warner
Latest
Warner preps for UltraViolet with Flixster Collections app to manage your movies
You don't have to wait for Green Lantern or Horrible Bosses on Blu-ray before getting a taste of the UltraViolet future, as Warner has released a beta version of its Flixster Collections app that wants to dig deep into your movie library. Currently running on Macs or PCs, it's not concerned with where your media is -- it ties in with Netflix, Amazon, Hulu, iTunes then asks about your disc collection and downloaded files -- but it wants to index all of it. Once everything is imported, you can browse through them in a Netflix-style interface and even share them over different social networks. As Home Media Magazine points out, the access to titles from all studios is an important first here, but until UltraViolet actually launches, there's not much to do once all your information is out there. Hit the source link to try it out yourself, and make sure you've got the requisite logins handy, you'll be a while.
China's Baidu licenses music from major US record labels for streaming and downloads
In a move suggesting they might be ready to accept the realities of the internet era, major US record labels have reached a deal with Chinese search engine company Baidu. The agreement between the search giant and One-Stop China, a joint venture of Universal, Warner and Sony BMG, will result in licensed tracks popping up in searches instead of pirated ones and resolve years of legal wrangling between the two sides. Baidu launched its ting! social music service earlier this year with support from local labels and EMI, while this new deal will see labels paid per-play, per-download and from advertising. Between this and the recent launch of Spotify in the US the cheap and easy fun of music piracy is slipping away rapidly, if record labels continue to act sensibly then illegal downloads will soon be limited to hipsters ironically cracking open vintage editions of Soulseek.
Warner posts The Dark Knight Rises trailer, we're already waiting for it on Blu-ray
The new Chris Nolan Batman flick is still a year away from hitting theaters, but after The Dark Knight we're more than convinced it will be worth the wait whenever it comes home on Blu-ray. Warner Bros. posted the first teaser trailer for The Dark Knight Rises on Facebook today, hit the source link or look after the break to check it out. There's some glimpses of Bane and desperate words from Commissioner Gordon spliced up with the briefest of looks at Batman doing his thing,
Planet Earth Special Edition Blu-ray arrives October 4th
Warner has officially revealed the launch date and pricing for refreshed editions of the epic Planet Earth series on Blu-ray and DVD. There are two versions planned, the Limited Collector's Edition pictured above with the globe packaging, and a Special Edition in more every day trim. The MSRP for the LCE is $99 and the Special Edition runs $79 when both arrive October 4th, check out the official list of extras after the break.
Ben-Hur 50th Anniversary Blu-ray rides again on September 27th (trailer)
Ben-Hur snagged 11 Academy Awards when it debuted in 1959 and now it returns on Blu-ray in Ultimate Collectors Edition packaging. The three disc set follows the recent release of another Charlton Heston classic, The Ten Commandments, promising a frame-by-frame restoration of the original 65mm master. The third disc packs all the special features including a new documentary and the original 1925 silent film while other collectibles include copies of Heston's diary he kept during the entire process. Right now it's available for preorder on Amazon for $45, you can get the full list of extras after the break or just check out the trailer Warner posted embedded above.
Warner brings Pay-Per-View, Video on Demand to China, hopes people will actually pay for it
Piracy may run rampant in China, but that hasn't stopped Warner Bros. from launching the country's first national Pay-Per-View and Video on Demand service. Under the program, movies like Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows -- Part 1 will be broadcast on You On Demand's platform, and distributed to Chinese living rooms in cooperation with China Home Cinema -- a branch of CCTV-6. According to You On Demand's estimates, the service should be available in about three million homes by the end of this summer, and will have the potential to reach a full 200 million cable-equipped households. That's certainly a huge market, and one that could provide some serious revenue -- assuming, of course, that people are actually willing to pay for movies. Full PR after the break.
NYPost: Apple paying major music labels up to $150 million for rights to music on iCloud
The New York Post is reporting that three separate sources have told them Apple is paying the big four music labels between $100-150 million for the rights to distribute their music through the new iCloud service, which is set to debut on Monday. Their sources say that each label will get between $25-50 million depending on the number of tracks iTunes users are storing. On Tuesday, Apple issued a press release stating that Steve Jobs will unveil the iCloud service on June 6. iCloud is widely expected to be a cloud-based digital locker that allows users to stream any music they own to any device they own. Apple has been aggressively working on deals with the major music labels for a while now, first getting Warner, then EMI and Sony to get on board. The last holdout, Universal, is rumored to have signed with Apple late last week. With up to a $50 million signing bonus, any cash-strapped music label would be crazy not to accept Apple's offer.
