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16 January 2008

If you're a Star Wars or Family Guy fan, you've probably been looking forward to the release of Blue Harvest. Those that purchase the movie on DVD will also get a digital copy that can be imported into iTunes and viewed on a computer, iPod, iPhone or Apple TV.

Just announced at Macworld, Twentieth Century Fox today released the studio's first Special Edition DVD with Digital Copy for iTunes, the Family Guy “Star Wars” parody FAMILY GUY PRESENTS: BLUE HARVEST - in stores now. Consumers who purchase BLUE HARVEST with the additional Digital Copy of the movie can effortlessly transfer a copy of the film to their iTunes library and then view on a Mac or PC, iPod, iPhone or on Apple TV...

...The new iTunes Digital Copy provides a consumer friendly way to transfer a DVD purchase to a user’s iTunes library. Once a customer buys the DVD, they insert into their computer, enter a unique code into iTunes and iTunes automatically copies the movie to their iTunes library within minutes. Customers own the iTunes Digital Copy of the movies and it has all of the same great viewing options as other iTunes Store video content, including the ability to be viewed on a computer, iPod, iPhone and Apple TV. Each DVD will only transfer its iTunes Digital Copy to one iTunes library.

While the iTunes Digital Copy is chock full of DRM, it makes it easy for consumers to transfer the movie into their iTunes library. Not to mention, it saves them from having to purchase the movie again from Apple. More information on the Digital Copy included with Blue Harvest can be found here. Add a comment

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14 January 2008

While Blu-ray seems to be winning the format war, Toshiba isn't giving up easily. The company announced today that it is stepping up its HD DVD marketing campaign. Along with a series of advertisements, showcasing the benefits of HD DVD, Toshiba will be cutting the price of their players by as much as $200.

Toshiba America Consumer Products,L.L.C. ("Toshiba") today announced that it is stepping up its successfulmarketing campaign for HD DVD as it experienced record-breaking unit salesin the fourth quarter of 2007. Major initiatives, including jointadvertising campaigns with studios and extended pricing strategies willbegin in mid- January and are designed to spotlight the superior benefitsof HD DVD as well as the benefits HD DVD brings to a consumer's current DVDlibrary by upconverting standard DVDs via the HDMI(TM) output to near highdefinition picture quality...

...Taking the holiday season sales based on promotional prices into fullconsideration, these new manufacturer's suggested retail prices (MSRP) aredesigned to meet the potential demand for HD DVD players in the U.S.market. Effective on January 13, 2008 the MSRP of the entry-model HD-A3will be $149.99, the HD-A30, with 1080p output, $199.99, and the high-endHD-A35, $299.99.

While Toshiba claims that this new promotion is a result of their record-breaking sales, the steep price cuts make it look more like a last ditch effort to grab market share and clear out their existing stock of players. Either way, it will probably make the format war drag on for another few months. If you'd like to read more, Toshiba's entire press release can be found here. Add a comment

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15 January 2008

While many see Warner's decision to support Blu-ray as a sign that the format war is ending, this has had little effect on retailers. According to Home Media Magazine, national retailers, like Best Buy, are continuing to sell hardware and software in both formats.

Last week, Best Buy spokesperson Brian Lucas said the retailer would continue stocking HD DVD so long as studios release content in HD DVD and there is a market for the format.

“As far as we’re concerned there are still two formats and the format war is not really over,” Lucas said.

He said Best Buy would continue telling customers about the two formats and not take sides so they could make “an informed decision.”

As someone who reads the Sunday circulars religiously, I can say that, in most cases, retailers are giving equal ad space to both formats. However, with Toshiba's latest round of price cuts and more titles being released on Blu-ray, things could swing either way. If you'd like to read more, the entire article can be found here. Add a comment

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11 January 2008

While Universal's commitment to back HD DVD exclusively has reportedly ended, the studio isn't dropping the format quite yet. According to High-Def Digest, Universal recently issued a statement, reaffirming its support for HD DVD.

"Contrary to unsubstantiated rumors from unnamed sources, Universal's current plan is to continue to support the HD DVD format," said Ken Graffeo, executive vice president of HD strategic marketing for Universal Studios Home Entertainment and co-president of the HD DVD Promotional Group.

Take note that this statement doesn't dispel any of the rumors claiming that Universal will support Blu-ray as well as HD DVD. In any case, we'll have to wait and see how this shakes out. If you'd like to read more, the entire article can be found here. Add a comment