Comic-Con: Blu-ray, HD DVD pushed at event

Show attendees say they're 'confused' about two formats

By Susanne Ault -- Video Business, 7/30/2007

JULY 30 | COMIC-CON: SAN DIEGO—As well as offering the usual Darth Vader and Princess Leia, Comic-Con this year became one of the first major mainstream consumer showcases of the high-definition formats.

Traditionally, studios have used the massive pop culture conference, which ran July 26-29 here, to sneak peek upcoming theatrical films and TV series. But with some of the biggest movies and TV shows heading to high-def this year, Comic-Con was targeted as a critical marketing vehicle for Spider-Man 3 on Blu-ray Disc, Star Trek on HD DVD, Return to House on Haunted Hill on Blu-ray and HD DVD, among other titles.

Sony Pictures Home Entertainment hosted a Blu-ray Experience booth on the exhibition floor. Every hour, executives premiered Blu-ray clips of Spider-Man 3, Close Encounters of the Third Kind and 20 Million Miles to Earth 50th Anniversary Edition. The films ran across 52-inch TV screens via a Sony BDP-S300 set-top player, a PlayStation 3 and a Sony VAIO laptop. More than 8,000 Comic-Con attendees entered a contest to win one of the three Blu-ray hardware systems.

A Blu-ray kiosk also was located on the convention floor hyping Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment’s two Pirates of the Caribbean releases in the format. Visitors could sample the titles’ Blu-ray games, as well as pose for pictures with a Jack Sparrow look-a-like. The latest franchise installment, At World’s End, streets on Blu-ray on Dec. 4.

“This is our first big show where we are really focusing in on the consumer,” said Rich Marty, Sony VP of new business development. “It’s the perfect event to showcase Blu-ray, because you’re attracting a perfect demographic. These people love films, they love gaming and they love new technology. And the biggest titles are now coming.”

Title promotions

Comic-Con attracts an important audience for studios. The event sold out both its four-day and single-day passes, drawing more than 150,000 people, many of whom showed off their entertainment devotion by dressing as Star Wars and Harry Potter characters.

Outside the exhibition floor, studios presented panel discussions about new high-def titles. CBS DVD, distributed by Paramount Home Entertainment, trotted out Rod Roddenberry (the son of Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry) to help promote the Nov. 20 bow of Star Trek: The Original Series on HD DVD.

Producer Joel Silver talked up Warner Home Video’s Oct. 16 release of Return to House on Haunted Hill on Blu-ray and HD DVD. Similarly, the studio’s Blade Runner was touted as coming to both formats on Dec. 18.

Universal Studios Home Entertainment also publicly announced Web-enabled features for its Aug. 28 HD DVD release of the first season of Heroes.

“This is the perfect venue to marry the intensity of passion from the fans and next-generation formats,” said Warner president Ron Sanders, who was sitting in on the Haunted Hill session. “The average Comic-Con attendee is so into these properties, they are perfect to adopt [high-def].”

Consumers 'confused'

Although studio executives had a huge crowd to hear their high-def messages, it is unclear how well the messages were getting across. The ongoing format war is keeping some Comic-Con-goers from adopting the technology.

“To me, it’s definitely very confusing,” said attendee Carolyn Granado, who was exploring Sony’s Blu-ray booth. “For regular folks, we are at a loss. No one seems to be able to make up their mind about what is the right format.”

Attendee Dominick Huaraz added that he hasn’t had time to focus on whether Blu-ray is better or worse than HD DVD because “we are still trying to figure out whether to buy an LCD or plasma TV.”

However, Granado said she was impressed with the quality of video running at Sony, explaining, “You can absolutely tell the difference between" Blu-ray and standard-definition.

Another Sony booth visitor, Ralph Bernal, admits he is cautious about going high-def “because I am older and I remember the fights between Beta and VHS.”

Elsewhere at Comic-Con, straight-to-disc Superman Doomsday is shaping up to be a hit. The film, streeting Sept. 18 from Warner, screened to an at-capacity ballroom twice, according to the studio.

MGM Home Entertainment debuted a trailer from the first Stargate SG-1 made-for-DVD film, the slated 2008 release of Stargate: Ark of Truth.

Paramount is readying a complete series release of Twin Peaks, which is set to include new-to-DVD deleted scenes and fresh interviews with creator David Lynch.