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Home Entertainment

16 July 2008

Sony made a number of announcements at E3 this week. Along with a new 80GB PlayStation 3 priced at $399, the company unveiled its new video delivery service. The service will offer standard and high definition videos from studios like Disney, Fox, Paramount and Warner Bros. Once downloaded, the videos can also be transferred from the PS3 to the PSP.

Sony Computer Entertainment America (SCEA) today launches the company’s new video delivery service on PLAYSTATION®Store for PLAYSTATION®3 (PS3™) and PSP® (PlayStation®Portable) systems in the United States. Consumers will have the ability to download full-length movies, television shows, and original programming accessible through the PLAYSTATION Store on PLAYSTATION®Network. With nearly 300 full length movies and more than 1,200 TV episodes, many available in both standard-definition (SD) and high-definition (HD), PLAYSTATION Network’s video delivery service makes PS3 the ultimate entertainment platform and enhances PSP’s status as a portable entertainment marvel. PLAYSTATION Network’s video delivery service will become available later this evening.

Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. (SCEI) will initially make available to consumers content for video rental and electronic sell-through from top movie studios including: 20th Century Fox, Lionsgate Entertainment, MGM Studios, Paramount Pictures, Sony Pictures Entertainment, Warner Bros. Entertainment as well as titles for rent from The Walt Disney Studios and a wide-ranging menu of popular titles from a variety of television partners.

Consumers who rent a movie from the PLAYSTATION Network’s video delivery service have 14 days to watch the content. Once playback has begun, they have a full 24 hours to watch their rental. Pricing for rental movies ranges from $2.99 to $5.99, and pricing for purchased movies ranges from $9.99 to $14.99. If you'd like to read more, Sony's entire announcement can be found here. Add a comment

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Home Entertainment

15 July 2008

NEC Electronics announced this week that it expects to double the sales of its Blu-ray products to 40 billion yen ($378 million) by March 2011. The company also plans to take over Blu-ray chip market by introducing affordable single-chip LSIs like the new EMMA 3P.

Japan's NEC Electronics Corp said on Tuesday it expects to double sales of its Blu-ray products in the next two years by matching steep price falls hitting its clients, manufacturers of DVD players.

NEC Electronics, which competes with Matsushita Electric Industrial Co, Broadcom Corp and Sigma Designs Inc, aims to take over half the global Blu-ray chip market by March 2011 from an expected 40 percent at the end of March 2009.

If you'd like to read more, the entire article can be found here. Add a comment

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Home Entertainment

15 July 2008

Microsoft announced this week at the E3 Media & Business Summit that it has formed a partnership with Netflix that will give Xbox 360 owners the ability to instantly stream movies and TV shows to their television via the console. The service will launch this fall and will be available to Xbox LIVE Gold members who are also Netflix subscribers.

An exciting new home theater experience is coming to living rooms this holiday season. At E3, Microsoft and Netflix, the world's largest online movie rental service, today unveiled an exclusive partnership to offer the ability to instantly stream movies and TV episodes from Netflix to your television via Xbox 360®.

Xbox 360 will be the only game system that lets you instantly watch movies and TV episodes streamed from Netflix. This movie-watching innovation will be available to Xbox LIVE® Gold members who are also Netflix subscribers, and will let those users enjoy streaming movies from Netflix on Xbox LIVE at no additional cost.

A growing library of more than 10,000 movies and TV episodes will be available from Netflix when it launches on Xbox LIVE in late fall, with more choices added over time. Through this agreement, along with the existing Video Store, Xbox 360 will be home to more movies and TV shows on demand than any other device connected to the TV. Xbox LIVE quickly and easily connects you and your friends to the entertainment you want—with no PC required for viewing.

With the recent price cut and this partnership with Netflix, its becoming harder not to buy an Xbox 360. Now if they'd just offer a Blu-ray add-on... If you'd like to read more, Microsoft's entire press release can be found here. Add a comment

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Home Entertainment

14 July 2008

While Blu-ray won the format war, consumers have been slow to go high-def. One of the biggest reasons is the the high costs associated with the format. Players are still very expensive and Blu-ray titles usually cost $10 or more than the standard DVD release.

Warner is trying to rectify this somewhat through its new Blu-ray Disc promotion. According to Video Business, Warner will be launching a point-of-sale rebate program where retailers will be able to get catalog titles for around $11. With this rebate, consumer pricing is expected to fall somewhere between $17 and $20.

In this program, retailers will buy the titles at their present pricing but obtain rebate money back upon the sale of each unit. That should ultimately amount to a relatively inexpensive $11 cost for retailers.

Additionally, Warner will offer rebates, although less extensive, for newer Blu-ray releases, including 300, The Departed, I Am Legend, Ocean’s 13 and We Are Marshall. This layer of the Blu-ray program also will run from early September to the first quarter, according to store sources.

