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Blockbuster to focus on Blu-ray

2007-06-17 @ 00:01,

Firm rental firm Blockbuster is to rent high-definition DVDs in the Blu-ray format only at 1,450 of its US stores.

The decision is being seen as a blow for the rival HD DVD format, which has been battling Blu-ray for supremacy.

Blockbuster said that consumers have been choosing the Blu-Ray format over HD DVD in the 250 stores where both were available.

The limited choice of titles in the HD DVD format was also a factor in focusing on Blu-ray, Blockbuster said.

"The consumers are sending us a message. I can't ignore what I'm seeing," Matthew Smith, senior vice president of merchandising at Blockbusters, told the Associated Press news agency.

Mr Smith added that most studios were offering films on Blu-ray, with the exception of Universal which has been supplying films on HD DVD alone.

The North American HD DVD Promotional Group said Blockbuster's move was short sighted, and had been prompted by the success of films released exclusively in the Blu-ray format in early 2007 such as Casino Royale and Spider Man.

"I think trying to make a format decision using such a short time period is really not measuring what the consumer is saying," said Ken Graffeo, co-president of the group.

The HD DVD format will still be available at Blockbuster in 250 of its stores.

Blu-ray Outpaces HD DVD

2007-02-28 @ 00:01,

According to US sell-through video sales tracker Nielsen VideoScan Blu-ray - the more derided of the two next generation media - has actually taken a significant sales lead in the opening weeks of 2007.

Exact figures quote HD DVD retail sales by the end of the first week of January as 47.14 per cent of Blu-ray's. This then declines remarkably to just 38.36 per cent by the end of the second week. Even worse for Toshiba, Neilsen says by 14 January Blu-ray retail sales were 92.4 per cent of HD DVDs. The tracker claims at this rate total Blu-ray sales will soon overtake total HD DVD sales despite the format coming to market many months later.

Naturally, there is a major reason for this upturn: the launch of the PlayStation 3. After all, while Microsoft's Xbox 360 does offer an HD DVD drive as an add-on, it is not necessary to play any of the console's games and the Nintendo Wii bypasses both formats in favour of plain old DVDs. By contrast, PS3 owners have no choice but to snap up the media.

Now whether the console world will settle a media battle which rages more heavily in television land (especially when HD DVD players remain nearly half the price of their Blu-ray equivalents) is a matter I'm sure Toshiba would be keen to debate.

That said, if round one clearly went to Tosh then round two - courtesy of the PS3 - looks to be headed Sony's way�

Blu-ray Leads The Way

2007-02-12 @ 00:01,

Blu-ray, which only just officially launched in Australia earlier this week, has already been declared the likely winner in the HD format war by the Australian press. At a Sydney event for the nation's leading media, retailers and analysts more than twenty Australian companies announced their support for the Blu-ray format including JB Hi-Fi, one of the largest consumer electronics retailers in Australia, which announced that they would be supporting the Blu-ray format exclusively.

"Today's launch is a clear demonstration of the overwhelming cross-industry support for the Blu-ray Disc format," said Michele Garra, chair of the Australian Blu-ray Disc Working Group. "The majority of the world's consumer electronics, IT, music, game companies and Hollywood studios, have already endorsed Blu-ray Disc because of its technical superiority and ability to provide an entirely new experience to consumers. We are thrilled to announce that Australian consumers can now experience Blu-ray Disc for themselves."

Scott Browning, Marketing Director at Australia's leading entertainment specialist retailer, JB Hi-Fi said, "Today's launch is one of the most significant in years for all Australian retailers interested in a slice of the growing entertainment market. Blu-ray is the only format that has the ability to tell the whole story, with the most comprehensive offering on the market. With seven of Hollywood's leading studios accounting for the vast majority of 2006's home video sales, among the 170 plus companies globally that support Blu-ray Disc, it makes sense that content will be king when it comes to Blu-ray."

