Blu-ray Disc Reporter

Lord of the Rings Trilogy confirmed to hit Blu-ray in April

The hotly anticipated Blu-ray release of the Lord of the Rings trilogy has been confirmed for April in the UK, reports DVD Times. With its epic, stunning cinematography and ground-breaking special effects, it is unsurprising that fans are eager to experience the trilogy in high definition.

The hugely successful films are often cited as the most anticipated Blu-ray release in entertainment media and online discussion forums, such as Sound & Vision. Thankfully, the wait will soon be over and Lord of the Rings fans can pick up a copy from 6th April.

Blu-ray named among Best Technology Products of 2009 in Belgian awards

Published February 3, 2010 Industry / trade news 1 Comment
Tags: BD players, Blu-ray, Blu-ray disc, FWD, PC Magazine

2009 Silver Best Product Award

Readers of Belgian publications PC Magazine and home entertainment magazine FWD have recognised Blu-ray Disc as one of last year’s best technology products.

After hundreds of product tests, the editors of the two magazines selected a shortlist of 10 technology products that would be put to the public vote. The products were judged on several criteria including innovation and user experience.

Almost 9,000 readers voted, with the final results giving LED TV the Gold Award for first place, with Blu-ray taking the Silver. You can read more at the Benelux Blu-ray promotions group here.

Surrogates Blu-ray preview

Published February 2, 2010 Entertainment , Movies , New releases Leave a Comment
Tags: special features, Blu-ray, Surrogates, Bruce Willis, MTV, Robert Venditti, Brett Weldele, Walt Disney Studios

MTV has an exclusive preview of the Blu-ray release of adrenaline fuelled thriller ‘Surrogates’, which arrives on shelves in February. This action packed movie, starring Bruce Willis and based on the cult classic graphic novel created by Robert Venditti and Brett Weldele, is jam-packed with exclusive bonus content, perfect for the Blu-ray HD experience. The Blu-ray version includes all of the standard DVD extras, plus exclusive bonus features like ‘Breaking the Frame: A Graphic Novel Comes to Life’, which details the transformation from comic book page to spectacular 3D animation.

Following the trend for exclusive special features to appear on Blu-ray Discs, the bonus content on Surrogates are welcome additions that delve into the film’s premise, providing added context for the main feature. To experience the benefits of the Blu-ray version yourself, head over to MTV for an exclusive teaser of the ‘Breaking the Frame’ bonus feature, which describes the long journey ‘Surrogates’ has taken from production to completion.

Blu-ray Disc Association reveals Blu-ray 3D logo

Published January 25, 2010 3D , Entertainment , Industry / trade news , Marketing Leave a Comment
Tags: 3D, BDA, Blu-ray, Logo

Following the first look at several 3D Blu-ray players at CES, and the announcement of the first 3D films to be released on Blu-ray Disc, the Blu-ray Disc Association has revealed the official Blu-ray 3D logo.

Expect to see a lot more of the logo as Blu-ray 3D technology approaches launch later this year.

* The “Blu-ray 3D” logo and “Blu-ray 3D” are trademarks and the property of the Blu-ray Disc Association.

Danny Wallace Fronts Sony Pictures UK Blu-ray Campaign

Published January 15, 2010 Entertainment , Marketing , Retail news Leave a Comment
Tags: BD Live, Blu-ray, Cinechat, Danny Wallace, movieIQ, sony

Sony Pictures has commissioned British comedian, author and columnist Danny Wallace to front its latest online Blu-ray Disc promotion in the UK. The video, embedded below, continues the themes of the BVA’s ‘What are you waiting for?’ campaign from the end of last year, highlighting again that an HDTV only really comes to life when you have a Blu-ray player plugged in.

Danny talks through the benefits of Blu-ray’s sound and picture quality, along with additional features including BD-Live applications like MovieIQ and Cinechat. Danny also reiterates the easy set up involved and reminds viewers that BD players will also enhance existing DVD collections. All in all, the benefits of using a Blu-ray player with an HDTV are made crystal clear, and as Danny explains, all that is left to do is to… “get stuck in!”

Q4 sales boost for Blu-ray

Published January 14, 2010 Industry / trade news , Retail news , Sales figures Leave a Comment
Tags: Blu-ray, blu-ray data, rentals, research, sales, US

The Hollywood Reporter is reporting that US sales of Blu-ray Discs increased by 35% in the fourth quarter of 2009, compared to the same period in 2008.

Stats from the Digital Entertainment Group (DEG) show that 38.6 million Blu-ray Discs were shipped, with revenue from sales increasing by 70% and revenue from rentals rising by 48%.

Over the year as a whole, DEG found that total spending on Blu-ray Discs (sales and rentals) reached $1.5 billion.

3D Blu-ray Players invade CES

Published January 12, 2010 3D , Entertainment , Industry / trade news , Movies , New releases , Player news , Technology 1 Comment
Tags: 3D, BD players, Blu-ray, Blu-ray 3D, CES, LG, Panasonic, Samsung, sony, Toshiba

3D has been the story of this year’s CES, currently taking place in Las Vegas. Following last month’s announcement of the Blu-ray 3D specification, several manufacturers have taken the opportunity to show off their first 3D Blu-ray Disc players.

