Even with digital distribution still on its early stages, for many it already poses a serious threat to other traditional distribution mediums. Be it music, videos, software or even books, among the young there's likely as much people preferring digital over hard copies.
But with such a broad topic, let's just touch on the video part of the equation. A great deal of TV shows and movies are already being (legally) distributed over the Internet and it's proven successful on certain markets, yet still lacking the widespread appeal that could put companies to make billions on monthly sales. There's also the video on demand (VOD) option which unlike Internet-based services only offers a limited catalog and relies on local cable services. VOD also resembles better a rental business model, while true digital distribution services are meant to replace retail sales with content that can be downloaded multiple times as needed by its virtual owner or licensee. The most unpleasant side of digital distribution can be resumed in three letters, however: DRM. Digital Right Management
Digital rights management (DRM) refers to access control technologies used by publishers, copyright holders, and hardware manufacturers to limit usage of digital media or devices.
At the other side of the fence is Blu-ray (and old fashioned DVDs as well). In short, you get your hard copy, virtually no restrictions to do away as you wish over time, and in the case of Blu-ray, high resolution playback in all its glory. It probably lacks the 'push a button' comfort of digital but still stands as the traditional trusted model for most.
-techspot.com
Thursday, April 9, 2009
Sunday, March 22, 2009
Sharp introduces LCD TVs with built-in Blu-ray
Japan's Sharp has launched what it billed as the world's first liquid crystal display television with a built-in next-generation Blu-ray DVD recorder.
The latest in Sharp's Aquos line of televisions will hit the market in late November with prices between Y170,000 and Y500,000
"At a time that competition is tough and the atmosphere bad, we want to differentiate ourselves by offering customers products that are of great quality but simple to use," Sharp chief executive Mikio Katayama told reporters.
The new Aquos DX series means a customer does not need to buy a separate DVD player or recorder, although the DVD unit can still come out of the television if there is a need for repair.
Sharp was at the forefront of LCD televisions. Blu-Ray, backed by Sony and other electronics makers, has beaten out Toshiba's HD DVD as the next-generation standard.
Sharp said it would not immediately release the new Aquos overseas. Japan has been the key market for next-generation DVDs, which allow better quality images and more interactive features than traditional DVDs.
-gamefocus
The latest in Sharp's Aquos line of televisions will hit the market in late November with prices between Y170,000 and Y500,000
"At a time that competition is tough and the atmosphere bad, we want to differentiate ourselves by offering customers products that are of great quality but simple to use," Sharp chief executive Mikio Katayama told reporters.
The new Aquos DX series means a customer does not need to buy a separate DVD player or recorder, although the DVD unit can still come out of the television if there is a need for repair.
Sharp was at the forefront of LCD televisions. Blu-Ray, backed by Sony and other electronics makers, has beaten out Toshiba's HD DVD as the next-generation standard.
Sharp said it would not immediately release the new Aquos overseas. Japan has been the key market for next-generation DVDs, which allow better quality images and more interactive features than traditional DVDs.
-gamefocus
Saturday, February 21, 2009
Blu-ray Player Prices Are Falling
To boost sales in a weak economy, makers of the high-def video players are lowering prices and adding movie-download capabilities.
Blu-ray player manufacturers, faced with increasing competition from movie download services and a weak economy heading into the holiday shopping season, are dropping prices across a range of current and older models, a market researcher said Friday.
While manufacturers originally expected to get a premium for the high-definition movie devices, many Blu-ray players today are available for less than $200, such as a Samsung model bundled with four movie discs that's available on Amazon.com, ABI research said. Holiday season prices may be in the $150-to-$200 range.
"Blu-ray vendors and dealers are starting to realize that for Blu-ray to become the next DVD, they need to lower player prices in order to generate interest and build volumes," ABI analyst Steve Wilson said in a statement.