The consumer price for these titles is likely to fall somewhere between $17 and $20. That would still represent a deal for shoppers, as titles such as 300 are now falling between $24 and $30 at outlets such as Amazon and Best Buy.

This is great news for consumers who are looking to pick up older Blu-ray titles for their library. Hopefully, other studios will follow Warner's lead and offer their own discounts. If you'd like to read more, the entire article can be found here. Add a comment

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Home Entertainment

11 July 2008

Futuresource Consulting recently released the results from its new home copying consumer research study. Sponsored by Macrovision, the study asked more than 5,000 people whether or not they made copies of pre-recorded DVDs. According to the results, one-third of the respondents made a copy of a DVD in the last six months. This is up from just over a quarter of respondents in 2007. Here are some of the highlights from the study:

• Around one third of all respondents in both countries admit to making copies of pre-recorded DVDs in the last 6 months, up from just over a quarter of respondents in 2007.
• As in 2007 it is 18-24 year old males who are most likely to be copiers.
• Copiers of DVDs are using both analogue and digital copying methods, with the two being of almost equal importance.
• In both territories, the most common way of copying is either from a DVD player to a DVD recorder, or using a single PC software application for burning DVD copies.
• In the last 6 months, the average number of movies copied in the UK was 13 new release and 9 catalogue; in the USA the figures were 7 and 6 respectively.
• Although the majority of people are copying from their own purchased DVD in both the UK and USA, a significant proportion of people are copying from rented and borrowed titles.
• The majority of UK and USA respondents would most likely buy these movie titles new at sale or promotional price.
• From a list of 40 recent blockbuster movie titles supplied to respondents, more than half of all DVD copiers in the USA and more than one third in the UK had successfully made copies of the titles on the list

Keep in mind that this study was sponsored by Macrovision and is being used to show that movie studios are losing revenue due to home copying. Personally, I'm not surprised by the number of people making copies. What does surprise me though is the the number of people making analog copies. It makes you wonder where they found the people in this study. Anyway, if you'd like to read more, the details from the study can be found here. Add a comment

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Home Entertainment

11 July 2008

While best known for their digital cameras, Kodak has set its sites on the high-def market with a suite of new products. Along with its new Zi6 Pocket Video Camera, the company recently unveiled the KODAK Theatre HD Player. The player connects to a household’s private Wi-Fi Network, allowing them to view images and high-def (720p) video on their television. The KODAK Theatre HD Player can also internet radio, podcasts and online video and photo sharing sites such as Flickr and YouTube.

Revolutionizing the way images and video can be enjoyed in HD, the KODAK Theatre HD Player is an interactive device that displays personal and web-based content on an HDTV, while wirelessly connecting to a household’s private Wi-Fi Network. Able to display HD still images (16:9 Aspect Ratio) and video (720p) on a HDTV, the remote operated KODAK Theatre HD Player lets consumers relive their favorite, and even forgotten, memories through a HD slideshow, as well as edit and upload images and videos to popular online content sharing sites.

Through unique partnerships with pioneers in photo sharing, such as KODAK Gallery and Flickr™ the KODAK Theatre HD Player provides consumers with easy and compelling ways to share pictures with friends and families. Additional partnerships with FrameChannel, a service of Frame Media, Inc., YouTube™ and RadioTime provide access to more than imaging content, offering an interactive and engaging multimedia experience. The KODAK Theatre HD Player is also compatible with USB drives and SD memory cards.

The KODAK Theatre HD Player is expected to ship in September for a suggested retail price of $299.99. Full details can be found here. Add a comment

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Home Entertainment

11 July 2008

D-Link sent out a press release earlier today, announcing the availability of the first DivX Connected device in the U.S. The D-Link MediaLounge DSM-330 connects to a user's home network via 802.11g Wi-Fi or Ethernet and streams music, photos and high-definition video from PCs to the television.

DivX, Inc. (NASDAQ:DIVX), a digital media company, and D-Link, the end-to-end networking solutions provider for consumer and business, today announced the availability of the first DivX Connected™ device in the U.S., with distribution in Canadian markets soon to follow. The D-Link® MediaLounge® DSM-330 enables the seamless streaming of music, photos, Internet services, and high-definition video from PCs to the television.

“As more and more people embrace the DivX® platform, we recognize the growing demand for a media player that supports all the capabilities that the DivX interface has to offer,” said Chris Wong, Director of Product Management, D-Link Systems, Inc. “There is increasing market demand for solutions that bridge the gap between the PC and television and we are proud to be the first to work with DivX in bringing DivX Connected to North America.”

The D-Link DSM-330 is available now for a suggested retail price of $299.99. If you'd like to read more, D-Link's entire press release can be found here. Add a comment