Sony’s new range includes the 3D enabled BDP-S770. The new range has been designed to grab the attention before they are even switched on, using a minimalist ‘Monolithic’ design concept that extends across Sony’s other homes entertainment products to be launched this year. Other new features in the range include BRAVIA Internet Video, which allows the players to access online video content from sites such as YouTube. In a separate announcement, Sony confirmed that all PS3s will become 3D enabled through a forthcoming firmware update. Pocket-Lint has further information on Sony’s news here.

New BDA member Toshiba revealed three new players, with the flagship BDX3000 providing 3D support. All three players have Ethernet and USB ports and BD Live access, as well as online access to additional content services like Netflix, VUDU, Cinema Now and Pandora. Pocket-Lint has a full report here.

Samsung’s 3D player, the BD-C6900, also made its debut. It carries support for Samsung Apps and the company’s Internet@TV service, which will provide content from services like Netflix, Pandora, Vudu, Blockbuster, Picasa, and Twitter, with many more to be announced later in the year. CNet has more details here.

Panasonic meanwhile is building 3D into a whole array of new devices and services, including camcorders and dedicated TV channels. It’s 3D Blu-ray player, the PP-BDT350, was launched with the aid of Avatar producer Jon Landau, who spoke at length on the potential of 3D entertainment in the home. More details from CNet can be found here.

LG announced plans to release a 3D player later in the year, but gave no further details. It did however show off the BD 590, a BD player with a huge 250Gb hard drive to store content on. TechDigest has a full report on the LG press conference here.

Stay tuned for further information on 3D players over the coming months.

Blu-ray Disc Association Announces Final 3D Specification

Published December 21, 2009 Industry / trade news , Movies , Player news , Technology 1 Comment
Tags: 3D, BDA, BDA 3D Task Force, Ben Carr, Blu-ray, Blu-ray 3D, Victor Matsuda

“Blu-ray 3D” Expected to Reach Consumers in 2010

The Blu-ray Disc Association (BDA) has announced the finalization and release of the “Blu-ray 3D” specification. This highly anticipated specification means that the 3D experience will no longer be exclusive to the big screen. Now consumers can enjoy this from the comfort of their own living rooms on Blu-ray Disc.

Technologically, the specification has various advantages. It allows every Blu-ray 3D player and movie to deliver Full HD 1080p resolution to each eye, thereby maintaining the industry leading image quality to which Blu-ray Disc viewers are accustomed. Moreover, the specification is display agnostic, meaning that Blu-ray 3D products will deliver the 3D image to any compatible 3D display, regardless of whether that display uses LCD, Plasma or other technology. The specification has been designed so that Sony PlayStation3 game consoles will be able to play 3D Blu-ray content, and it also allows 2D playback of 3D discs in existing BD players.

“Throughout this year, moviegoers have shown an overwhelming preference for 3D when presented with the option to see a theatrical release in either 3D or 2D.” Victor Matsuda, chairman, BDA Global Promotions Committee

The completed specification will be available shortly and the BDA is confident it will prove a success. Victor Matsuda, global chairman of BDA Promotions Committee said: “We think the broad and rapid acceptance Blu-ray Disc already enjoys with consumers will be a factor in accelerating the uptake of 3D in the home.” Benn Carr, chairman, BDA 3D Task Force, added: “From a technological perspective, it is simply the best available platform for bringing 3D into the home. The disc capacity and bit rates Blu-ray Disc provides enable us to deliver 3D in Full HD 1080p high definition resolution.”

To read more about the Blu-ray 3D specification click here to view the full release.

Germany embraces Blu-ray

Published December 16, 2009 Industry / trade news , Retail news , Sales figures Leave a Comment
Tags: Aldi, Blu-ray, Christmas, Futuresource, Germany, HDTV, sales

As was noted in last month’s Futuresource report, the German Blu-ray Disc market is among the strongest in Europe.

The Futuresource statistics have been backed up by market insight from the GfK Consumer Panel, which found that sales in the first three quarters were quadruple that of the same period in 2008. Part of that growth can be attributed to the wide range of BD players (now over 150 models) on the market.

With the Christmas period now underway, sales are predicted to rise further as retailers continue to push the format and prices of both players and discs fall. Festive promotions, including ones like this from supermarket chain ALDI, are increasingly offering Profile 2.0 players at prices close to €100, with many discs available for less than €15.

With HD TV broadcasts also set to increase in Germany in 2010, the success of high definition in the country looks assured.

Thanksgiving brings US BD boost

Published December 16, 2009 Industry / trade news , Retail news , Sales figures Leave a Comment
Tags: Black Friday, Blu-ray, Christmas, research, sales, shopping, Thanksgiving, US

Although this is the BDA’s European blog, recent sales figures from the US warrant some attention.

The Friday following Thanksgiving, known as ‘Black Friday’ in the US, is traditionally one of the biggest shopping days of the year. Retailers across the country open early and often offer great value deals to mark the start of the Christmas shopping season.

This year, Blu-ray has been one of the Black Friday success stories, with media outlets including The Washington Post and PC World reporting a massive surge in sales. According to Home Media Research, revenue from sales of Blu-ray Discs for the week ending November 29 was $69.06 million – a huge increase of 224 percent over the same period in 2008.

With more and more BD players entering the US market priced around the $100 mark, and prices of discs also falling, the future looks bright for the format.