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Top Sales and Rentals: Week Ending February 12th[teaser]It's not surprising that 'The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn — Part 1' is dominating the sales charts, but it is a little disappointing to see that the Blu-ray share of those sales was just 25 percent. The reissue of 'Lady and the Tramp,' had around 30 percent of the sales, but since its only available in a Blu-ray/DVD combo pack, that means it actually put more Blu-rays into homes. [/teaser] The rest of this week's top five sales came in below a 50% Blu-ray share. 'A Very Harold & Kumar Christmas' was the highest after Disney's classic with a 38% share. Nine percent of those 'Harold & Kumar' purchases were 3D Blu-rays. Rental data isn't split between Blu-ray and DVD, but it's interesting to note that three movies ranked higher than 'Twilight' - 'In Time,' 'Drive,' and 'Real Steel.' Source: Home Media MagazinePosted Fri Feb 17, 2012 at 10:45 AM PST by: -
Study Shows Significant First Weekend Box Office Estimate Inflation[teaser]One film in particular was estimated at three times the actual amount. [/teaser] It's a strange way of doing business, but box office success or failure is judged on estimates, rather than the actual numbers - at least for the first weekend. The upside to this is, of course, is that results are able to be reported much more quickly than if studios had to wait for the actual tally. This does lead to a bit of an issue though, when the estimates are as far off as they've been in the last few years. According to a study by the Stanford Graduate School of Business, estimates are off by an average of 7.9% above the actual take. The 2008 movie 'Delgo' was estimated at $568,240 while the actual take was $164,160. 'Extraordinary Measures' was bad too, with an estimated $2.14 million and an actual $1.15 million. Neil Malhotra, associate professor of political economy at Stanford, says that the current model leads to optimistic estimates. "We also argue that there may be some strategy behind the inflation, [because] inflation is substantially higher in the first weekend of release, when the incentives are greatest to generate positive word-of-mouth." Source: Home Media MagazinePosted Fri Feb 17, 2012 at 09:00 AM PST by: -
Sharp Announces a Pair of New Blu-ray Players[teaser]They offer built-in Wi-Fi, USB connections, and one offers an MHL input for your mobile devices. [/teaser] Sharp has announced a pair of new Blu-ray players, both of which offer the sort of things you'd expect from Blu-ray players in 2012. They pack Wi-Fi connectivity for video streaming, a Super Picture setting designed to improve video from DVDs and streaming content as well as a DLNA interface. The Sharp BD-AMS10U ($179) offers all that plus a front USB port so you can pull media from cameras and external hard drives. Stepping it up a bit, the Sharp BD-AMS20U ($199) gives you an MHL connection that lets you watch video from your phone on your TV. Sharp's BD-AMS10U will be available in March, while the BD-AMS20U will be coming this April. Source: eCousticsPosted Fri Feb 17, 2012 at 07:00 AM PST by: -
High-Def Digest's Complete Coverage of Sundance 2012It's been almost a month now since Luke and Aaron visited one of the world's biggest and most prestigious independent film festivals. Over the past few weeks we've been releasing a long line of Sundance coverage on the main High-Def Digest page and over on The Bonus View. Sundance routinely premieres movies whose hype continues all the way to award season. Movies like 'Precious,' 'Winter's Bone,' '(500) Days of Summer,' and 'The Guard' all recently premiered at the festival. After attending the festival Luke and Aaron have a pretty good idea of what movies will end up being talked about as the year goes on. [teaser] If you missed any of our Sundance coverage here's your chance to catch up on it. Find out what movies will be hotly talked about for months to come. What movies might be around come the 2013 Academy Awards. And most importantly, what movies you'll be excited to see once they finally get released.[/teaser] Aaron's Sundance 2012 Journals Each day of the festival Aaron wrote a detailed journal entry chronicling the movies he'd watched, the celebrities he'd seen milling about town, and the overall experience of a film lover attending one of the best film festivals in the world. Sundance 2012 Journal– Day 1: The festival begins; Aaron sees Malin Akerman standing in line for the premiere for 'Your Sister's Sister'; A very informative Q&A follows one of the best movies at the festival. Sundance 2012 Journal – Day 2: A film festival is the only place strangers will ask you about the movies you've seen that day and how much you enjoyed them; Andy Samberg, Elijah Wood, and Rashida Jones were spotted at the 'Celeste and Jesse Forever' Q&A; Snowpocalypse arrives in Park City and engulfs the town in towering mountains of white snow. Sundance 2012 Journal – Day 3: Aaron is already starting to feel the all-too-familiar film festival burn-out as he starts skipping his planned movies for the day; 'Red Lights' turns out to be one of the most disappointing films at the festival; Later that night Aaron is treated to a great Q&A by Ice-T talking about his new rap documentary called 'Something from Nothing: The Art of Rap.' Sundance 2012 Journal – Day 4: Aaron performs the fatal mistake of leaving the bus when he knows for sure it's going to take him to where he