First single-sided hybrid Blu-ray/DVD disc announced Japanese entertainment distributor Pony/Canon will release the first movie title on a hybrid Blu-ray/DVD disc in Japan in February, in an effort to accelerate the transition from the DVD to the new Blu-ray Disc format. Read more . . . Dark Knight brightens UK's BD market After the huge retail success of Universal's Mamma Mia two weeks ago, figures just released from the British Video Association, according to Official Charts Company data, indicate that Warner's The Dark Knight sold a staggering 513,000 units in one day with 21% on Blu-ray disc. Read more . . . How will the recession affect Europe's media landscape? Media analysts from Screen Digest have just released their forecasts for key media markets in 2009 – a tough year. Read more . . . 
Digital media grabs 10% of global business Global revenues from digital media will exceed revenue generated by filmed entertainment for the first time in 2008, according to research from Strategy Analytics. Read more . . . ITU OKs HDTV standard for home networks The first global standard offering an in-home, high-speed network capable of delivering room-to-room HDTV has been agreed by Geneva-based International telecommunication Union. Read more . . . Global TV set market value to fall for the first time In view of the current economic turmoil, DisplaySearch has dramatically revised its TV market forecast for 2009, especially for the fastest-growing LCD TV category. Worldwide revenues are expected to fall year-on-year for the first time since LCD TV was launched in 2000. Read more . . . Digital streamers will pay for physical content Consultancy firm Deloitte has released a preview of its annual State of the Media Democracy, Third Edition, that explores media usages, to be officially released in January at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas. Read more . . . New way to test for original or copied CDs Scientists at the University of Granada in Spain have developed the technology to distinguish whether or not a CD is an original or a copy using a simple diffraction method to distinguish between the two types of CDs, a distinction that is not visible to the eye. Read more . . . 'Blu-ray will beat the recession,' UK analysts claim "Despite the gloomiest of financial forecasts, sales of Blu-ray disc movies are defying the odds and bucking the credit crunch - with record figures reported in the run up to Christmas,” claims UK research firm Futuresource. Read more . . . BDMO glides into eco-friendly sky with green pack Belgium-French packaging solution specialist BDMO unveils its resource- and environment-friendly Gliderpack product, which can be fully recycled. (See full story in Product Launches section). Read more. Sony DADC sets eyes on Dicentia Sony DADC and the Scandinavian Sales, Service and Marketing companies within Dicentia has agreed on a due diligence process in order to explore the feasibility of integrating the Scandinavian activities of Dicentia into Sony DADC. Read more . . . MPA's anti-camcording training video to fight piracy The Motion Picture Association has screened its latest anti-camcording training video, Make A Difference 2 (MAD 2), to motion picture exhibitors and distributors attending CineAsia 2008, this week in Macau. MAD 2 is an updated version of a training video produced by the MPA that provides guidelines to cinema staff on how to prevent illegal recordings. Read more . . . 'Fake-free zone' initiative for 2012 London Olympics In the UK, the MPA and several major anti-piracy groups have announced that by the time the 2012 Olympics begin, they will have made London “a fake-free zone” pledged Intellectual Property Minister, David Lammy at the launch of this initiative. Read more . . . HamaTech recordable media tool sales down Sales in the first nine months of 2008 at HamaTech APE, the recordable optical disc division of German replication line manufacturer Singulus, fell sharply to €15.2 million, from €37.4 million in the same period one year ago. Only 12 CD-R or DVD-R replication lines have been sold, with a demand now limited to South America, the Middle East and China. Read more . . . Blu-ray users prefer packaged HD ... and HD channels A consumer study commissioned by the Digital Entertainment Group (DEG) indicates HDTV and Blu-ray Disc player owners still find packaged media – such as Blu-ray discs – perferrable to alternative internet streaming and download services to play premium HD movie and video content, the group revealed last month. Read more . . . Testronic Labs celebrates 10 years,1000th BD disc QA’ed Home entertainment QA specialist Labs celebrated two key milestones this month: its tenth anniversary as a provider of quality assurance services for DVD and Blu-ray discs, and the testing of its 1,000th Blu-ray disc stock keeping unit (SKU), a first for the optical media industry. Read more . . . Sony Pictures herald iTunes-compatible copies According to reports, with the release of Pineapple Express, Sony Pictures Home Entertainment is offering its first-ever release to include an iTunes-compatible Digital Copy. Read more . . . Amergence launches enhancing DVCD+ technology The Amergence Group has enhanced its proprietary technology, called DVCD+, which combines some of the best features found in DVDs and audio CDs. The technology enables disc duplicators and replicators to deliver DVDs to consumers that include value-added features not found on standard DVDs. Read more . . . New recordable media licensing deal for Philips patents CMC Magnetics and Ritek have reached a consensus with Royal Philips Electronics about new licensing terms for Philips' CD-R and DVD+R/-R patents. New contracts are to be signed as early as the end of 2008, according to industry sources in Taiwan. Read more . . . Standards proposed for 'benefit denial' technology The Entertainment Merchants Association (EMA) today announced that it has published threshold standards for 'benefit denial technology' that would allow DVDs and video games to be shipped to retail outlets in an inoperable state and subsequently enabled at the point of sale. Read more . . . Pioneer develops 16-layer, 400GB 'Blu-ray' disc Pioneer will be showcasing at the Taipei IT Month fair its 16-layer 400GB optical disc. The multi-layer disc uses a breakthrough in the reflective layer material, which allows read-back using the same pick-up head specifications as for existing blank Blu-ray discs. Read more . . . Massive haul of fake DVD and Nintendo games UK trading standards office and local police, assisted by investigators from the Federation Against Copyright Theft (FACT) seized fake DVDs and Nintendo Wii games with street value of nearly £300,000 in a raid on a property in the West Midlands. (See full story in Fight Against Piracy section). Read more . . . 