Helping to drive prices down is increasing competition from movie download alternatives. Examples include Microsoft's video game console Xbox 360, which is also capable of downloading and playing films; broadband-connected TiVo digital video recorders; and Netflix's recently launched $100 Roku player, which streams movies from the Netflix Web site to a subscriber's digital TV. The device can connect to the site through a wired or Wi-Fi connection. Other options include Apple TV, which connects to the computer and iPod maker's online iTunes store to rent or buy movies for streaming to a television.
Along with lowering prices, Blu-ray player makers are meeting the competition head on. LG and Samsung, for example, have recently announced agreements with Netflix to offer players that can download and play content directly from the download service. "The more the Blu-ray players adopt these download capabilities, the better they will be able to differentiate themselves from standard DVD players," Wilson said.
Netflix's flat monthly fee approach in offering movies and TV shows is expected to dominate the purchased/rented video market in the next few years, according to In-Stat. The online video market is expected to rocket to $4.5 billion in sales by 2012 from $1.2 billion this year.
By Antone Gonsalves
InformationWeek
Blu-ray player manufacturers, faced with increasing competition from movie download services and a weak economy heading into the holiday shopping season, are dropping prices across a range of current and older models, a market researcher said Friday.
While manufacturers originally expected to get a premium for the high-definition movie devices, many Blu-ray players today are available for less than $200, such as a Samsung model bundled with four movie discs that's available on Amazon.com, ABI research said. Holiday season prices may be in the $150-to-$200 range.
"Blu-ray vendors and dealers are starting to realize that for Blu-ray to become the next DVD, they need to lower player prices in order to generate interest and build volumes," ABI analyst Steve Wilson said in a statement.
Helping to drive prices down is increasing competition from movie download alternatives. Examples include Microsoft's video game console Xbox 360, which is also capable of downloading and playing films; broadband-connected TiVo digital video recorders; and Netflix's recently launched $100 Roku player, which streams movies from the Netflix Web site to a subscriber's digital TV. The device can connect to the site through a wired or Wi-Fi connection. Other options include Apple TV, which connects to the computer and iPod maker's online iTunes store to rent or buy movies for streaming to a television.
Along with lowering prices, Blu-ray player makers are meeting the competition head on. LG and Samsung, for example, have recently announced agreements with Netflix to offer players that can download and play content directly from the download service. "The more the Blu-ray players adopt these download capabilities, the better they will be able to differentiate themselves from standard DVD players," Wilson said.
Netflix's flat monthly fee approach in offering movies and TV shows is expected to dominate the purchased/rented video market in the next few years, according to In-Stat. The online video market is expected to rocket to $4.5 billion in sales by 2012 from $1.2 billion this year.
By Antone Gonsalves
InformationWeek
Friday, January 2, 2009
Sony hopes flatscreen giants win living-room battle
With bigger TVs, the triumph of the BluRay format and plans to provide exclusive content, Sony is taking the fight to its rivals, writes Mike Butcher
IN GRAHAM Greene's classic screenplay for The Third Man, the hero Holly Martins goes in search of an old friend, Harry Lime (played by Orson Welles).
In a ravaged, post-war Vienna, he finds Lime waxing philosophically about the products of war: "In Italy, for 30 years under the Borgias, they had warfare, terror, murder and bloodshed, but they produced Michelangelo, Leonardo da Vinci and the Renaissance. In Switzerland, they had brotherly love, they had 500 years of democracy and peace, and what did that produce? The cuckoo clock."
It's just as well that the chief executive of Sony, Howard Stringer, collects first-edition books by Greene. The products of the wars between Sony and its competitors, from Apple to Samsung and even Amazon, may not need to be quite up to Michelangelo's standard, but to succeed they will have to be good. Very good.
South Korean electronics leviathans - Samsung Electronics and LG Electronics - are battling in Asia for Sony's market share. Simultaneously, the credit crunch in the US means the consumer electronics war is shifting from its US battlefield towards Europe.
