Europe's premier online source of news, data & analysis for professionals involved in DVD, Blu-ray and new delivery technologies
Worldwide Blu-ray player shipments are expected to more than double between 2009 and the end of 2010, and the numbers from ABI Research forecast continued growth next year, for a total of more than 62... Read more...
The Directorate General of Anti-Dumping (DAGD) under the Indian Ministry of Commerce has confirmed that it has investigated DVD-R and DVD-RW discs imported from Vietnam, Malaysia and Thailand... Read more...
Leading quality assurance and testing services provider Testronic Laboratories has appointed Seth Hallen to the post of CEO. He takes over from Neil Goodall who is stepping down from the business... Read more...
Environmentally-friendly disc solution provider EcoDisc has revealed the results of its social media poll that point to the public’s continued infatuation CDs and DVDs, despite the growing popularity ... Read more...
French CD/DVD packaging design and manufacturing company Key Solutions has won a court case again Portuguese company VDS PAK for counterfeiting of products by third party Mango with which Key Solutions... Read more...
More than a third of the 1,500 registered Internet cafes in Beijing have been or will soon be indicted on suspicion of piracy, according to local media reports. The move, initiated by the government, ... Read more...
A U.S. class action charges Sony, Samsung, Toshiba, Hitachi, LG Technology and Philips, manufacturers of optical disc drives used in CD, DVD and Blu-ray players of price-fixing... Read more...
The Blu-ray Disc Association has released the specifications for BDXL, the new multi-layer recordable Blu-ray Disc format with up to 128GB of capacity. With the completion and approval of the specification... Read more...
Sony DADC opened a new packaging, refurbishment and service centre in Pilsen, Czech Republic. The central European facility further extends Sony DADC’s European supply chain infrastructure, serving entertainment... Read more...
Roxio, a division of Sonic Solutions, announced that CinePlayer, its media player for Windows, has received Blu-ray Profile 5 (3D) certification from the Blu-ray Disc Association. Blu-ray 3D support enhances... Read more...
Following a year of decline in 2009, the global entertainment and media market, as a whole, will grow by 5% compounded annually for the entire forecast period to 2014 reaching $1.7 trillion, up from $... Read more...
A selection of data on various sectors of the European market from leading research companies... Read more...
QOL at 10 keeps on innovating
QOL, Europe’s first independent manufacturer to take the plunge into Blu-ray, celebrates its 10th anniversary. In a candid conversation, its CEO LAURENT VILLAUME shares his memories, on-going concerns and how market realities are shaping his strategic vision and present new opportunities.
Is it the right time to introduce 3D when BD has yet to consolidate its foothold in the market, where a lot of education remains to be done and where consumers have just bought equipment that will become obsolete quickly?
I disagree. Blu-ray is an evolution on the DVD, an improvement noticeable depending on the TV set you have at home. It is absolutely not a revolution. Proof is that DVD is picking up in France once again, whereas, if BD had been a revolution it would have taken over much quicker. It is not a VHS-to-DVD transition.
What is missing to BD is 3D, which is truly a revolution, akin to the transition from black & white to colour in the 1970s. Perhaps 3D arrives a bit early, but we should be very satisfied to see it emerging. By offering new perspectives to CE manufacturers, studios and consumers, it is 3D that will make a success of Blu-ray.
MOSER Baer CEO said that about 20 million films are sold on legitimate DVDs in India per annum, while some 600 million copies are pirated versions. The latest film Peepli Live was released last Friday and was available in pirated DVDs by Saturday morning. India is likely to impose anti-dumping duty of up to $50 per 1,000 pieces on cheap imports of DVDs from Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam to protect the domestic industry.
GROWTH of Web-to-TV video is happening faster than most people expected. By 2014, there will be 57 million US broadband households viewing full-length online video on the TV, says In-Stat. Revenue associated with this web-to-TV video content will grow from $2 billion to over $17 billion over a five-year period.
CONSUMER transactions for prerecorded video content (DVDs, Blu-ray Discs, and digital delivery) grew 2.8% to 3.5 billion during 2009, the Entertainment Merchants Association stated in its latest report Discs & Digital – The Business of Home Entertainment Retailing. Combined DVD and Blu-ray Disc sales totaled $17.9 billion in 2009, nine times the revenue generated by digital distribution channels, and 80% to 90% of paid video game software acquisitions were on physical media.
THE number of Digital Living Network Alliance (DLNA) certified Blu-ray Disc players nearly doubled in the first half of 2010, according to the group. The group's 245 members, which include consumer electronics, computer and mobile device manufacturers alongside component and software developers, now produce 105 DLNA certified BD enabled devices. The DLNA seeks to promote interoperability between CE devices through establishing industry standards.
HONG KONG filmmakers claim to be shooting the world’s first 3D pornographic movie – 3D Sex and Zen: Extreme Ecstasy – scheduled for release in May 2011 release. In addition to distribution throughout Asia, the Sunday Morning Post reports that the film crew has already received calls from Europe and the US. Japanese porn stars Yukiko Suo and Saori Hara are confirmed as the leads in the upcoming flick, apparently based on The Carnal Prayer Mat, a classic erotic Chinese tale.
SONIC Solutions reported a year-on-year reduction in its net loss from $1.8 million to $1.1 million for the first quarter despite increased operating costs. The company said that revenue was flat at $25.4 million in the term ending June 30 but operating expenses increased by $300,000 following the acquisition of digital media company DivX earlier this year. Sonic said its RoxioNow film download software contributed $5 million to the business, up from $3.1 million in 2009.
GERMAN DVD/BD replication line manufacturer Singulus recorded order intakes worth €67.4 million in the first half of this year – an increase of 65.2% compared with the first half of 2009. The company announced sales of BLULINE II machines to the UK's VDC Group, Australia's Regency Media and Japan's Memory-Tech – the country's largest independent replicator. Singulus claims to have a 90% share of the Blu-ray line market.
ONE in five renters of home entertainment in the US pirated content in the last half of 2009 and 25% said they burned at least one copy of Blu-ray Disc, according to a poll 2,000 consumers by the Diffusion Group. Most respondents reported they give up trying to pirate content within 30 minutes if it’s not efficient, and 84% said they would still buy or rent the content they were attempting to obtain illegally, Home Media Magazine said.
REDBOX has announced more than half of its daily movie rental kiosks will begin offering Blu-ray movies for just $1.50 per night starting immediately. The company announced 13,300 kiosks across the US will offer Blu-ray movies, and a full roll out for all 23,000 kiosks should begin sometime in the fall. Just two months ago, the company celebrated the creation of 25,000 Redbox kiosks with Flextronics, its manufacturing partner.
