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Bizarre survey finds digital copy preferable to downloading
Maybe we're just off our rocker, but we can't figure out what NPD Group hoped to actually discover from this here survey to save our lives. Apparently these folks asked around 1,500 movie buyers (read: clearly not movie thieves) if they preferred purchasing a video that included digital copy or simply downloading it from the internet. Shocker: 79% said they favored the digital copy, while only 21% confessed that they'd rather get a low quality rip from a shady website that could potentially infect their computer with some rare strain of virus. Seriously, what's the point? If you're buying a film in the first place, why wouldn't you want the studio to do the hard work for you and include a portable copy? At any rate, this groundbreaking poll also revealed that 38% of those interested in digital copy "appreciated having a physical disc as a backup," while 27% admitted that they would be "more inclined to buy a portable device in order to take advantage of the digital copy feature." Moral of the story? Let us know, will you?
TV exclusives taking movies off of iTunes?
Has your favorite movie gone missing from iTunes or Netflix lately? The reason could be television, says CNET -- apparently a slew of movies on iTunes and Netflix's streaming service have recently fallen prey to television exclusive agreements. With the onset of Apple TV and apps like Boxee making it possible to stream Netflix, TV networks with exclusive showing agreements have made sure that while they've got a lock on a movie, we can't watch it anywhere else.Of course, as CNET notes, it's about the money (isn't it always?). If studios can make more money from the TV networks than they can from online rentals, then obviously they're going to go with television. The only problem with that, however, is that with an exclusive agreement, they'll never know, will they?And of course the other issue here is the actual definition of places like iTunes and Netflix -- obviously, retail stores aren't barred from carrying these movies, so does that mean that Netflix and iTunes are actually content channels rather than retailers? Tough issue. You have to think that it'll eventually be settled in favor of digital distribution (what consumer wouldn't want to watch a movie on their own time rather than sticking to a TV network's schedule), but until studios are convinced otherwise, exclusivity agreements will likely be the rule.[via Apple Insider]
Studios begin to settle on wholesale Blu-ray Disc prices
While we're still not clear on when Blu-ray Disc prices will fall more in line with newly lowered hardware prices, it seems that movie studios are at least beginning to standardize wholesale stickers. Reportedly, Warner Bros., Paramount, Disney and Sony Pictures Home Entertainment have all priced their BDs for distributors and direct retail accounts between $24 and $26. As expected, none of the studios would comment on the reports, and certain distributors and retailers contacted by Video Business still felt that they were "experimenting with Blu-ray prices and features." Unfortunately, we're still waiting for that one big studio to take a risk and undercut the others, but if Q4 sales don't exceed expectations, we'd expect some drastic measures to be taken early next year.
Top 10 films that should be released on Blu-ray -- do you agree?
Sound & Vision has a rather interesting article up about the ten films that it most wants to see released on Blu-ray, and while we concur with the most of 'em, we're interested to see what you readers think as well. Before delving into your fanboy-ish desires, however, it's important to note that past popularity isn't necessarily a sign that a particular movie will be re-released on BD. As we've learned before, there are quite a few variables that studios take into consideration outside of just public perception. We're tempted to blurt out all ten right here for discussion, but we know how disgruntled some of you folks get when spoilers are sprung on you.
DreamWorks and Paramount make breakup official, hands out tissues
And to think, most of you probably had no idea that these two were even having issues. After Paramount's parent company, Viacom Inc., acquired DreamWorks in 2006 for $1.6 billion, things were never exactly pleasant. Now, the two have finally hammered out a deal that will enable them to part ways and retain "joint custody," if you will, of around 40 movie projects. Where do things go from here? Spielberg and his team of executives are out to form an "independent studio backed by one of India's biggest conglomerates, Reliance ADA Group, which plans to invest $550 million for a 50% stake." Under the settlement, Spielberg's new firm (which will still go by DreamWorks) will take the lead on upwards of 20 film projects currently owned by Paramount. As with most divorces, this one too is filled with complexities -- if you're into that, tap the read link for all the minutiae.[Image courtesy of Kinoweb]
Blu-ray studios get graded, Sony Pictures comes out on top
Kudos, Sony Pictures Home Entertainment -- you've apparently been doing quite well in the Blu-ray department this year. The folks over at Sound & Vision recently took a hard look at a number of BD-releasing studios this year in order to give 'em all the grade they deserve. As for criteria? Critics looked at the "technical prowess of the audio and video presentations, the adoption or avoidance of available Blu-ray exclusive technologies (BD-Live, etc.) and the breadth and diversity of their releases as well as their reaction to the unique challenges of the latest evolution of the BD market." Interested to see how the rest of the competition fared? Give the read link a look for all the dirt.