Market researcher GfK estimates the size of the flatscreen TV market in Europe will reach €24.6 billion this year, from €10.9 billion in 2007. Key product sizes - 30-inch and 40-inch TVs - will account for 62 per cent of the total. In the year to March, around 75 per cent of Sony's sales came from Europe, the US and Japan.
Although it expects a slowdown in the overall consumer electronics market in the second half of 2008 in western Europe, it sees double-digit growth in the television market. Sony is the world's second-largest LCD TV maker, behind Samsung Electronics. Its goal is to achieve the number one position in LCD TVs globally and in Europe by 2010.
Large-sized flatscreen TVs with high-definition or full HD are invading the living rooms of Europe in large part due to new HD-quality DVD players and the proliferation of HD-TV programmes, many of which, increasingly, are free.
Sony's opening salvo at the IFA consumer electronics show in Berlin this year didn't disappoint. The Bravia ZX1 40-inch TV was revealed at an ultra-slim 9.9mm - the thinnest in the world.
The Motionflow 200Hz Bravia Z4500 TV sent a whopping 200 frames a second across the screen, giving an extremely crisp picture - and the XEL-1 OLED 3mm screen (organic light emitting diode) TV will go on sale in Europe for the first time after launching in Japan.
OLED TVs, which are thinner and more energy-efficient, offer brighter colours than LCD and plasma sets and are expected to be a promising next-generation flat TV. There were new BluRay Disc players capable of full HD. It was the triumph of the BluRay high-definition DVD format over Toshiba's HD DVD format that first signalled Sony could be on the comeback trail. The key moment came last December when Warner Bros threw its weight behind BluRay. It was the culmination of three years of work by Stringer to break down the distinction between the console and the DVD divisions of Sony.
But crossing barriers is part of Stringer's make-up. Born in 1942 in Cardiff, Wales, he went to Oxford University, and then moved to the US with $200 in his pocket. Despite not being a US citizen at the time, he accepted the draft and served in Vietnam. Afterwards, he joined broadcaster CBS and rose to become president, eventually joining Sony as chief executive in 2005 as the first foreign-born chief of a major Japanese electronics corporation.
However, being billed as the man to deliver a BluRay victory was no certainty. "It went down to the wire," says Stringer. "It became clear through movies like Harry Potter that people were buying movies and games for the PlayStation 3, which made it clear to Warners. The PS3 was the deciding factor."
Jokingly, he adds: "You guys would have written my obituary if BluRay had failed. You would have said Howard Stringer, BetaMax 2. RIP!"
The PlayStation might be a BluRay player, but it took its time arriving, and at considerable cost. Sony spent over $3 billion (€2 billion) to get the PS3 to market. Stringer says PlayStation 3 is now profitable, although Sony is still losing money on the hardware.
Another key component for Sony's war on competitors will be its Bravia televisions. The Bravia internet link enables the TV to stream content direct to the home. "We'll be delivering Hancock [the movie] directly onto TV sets before the video release," he says.
"That's the beginning of a dual strategy - PlayStation is downloading, Bravia is a streaming strategy. These are tributaries of the same river. We'll be making sure the TV is the centre of the home more than the PC and, of course, we're in direct competition with Microsoft and Apple."
How important is it to own the content companies, as Sony does with Sony Pictures and Sony BMG? Surely other electronics firms have managed without?
"I'm always surprised when people ask me why we own content - if we hadn't, we couldn't have won the BluRay format war. Content is central to everything we do now . . . If you have content, you can steal a march on your competitors because you can get early access to the content that drives the market and uptake."
To bolster his argument, Stringer refers to Apple's relationship with Pixar and Disney. But for the content rivers to flow, there needs to be a channel. Thus, Sony's target for 2011 is a product portfolio in which 90 per cent of the devices will be capable of networking and connecting wirelessly, allowing the content to pass between their devices.