"Indeed this is the reason that we have decided to only stock Blu-ray products at JB Hi-Fi. The range of exciting new film and TV releases as well as the potential back catalogue means that we can deliver everyone's favourite films on Blu-ray."

Globally, Blu-ray continues to grow as the natural choice, next generation format. In the United States, Hollywood studios are selling upwards of 45,000 Blu-ray titles weekly, with predictions showing steady growth driven by increasing hardware sales. According to Sony Computer Entertainment America, the PlayStation 3 is making strong progress, with the company reporting that two million PlayStation 3 consoles have shipped worldwide � a figure which is further bolstered by emerging sales of stand-alone Blu-ray players. These figures show consumers are readily embracing Blu-ray as their preferred next generation high-definition entertainment format.

Source: Sydney Morning Herald

European PS3 Owners Get Casino Royale for Free

2007-02-12 @ 00:01,

Sony Computer Entertainment Europe (SCEE) today announced that the first 500,000 PlayStation 3 owners to register on the PlayStation Network when the PS3 launches in Europe will receive a copy of last year's smash hit reinvigoration of the Bond franchise, Casino Royale, on special edition Blu-ray disc.

Casino Royale, which has already grossed more than $560 million at the box office worldwide, and has established itself as the most successful Bond film of all time will debut on a 50GB dual-layer Blu-ray disc encoded in MPEG-4 AVC. With a ground breaking collection of added-value features in 1080p high-definition visual quality, and with uncompressed audio features for the best possible audio experience, Casino Royale not only demonstrates the exceptional visual quality of full 1080p high-definition movies on Blu-ray disc, but is the perfect vehicle to highlight the broader entertainment credentials of the PlayStation 3 system.

Explaining the offer, Darren Carter, VP Brand and Consumer Marketing said, "The PlayStation Network unlocks the broad range of interactive entertainment features of PlayStation 3. It�s easy to set up, offers free online gaming, has great tools for staying in touch with friends and family, and includes a wide variety of content for download through the PlayStation Store."

"All this, and more, will enable users to experience a whole new world of interactive entertainment, and that is why we are offering the phenomenal incentive of Casino Royale, on Blu-ray disc, to PS3 owners who register on the PlayStation Network. Casino Royale not only makes the most of the features and capabilities of the Blu-ray format, but is one of the most exciting and entertaining movies to debut on Blu-ray this year."

The PlayStation 3 launches in Europe on March 23, 2007.

Source: Sony

News

2006-11-17 @ 00:01,

Blu-ray is a market where every single device built to use it costs an absolute bomb, so the more players to bring the price down the better. Welcome aboard LG.

2006�s most progressive company (in my humble opinion) is brining its �GBW H10N� Blu-ray optical storage drive to the UK. December is the anticipated month of arrival and �499 is the (still) rather costly RRP.

The GBW H10N boasts the fastest currently available Blu-ray write speed of 4X, as well as writing to existing DVD formats at speeds of up to 12x. The full line up is as follows:
Write speed: BD-R 4x, BD-RE 2x, DVD-R 12x (SL/DL), CD-R (DL 6x), DVD-RW 6x, DVD-RAM 3-5x, DVD+R 12x, DVD+R DL 12x, DVD+RW 8x, CD-R 8x, CD-RW 10x DVD-R.
Read Speed: BD-R 4x, BD-RE 2x, DVD-R 10x, CVD-R DL 6x, DVD-RW 10x, DVD-RAM 3x-5x, DVD+R 10x, DVD+R DL 10x, DVD+RW 10x, CD-R 40x, CD-RW 40x.

Sadly, as you may have spotted from these figures (and the reason I gave you the full breakdown) LG has no quoted speeds for dual layer Blu-ray media because it cannot burn to this format. Little can.

Still, with its breakout 4x BD-R the GBW H10N will no doubt appeal to early adopters and those of you who take home a bigger paycheque than me. The rest of us will need to wait until the middle of next year when prices take their inevitable slide.