Apple, publishers reportedly close to completing cloud music deal
Apple's music streaming service is inching closer to launch according to industry sources. Earlier rumors suggest Apple already inked licensing agreements with three of the four major record labels, including EMI Music, Warner Music and Sony Music. The one remaining holdout is Universal Music, which is still working with the Cupertino company. Besides the record labels, Apple also needs to obtain publishing rights from the individual music publishers. Insiders claim only a small amount of cash is keeping Apple from inking these final agreements, but these negotiations can be long and messy. There is supposedly some tension between the music publishers and the record labels that has to be ironed out before Apple can launch its online streaming service. The record labels are not happy that publishers are getting the bulk of the cash Apple has put on the table for its cloud service. Wisely, the Cupertino company is reportedly playing the two music entities against each other and letting them duke it out. Apple hopes this money problem can be resolved and negotiations will wrap up in time for a WWDC announcement.
Sony joins EMI and Warner in Apple cloud music service
Three down, one to go. Just a day after CNET suggested that EMI joined Warner Music Group in allowing Apple to distribute their music over a cloud-based service, now Bloomberg is claiming that Apple has also officially inked a deal with Sony Music. That leaves just one of the big four music labels -- Universal Music Group -- left to sign on with Apple. And as Bloomberg states, Universal is supposedly close to signing with the iPod maker soon. As I mentioned yesterday, getting all four major music labels to sign on to a cloud-based service is seen as a serious win and another vote of confidence for Apple's rumored streaming media services. Both Google and Amazon launched their online music services without any major music label support. Apple's cloud music service, expected to be dubbed iCloud, may be unveiled at WWDC on June 6.
Apple gets cozy with EMI, Universal, and Sony over cloud music licensing (updated)
Ah, so it's all coming together now. Following a report on Warner Music inking a cloud streaming deal with Apple, CNET is back with fresh information that sees three more major record companies jumping on board. Citing "multiple music industry sources," we're told that EMI is the latest addition to Apple's cloud music portfolio, while Universal and Sony are close to sealing the deal to permit this rumored iCloud service. If true, such endorsement will no doubt add pressure on Google and Amazon over their cheeky, license-free cloud streaming offerings -- not a bad way to fend off competition, though it's not clear how much money's involved. Guess we'll know more at WWDC next month. Update: Bloomberg is citing multiple source who claim that Sony has inked a deal with Apple leaving only Universal to play coy. Two sources claim that Apple's cloud music service won't require users to upload their music.
Citizen Kane Blu-ray up for preorder on Amazon
There's no official announcement from Warner yet, but Blu-ray.com points out the classic movie Citizen Kane has appeared for preorder on Amazon in full 70th Anniversary Ultimate Collector's Edition dress. As shown in the picture above, there's plenty of collectibles included with a book, replica documents and extra discs with two hour documentary, HBO docudrama and Orson Welles' follow-up flick The Magnificent Ambersons on DVD. There's no release date listed yet and we still don't know everything about what extras will be present, but the current price is $49.99 (or, $45.49 minus Ambersons, which is apparently coming to DVD for the first time) if you want to jump in right now.
Eastbound and Down Season One and Two come to Blu-ray August 2nd
Been missing your dose of Kenny Powers in high definition? Don't worry, the wait is almost over since HBO is bringing both seasons of Eastbound & Down out on Blu-ray August 2nd. According to the press release, the season one DVD was HBO's best selling comedy SKU last year, which probably helped push it for a Blu-ray edition this time around. Special features include a typical lineup of behind the scenes featurettes, blooper reels, commentaries and deleted scenes, should you find either season worthy of their $39.98 MSRP.
A Clockwork Orange Blu-ray trailer revealed
Don't think for a moment we've forgotten about the massive Kubrick Blu-ray boxed set due at the end of May. Ahead of that, Warner has revealed a trailer for A Clockwork Orange (also being released on its own) on Blu-ray, embedded above. We'll stop talking and let fans press play right now.
Apple signs Warner Music to its cloud-based music service
Need another sign that iTunes will soon be floating your library up to the cloud? Look no further than confirmation of Apple signing Warner Music, a deal that should see the label's music available in its upcoming streaming iTunes service. This is in addition to last week's confirmation that two major labels signed on, though its unclear whether Warner is part of the pair or is, indeed, a third. That might leave only one of the major labels left unsigned -- or maybe Apple's already locked down all four but doesn't want to kiss and tell. Yet.