1 in 5 HD owners fail to spot difference with SD A recent telephone survey of 130 US households by the Leichtman Research Group shows that 18 percent of HDTV owners think they are watching high-definition programmes, when in fact they are watching standard definition material. Read more . . . Toshiba unveils Cell-powered upscaling TVs Toshiba unveiled the first Cell-powered Regza HDTV set line to hit the market. The Cell technology has been used in other hi-def technology, such as the PS3 for its super-computer-like computational capabilities. This appears to be the first product to come out of the Cell manufacturing plants Sony sold to Toshiba last year. Read more . . . Global TV sales top 53 million in Q3 2008 Over 53.5 million television sets were sold around the world in the third quarter of 2008, up 6% from the same time period in 2007, according to recent research by DisplaySearch. LCD set accounted for 50% of all units sold in the July-to-September time frame with sales of 26.8 million sets, up 32% from the same quarter a year earlier. Read more . . . DTS sets up Limerick European headquarters Digital audio technology specialist DTS is to establish its European headquarters at the National Technology Park, at Limerick in the Republic of Ireland. The new company – DTS Licensing Limited (DLL) - will serve as DTS’ European headquarters, with responsibility for licensing, management, administration, business development, marketing, sales, finance and potentially research and development and engineering. Read more . . . BD-R to reach critical mass in 2009 According to a recent report, Ritek, one of Taiwan's leading optical disc makers, expects that recordable Blu-ray (BD-R) Discs will reach a crucial market size of 20 million units in 2009, thus giving the format a critical mass. Read more . . . European notebook owners addicted to Internet Some 77% of European notebook computer users say "they could not live" without daily access to the Internet, according to a survey by pollster YouGov, sponsored by microprocessor vendor Advanced Micro Devices. Read more . . . UK retailers' price war good for consumer electronics Following UK Treasury reduction of the Value Added Tax from 17.5% to 15%, coming into effect Monday, to jump-start a moribund economy, high-street retailers are scrambling to do just that if today's announcements of a massive price war are anything to go by. Read more . . . Cheaper BD players in short supply for Christmas New research from media analyst Screen Digest finds that DVD and its successor Blu-ray Disc are set to remain the dominant force in home entertainment throughout the economic downturn and beyond. However, supply problems earlier on in the year mean that only a limited number of affordable Blu-ray players will reach European high street shelves in time for Christmas 2008. Read more . . . Blu prices tumble for Black Friday Black Friday could turn blu if one goes by the low-price offers on Blu-ray players. Wal-Mart plans to offer a Magnavox BD player for just $128. The basic player will be available in stores and online on Friday, probably in very limited quantities. Read more . . . CONFERENCE REPORT Will the CE world weather the storm? The deepening economic crisis was the backdrop to The Changing CE World conference in Barcelona. It was fitting for Futuresource, the organiser, to start with a status report of the state of the industry and how it weathers the storm. And the news is not all bad, report Jean-Luc Renaud. Read more . . . Sony first with BD titles in China Sony Pictures Home Entertainment will be the first Hollywood studio to distribute Blu-ray Discs in the Chinese market. The announcement was made by SPHE senior vice president, international T Paul Miller and Excel Media (Shanghai) general manager Kenny Ling, SPHE's local distribution partner. Read more . . . Sonic expands offering with CinemaNow acquisition Sonic Solutions is to acquire CinemaNow, the online entertainment provider based in California. With an offer of over 6,000 Hollywood movies, TV shows and music videos, CinemaNow will combine with Sonic's Qflix team to form a new Premium Content Group. Read more . . . Funai to look after Philips' TV products in the US Philips and Funai have entered into a brand licence agreement under which Funai is to assume responsibility for the sourcing, distribution, marketing and sales of all Philips’ consumer television activities in North America. Read more . . . Panasonic proposes BD standard for 3D Panasonic has submitted a proposal to the Blu-ray Disc Association, for a Blu-ray Disc standard to store three-dimensional (3D) imagery formed of left-/right-eye two-channel full-High Definition images (1,920 x 1,080 pixels). Read more . . . Treat online and physical IP theft equally, FAST urges The Federation Against Software Theft (FAST) has called on the UK's Intellectual Property Office (IPO) to deliver on the promises outlined in the Gowers Review of Intellectual Property on criminal sentencing, calling on crimes committed in the online arena to match those in the physical arena. Read more . . . GE works on 1TB holographic storage solution A team of