High-definition DVD gets low-key launch party By Thomas K. Arnold Reuters/Hollywood Reporter
Wednesday, April 19, 2006; 12:48 AM http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/04/18/AR2006041801007_pf.html LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) - HD-DVD players and software went on sale Tuesday at Best Buy and other select retailers, and a trickle of early adopters came to buy, even though only three movies are available. "The only people who bought are the hard-cores," one industry observer said. More high-definition titles will begin hitting stores next week, but with only three -- Warner Home Video's "The Last Samurai" and "Phantom of the Opera" and Universal Studios Home Entertainment's "Serenity" -- in stores when players hit the show floor Tuesday, there hardly was a stampede of consumers. When a Best Buy in Costa Mesa, Calif., opened at 10 a.m., four copies of "Samurai" and a single copy of "Phantom" were stocked in a display at the front of the store, equipped with a lounge chair and a high-definition TV. A customer looked at the two titles but bought neither, saying he was disappointed by the selection. A nearby Fry's Electronics store had "Samurai" and "Phantom" in endcaps, but no player on display. Toshiba, which is in the process of shipping about 10,000 players to retailers, had no firm first-day sales tally. Marketing vp Jodi Sally would only say, "Retailers who have received players to date have reported very positive sales. I am very pleased to see the demand for high-definition content being fulfilled to the early adopters with our HD-DVD players." Meanwhile, elaborate kiosks with huge widescreen TVs, explanatory boards and a handful of players and movies are going into about 100 Wal-Mart stores during the next two weeks, an unusually aggressive move by a retailer focused on the masses. The discount chain didn't begin selling DVD players until spring 1999, two years after the DVD format was launched. Wal-Mart also has begun selling the cheaper of the two Toshiba players, the HD-D1, on its Web site, listing an anticipated delivery date of Friday. The player is on sale for $498, a dollar off the list price. Only three studios are supporting HD-DVD, and of those three, only Universal is exclusively in the HD-DVD camp. The two other studios, Warner and Paramount Pictures Home Entertainment, have said they also will release titles in the rival Blu-ray Disc format, which has not yet launched. Blu-ray enjoys the support of five of the six majors, as well as minimajor Lionsgate. Disney's Buena Vista Home Entertainment, 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment and Sony Pictures Home Entertainment are exclusively supporting Blu-ray, as is Lionsgate. Warner and Universal have HD-DVD product in the market, while Paramount won't release its first high-definition titles until next month. Universal Studios Home Entertainment president Craig Kornblau, who has taken the lead in promoting the HD-DVD format, held a press screening at his Universal City offices in which he demonstrated the format's superior picture and sound. He stressed, however, that the format's real trump card is its heightened interactivity. On a sample disc, menus appeared on the side, and special features could be accessed while the movie is playing. Multi-angle options, too, may be previewed, all at one time, and with filmmaker cooperation most movies ultimately should be available for viewing in multiple angles. "We're in the HD-DVD camp because you can touch it and you can feel it," Kornblau said. "It's here, and it's real." Executive marketing vp Ken Graffeo said in the fourth quarter several Universal titles will push the envelope when it comes to creativity. In a movie that prominently features a car, he said, viewers might be able to customize that car, and then plant their creation into the movie. "Through Internet connectivity, you might even be able to click on the tire and find out the specs and even be able to buy that tire," he said. ================================ George Antunes, Political Science Dept University of Houston; Houston, TX 77204 Voice: 713-743-3923 Fax: 713-743-3927 antunes at uh dot edu Reply with a "Thank you" if you liked this post. _____________________________ MEDIANEWS mailing list [email protected] To unsubscribe send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