But there is no shortage of competitors: Canon on cameras, Amazon with the Kindle electronic book and the ever present Samsung. Have they opened too many fronts on which to compete?
"Yes, you can have too many businesses, but those businesses protect us on the downside. A relationship between the hardware and the content is totally key . . . with the exception of Apple, there is no other company that is going to have as many networked devices over the next two years - and the more they talk to each other, the more unique they will become
IN GRAHAM Greene's classic screenplay for The Third Man, the hero Holly Martins goes in search of an old friend, Harry Lime (played by Orson Welles).
In a ravaged, post-war Vienna, he finds Lime waxing philosophically about the products of war: "In Italy, for 30 years under the Borgias, they had warfare, terror, murder and bloodshed, but they produced Michelangelo, Leonardo da Vinci and the Renaissance. In Switzerland, they had brotherly love, they had 500 years of democracy and peace, and what did that produce? The cuckoo clock."
It's just as well that the chief executive of Sony, Howard Stringer, collects first-edition books by Greene. The products of the wars between Sony and its competitors, from Apple to Samsung and even Amazon, may not need to be quite up to Michelangelo's standard, but to succeed they will have to be good. Very good.
South Korean electronics leviathans - Samsung Electronics and LG Electronics - are battling in Asia for Sony's market share. Simultaneously, the credit crunch in the US means the consumer electronics war is shifting from its US battlefield towards Europe.
Market researcher GfK estimates the size of the flatscreen TV market in Europe will reach €24.6 billion this year, from €10.9 billion in 2007. Key product sizes - 30-inch and 40-inch TVs - will account for 62 per cent of the total. In the year to March, around 75 per cent of Sony's sales came from Europe, the US and Japan.
Although it expects a slowdown in the overall consumer electronics market in the second half of 2008 in western Europe, it sees double-digit growth in the television market. Sony is the world's second-largest LCD TV maker, behind Samsung Electronics. Its goal is to achieve the number one position in LCD TVs globally and in Europe by 2010.
Large-sized flatscreen TVs with high-definition or full HD are invading the living rooms of Europe in large part due to new HD-quality DVD players and the proliferation of HD-TV programmes, many of which, increasingly, are free.
Sony's opening salvo at the IFA consumer electronics show in Berlin this year didn't disappoint. The Bravia ZX1 40-inch TV was revealed at an ultra-slim 9.9mm - the thinnest in the world.
The Motionflow 200Hz Bravia Z4500 TV sent a whopping 200 frames a second across the screen, giving an extremely crisp picture - and the XEL-1 OLED 3mm screen (organic light emitting diode) TV will go on sale in Europe for the first time after launching in Japan.
OLED TVs, which are thinner and more energy-efficient, offer brighter colours than LCD and plasma sets and are expected to be a promising next-generation flat TV. There were new BluRay Disc players capable of full HD. It was the triumph of the BluRay high-definition DVD format over Toshiba's HD DVD format that first signalled Sony could be on the comeback trail. The key moment came last December when Warner Bros threw its weight behind BluRay. It was the culmination of three years of work by Stringer to break down the distinction between the console and the DVD divisions of Sony.
But crossing barriers is part of Stringer's make-up. Born in 1942 in Cardiff, Wales, he went to Oxford University, and then moved to the US with $200 in his pocket. Despite not being a US citizen at the time, he accepted the draft and served in Vietnam. Afterwards, he joined broadcaster CBS and rose to become president, eventually joining Sony as chief executive in 2005 as the first foreign-born chief of a major Japanese electronics corporation.
However, being billed as the man to deliver a BluRay victory was no certainty. "It went down to the wire," says Stringer. "It became clear through movies like Harry Potter that people were buying movies and games for the PlayStation 3, which made it clear to Warners. The PS3 was the deciding factor."
Jokingly, he adds: "You guys would have written my obituary if BluRay had failed. You would have said Howard Stringer, BetaMax 2. RIP!"
