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Miss Lost? Catch all four seasons on Xbox Live Marketplace in a few hours
Looking for all that ABC and MGM HD content on Xbox Live? You won't have to wait long, with the first three seasons of Lost up now plus the just-aired season 4 premiere (Hurley was all ZOMG!, and Benry was like Bu-bu-but...) available for purchase at 12:01 a.m. PST for 240 MS points ($3 U.S.) per episode -- just barely missing the original "later this month" promise. Due later on in February are hits like the High School Musical series and other content from the Disney Channel, and MGM's releases hit on the 18th. Mr. Brooks, the Rocky series, The Usual Suspects, Saw IV, and Michael Clayton are all coming soon in HD (if you want to call it that). Looks like someone's gearing up to take on the Apple TV, how about a price cut, or loosening up on the DRM?
MGM HD coming to Verizon's FiOS TV in late 2008
Some 14 months after Poland curiously became the first locale to lock down MGM HD, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios is finally announcing a deal to get its channel on Verizon's own fiber-based television service. Starting sometime in "late 2008," FiOS TV subscribers in California, Delaware, Florida, Indiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Texas and Virginia (that's all of 'em, by the way) will be able to enjoy the channel in 1080i. Aside from rafts of movies, viewers can also expect "exclusive behind the scenes coverage of red carpet events, sneak peeks at new films in production, seasonal promotions and world premieres of newly re-mastered hits from the MGM library." Now, just how "late" are we talking, exactly?[Via AVSForum]
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]
The Water Club hotel signs up for HD IPTV and HD VOD
Continuing the trend of high-class hotels having a thing for high-definition is The Water Club, a signature hotel by Borgata which is set to open its doors this summer in Atlantic City, New Jersey. The $600 million master plan development will feature 800 rooms and suites, each of which will have access to free-to-guest IPTV with HD service. Additionally, patrons can look forward to an unspecified allotment of HD VOD, and if you're curious as to what they'll be enjoying said content on, a 40-inch Sony LCD TV is the answer. The 100-percent digital Guest-Tek OneView Media HD system will reportedly utilize a set-top-box that supports MPEG2, MPEG4-AVC and VC-1, and while this all sounds mighty delightful, we've no clue how many Benjamins you'll be laying down (per night) to experience this yourself. A look inside is waiting after the jump.
Xbox Live Marketplace adds HD & SD content from ABC, MGM
While HD DVD and Blu-ray have both lost key supporters recently, Microsoft's Xbox Live Marketplace seems to just keep adding new content providers, this time bringing MGM and Disney-ABC Television Group to the fold. Conspicuous in that both are exclusive Blu-ray supporters, Xbox 360 owners will -- later this month -- have access to ABC hits like Lost, Grey's Anatomy and Desperate Housewives in HD the day after they air. So far, MGM's announced just classic and catalog flicks like the Rocky series and The Usual Suspects, with "most" available in HD. Still looking for a Blu-ray add-on or built in HD DVD?
CES: ABC, Disney and MGM bring content to XBLM
Today, as part of their CES announcements, Microsoft revealed that ABC, Disney and MGM have signed up to offer new content via Xbox Live and the Xbox Live Marketplace. The new content will rollout later this month to the US video marketplace from television channels including ABC, ABC News, ABC Family, Disney Channel and Toon Disney as well as movies from MGM's massive library. Standard and high-definition content from television shows like Lost, Grey's Anatomy, Desperate Housewives, Hannah Montana, The Suite Life of Zack & Cody and movies including Terminator, Silence of the Lambs, Legally Blonde, Barbershop and Rain Man. New video content that'll be sure to empty your Microsoft points account.Side note: The Microsoft CES keynote is still chugging along, but it is looking like they've announced all their Xbox 360 news already. This is it. So, no HD DVD equipped Xbox 360, but we did get more XBLM content ... that's good, right?
ABC Television and MGM brings HD content to Xbox Marketplace
At CES today, Microsoft announced an expansion of its Xbox Live video offerings. ABC Television and MGM will both offer HD videos on the Marketplace. Coincidentally, these studios are exclusively aligned to Blu-ray. This agreement gives Xbox owners a chance to experience this content in HD as well.ABC Television Network, ABC Family, ABC News, Disney Channel and Toon Disney are all part of this new offering. More than 500 hours of content, in both standard definition and high definition, will be offered including ABC Television shows Lost, Grey's Anatomy, Ugly Betty and Desperate Housewives. Past and current shows will be offered, as will archived ABC News broadcasts.MGM will offer a wide variety of movies, from the Rocky series to Dances with Wolves. Movies across all demographics will be available, including Terminator, Silence of the Lambs, Legally Blonde, Barbershop and Agent Cody Banks. Platoon, Rain Man and The Usual Suspects will also be available.Price and an exact launch date of this newly announced content have yet to be revealed. HD DVD may have gotten a serious death blow this week, but it appears Microsoft's on-demand offerings should more than satiate the HD film appetite of the Xbox fan.