researchers at General Electric Global Research has been developing a Holographic Data Storage System which could be available on the market consumer market in 2012. Read more . . . DTC files for insolvency – the Dassow saga continues Last week, Disc Technology Center (DTC), the German subsidiary of Danish replicator Dicentia set up to acquire the bankrupt ODS Dassow plant, officially filed for insolvency. Two months ago, MPEG LA had successfully sued Dicentia for patent infringement, a German court requiring the company to cease DVD production and pay damages to the patent owners. Read more . . . Slysoft software to defeat BD+, BD-Live The latest version of Slysoft’s AnyDVD HD software appears to allow users to break the latest version of the Blu-ray's BD+ protection as well as disable the BD-Live features of the latest Blu-ray titles, according to media reports. Read more . . . Blu-ray Disc no technology obstacle to Chinese pirates Enterprising movie pirates in China are reported to be taping into the advanced video compression technology of the AVC HD standard to make cheap high resolution copies of titles without resorting to expensive recordable Blu-ray discs. Read more . . . Economic crisis pushes BD projections downward Responding to industry fear that the financial crisis will not be kind to Blu-ray sales, the Digital Entertainment Group announced a $25 million TV and cinema ad campaign aimed at spreading consumer awareness of Blu-ray for home entertainment. Read more . . . Sonic releases Scenarist BD Studio, BD Reauthor Sonic has announced the release of Scenarist BD Studio, a new cost-effective and full-featured Blu-ray Disc production workgroup designed specifically for authoring facilities looking to kick-start their BD production and business services. Also, released is BD Reauthor – a productivity solution than can open and edit unencrypted Blu-ray Disc titles using Sonic Scenarist. Read more . . . Cinram's 3Q net earnings fall sharply While recording a third-quarter 4% increase in revenue to $467.3 million from $450.5 million in 2007, Canadian replicator Cinram's net earnings fell dramatically to $1.5 million compared with $34.8 million in the same period in 2007. Read more . . . Piracy forces Warner out of South Korea market Following in the footsteps of Paramount, Universal, Buena Vista, 20th Century Fox and Sony Pictures, Warner Bros will end its home video and DVD business in South Korea at the end of the year due to poor sales and rampant piracy. Read more . . . Sony DADC ups London BD authoring facility Sony DADC has announced the completion of its latest investment round in Blu-ray Disc authoring and mastering facilities at its London office, focusing on the evolution of its BD-Live authoring tools that blend Blu-ray seamlessly with internet connectivity. Read more . . . Sonic restructures to reduce expenses by $14m a year With figures in the red, Sonic Solutions announced a restructuring intended to improve execution and financial performance. The restructuring will result in a reduction of Sonic's workforce as well as the consolidation of its Advanced Technology Group and Roxio division into a single business unit. Read more . . . Online TV profits remain elusive Despite the popularity of online video, new research shows that European content owners are struggling to turn a profit as delivery costs in many cases exceed advertising revenues. By comparison, businesses in the US have been more successful at making money from online content.Read more . . . Sony develops 'Blu' audio CDs Sony Music Entertainment has developed an advanced, high sound quality audio CD using its Blu-ray technology which complies with the standard for conventional CDs and is compatible with current CD players. Read more . . . EU Commissioner Reding to spread mobile TV The European Commission is set to present new guidelines aimed at paving the way for the spread of mobile television in Europe "within a few weeks," EU Information Society Commissioner Viviane Reding has said, giving gave positive signals on advertising on mobile handsets, but warned of dangers regarding invasion of privacy. Read more . . . Large pirate DVD factory found in Manchester An intelligence-led operation took police officers to three residential addresses in the Stockport, Manchester area where a large pirate DVD factory was operating. (See full story in Fight Against Piracy section). Read more . . . Disney's Peet elected new BVA Chairman Anthony Peet, VP/General Manager of Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment, was elected as the new British Video Association Chairman at the recent BVA Council meeting. Read more . . . Second largest US retailer files for bankruptcy Richmond, Virginia-based Circuit City, the second biggest US consumer electronics retailer after Best Buy, has filed for bankruptcy under Chapter 11 protection. It is the largest US retailer to fall victim to the credit crisis, credit card spending accounting for 75% of its business. Read more . . . French Senate passes bill to hit illegal downloaders The French Senate overwhelmingly approved a three-strike law that would disconnect Internet users who download copyrighted entertainment without paying for it. The legislative body overwhelmingly voted in favor of disconnecting Internet pirates, despite European Parliament's direct opposition to the punishment, the EU Observer reports. Read more . . . Digital video recorder use hits DVD, not TV consumption The rising popularity of digital video recorders is often said to spell doom for television viewing because the technology lets viewers skip ads. However, a new study by market research firm Knowledge Networks shows that DVRs appear to be replacing DVD viewing, not television. Read more . . . Horror hits record levels in the UK Some 8.55 million horror movies have been sold on DVD and Blu-ray in the UK between January and October 2008 compared to sales of 1.7 million on DVD and VHS 10 years ago in 1998. Read more . . . DVD Forum takes stock of work programme While the DVD Forum-anointed HD DVD format is no more in the rest of the world, it is alive in China in a slightly modified version called China Blue High-Definition (CBHD). At its meeting last week in Los Angeles, the DVD Forum took stock of the latest developments in its evolving work programme. Read more . . . Is home entertainment riding the economic storm? Looking at the impacts of recession on the consumer electronics industry and researching from the economic slump of 2001, Futuresource’s latest report shows digital cameras and DVD players continued to grow sharply when the economy stagnated, giving a clear indication that home entertainment can ride the storm. Read more . . . DATA Selected data from Video Entertainment 2008 See Tables . . . Key Solutions starts metal box production in Europe French packaging solution supplier Key Solutions has announced it is now starting production of its metal boxes at two site in Europe – Alicante in Spain and Istanbul in Turkey. (See full story in Product Launches section). Read more . . . Mexican customs seize Taiwanese blank disc shipments Mexican customs officials have seized 8.7 million blank optical discs imported from Taiwan in two major border operations in the past few months. The seizures were the result of investigations carried out with the assistance of APCM Mexico, the music and film industry anti-piracy unit. Read more . . . Court comes down on Chinese DVD player maker The US District Court for the Central District of California issued a permanent injunction that prohibits China-based DVD player manufacturer Gowell Electronics Ltd. from violating any term of the Content Scramble System (CSS) license agreement. Read more . . . Pre-recorded DVD orders short of expectations Leading Taiwan-based makers of pre-recorded optical discs, including U-Tech Media and Feng Sheng Technology, have seen their orders for DVD movie discs from major movie studios in Hollywood fall short of their expectations by 30-40%, according to industry sources in Taiwan. Read more . . . RDM's revives HD-VMD with DreamStream encryption Competing head on with Blu-ray and HD DVD with the cheaper red laser-based hidef alternative high-definition versatile multilayer disc (HD VMD), New Medium Enterprises disappeared from the radar screens this Summer only to re-emerge, apparently, as Royal Digital Media (RDM), this time associated with encryption provider DreamStream under Anthem Digital's umbrella. Read more . . . Consumers keep packaging in packaged media Rather than discarding DVD and video game packaging, consumers overwhelmingly store their DVDs and video games in their original cases according to a joint study commissioned by the Content Delivery and Storage Association (CDSA) and the Entertainment Merchants Association (EMA) and conducted by The NPD Group. Read more . . . End of the road for VCRs ... after 900m units shipped Victor Corporation of Japan, better known as JVC, has stopped producing VHS videocassette players and will end global sales when existing inventories run out. Since debuting in 1976, more than 900 million VCRs have been produced worldwide, and JVC itself has sold more than 50 million units. Read more . . . CONFERENCE REPORT Full stream ahead? At a time of financial turmoil, packaged media may seem threatened by the easy availability and low apparent cost of online video. How close is streaming video to overtaking DVD and Blu-ray as the main source of entertainment in the home? Some clues were to be found at Streaming Media Europe 2008, held in London last week. BOB AUGER reports. Read more . . . Blu-ray a third of Japan's DVD hardware shipment Blu-ray recorders now accounts for 31% of all DVD recorder/player shipments in Japan in the 12 months to September 2008. Blu-ray recording decks shipments reached 138,000 units, about 107 times the figure posted a year ago, according to the Japan Electronics and Information Technology Industries Association. Read more . . . Netflix video streaming deal on Samsung BD player Owners of Samsung's BD-P2500 and BD-P2550 Blu-ray disc players will soon be able to instantly stream movies and TV programmes via a deal with Netflix. Streaming – of standard-definition video, not HD – is done through a wired broadband connection and a Netflix Queue-based user interface. Read more . . . SPECIAL Packaged media's ecological awakening The packaged media industry is awakening to ecological concerns. TRACY SHELDON, Marketing Director, AGI Media Europe, clarifies some of the macro issues at play, distils how they relate to the industry and looks at how packaging plays a role in this complex puzzle. This is another in a series of exclusive contributions to the 10th anniversary of www.dvd-intelligence.com's companion magazine DVD AND BEYOND 2008. Read more . . . 
Avery, Cunningham, Catchpole keynotes at PEVE 2009 Screen Digest, organiser of the annual PEVE Digital Entertainment conference in Paris (12-13 March 2009), has announced that Paramount's Kelley Avery will give the opening keynote address, and that Universal Pictures' Eddie Cunningham and Disney's Edward Catchpole have also confirmed their participation as keynote speakers. Read more . . . Best Buy customers to get BD players for $100 US retail chain Best Buy is reported to be about to lower the price bar of Blu-ray players to $100 with $100 in BD movie vouchers. Read more . . . CDA develops Disc-Lid packaging for cups German replicator CDA Datenträger Albrechts has developed the 'Disc-Lid' packaging for the special 8 cm format discs and can be used as a lid for standard cups and beakers. Read more . . . AGI Media launches DigiLite+ pack AGI Media has launched a new lightweight, customised packaging solution for multiple discs called DigiLite+. (See full story in Product Launches section). Read more. French DVD market loses 35% value in 3 years DVD sales in France have been falling sharply starting three years ago, losing 35% of their value. The