The PlayStation might be a BluRay player, but it took its time arriving, and at considerable cost. Sony spent over $3 billion (€2 billion) to get the PS3 to market. Stringer says PlayStation 3 is now profitable, although Sony is still losing money on the hardware.
Another key component for Sony's war on competitors will be its Bravia televisions. The Bravia internet link enables the TV to stream content direct to the home. "We'll be delivering Hancock [the movie] directly onto TV sets before the video release," he says.
"That's the beginning of a dual strategy - PlayStation is downloading, Bravia is a streaming strategy. These are tributaries of the same river. We'll be making sure the TV is the centre of the home more than the PC and, of course, we're in direct competition with Microsoft and Apple."
How important is it to own the content companies, as Sony does with Sony Pictures and Sony BMG? Surely other electronics firms have managed without?
"I'm always surprised when people ask me why we own content - if we hadn't, we couldn't have won the BluRay format war. Content is central to everything we do now . . . If you have content, you can steal a march on your competitors because you can get early access to the content that drives the market and uptake."
To bolster his argument, Stringer refers to Apple's relationship with Pixar and Disney. But for the content rivers to flow, there needs to be a channel. Thus, Sony's target for 2011 is a product portfolio in which 90 per cent of the devices will be capable of networking and connecting wirelessly, allowing the content to pass between their devices.
But there is no shortage of competitors: Canon on cameras, Amazon with the Kindle electronic book and the ever present Samsung. Have they opened too many fronts on which to compete?
"Yes, you can have too many businesses, but those businesses protect us on the downside. A relationship between the hardware and the content is totally key . . . with the exception of Apple, there is no other company that is going to have as many networked devices over the next two years - and the more they talk to each other, the more unique they will become
Monday, December 29, 2008
Sony Sued Over Blu-ray
It seems that Orinda Intellectual Properties USA has filed a suit against Sony based on claims of Blu-ray patent infringement. The patent itself is for "methods for recording and reproducing information via optical disc." For those keeping score at home, such a patent would presumably not only describe Blu-ray, but also all other disc-based content known to man, including CDs, DVDs, and CD-ROMs. Yet, surprisingly, no companies that manufacture such goods have been named in the suit; interesting huh?
Orinda is demanding a jury trial, and seeking an injunction barring Sony from selling the PS3 and any other Blu-ray player. They are also requesting a "reasonable royalty" for their obviously unique and one-of-a-kind idea.
There’s about a 99.9% chance this suit will be laughed out of court, but if these idiots somehow manage to win I’m filing a patent for "an organic device which allows the owner to breathe air by filtering out harsh contaminents and provided oxygen to cells," and then suing every single member of the human race for having the audacity to have a set of lungs without paying me.
-thegamereviews
Orinda is demanding a jury trial, and seeking an injunction barring Sony from selling the PS3 and any other Blu-ray player. They are also requesting a "reasonable royalty" for their obviously unique and one-of-a-kind idea.
There’s about a 99.9% chance this suit will be laughed out of court, but if these idiots somehow manage to win I’m filing a patent for "an organic device which allows the owner to breathe air by filtering out harsh contaminents and provided oxygen to cells," and then suing every single member of the human race for having the audacity to have a set of lungs without paying me.
-thegamereviews
Sunday, November 30, 2008
Samsung loves Blu-ray today but says only “5 years” left
A top Samsung UK executive has demolished Blu-ray’s chances of being relevant for more than about 5 years, if that, in an interview with UK tech site Pocket-link. How “blu” must Sony be feeling with Samsung right now?!
When HD-DVD was dealt its death blow at CES thanks to Warner definitively choosing the Blu-ray format, Sony’s Howard Stringer said at the Blu-ray press launch words to the effect that “We’re all feeling Blu today – in a good way!”
But perhaps Sony is feeling “blue” instead today, at least with its LCD screen manufacturing partner Samsung, after comments to UK tech site Pocket-lint by Andy Griffiths, Samsung’s “Director of Consumer Electronics” in the UK.