Paramount to offer $10 rebate for select Blu-ray Disc upgrades
Who knows, maybe this holiday season will be a decent time to stock up on Blu-ray Discs. Exactly one month after hearing that Warner would be lowering the BD price bar this winter on a slew of its titles, in comes word that Paramount Home Video is preparing a promotion of its own. Reportedly, the studio will be offering movie collectors a $10 rebate when they upgrade select DreamWorks and Paramount DVDs to Blu-ray Discs. Blu-ray copies of Transformers, The Godfather, Old School, Stardust, Sweeney Todd and Zodiac will be eligible for the rebate, with the purchase having to be made by December 31st, 2009. For all the fine print (there's not too much), the read link has you covered.[Via CDFreaks]
Warner Bros. to trim theatrical slate, focus on Blu-ray / VOD
Although it was tough to see then, the writing has been on the wall in hindsight. After Warner Bros. absorbed New Line Pictures, characterizing it as a "redundant infrastructure," it's now looking to focus less on cranking out blockbuster theatrical releases and more on pushing Blu-ray / VOD adoption. Jeff Bewkes, president and CEO of Time Warner Inc., has noted that the studio will trim its theatrical slate in half from two years ago, as it hopes to garner more profits by simply "building wider consumer adoption of Blu-ray" and expanding day-and-date VOD releases. Even more interesting was Bewkes assertion that the "expansion of Blu-ray, VOD and related improvements in electronic distribution by moving away from physical DVD would help grow filmed entertainment." After looking at a few motion picture budgets, it's pretty easy to see why distribution looks so delicious. [Disclosure: Engadget is part of the Time Warner family][Thanks, xdragon]
How are back catalog titles chosen for Blu-ray release?
C'mon, you know you've asked yourself this. After all, aren't we all tense with anticipation just waiting to see what titles studios are planning to re-release on BD, only to kvetch mightily after our favorite flicks get pushed aside for films that "no one will watch?" Thankfully, Sound & Vision has taken at least some of the mystery out and has revealed five shortcuts to getting a film released on Blu-ray. Essentially, studios are looking for titles that will enable BD setups to shine, and if the movie has proven popular in the past, there's a decent shot the demand will be there for a BD release. Additionally, studios love re-releasing originals when a sequel is in theaters, and of course, if it can stop long enough to hear fans clamoring for a specific title, that too could urge them to crank out a 1080p edition. Be sure and give the read link a visit for the full rundown.
Crossbeam Studios cancelling entertainment
Even when it was called the Revolution, Crossbeam Studios decided to get their hands dirty and promote some big titles. The original three were Thorn, Midnight and Orb, and everyone was totally getting into the vibe of these promising projects.Unfortunately, all those titles seem to be heading to the big recycle bin in the sky. The studio isn't going out of business; they are changing direction towards the PC and the early Wii projects simply aren't a priority, despite the fan following. A giant Falafelkid article on Crossbeam delves deep into the studio and its staff, which is a must-read for anyone interested in the core machinations of a smaller development team.The games haven't been scrapped forever and ever, but you can stop thinking about saving up for any imminent pre-orders. Check out Cubed3's coverage and discussion with Greg Szemiot from Crossbeam, as well as the original dissection feature.[Via Cubed3]
Analyst says consumers didn't end format war
As we poked and prodded through the ups and downs of the format war, we noticed a recurring theme -- HD DVD seemed to have things going in its favor on more than one occasion. Consumers adored the low priced hardware, studios were coming on board and Sony's PlayStation 3 (along with all the other Blu-ray players) was priced extraordinarily high. Not to mention Sony's absolutely awful track record with formats. In a recent interview with ABI Principal Analyst Steve Wilson, BetaNews found that he believed that the outcome of the format war wouldn't necessarily benefit the consumer. Besides being more expensive and less developed, some Blu-ray players have had quite the time performing as advertised. According to ABI, "it wasn't customers' likes or dislikes that powered the fatal blow in the format war, it was Warner Bros.' decision to switch allegiance to Blu-ray, along with subsequent moves to dump HD DVD by major retailers such as Wal-Mart, Netflix and Blockbuster." Frankly, we can't argue with that one iota.[Thanks, Andrew]
