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Media
Information > Media DVD Coverage 
Archive
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| Updated March 15, 2006 DVD
NEWS DIGEST
Jan. 26 - Baltimore Sun: DVD Rental Machines in Grocery Stores The largest supermarket chain in the Baltimore-Washington area installed Dvd kiosks after a successful 12-month trial period in some of its Baltimore stores. The kiosks hold more than 500 DVDs, with as many as 60 movie titles. The machines are refilled with new titles on Tuesdays. Customers use the self-service machine by selecting a movie title on a touch screen and then swiping a credit card or debit card. DVDs can be kept as long as a consumer likes at a charge of $1 per night, plus tax. There are no late fees but patrons will be charged $25, plus tax, if a DVD isn't returned after 25 days.
Seven Star Wars fans have admitted piracy charges after copying and passing a DVD copy of the movie among them last May. The six US men and one woman also pleaded guilty to criminal conduct in allowing an eighth person to obtain the film and upload it onto the internet. They each face a maximum penalty of a $100,000 (£56,000) fine and one year in jail when sentenced on 12 April. Prosecutors said 28-year-old Albert Valente took a copy of the final Star Wars movie from a post-production facility in Los Angeles last May. New US laws make uploading a film before its DVD release a federal crime. Mr Hoaglin is due to be sentenced in March. Hollywood studios said movie piracy cost the film industry $3.5bn (£1.95bn) per year.
A popular TV series' DVD version went out with a bang. DVD marketers split the sixth and final season into two DVD releases, parts one and two, to prolong its retail life. Then, when the end came, they assembled all six seasons in a $300 “collector’s gift set” in a bound hardcover book. For the 10th and final season hit DVD of another series, the producer put together an elaborate collector’s edition packaged in an elegant wooden box with a glass door. It was priced at $300. Now “Dawson’s Creek” is nearing the end of its DVD life cycle. The sixth and final season is coming April 4 (prebook March 2). But don’t expect an elaborate complete-series gift set. That’s not Sony Pictures Home Entertainment’s style, said Marc Rashba, VP of catalog and television marketing. The final season of yet another series includes an exclusive scrapbook filled with trivia and photos. “We created this commemorative booklet that included all kinds of unique photos and stories, sort of as a thank-you to fans who had been buying the seasons along the way,” an executive said. December 30 - New York Times: DVD Impact in US There are nearly 54,000 different DVD's available in the North American market. DVD's have become much more than a delivery system for recent Hollywood hits. There are vast numbers of how-to titles; countless videos intended to make your offspring smarter (while getting them hooked on franchised cartoon characters); many music and sports videos; and vast, uncharted realms of old television shows. Together, these almost certainly account for a far greater share of the DVD market than movies. But movies are what the medium does best. Because DVD's demand better source material than did the relatively low-fi media of VHS tape and laser disc, movies are now coming out in versions far superior to anything that's been seen since their original theatrical releases. end
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