More Articles By Susanne Ault
- Acorn Direct hires Sidar as president
SEPT. 10 | Thomas Sidar has been named president of Acorn Direct, the direct-to-consumer division of DVD supplier Acorn Media Group. Sidar replaces Miguel Penella, who was upped to CEO of Acorn Media in April. More - Warner, NHL extend DVD distribution deal
SEPT. 10 | Warner Home Video and the National Hockey League have extended their DVD production and distribution partnership for another five years. More - Image acquires Suburban Girl , Undead or Alive
SEPT. 10 | Re-confirming its drive to release higher-profile projects, Image Entertainment has snapped up U.S. theatrical, DVD and digital distribution rights to name features Suburban Girl and Undead or Alive . The films were acquired from Odd Lot Entertainment. More - HD DVD-based format on the move in China
SEPT. 7 | Chinese laboratory Optical Memory National Engineering Research Center (OMNERC) is moving ahead with the China High Definition DVD, which is a potential boon to the HD DVD camp. More - Image signs to distribute a dozen from Revolver
SEPT. 7 | Image Entertainment has signed an exclusive DVD and digital output agreement with U.K.-based Revolver Entertainment LTD. Over the first year of the deal, Image will distribute 12 to 15 titles from Revolver and the company’s Los Angeles-based subsidiary Revolver Entertainment LLC. More - Pioneer sets third-generation Blu-ray player for October
SEPT. 6 | Continuing to court the high-end consumer, Pioneer will street its third-generation Blu-ray Disc player this October at expected $1,000 pricing. More - Notebook maker Acer joins HD DVD Promotional Group
SEPT. 6 | On the heels of joining the Blu-ray Disc Assn., notebook computer maker Acer has now also teamed with the HD DVD Promotional Group. More - Toshiba, Sony each claim high-def leadership
SEPT. 6 | CEDIA: DENVER— High-def rivals Toshiba and Sony used the Custom Electronic Design & Installation Assn. Expo here this week to tout new players as each side claimed market dominance. Toshiba is bundling for free both Warner Home Video’s 300 (pictured) and Universal Studios Home Entertainment’s The Bourne Identity on HD DVD into its new player boxes. Sony will try to expand Blu-ray’s sales with the addition of three new products. More - Sharp enters high-def market with $550 Blu-ray player
SEPT. 6 | CEDIA: DENVER— High-def hardware selection quickly expanded over the course of the Custom Electronic Design & Installation Assn. Expo here this week, as Pioneer and LG Electronics unveiled third- and second-generation models, respectively, and Sharp entered the fold for the first time with a Blu-ray Disc player. More - LG to release second-generation dual-format play in October
SEPT. 5 | LG Electronics will launch a second-generation dual-format high-definition disc player, its first to fully play back advanced interactivity in both formats, in mid October. More - Sony: Blu-ray set-top players out-selling HD DVD
SEPT. 5 | DENVER —Blu-ray Disc set-top players within the last nine weeks have begun out-selling HD DVD set-top players on a unit basis, according to recent NPD Group research cited by Sony Electronics. More - Image hires three former First Look executives
SEPT. 4 | On the eve of its imminent purchase by BTP Acquisition Co, Image Entertainment has beefed up its roster with three new hires all hailing from various divisions at First Look Studios. More - MPI sets international indie label slate
SEPT. 4 | MPI Media Group has finalized its first project slate from its new international indie label Doküment Films. More - Tartan releases Oldboy to Blu-ray
SEPT. 4 | Tartan Video USA has jumped into the Blu-ray Disc camp, with its first release in the high-definition format, Oldboy , arriving on Nov. 6. More - Warner prepares DVD premiere sequel to Lost Boys
SEPT. 4 | Warner Premiere has started production on the direct-to-DVD feature Lost Boys 2: The Tribe , a sequel to the cult 1987 vampire film starring former teen heartthrobs Corey Feldman and Corey Haim. More - Warner Premiere rings in holiday with Dennis
SEPT. 2 | Warner Premiere is rolling out its first made-for-DVD holiday production, A Dennis the Menace Christmas , on Nov. 6 (prebook Oct. 9). The movie stars Robert Wagner and Louise Fletcher as married couple Mr. and Mrs. Wilson and Perry Cotton as loveable neighborhood nuisance Dennis. In the film, Dennis’ mischief helps grouchy Mr. Wilson learn about the holiday spirit. More - Format war brings production challenges
AUG. 31 | High-definition disc sales are gaining traction slowly, but HD DVD and Blu-ray Disc production has transformed 1K Studios in just a couple of years. As suppliers race to release increasingly advanced product, angling to skew the format war toward either side, studio execs are relying more on digital specialists such as 1K for programming help. More - HD DVD player price to drop further in Q4
AUG. 31 | The high-definition format war will hit a new low in the fourth quarter—price, that is. Canada’s Venturer Electronics is set to release Chinese-manufactured HD DVD players priced below $200. Venturer's SHD7000 will be priced at $199, according to a company representative, which would make it the cheapest stand-alone HD DVD player available today. More - Retailers prepare for shelf space crunch in Q4
AUG. 31 | To brace for the tidal wave of fourth-quarter titles, retailers are bolstering shelves through efficient stocking schemes and aggressive consumer exclusives. Spider-Man 3 alone will swing into stores in six different SKUs, including two Blu-ray Disc options. More - Fox plans superpower Fantastic Four campaign
AUG. 30 | Fueled by a hefty marketing campaign, Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer will jumpstart the all-important fourth quarter on Oct. 2 on standard-definition and Blu-ray Disc. Additionally, Fox has slated Live Free or Die Hard to bow on DVD on Nov. 20 (prebook Oct. 24), similarly day and date with its 50GB Blu-ray version. More
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