Starz inks deals with five major studios, looks to bolster lineup
Feeling as if Starz's offerings are a bit stale of late? Apparently, so did its management team, as it went out and landed deals with five major studios with the sole purpose of bulking up its movie lineup. Reportedly, the network inked "exclusive first run output deals with Sony Pictures Television and Disney-ABC Domestic Television" that are set to last "well into the next decade," and just in case that wasn't enough to keep your clicker on the counter, it also picked up a number of library acquisitions from Warner Bros. Domestic Television Distribution, MGM Worldwide Television Group and Universal Pictures. More specifically, Starz should receive some 1,200 top movie titles and TV series from the latter three's film vaults, and the content can be distributed across Starz HD, Starz On Demand and even Vongo. For more details and a glimpse at what's on the horizon, hit up the read link below.[Via MultiChannel News]
iTunes now supports movie rentals
iTunes 7.6 is out, and it finally has something we've been hearing about for a long time: movie rentals. As announced at the Macworld Keynote earlier today, Apple has made deals with all of the major studios to provide streaming, downloadable flicks for you to watch on your computer, iPod or iPhone. Library titles are $2.99, and new releases will be available 30 days after DVD release and will cost $3.99. Each movie will be available to download within 30 days, and once you start watching it, you'll have 24 hours to finish.There is good news for HD viewers-- HD rentals will be available, but they'll cost an extra buck (so $3.99 and $4.99 for library titles and new releases. There'll be 100 HD titles starting today, and more all the time. And of course, movie rentals will be sync-able with the iPhone and iPod, or have the ability to be downloaded straight on to the revamped Apple TV. Unfortunately, we haven't heard an official resolution on the HD (720p is one of the numbers being tossed around, and that's not great for serious HD viewers), but if we get to see one of these flicks, we'll let you know.Get out the popcorn-- it's time to rent some movies from iTunes!
Mercury Meltdown pub expands, promises new next-gen IP
As much as we have grown tired of having games developed for this generation of consoles referred to as "next-gen entertainment," that ire is evidently not shared by all. Ignition Entertainment, publisher of Mercury Meltdown and the adolescent undead romp Teenage Zombies, today announced the opening of not one, but two new studios committed to so-called next-gen game development. The new studios will operate out of both Tokyo and Florida, and according to Ignition will focus on creating "new IP specifically for the next generation formats," but which formats exactly remain a mystery. In fact, no details about upcoming projects from either Ignition Tokyo or Florida have been announced, though in looking at the company's subsidiary Digi-Guys, which has been working on WarDevil since well before the launch of the Xbox 360, it's clear that these studios are not in a hurry.
Warner to finally go Blu-ray-only at CES?
Another day, another format war rumor. Business Week has a lengthy writeup on the possibility of lone dual-format holdout Warner Brothers switching to Blu-ray exclusively, and how it could affect the outcome of the long-running feud between high-definition disc formats HD DVD and Blu-ray. The rumor gets its seed from vice-chairman of Lionsgate Michael Burns, who claims that Warner will be turning blue soon. With Warner on their side, the Blu-ray studios would hold a 70% market share for the DVD market. Of course, if Warner shifts red, then the studio market will again be split into two equal halves, and consumers are left to wait and see if one format can outsell, outspend, or outlast the other until only one format remains. The stakes are so high that top execs from both camps are banging down Warner's door with personal meetings -- and possibly even truckloads of cash -- to get Warner to turn to their side. One thing you can be sure of is that Warner is going to be keeping an extra close eye on the dual-format release of Harry Potter next week for guidance.[Thanks, Michael P.]