Griffiths made some bold statements, saying: “I think it [Blu-ray] has 5 years left, I certainly wouldn't give it 10".
But then he said that 2008 is “going to be huge" for Blu-ray, and that "We are heavily back-ordered at the moment”, clearly suggesting that while Samsung thinks Blu-ray’s future is bleak, right now things are still quite rosy.
He also told Pocket-link about rental sites and stores offering more Blu-ray titles, which ensured that while the Blu-ray format was the HD winner now, that wouldn’t be the case forever.
Samsung believes its future profits will come from OLED technology (organic light emitting diode). Promising better picture quality and colour depth than LCD or plasma, “high manufacturing costs” have prevented its widespread release, although 2010 is being flagged as the year of OLED.
Of course, we’ve also heard of Laser TV in the meantime, and if it too launches by 2010, it could easily be OLED TV’s biggest competitor, with both formats potentially leaving LCD and plasma in the digital dust.
by Alex Zaharov-Reutt
When HD-DVD was dealt its death blow at CES thanks to Warner definitively choosing the Blu-ray format, Sony’s Howard Stringer said at the Blu-ray press launch words to the effect that “We’re all feeling Blu today – in a good way!”
But perhaps Sony is feeling “blue” instead today, at least with its LCD screen manufacturing partner Samsung, after comments to UK tech site Pocket-lint by Andy Griffiths, Samsung’s “Director of Consumer Electronics” in the UK.
Griffiths made some bold statements, saying: “I think it [Blu-ray] has 5 years left, I certainly wouldn't give it 10".
But then he said that 2008 is “going to be huge" for Blu-ray, and that "We are heavily back-ordered at the moment”, clearly suggesting that while Samsung thinks Blu-ray’s future is bleak, right now things are still quite rosy.
He also told Pocket-link about rental sites and stores offering more Blu-ray titles, which ensured that while the Blu-ray format was the HD winner now, that wouldn’t be the case forever.
Samsung believes its future profits will come from OLED technology (organic light emitting diode). Promising better picture quality and colour depth than LCD or plasma, “high manufacturing costs” have prevented its widespread release, although 2010 is being flagged as the year of OLED.
Of course, we’ve also heard of Laser TV in the meantime, and if it too launches by 2010, it could easily be OLED TV’s biggest competitor, with both formats potentially leaving LCD and plasma in the digital dust.
by Alex Zaharov-Reutt
Saturday, September 20, 2008
Bluray tech celebrated at Playboy mansion
The infamous Playboy mansion in Los Angeles hosted a recent party which was partly sponsored by Blu-ray.
Blu-ray - known as the Blu Ray Disc (BD) is said to offer more capacity than any other type of entertainment format.
Fans say it gives a higher quality picture than HD (High Definition) TV with more than five times the storage capacity of traditional DVDs and holds up to 25 GB on a single-layer disc and with more channels of surround sound and more types of value added content.
The Entertainment Merchant's Association 2008 Annual Report on the Home Entertainment Industry predicts that BD sales will surpass DVD sales by the year 2012, as 87% of Playstation3 owners report that they're watching Blu Ray movies on the console now.
Others say they're waiting because they find they are upgrading a bit too much.
Matthew Roberts says he hasn't taken the plunge yet but plans to because of the impressive picture quality.
John Reizenstein, a tourist from the UK says he prefers to keep his home entertainment set up simple but may be pushed into conversion shortly.
Blu-ray and Sony Playstation3 hosted a launch party for the ESPY (sports) Awards at the notorious Playboy mansion in Los Angeles recently (July 14, 2008) where Blu Ray movies were playing throughout.
VIP guests had access to the exclusive "Blu Lounge" where they were able to experience Blu-ray technology.
Mark Finer is the Technical Director of the Digital Entertainment Group (DEG) - an industry funded group that promotes digital entertainment.