MGM takes 'Ronin' and 'Red Dawn' off the table for 2007
MGM's release schedule for the holiday season is getting thinner and thinner. 'Ronin' and 'Red Dawn' are the latest casualties, with both being put on indefinite delay for "marketing reasons." That brings the list of MGM Q4 vaporware announcements to five: 'Battle of Britain' and 'A Bridge Too Far' were pulled last week, and 'The Amityville Horror' was yanked back in October. So what's left? Well, 'Rescue Dawn' now has the dubious distinction as the sole MGM Blu-ray release left for 2007. MGM's been on team blue from day one, and since they're signed up with Fox for home distribution that's not going to change. But with friends like these, who needs enemies?
Following the money in the format war
Everyone knows that the outcome of the Blu-ray / HD DVD format war has huge financial stakes. Reporters, then, take the "Follow the money" approach. At Europe's IFA consumer electronics show in Berlin this week, attempts to do so turned up no solid evidence to clarify things. Onstage execs from Warner Bros., Fox, MGM and Sony all denied that they received payola from the BDA. The response from Stephen Foulser, Disney's European Marketing VP, was only slightly more illuminating -- "no comment." This comes on the heels of reports that Paramount and DreamWorks picked up a $150 million check for their 18-month HD DVD exclusivity. The mystery and intrigue in this format war are fitting for a movie, but which format would it be released on?
Fox, MGM pledge more support for Blu-ray
The high-definition format war was due for a shakeup. Following yesterday's news that Paramount will be ditching Blu-ray in favor of HD-DVD exclusivity, Twentieth Century Fox and MGM (whose video releases are, not coincidentally, handled by Fox) pledged more support for the Sony-backed Blu-ray, citing the format's dominant sales compared to HD-DVD.That pledge totals 29 new Blu-ray releases by the end of the year, which breaks down as follows: Six new films from Fox, including Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer and Live Free or Die Hard, that will be released day and date with the DVD version. Four day and date (for U.S. only) Blu-ray and DVD new releases from MGM 19 titles deemed "must have on Blu-ray" from the two studios' collection Additionally, Fox has promised to bring television drama Prison Break to Blu-ray. According to the announcement (via GameDaily), Fox said it intends to release "at least one state-of-the-art title per month featuring numerous BD 'firsts.'"[Via PS3 Fanboy]
Fox and MGM expand Blu-ray exclusive offerings
The HD wars are stronger than ever. In a statement clearly triggered by Paramount and Dreamworks' surprising move to HD DVD exclusivity, Fox and MGM are both pledging increased exclusive support for Blu-ray. Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer, Live Free or Die Hard, and Fox's first-ever TV release on BD, Prison Break, have all been announced for release on Blu-ray.These discs won't skimp on exclusive features. According to GameDaily BIZ, a "vast majority" of its movies will arrive on 50 GB dual-layer discs, with BD-J interactivity and Blu-ray exclusive HD bonus materials -- something that has been sorely lacking on most BDMV releases.So why support Blu-ray over HD DVD? It's simple: better sales. "Given that Blu-ray has consistently outsold HD DVD all year, and this is the case for any titles released by any studio in both formats, we believe that the time is right for us to accelerate our activities and help convert the nearly 60 million high definition households worldwide into Blu-ray households," commented Mike Dunn, President Worldwide, Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment.
Fox, MGM strike back -- proudly unveil slew of upcoming Blu-ray films
Call us crazy, but the response time between camps seems to be growing increasingly shorter with each and every blow. Merely hours after Paramount and Dreamworks chose HD DVD (or were they "persuaded?") as their one true love, Fox and MGM (Blu-ray backers from the start, mind you) have struck back with a few fightin' words of their own. Most notably, Mike Dunn, President Worldwide, Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment, proclaimed: "Given that Blu-ray has consistently outsold HD DVD all year, we believe that the time is right for us to accelerate our activities and help convert the nearly 60 million high-definition households worldwide into Blu-ray households." In order to do so, the release also lays out details for a whopping 29 titles that are slated to hit BD in the not-too-distant future. Of course, the timing here is especially noteworthy considering Fox's unexplained absence of late, and the two made quite clear that BD-J / BD-Live components won't be skimped on in the upcoming releases. Though not confirmed, you can also likely count on facing BD+ when picking up any of these forthcoming discs, but with choices like Ronin, Master & Commander, and A Bridge Too Far, Blu-ray fans should have plenty to keep them occupied in the coming months.Read - Fox, MGM Blu-ray plansRead - Were Paramount / DreamWorks paid to commit?
That's Entertainment! MGM in iTunes
Today Apple announced that MGM will sell its catalog of older films at the US iTunes store. To kick things off, "Dances With Wolves," "Mad Max," "The Great Train Robbery," and "Rocky" should be available for purchase some time today. More titles will be added during the coming weeks. (MGM owns the largest movie library in the world.) The movies will be distributed in the current "Near-DVD" resolution of 640x480, a fact which makes Apple TV owners cry. And ask why. Because if Apple were going to start offering High Def movies any time soon, why wouldn't they have MGM in on that announcement and make it an even bigger to do?