latest figures from the French video publishers’ association SEVN reveal that 128.3 million discs were sold between July 2007 and July 2008, a 5.2% drop over the previous 12-month period. Revenues fell 10% to €1.45bn. Read more . . . Illegal downloaders on the wane? Illegal internet downloaders are in decline if one goes by the findings of Entertainment Media Research’s 2008 Digital Music Survey produced in association with media law firm Wiggin. Attitudes towards Blu-ray, VOD and mobile video are also surveyed. Read more . . . Playboy closes down DVD division for online focus DVD market stagnation is hitting Playboy which is closing down its DVD division to concentrate on producing content for online viewing instead. The adult entertainment company says it seeks to reduce its cost structure by some $12 million annually. Read more . . . Blu-ray player prices come down Prices of Blu-ray players have dropped by at least 20% over the past 45 days according to a TG Daily report. The price drops affect entry level Blu-ray players including the Sharp BD-HP20U, Sony BDP-S300, Samsung BD-P1400 and Panasonic DMP-BD30K which dropped from around $500 between March and June now selling for just over $250. Read more . . . UK video industry posts record performances The British Video Association announced an unprecedented 51.7m in DVD sales to the end of September, the UK’s best ever third quarter performance, up 6.5% on that of 2007. This September alone was a record bumper month with total video sales up a 7.4% on the same month last year. Read more . . . Blu-ray showcase at South Korea's Pusan Film Festival Earlier this month, South Korean DVD distributors and consumer electronics companies launched the Blu-ray Film Festival next to the venue of the annual Pusan Film Festival, an event supported by the Blu-ray Disc Association and Kofic, the Korean Film Council. Read more . . . MPO awarded BD50 certification Just one month after obtaining certification from the Blu-ray Association for single-layer BD25, French independent replicator MPO has just been certified to manufacture double-layer Blu-ray discs (BD50). Read more . . . US, EU join force on IP piracy Recently, the US Senate Judiciary Committee passed the Enforcement of Intellectual Property Act of 2008 which would create an Intellectual Property enforcement "czar" within to work with the appropriate US government agencies to develop a joint strategy to fight product piracy and IP theft. Read more . . . Sharp unveils first screen-cum-BD recorder Sharp announces it will start selling next month in Japan the first LCD television sets with built-in Blu-ray Disc recorders. The screen-cum-BD recorder will be available in the US before the end of this year and launch in Europe is expected in 2009. Read more . . . VDC Group expands DVD pressing capacity Swedish replication tool maker M2 Engineering has sold multiple CD and DVD replication lines to the VDC Group, the UK’s largest independent optical disc manufacturer. Read more . . . Court rules against Greek replicator on patent infringement The District Court of Düsseldorf, Germany, recently pronounced 12 verdicts finding that Greek DVD disc manufacturer Odeon Cineplex SA has infringed certain MPEG-2 patents as a result of its manufacture of DVDs. Read more . . . arvato digital services beefs up Blu-ray capacity arvato digital services is expanding its Blu-ray capacities to include an additional line. As of last week, the company also offers complete Blu-ray mastering at its Gütersloh headquarters in Germany and will serve the entire European market from there. Read more . . . Dramatic rise in BD standalone player sales forecast According to a new report by Parks Associates, global Blu-ray set-top player sales will outpace most other consumer electronics items (including HDTVs) over the next four years as HD hardware see more widespread adoption. Read more . . . Lite-On unveils 6x Blu-ray combo Lite-On has introduced its 6x internal Blu-ray Disc Combo, iHES206, that brings a Blu-ray Disc Reader and a DVD writer in the same box. It is equipped with LightScribe technology which allows users to silkscreen any type of artwork right onto the surface of the CD or DVD. (See full story in Product Launches section). Read more. Plasmon calls the administrators Plasmon, the storage solutions specialist, has appointed administrators on Monday “to engage with interested strategic and financial sponsors to acquire the business.” Read more . . . Sony PlayStation hardware sales reach 185 million Global cumulative sales of Sony’s three PlayStation models has reached 185 million, of which over 67 million units in European markets. Read more . . . Warner releases go online first in South Korea Warner Bros Entertainment has commenced releasing its films online in South Korea before they are released in the country on DVD, shaking up the time-honoured Hollywood distribution model and potentially paving the way for a sharp increase in movie downloads. Read more . . . Sanyo develops 12x/4-layer Blu-ray disc technology Sanyo has developed a new blue laser diode powerful enough to offer recording on Blu-ray discs at speeds of up to 12x on up to 4 layers. A four-layer disc would be able to hold 100G bytes of data, which translates to about eight hours of high-definition video, and at 12x speed the data could be burned to the disc in just 10 minutes. Read more . . . Taiwan police busts large DVD counterfeiter Police in the city of Chiayi, southern Taiwan, announced Sunday that they had busted an illegal DVD countereiting factory and had seized 100,000 pirated discs with an estimated value that represents losses to the legal copyright holders of NT$10 billion (US$310.95 million). (See full story in Fight Against Piracy section). Read more . . . eBridge technology adds marketing fizz to Sex DVD Alliance Films, Canada's leading motion picture distributor, announces that they have utilized Sony DADC's eBridge technology to create a more dynamic marketing campaign