Eisner blames Jobs, and Radiohead cleans up
From the "whatever you say, Eisner" department, Engadget brings news that former Disney honcho Michael Eisner is blaming the guy who originally wore the black turtleneck and jeans for the Writers Guild of America strike, of all things. In an interview with a CNET blog, Eisner says that Steve Jobs is taking media companies "to the cleaners," and that Jobsy's the one to blame for the writers' low pay on digital media distribution. "If I was a union," he says, undoubtedly making union leaders' heads everywhere fold back in on themselves with the irony, "I'd be striking up wherever he is."Strange then, that this same day, we also get a story about how Radiohead is doing with their online distribution deal. You'll remember that they passed on iTunes to distribute their music themselves, and now we're hearing that, after all is said and done, Radiohead earned an average of $2.26 per album by asking listeners to download the album for free and pay them whatever they thought it was worth. "$2.26 per album?" you say. "They got screwed! iTunes charges $10!"Ah yes, but apparently Radiohead would have made about $1 per album if they'd gone through traditional channels. So actually, the creators doubled their income per sale. Eisner's crazy-- Jobs isn't to blame for this strike, it's content distributors who don't pay content creators enough for digital distribution. But given that Radiohead is cashing in (and gaining public goodwill to boot), maybe the Writers Guild have a lesson to learn here as well.
DVD group approves restrictive download-to-burn scheme
At first glance, one may assume that being able to legally burn a DVD of a recent film download would be excellent progress in enabling consumers to better manage their media, but it comes as no surprise that the DVD Copy Control Association has laced the process in stipulations. Reportedly, the DVD CCA "hammered out an agreement with movie studios, electronics makers and computer makers and announced that it will license software to allow content to be burned onto one disc but not copied to others." Furthermore, the discs that you burn to will be "special" versions that have "preprinted codes in order to prevent copying." As if that wasn't enough, these unique DVDs will absolutely cost more due to royalties, users won't "be able to watch the downloaded version on a computer or portable video player," and many older DVD burners would have to be upgraded in order to use the process. Um, thanks?[Thanks, Matt G.]
Apple cutting iTunes pricing on TV episodes?
According to a report from Variety today, the Jobster and crew aren't stopping at iPhone price cuts. If you believe what the entertainment rag has to say about iTunes, the word on the street is that Apple is hoping to halve the cost of TV shows, dropping the $1.99 price to just $.99. Variety claims three separate sources have indicated that the Cupertino juggernaut has gone as far as telling networks and studios about the price drop, and that the plan was actually the cause of NBC's departure from the music / TV / movie download service. Apparently -- as with the Peacock network -- other providers are balking at the change, particularly when it comes to DVD boxed sets, as $.99 per-episode downloads could impact sales that many studios rely on. The paper goes on to claim that studios are interested in the idea of tiered pricing for older and newer shows (offering something like The Brady Bunch at a lower price than last week's episode of Lost), though Apple is resistant to the concept. Still, the report is largely hearsay at this point, so until we get some more solid facts, we're treating this as educated speculation.[Thanks, Xavier]
Alesis iMultiMix 8 USB mixer records directly to iPod
We've seen a number of mixers incorporating iPods around here -- from the four-track Belkin TuneStudio to DJ models from Numark and iTRAX to gimmicky toys from MusicJam and others -- but none quite as polished as the upcoming eight-track iMultiMix 8 USB from Alesis, which combines 48-volt phantom power, 100 28-bit digital effects, and four high-gain preamps into a pretty snazzy-looking mini studio. Once your get your creations down pat, they can be easily transferred to your PC through iTunes, where they'll be converted into 16-bit / 44.1kHz or 48kHz recordings. Wired's Gadget Lab tells us to expect this sometime in the fall for around $500, so aspiring super producers take note.[Via Gadget Lab]
Darkness renamed Midnight [update 1]
Accordingly to all reputable sources, the game-formerly-known-as-Darkness is, at the very least, still a year off from release. The survival-horror project, one of Crossbeam Studio's trifecta of titles (Orb, Thorn, and Darkness), had to be renamed due to copyright conflicts with The Darkness, a title by 2k Games. Thus, Crossbeam Studios has announced an official name change of Darkness to Midnight. Still awesome. Name changes are fine and dandy, but someone needs to let Sega know that Wildfire is still way cooler than Secret Rings.[Update 1: Silly us ... we confused Sadness with Darkness. Fixed.]