MGM movies hit iTunes
It's a little late to the party, but MGM has finally joined Paramount, Lionsgate, and others in offering a selection of its films for download in the iTunes Store. It's not the first time MGM has served up some of its movies in digital form though, with the studio already having inked a deal with Amazon's competing Unbox service. Those that prefer not to stray too far from iTunes, however, can now snag titles such as Ronin, Dances With Wolves, Mad Max, Rocky, Foxy Brown and, yes, Robocop at the usual "near-DVD quality" resolution for about ten bucks a pop.
Poland first to get MGM Channel in HD
While we're overjoyed to hear that some of our own are receiving additional HD programming out of the blue, we can't help but extend our congratulations to Poland on locking down yet another HD offering. The country's private television broadcaster, ITI Group, it teaming up with MGM Studios to launch an HD version of the MGM Movie Channel on the nation's "N" direct-to-home satellite television platform. Furthermore, this is MGM's first dedicated channel to be delivered in high definition, and will reportedly cover a smorgasbord of genres and eras while including films like "Raging Bull, Midnight Cowboy, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, Coming Home, Network and The Manchurian Candidate." Additionally, Poland's leading commercial television network (TVN) , as well as "third party cable operators" will be able to offer the new channel to those without "N." If all goes as planned, the folks in Poland can be enjoying their very own HD movie channel by the year's end.[Thanks, Arsenal]
The Outer Limits, The Addams Family, The Pink Panther added to iTunes
MGM has just added some of their classic sitcoms to the iTunes Store. Amongst the additions are the first season of The Outer Limits, season 1 of The Addams Family, and season 1 of The Pink Panther. Pricing is the standard $1.99 per episode.[via iPodNN]
MGM announces 4th-quarter Blu-ray releases
MGM, now under the arm of Fox and not Sony -- although they are following Sony and releasing these discs with MPEG-2 instead of MPEG-4 AVC -- has announced their next two waves of Blu-ray releases, also targeted towards early adopters and Playstation 3 owners. Usual Supects (day-and-date with the special edition DVD) and Windtalkers are slated for November 28, followed by Rocky (day-and-date with the special edition DVD) and Bulletproof Monk. What they do share with Fox's 8 movie releases is a $39.98 MSRP, which we should remind you is higher than we expect the discs to actually retail for but in this case, more than we expect due to their being catalog releases without exclusive features to speak of. They are all HDMV mastered with DTS HD Master Lossless soundtracks and "pop-up" menus. The BDA wasn't joking when they said they would have big announcements today, they are keying their strategy this fall around the Playstation 3 but we'll be happy if they can provide the quality movies we've been waiting for from Blu-ray.
MGM switches home-video arm from Sony to Fox
In a curious move, MGM (despite being 20% owned by Sony) has decided to take their home video distribution business elsewhere, and go to Fox. Fox is still within the Blu-ray fold, so no major changes there however Sony loses control over timing and pricing, as noted by VideoBusiness. mediabistro suggests that the synergy of Sony picking up MGM to keep them from Time Warner in the first place was a mistake, which seems to be borne out by their sudden desire to have all their internation and domestic video releases under one roof at Fox. The upcoming James bond film, Casino Royale, will still be distributed by Sony. Read - VideoBusinessRead - mediabistro
Bond takes order from Activision, EA's out
As of yesterday, our favorite secret-agent with a license to kill will be taking orders from somewhere else. Yup, M EA's out of the picture and number two publisher, Activision, will be handling the James Bond franchise from now on. "Who does number two work for?"EA has been chasing the success of Rare's 1997 N64 classic, Goldeneye; having secured the rights to the Bond franchise until 2009, EA has made five Bond titles, none of which achieved Goldeneye's level of success. When Sony bought MGM in 2004, things apparently went south (shades of the messy Never Say Never Again situation). EA has since decided to give up the franchise to "refocus on all-new games" allowing Activision to obtain the exclusive license to the franchise until 2014. Will Activision reinvigorate the Bond franchise while EA creates attractive, original titles? Never say never.[Thanks to everyone that sent this one in](Update: cleared up some confusing language. It's much better now.)
Seven major studios line up to sell movies online
We have no idea why they chose today to do it, but today seven major movie studios announced they'll be selling movies online through Movielink and CinemaNow. Warner Bros, Universal, Sony, Paramount, Fox, and MGM will all be distributing first-run titles online -- definitely something they've never done before -- through Movielink for between 20 and 30 bones (way, way too much if you ask us), with older movies going for between $10 and $20. Lionsgate (and Sony) also announced distribution through CinemaNow. Really this was only a matter of time -- for these guys it was either sell these things online DRMed all to hell for way too much money (see above), go the subscription route (like Vongo, for example -- not likely) or continue whining without any justification whatsoever about pirates stealing movies in the Internet. At least now they can say they've legitimately offered their digital content up online (hey, you can even make a DVD backup for use only on Movielink-authorized computers), even though they still can't account for the artificial demand they try to create by releasing movies for purchase months after the films have gone out of theater.[Thanks, Phil]