for their latest DVD release Sex and The City: The Movie. Read more . . . Denon brings high-end Blu-ray machine on the market Denon, the high-end AV manufacturer, has unveiled what it is claiming is a true "high-end Blu-ray source", the DVD-2500BT, with a pricetag of £900. (See full story in Product Launches section). Read more. Maxell unveils leather-coated recordable media Maxell has unveiled a range of 'leather-coated' recordable DVD media. The discs come in two versions: 16x DVD-R and 2x DVD-RW. (See full story in Product Launches section). Read more. Hollywood sues RealNetworks over DVD copying software The Hollywood studios have filed a lawsuit asking a US federal court to stop RealNetworks from distributing the company’s just-released RealDVD software which allows movies to be copied illegally. Read more . . . Matsushita Electric becomes Panasonic Corporation Effective today, the world's largest CE manufacturer Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd. has become Panasonic Corporation. Its ticker symbol on the New York Stock Exchange has been changed to PC from MC. Read more . . . Narnia BD's extras revive CircleVision technology Disney's release of The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian on 2 December will be pushing the extras and interactivity technology with an exclusive new feature called CircleVision. Read more . . . DATA UK's Top 10 best-selling Blu-ray titles See Tables . . . Russian Laser Video, Europe's largest indie BD replicator Following an order earlier this year for three Singulus Indigo Blu-ray BD50 lines, in addition to the one it already operates, Russia, Moscow-based Laser-Video Multimedia claims to have become Europe’s largest independent Blu-ray replicator with a monthly capacity of two million hidef discs. Read more . . . Telcos' IPTV strategies revisited IPTV services have been seen as a way to reduce churn in broadband markets and boost additional revenue by making the overall product more attractive to customers. However, the latest research by Screen Digest reveals that IPTV has not covered its costs in reduced churn rates and has had little or no positive growth impact on the broadband market overall. Read more . . . ANALYSIS Assessing the online threat That the future of music resides in downloads is not news to video content owners, but it is only in the last year or so that they have begun to accept that online delivery is also a serious threat to their own traditional routes to market, says DAVID MERCER, Principal Analyst at Strategy Analytics. This is another in a series of exclusive contributions to the 10th anniversary of www.dvd-intelligence.com's companion magazine DVD AND BEYOND 2008. Read more . . . 
Ascent Media to sell Visiontext to SDI Media Ascent Media announced it has signed an agreement to sell its subtitling business, Visiontext, to SDI Media, the world's leading subtitling and language dubbing provider, by the end of this month. This deal will mark the start of a long-term strategic relationship between the two companies. Read more . . . Court forces Dicentia to cease German DVD production The District Court of Düsseldorf, Germany, has found that DVD disc manufacturers Dicentia Germany GmbH and Dicentia A/S have infringed patents in the MPEG-2 Patent Portfolio License administered by MPEG LA. Read more . . . DVD Forum approved DVD Download specs The participating members of the 43rd Steering Committee meeting of the DVD Forum held in Paris last week approved both the file system and physical specifications for the single and dual layer DVD-Download media. Read more . . . Memorex launches $270 BD player; $150 decks predicted Memorex is launching a Blu-ray player for under $270 in November. Better still. In its 2008 Black Friday Predictions, dealnews.com foresees Blu-ray players to hit the market with a $149 pricetag. Read more . . . INTERVIEW Bringing QA to the digital distribution chain In a wide-ranging interview, NEIL GOODALL, CEO of Testronic Laboratories, explains to JEAN-LUC RENAUD, DVD Intelligence publisher, how the QA company is servicing a home entertainment industry using the full range a delivery media and platforms. This is another in a series of exclusive contributions to the 10th anniversary of www.dvd-intelligence.com's companion magazine DVD AND BEYOND 2008. Read more . . . CDSA appoints new anti-piracy head The Content Delivery and Storage Association (CDSA) has announced the appointment of Peter Wallace to direct its Anti-Piracy and Compliance Programs for Europe, the Middle East and Africa. Read more . . . DVD takes lion's share of consumer entertainment budget According to NPD’s latest report, 41% of dollars budgeted by US consumers for movies and video was spent on DVD movie purchases, 11% for purchases of TV programmes on DVD, and 29% on DVD rentals (including Netflix and other video-subscription services). Read more . . . 500,000 discs seized in UK's biggest counterfeit operation Around half a million counterfeit DVDs have been seized by Manchester City Council trading standards officers during a raid on a suspected distribution centre. The haul is one of the largest ever of its kind in the UK, with the street value of the discs totalling £1.5m. (See full story in Fight Against Piracy section). Read more . . . Technicolor opens Blu-ray full service in Europe Thomson's Technicolor Services Division announces the establishment of a comprehensive Blu-ray Disc mastering suite and four new Blu-ray Disc BD-50 and BD-25 lines at its facility in Piaseczno/Warsaw, Poland. Read more . . . Europe's packaged media to rack up €11bn this year The home video market in Western Europe is expected to generate total retail revenues of €11 billion by the end of 2008, with 97% of those revenues coming from packaged media (DVD and Blu-ray) and 3% from new digital video (online and mobile video), according to UK-based Futuresource Consulting. Read more . . . Is SIM2's 'better-than-Blu' home theater solution next? Italy's HD home-theater projector maker SIM2 is partnering with US firm Entertainment Experience to create what they claim is a "better than Blu" solution for high-end home entertainment installations. Read more . . . "File sharing is killing the film industry" A new research by ALPA, the French anti-piracy association, has claimed that illegal downloads in France are becoming an immense danger that could lead to a disastrous outcome for the film industry. Read more . . . RealNetworks unveils (legal) DVD copying software Unlike existing consumer applications on the market today, RealNetworks' RealDVD is licensed DVD software that "saves" a secure copy of a DVD to the hard drive without removing or altering the CSS encryption. In short, it lets users rip DVDs to their hard drives legally. Read more . . . 