said the two studios will issue an extensive slate of both new releases and catalog titles, including the blockbusters 'Bee Movie' and 'Beowulf' (which have both already been announced to retailers).
Finally, format-agnostic Warner said that their high-def releases this year would include 'The Dark Knight,' 'Speed Racer,' 'Get Smart,' 'The Bucket List' and the current Will Smith smash 'I Am Legend.'
Though the titles revealed so far are likely only the tip of the iceberg in terms of what we can expect to see from all next-gen supporting studios next week, all indications are that 2008 will be the biggest year yet for both high-def formats.
The 2008 Consumer Electronics Show kicks off Monday January 7th in Las Vegas. We'll be here all next week with complete coverage, so be sure to watch this space.
We've also set up a dedicated area in our forums area for discussion of CES-related news and rumors -- click here to join the fray.
- Related links:
- Studio Presidents Look Ahead [Home Media Magazine]
Sony CEO Downplays Format War; Sees "Stalemate"
Fri Nov 09, 2007 at 01:07 PM ETTags: Sony, Industry Forecasts (all tags)
An apparently candid assessment of the high-def format war from Sony CEO Howard Stringer shot across the web Friday morning.
Following months of posturing from execs on both sides of the format battle, Stringer's remarks were surprisingly frank, with the CEO describing a current "stalemate" between the Sony-backed Blu-ray format and its rival HD DVD, even pondering a possible loss.
"We were trying to win on the merits, which we were doing for a while, until Paramount changed sides," Stringer said during an appearance at the 92nd Street Y cultural center in Manhattan.
According to published reports, the exec went on to describe a win for either side as mostly a matter of prestige, saying that if HD DVD ultimately won out, it wouldn't have much effect on Sony other than having to change the harddrive for its PlayStation.
"It doesn't mean as much as all that," Stringer is quoted as saying.
The CEO went on to indicate that there was an opportunity of uniting the two camps under one format before he became CEO, and that "I wish I could go back in time, because I heard it was all about saving face."
See what people are saying about this story in our forums area, or check out other recent discussions.
- Related links:
- Stringer: Content drives digitization [Hollywood Reporter]
- Sony CEO Sees 'Stalemate' in Disc Fight [Associated Press]
Sony Report Reveals First Look at Absolute Blu-ray and HD DVD Disc Sales Figures
Mon Apr 09, 2007 at 01:54 AM ETTags: Disc Sales, Sony (all tags)
Thanks to a new research report from Sony, industry watchers are getting their best look yet at hard high-def disc sales numbers from Nielsen VideoScan, including per-title sales figures for high-def discs released on both next-gen formats.
Focusing on sales data for the week ending March 18 (the same week that Sony's 'Casino Royale' smashed high-def records by shipping 100,000 units to retail), it should come as no surprise that the VideoScan numbers released by Sony are favorable to the studio, with five of its releases ranking among the top-selling next-gen discs that week.
The numbers that week were equally as impressive for Blu-ray, which outsold HD DVD by a ratio of 9:2, and dominated the list of top-selling next-gen discs -- the HD DVD edition of 'The Departed' was the only HD DVD disc to appear among the top ten best selling high-def discs.
But while abstract ratios and percentages like these have been bandied about for several months now, the Sony report goes one step further, providing the first public release of hard sales figures for HD DVD and Blu-ray discs from Nielsen VideoScan, the home entertainment industry's leading source for competitive sales data.
Among the numbers revealed: as of March 18, VideoScan put the cumulative number of Blu-ray titles sold since the format's inception at 844,000 units, versus HD DVD at 708,600.
But perhaps most interesting are the per-title sales numbers for the top ten selling discs across both formats, which are provided both in the form of a weekly tally (again for the week ending March 18), and as year-to-date totals.
While these charts confirm the previously reported strong showings for such A-list titles as 'The Departed' 'Batman Begins' and 'Superman Returns' (with each clocking per-format sales totals since-inception of at least 28,000 units sold), they also demonstrate a very steep drop-off for titles outside of that top rung, with even discs among the top-ten best sellers that week moving fewer than 1000 units apiece:
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While we should note that the VideoScan numbers are not all-inclusive (for example, they don't include discs sold at Wal-Mart or some online merchants), the lower sales numbers at the bottom end of weekly list and on display elsewhere in the report (where some titles are listed as selling fewer than 200 units since inception) are certainly still a sobering reminder that both formats still have a long way to go in their shared quest to supplant standard-def DVD.
See what people are saying about this story in our forums area, or check out other recent discussions.