He says that one third of US consumers have an HD TV in their home and that the figure is growing.
Blu-ray is currently supported by more than 180 of the world's leading consumer electronics personal computer, recording media, video game and music companies and it has the support of seven of the eight major movie studios (Disney, Warner, Sony, Paramount, Fox, MGM and Lionsgate).
New technology
Playboy magnate Hugh Hefner says he appreciates digital advancements and enjoys his regular movie nights.
Jose Canseco, former Major League baseball player admits he's not too up on the new technology He says that younger people seem to be more up to date with developments.
Michael Vartan, a TV and movie actor, jokes he's addicted to his Playstaiton3 but is holding out to upgrade to Blu-ray but is concerned that he will become addicted to it.
Sony's next-generation Blu-ray disc model to enter the market recently is the new 'BD-Live'.
Randy Waynick, the Senior Vice-President of Home Producers Division Sony Electronics, explains how the technology works.
Best Buy is the largest store selling consumer electronics in the US and Canada.
Tara Adams-Clarke, Best Buy's home theatre expert in California, says there is much you can do with BD-Live.
Many movie studios have announced they will begin releasing new movies on Blu-ray Disc at the same time as the DVD.
Amy Jo Smith, Executive Director of the Digital Entertainment Group, explained that BD Live will allow children to talk to their favourite characters on screen.
Blu-ray - known as the Blu Ray Disc (BD) is said to offer more capacity than any other type of entertainment format.
Fans say it gives a higher quality picture than HD (High Definition) TV with more than five times the storage capacity of traditional DVDs and holds up to 25 GB on a single-layer disc and with more channels of surround sound and more types of value added content.
The Entertainment Merchant's Association 2008 Annual Report on the Home Entertainment Industry predicts that BD sales will surpass DVD sales by the year 2012, as 87% of Playstation3 owners report that they're watching Blu Ray movies on the console now.
Others say they're waiting because they find they are upgrading a bit too much.
Matthew Roberts says he hasn't taken the plunge yet but plans to because of the impressive picture quality.
John Reizenstein, a tourist from the UK says he prefers to keep his home entertainment set up simple but may be pushed into conversion shortly.
Blu-ray and Sony Playstation3 hosted a launch party for the ESPY (sports) Awards at the notorious Playboy mansion in Los Angeles recently (July 14, 2008) where Blu Ray movies were playing throughout.
VIP guests had access to the exclusive "Blu Lounge" where they were able to experience Blu-ray technology.
Mark Finer is the Technical Director of the Digital Entertainment Group (DEG) - an industry funded group that promotes digital entertainment.
He says that one third of US consumers have an HD TV in their home and that the figure is growing.
Blu-ray is currently supported by more than 180 of the world's leading consumer electronics personal computer, recording media, video game and music companies and it has the support of seven of the eight major movie studios (Disney, Warner, Sony, Paramount, Fox, MGM and Lionsgate).
New technology
Playboy magnate Hugh Hefner says he appreciates digital advancements and enjoys his regular movie nights.
Jose Canseco, former Major League baseball player admits he's not too up on the new technology He says that younger people seem to be more up to date with developments.
Michael Vartan, a TV and movie actor, jokes he's addicted to his Playstaiton3 but is holding out to upgrade to Blu-ray but is concerned that he will become addicted to it.
Sony's next-generation Blu-ray disc model to enter the market recently is the new 'BD-Live'.
Randy Waynick, the Senior Vice-President of Home Producers Division Sony Electronics, explains how the technology works.
Best Buy is the largest store selling consumer electronics in the US and Canada.
Tara Adams-Clarke, Best Buy's home theatre expert in California, says there is much you can do with BD-Live.
Many movie studios have announced they will begin releasing new movies on Blu-ray Disc at the same time as the DVD.
Amy Jo Smith, Executive Director of the Digital Entertainment Group, explained that BD Live will allow children to talk to their favourite characters on screen.
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