10th Anniversary Audio – the other format war The high profile video disc battle between Blu-ray Disc and HD DVD is the second spat in the past decade to pitch Sony and Philips against the rest of the DVD Forum. But, in the case of Super Audio CD and DVD-Audio, there were no real winners. BILL FOSTER sifts through the wreckage... This is another in a series of exclusive contributions to the 10th anniversary of www.dvd-intelligence.com's companion magazine DVD AND BEYOND 2008. Read more . . . BVA bash to showcase music Blu-ray Later this month, the British Video Association will be joining forces with the home entertainment industry in an event to champion to both retailers and journalists the power of music Blu-ray. Read more . . . Blu-ray reaches 'critical mass' – 12m discs this year At Berlin’s Internationale Funkausstellung (IFA) – Europe’s giant consumer electronics fair – the Blu-ray Disc Association took stock of the high-definition disc’s progress, with predictions of close to 12 million disc sales in Europe this year. Read more . . . Taiwan wants to joint China's CBHD venture Taiwan's storage media industry is expected to speed upefforts to develop a common blue laser DVD format in co-operation with its mainland China's counterparts now that the Beijing Olympic Games have finished. Read more . . . Confiscated DVD players donated to children's hospital The Starship Children’s Hospital in Auckland, New Zealand, received dozens of DVD players, used to make pirated copies of movies, forfeited by order of the court following the conviction of a counterfeiter. (See full story in Fight Against Piracy section). Read more . . . MWV's green credentials confirmed for 5th year MeadWestvaco Corp – AGI Media's parent company – has been selected as a member of the 2008/09 Dow Jones Sustainability World Index (DJSI World) for the fifth year running. Read more . . . Sony Pictures to pull out of Korea's falling DVD market Following in the footsteps of Paramount, Universal, Buena Vista and 20th Century Fox, Sony Pictures is leaving South Korea because of poor sales and rampant piracy, The Korea Times reports this week. Read more . . . Philips' IBC demos of 3D on Blu-ray, IPTV, VOD Philips will demonstrate 3D IPTV, 3D VoD and 3D on Blu-ray at IBC 2008 in Amsterdam, showing how the company’s 2D-plus-Depth content format can be distributed over existing distribution infrastructures. Read more . . . Industry body unveils Digital Copy logo The Digital Entertainment Group has announced a new logo that will be placed on the packaging of DVD and Blu-ray releases that come with a Digital Copy file. Read more . . . DVD6C cuts royalties for DVD decoders, encoders The DVD6C Licensing Group has revised its worldwide patent licensing programme from 1 July 2008, including a new licence agreement which offers reduced royalty rates on DVD decoders and DVD encoders. Read more . . . Sony faces Blu-ray patent lawsuit Orinda Intellectual Properties USA Holding Group has launched a lawsuit against Sony claiming the company violated some of its patents related to Blu-ray technology. It wants Sony to stop manufacturing PlayStation 3 and any other Blu-ray products. Read more . . . Studios promote DVD titles on mobile phones Universal Studios and 20th Century Fox have recently announced initiatives to promote sales of their DVD titles with promotions aimed at cell phone and mobile device users. Read more . . . arvato wins contract with 20th Century Fox arvato digital services has signed a long-term exclusive supply chain contract to provide manufacturing and distribution services to Twentieth Century Fox in Spain. Read more . . . Sony brings high-specs BD player to market At CEDIA, Sony announced its new BDP-S5000ES Blu-ray Disc player, featuring the company's newly developed HD Reality Enhancer and Super Bit Mapping technologies. (See full story in Product Launches section). Read more . DataPlay acquires troubled DaTARIUS The assets and intellectual property of troubled Test equipment manufacturer DaTARIUS Technologies have been acquired by US-based DPHI Inc/DataPlay. It will be forming a new subsidiary in Austria and in the United States to continue to serve DaTARIUS’s existing customer base. Read more . . . Toshiba stirs hidef pot with XDE technology Toshiba unveiled its new video enhancement technology for DVD with the introduction of the XD-E500 player. Standing for 'extended detail enhancement,' the XDE technology reportedly goes beyond upconversion, taking DVD picture quality to a new level, according to those who saw a standard DVD/XDE player side-by-side demonstration. Read more . . . CDA invests in Blu-ray and DVD expansion CDA Datenträger Albrecht is increasing its Blu-ray production capacities at its Suhl location in Germany ready to ship for the upcoming high season. CDA is also expanding its capacity for conventional DVD formats to meet an increasing demand. Read more . . . Some say Blu-ray market grows 'in line with expectations' The high definition disc markets in both the USA and Europe continue to perform in line with expectations, with consumers expected to buy close to 45 million Blu-ray discs in the US this year, according to Futuresource’s consistently