- Related links:
- Sony Next Generation Disc Tracking Report (zipped PDF download) [The Digital Bits]
- Discs mentioned in this article: (Click for specs and reviews)
- Casino Royale (2006) (Blu-ray)
- The Departed (Combo Edition) (HD DVD)
- The Departed (Blu-ray)
- Batman Begins (HD DVD)
- Superman Returns (Discontinued) (Blu-ray)
- Superman Returns (Combo Edition) (HD DVD)
- Earlier on High-Def Digest:
- 'Casino Royale' Blu-ray Breaks 100,000 Unit Milestone
1080p Porn? Blu-ray Reportedly Says "No Thanks"
Thu Jan 11, 2007 at 03:22 PM ETTags: Disc Announcements, Sony (all tags)
In a last-minute change of porn allegiance, top adult studio Digital Playground has defected from Blu-ray to HD DVD for its upcoming next-gen releases -- and it seems that's just fine with Sony.
One-named auteur Joone, the founder of Digital Playground, recently told German magazine Heise Online that "Sony wants me to publish my films on HD DVD."
That's a switch from a year ago, when Digital Playground was planning to be the first adult studio to jump into the next-gen waters, and to support Blu-ray exclusively. Though we're sure "legit" studios like Sony can't be publicly associated with porn, we all know that, historically at least, adult content has driven the success of every major home video format. So we would have thought Sony would have welcomed the news, at least behind closed doors.
But according to Joone, Sony didn't want Digital Playground's dirty laundry on their next-gen platform. He went on to tell Heise Online that he had "wanted to publish his movies on Blu-ray Disc, but that all Blu-ray Disc copying facilities in the United States had refused to cooperate." Even further, the companies involved threatened to withdraw their Blu-ray licenses should Digital Playground attempt to make the blue movie industry even Blu-er.
As a result, Joone and company will now take their four initial high-def releases straight to HD DVD, followed by a large slate in rapid succession over the next several months and beyond. So watch for 'Teen America,' 'Island Fever 3,' 'Island Fever 4' and the big-budgeted porn classic 'Pirates' (the 'Gone with the Wind' of adult film) in early February. We know you're already fumbling through your wallet to grab the plastic.
Since High-Def Digest is a squeaky-clean family site, we can't offer you any reviews of Digital Playground's upcoming titles, or other adult releases in the future. But we will say this: as anyone taking in the very large adult convention right next door to CES can attest, it is never wise to underestimate the power of smut to drive new video formats. A little bit of wisdom that, assuming Joone's comments are legit, we think Sony -- and any other porn poo-pooing studio -- would do well to heed in the future.
See what people are saying about this story in our forums area, or check out other recent discussions.
- Related links:
- Will Blu-ray walk into the anti-porn trap? [Heise Online]
High-Def Penetration Explodes with Strong PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 Add-On Sales
Mon Nov 20, 2006 at 01:49 AM ETTags: High-Def Gaming, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, Sony, Microsoft (all tags)
As expected, the debut of Sony's Blu-ray-driven PlayStation 3 last Friday boosted the format's installed base exponentially, while Microsoft is also reporting strong numbers for the HD DVD add-on drive for its rival Xbox 360.
Surprising no one, Sony's initial retail allotment of PlayStation 3 consoles sold out in a flash at stores nationwide. With a million or more PS3 shipments promised by year's end, Blu-ray would appear poised to gain a commanding lead in market share over HD DVD.
At the same time, while Microsoft has declined to declare exact sales numbers of its $199 HD DVD add-on drive for the Xbox 360 (which also hit stores this month), the company has wasted no time in crowing about intense consumer demand for the peripheral.
"We never anticipated that scenario," claimed Microsoft senior program manager Kevin Collins of the sales boost the Xbox 360 console received thanks to the add-on. "It's going right out [the door]... stores are struggling to keep up with demand."
Of course, we'll remain a bit skeptical until official sales numbers come in for for both devices. However, one thing is clear -- in a matter of mere days, the installed base Blu-ray and HD DVD players has exploded. Thanks to the next-generation of gaming, the penetration of high-def optical disc players has likely already outdistanced the combined sales of all stand-alone Blu-ray and HD DVD players to date -- and that's after several months in stores.
While the high-def format war is far from over, it's clear that the gaming world will continue to play a major role in how this all plays out. We'll be giving a full review of the high-def capabilities of both the PlayStation 3 and the Xbox 360 add-on later this week, so stay tuned!
Discuss the PlayStation 3's Blu-ray Playback and the Xbox 360 HD DVD Add-On at the High-Def Digest Forums.
- Related links:
- PS3: Gone in 60 minutes [Video Business]
- Earlier on High-Def Digest:
- Blu-ray for the Masses: PlayStation 3 Descends Upon America (Nov 17, 2006)
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