Entourage: The Complete Seventh Season Blu-ray set arrives July 12th
One of our favorite summer TV shows will have a new season out on Blu-ray as HBO announced Entourage: The Complete Seventh Season will be available on July 12th. That gets the dual 50GB disc set out with enough time for fans to marathon their way through (while wearing Five Towns t-shirts and Viking Quest headgear, of course) before the eighth and final season kicks off July 24th. Extras include DTS-HD MA soundtrack, three commentaries, a behind the scenes doc and a featurette focused on season seven addition Sasha Grey. There's more details after the break, or you can just lay down $49.95 for a preorder.
Theater owners ready to fight over $30, 60-day window VOD movies
While we're not exactly in a hurry to spend $30 each on 60-day delayed movie rentals, theater owners are quite upset by the whole premium video-on-demand plan apparently being pushed by Warner, Sony, Fox and Universal. The most active objector so far appears to be AMC Theaters, which announced yesterday (press release after the break) it would notify studios that it plans to "adapt its economic model" regarding movies bound for p-VOD. What it wants is likely a bigger slice of the revenue and also a heads up on which movies will be getting the earlier releases. Rival theater chains Regal and Cinemark have already expressed plans to cut promotion and screens for movies headed to p-VOD, but without any official announcement it's still not clear which movies those will be. Of course, cutting down promo and screens cuts into the theater's own revenue, so we'll wait to see who blinks first. (Hint: it won't be us -- we wouldn't pay $30 to watch The Adjustment Bureau on Mars, much less in our own living rooms on DirecTV, Vudu or Comcast.)
Superman: The Motion Picture Anthology Blu-ray set arrives June 7th
Superman fans pay attention, Warner Bros. has announced the Superman: The Motion Picture Anthology package will be released June 7, 2011 with an MSRP of $129.95. All five theatrical releases are here, but the eight discs include two alternate versions (Superman: The Movie Extended Edition and Superman II: The Richard Donner Cut) and a bonus disc. There's over twenty hours of extras in all including the commentaries, two HD documentaries and a slew of other extras from previous releases. Check out the complete list of features and trailer embedded after the break. %Gallery-120247%
DirecTV, Comcast, Vudu could start offering 'premium VOD' $30 movie rentals in April
Despite the questionable appeal of watching movies two months after they come out in theaters for $30 a pop, The Hollywood Reporter reports Warner Bros., Sony, Fox and Universal are going ahead with their premium video on-demand scheme. According to the always helpful unnamed insiders, DirecTV will be launching the service nationally at the end of April, with Walmart-backed Vudu and a regional launch by Comcast soon after. Company Town mentions movies like The Adjustment Bureau, Paul, or Just Go With It could be among launch titles. There's no word on DRM although apparently Paramount has taken a pass specifically due to piracy concerns -- theater owners aren't happy either -- so we'll just wait and see if the quality of scene rips suddenly make a jump by this time next month. Either way, expect some new variation of Gregor and his lap giraffe to make an appearance soon.
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1 'Dementors' and 'Golfing with Ron' Blu-ray extras
If you can't wait until April 15th, check out these two clips Warner has posted on YouTube from the upcoming Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1 Blu-ray. The first is a Maximum Movie Mode picture-in-picture breakdown of the Dementors and how they've changed in the movies embedded above, while after the break actor Rupert Grint a.k.a Ron Weasley as he takes in a round of golf and reflects on the movie franchise coming to an end later this year.
Warner Bros. expands movie rentals via Facebook with five more high profile titles
After dipping a toe in the waters with The Dark Knight, starting tonight Warner is offering five more movies for streaming on Facebook including Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, Inception, Life as We Know It and Yogi Bear. The deal remains the same, with United States viewers able to pay for a 48-hour viewing window instantly in Facebook credits then enjoy the flick with full functionality on the page, and pause/resume tied to their login on the site. Even with an increasing number of movie titles including recent ones like Yogi Bear that just debuted last week, it's hard to see any VOD service seriously challenging the current video rental incumbents like iTunes and Netflix, especially one that offers only SD rentals viewable on the PC. What it does offer however is a quick way for Warner to monetize the significant Facebook communities around popular movies, which may be enough to keep this program growing for the foreseeable future. Either way, the pages should be live starting at 1 a.m., check the press release after the break if you need more details.