bullish BD forecasts. Read more . . . Others say BD will take 'only 31%' of market by 2013 A less upbeat assessment of the Blu-ray format is offered by Digital Tech Consulting who does not expect Blu-ray to represent more than a third of all DVD devices sold five years from now. DTC estimates that global non-PC Blu-ray deck sales will represent only 3% of all DVD devices sold in 2008 and only 31% by 2013. Read more . . . TV habits unaffected by web, says Deloitte study Internet TV has had little impact on British viewing habits, according to a Deloitte report that found that just 4% of the UK population consider it "very important" to be able to receive TV via the Internet, while 47% still regard it is as not important at all. Read more . . . arvato's games unit unveils new POS solution At this year’s Games Convention in Leipzig, arvato AG’s games task force introduced new POS marketing as well as digital sales solutions where the interactive pre-listening and catalog system media browser and the in-store TV technology media unic are key features. Read more . . . 3D technology for Blu-ray on the agenda The Blu-ray Disc Association will soon announce plans for future support of 3D home entertainment technology as Hollywood studios and electronics manufacturers are keen to establish industry wide standards for 3D content in the home. At least four ad hoc industry groups formed just this year to explore standards for stereo 3-D on TV. Read more . . . Disney Japan first Key Solutions' BD pack customer Disc packaging supplier Key Solutions has extended its range of wood, cardboard and leather packs with a Blu-ray range by adapting the company’s patented starmetalpak to the Blu-ray size. Read more . . . Protein-coated DVD could store terabytes of data DVDs coated with a layer of genetically-altered microbe proteins could one day hold terabytes of information, says a US-based researcher, reporting his findings at the International Conference on Nanoscience and Nanotechnology in Brisbane this week. Read more . . . INTERVIEW Pozzoli celebrates 40th anniversary “I dress CDs and DVDs the way Armani dresses women,” says ALDO POZZOLI, founder and CEO of the company that bears his name and which celebrates its 40th anniversary. He tells JEAN-LUC RENAUD, DVD Intelligence publisher, the secrets of his success. This is another in a series of exclusive contributions to the 10th anniversary of www.dvd-intelligence.com's companion magazine DVD AND BEYOND 2008, just published. Read more . . . OEM blank disc, BD drive makers resist calls for price cuts Although CMC Magnetics, the largest Taiwan-based OEM maker of blank optical discs, has raised its OEM price quotes for CD-R and DVD+R/-R discs by 10% on average and other manufacturers in Taiwan have following suit, a few leading suppliers have recently received so many urgent orders for these discs as to keep production at full capacity. Read more . . . Explosive online video market growth forecast Worldwide online video revenue is expected to shoot to $4.5 billion by 2012, up from $1.2 billion in 2008, forecasts high-tech market research firm In-Stat. Purchased/rented videos are expected to offer the most robust growth for online video in the near term. Read more . . . Cinram’s Q2 revenue up 20%, profit down Global disc replicator Cinram has reported second quarter 2008 revenues of $412.8 million, up from $345.1 million in 2007. Though earnings before interest, taxes and amortization (EBITA) were $33.3 million in 2008, down from $34.4 million the second quarter of 2007. Read more . . . Hofmann, Stevens keynote at Video Entertainment 2008 Nico Hofmann, CEO of major production house TeamWorx (Dresden, The Airlift, The Storm Surge), and dubbed Germany’s King of TV movies, will be the opening keynote speaker at Video Entertainment 2008, the 9th annual Home Entertainment Summit for the German-speaking territories and Western Europe taking place on 22-23 October in Munich. Read more . . . St Ives supplies eco-friendly package for eco documentary UK-based print and package maker St Ives Music and Multimedia, part of St Ives plc, has created 100 % bio-degradable and recyclable packaging for Warner Bros' The 11th Hour DVD documentary to match the Leonardo DiCaprio-fronted film that explores the ecological impact humankind is having on the planet. Read more . . . CDA develops RFID access system German independent optical disc manufacturer Datenträger Albrechts has developed a patent-pending RFID (Radio frequency identification) access system combining a locally-networked system with optical media. Read more . . . Consumers delay Blu-ray player purchases, research says Blu-ray players are not flying off retailers’ shelves, at least not in the numbers the industry might hope for. A new consumer survey from ABI Research has revealed a widespread reluctance to commit to a Blu-ray player in the near future. Read more . . . Expanding BDMO hires new head of customer services Belgium packaging manufacturer BDMO has brought in Damien Bertignon as its new Director of Customer Services with a view to cope with the company’s rapid growth. Read more . . . Singulus' order books fill up, but market still challenging Replication equipment manufacturer Singulus has recorded a 47% increase of orders in its books during the first quarter of this year, rising to 67% in the second quarter, compared to the respective 2007 periods. However, market conditions have forced the company to relocate its MoldPro injection molding machines assembly to Kahl am Main and close Singulus Molding in Schaffhausen, Switzerland. Read more . . . Hitachi unveils three format hybrid Blu-ray camcorder Hitachi's DZ-BD10HA camcorder offers the versatility of recording HD video onto three separate formats – Blu-ray Disc, Hard Drive and SDHC. (See full story in Product Launches section). Read more . . . |
| Go to News Archives_______Updated: 21 December 2008 __________Go to News Briefs |
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