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Media
Information > Media DVD Coverage 
Archive
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| Updated August 16, 2006 DVD
NEWS DIGEST 1 -
Failure To Launch Paramount Home Entertainment
A new category of DVD entertainment being launched this week hopes to distract viewers, especially kids ages 5 to 10, from videogame consoles with a product that is more involving than standard movies. So-called interactive DVDs allow viewers to control parts of the story by making choices with the arrows on their remote. The story lines work like branching paths, with viewers' whims deciding which scenes will follow. If the viewer fails to make a choice, the DVD chooses randomly. The makers of the new interactive DVDs aim to take advantage of the ubiquity of DVD technology in people's homes. "The penetration of DVD players is tremendous," says Chris Donaldson, a spokesman for a distributor that plans to carve out an interactive-DVD niche. The new products differ in at least one key way from their predecessors: Many earlier interactive CD-ROMs were aimed at adults. "It became pretty obvious that adults wanted to sit back and have the story told to them," says Tom Adams, president of Adams Media Research. "Generations have changed, and the younger generation is very interactive." Hidden Wires.com: DVD Markets to Exceed $28 Billion by 2010 (24/7/2006) Paced by anticipated sales of blue laser players, game consoles, PC drives, and related media, the blue laser disc technology market is expected to exceed $28 billion in sales in 2010, according to Santa Clara Consulting Group (SCCG). SCCG estimates that the game console segment, supported by sales of the PlayStation 3, will have the most important influence on the blue laser disc technology market, with more than half of the $2 billion in revenue for 2006. Content, including movies and games, will represent half of this market's revenues in 2010. Other important markets expected to offer significant growth potential are blue laser technology players, with nearly $4 billion of sales in 2010; blue laser technology movies, with $3 billion of sales; blue laser technology game consoles, with $6 billion of sales; blue laser technology games, with $10 billion of sales; blue laser technology PC drives, with $4 billion; and blue laser technology blank media with $400 million of sales.
Film
distributors depend more on DVD sales than box office takings. According
to the Australian Film Commission, wholesale revenue from VHS and
DVD distribution reached $1 billion in 2005.
China has launched a major anti-piracy campaign throughout the country to crack down on illegal reproduction of copyrighted material. The ministry of public security issued a notice to police outfits all over the country, asking them to investigate and uncover illegal DVD production lines and arrest heads of gangs engaged in illegal reproduction of DVDs and books. Police will intensify patrol and examination at railway stations, bus stops, harbours and airports searching for clues on pirated materials production, transportation and sales. Chinese law provides that a peddler will be sentenced to three to seven years behind bars he has sold 5,000 or more pirated DVDs.
According to a midyear report released by the Digital Entertainment Group, nearly 14 million DVD players were sold from Jan. 1 through the end of June, nearly the same pace as last year. More than 740 million DVDs were shipped to retail outlets during the first half of the year, a 4% drop from 2005's midyear total of 772 million units, according to figures compiled for DEG by Kaplan, Swicker & Simha. Industry leaders note that in addition to the still growing sales for TV on DVD titles, there is also growth in music DVDs and special-interest films like documentaries. Ralph Tribbey, editor of the industry newsletter DVD Release Report, said in the third and fourth quarters, things will go up and offset the early decline. "We have a lot of big films, and certainly with 'Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest' opening so big, it's a real strong signal that we are going to have a very good October, November and December." In the past nine years, 6.3 billion DVD discs have been shipped and there are now more than 60,000 DVD titles available to consumers. Now the major studios have been banking on the arrival of next-generation DVD players and discs to spur new growth.
A DVD aimed at stopping young people from carrying knives is proving a nationwide hit, according to police. The "Tooled Up for School" film was developed by a local police force and was shown in schools in the area to coincide with a national knife amnesty. The
educational campaign saw officers go into schools to show the DVD
to schoolchildren aged 11 to 16 and speak about the dangers of carrying
knives.
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