needs to go, but it isn't going fast enough; Josh Radnor is just like his Ted persona on 'How I Met Your Mother'; Aaron has one of his most uncomfortable moments of the festival when he watches a very sexually-explicit movie sitting just a few seats away from the main actress. Sundance 2012 Journal – Day 5: A fight is picked about the silly way balloting is done at Sundance; Luke gets his haircut by the Axe people, but is booted from his seat so David Duchovny can come down and have a photo op; Aaron stays way too late to take in a screening of 'John Dies at the End' and regrets it the next morning. Sundance 2012 Journal – Day 6: Ty Burrell, Vera Farmiga, and David Duchovny show up for the Q&A of 'Goats'; Mountains of free sandwhiches; and a Parker Posey nightcap. Sundance 2012 Journal – Day 7: The third, or fourth, sighting of Brie Larson happens; Quentin Dupieux – director of 'Rubber' – uses Aaron's pen to sign autographs for fans; Aaron finally sees 'The Beasts of the Southern Wild' which is the festival darling, which will indeed be talked about when the Oscars roll around again; Finally, the night is spent watching Joseph Gordon-Levitt talk about his hitRECord.org project. Sundance 2012 Journal – Day 8: Aaron laments about his busted camera and how bad his luck is with cameras at Sundance; Another festival darling, 'Smashed' is seen and liked; The festival comes to a close. Sundance 2012 Interviews Along with seeing movie after movie and taking in all that Sundance has to offer, Luke found time to interview some of the big names at Sundance 2012. Check out the chats below. 'Community's Alison Brie on 'Save the Date' 'Robot and Frank' Writer Christopher Ford 'The End of Love' Star and Director Mark Webber Paul Dano and Jon Heder of 'For Ellen' 'For Ellen' Director So Yong Kim 'Frank & Robot' Director Jake Schreier Jocelin Donahue and Frankie Shaw of 'The End of Love' 'Save the Date' Director Michael Mohan Lizzy Caplan from 'Save the Date' Luke's Sundance Reviews 'The Words' – 4.5 Stars 'Goats' – 2 Stars 'For a Good Time, Call…' – 3 Stars 'For Ellen' – 4 Stars 'Smashed' – 5 Stars 'Lay the Favorite' – 1 Star 'The Raid' – 4.5 Stars 'The End of Love' – 4.5 Stars 'Celeste and Jesse Forever' – 4 Stars 'Robot & Frank' – 3.5 Stars Aaron's Sundance Reviews 'Safety Not Guaranteed' – 4.5 Stars 'Liberal Arts' – 3.5 Stars 'John Dies at the End' – 3 Stars 'Young and Wild' – 3 Stars 'Price Check' – 2 Stars 'Shadow Dancer' – 4 Stars 'The Surrogate' – 4.5 Stars 'Red Lights' – 2 Stars 'Something from Nothing: The Art of Rap' – 4 Stars 'The Beasts of the Southern Wild' – 5 Stars 'Black Rock' – 1 Star 'The Ambassador' – 1.5 Stars 'The Queen of Versailles' – 3.5 Stars 'Your Sister's Sister' – 4 StarsPosted Thu Feb 16, 2012 at 12:10 PM PST by: -
Comcast Loses Just 17,000 Subscribers in Fourth Quarter of 2011[teaser]Considering that the company lost 460,000 subscribers in the year, that number is incredibly small. [/teaser] It may sound like a bit of a backhanded compliment, but Comcast just wowed the industry by losing a mere 17,000 customers. Nearly every cable provider – aside from Verizon – seems to be bleeding out, but Comcast seems to have found a way to stop that. Or at least delay it. In the fourth quarter of 2010, Comcast lost 135,000 subscribers. In the fourth quarter of 2011, just 17,000. That’s a significant change to be sure, and goes to show that those trying to discount cable companies may be a bit premature. Comcast chairman Brian Roberts says that one of the influencers that kept people on was TV Everywhere Xfinity, which allows customers to watch on their portable devices as well as in their homes. Source: Home Media MagazinePosted Thu Feb 16, 2012 at 11:00 AM PST by: -
Antelope Audio Releases a $4,000 Digital Audio Converter for iPad[teaser]Once you’re spending four grand to make the thing sound good, maybe it’s time to consider using another device for your audio. [/teaser] Some people have too much money. Have you noticed? Of course, high end consumer electronics companies aren’t complaining – that’s where their sales come from. The Antelope Audio Zodiac Gold is a definite exercise in excess. It’s a digital audio converter for your iPad that aims to improve the sound that the tablet puts out. It’s one of the very few 384kHz DACs on the market and one of the fewer converters aimed at the iPad. It’s a slick looking device, but the thing that draws the most attention is the price. If you want to get the best audio possible out of your iPad, you’ll be spending 3000 euros, or around $3,900. Source: eCousticsPosted Thu Feb 16, 2012 at 09:00 AM PST by: -
Nearly a Third of Broadband Customers Watch TV and Movies Online[teaser]Internet-connected video players like the Roku and Apple TV now have a 13 percent market penetration, which puts much of what’s left on game consoles and connected components. [/teaser] Streaming video is quickly becoming the mainstream. According to a recent survey by Parks Associates, 31% of households with broadband internet service are using that connection to enjoy TV and movies online. That’s helped, in part, by increased sales of dedicated streaming devices like the Roku player and Apple TV. “In the 2011 holiday season, 4% of households bought one of these inexpensive, single-function devices,” says Parks VP Kurt Scherf. “Nearly 20% of these holiday-season buyers are over 45 years of age, so these devices have achieved relatively broad appeal among multiple consumer segments.” Scherf goes on to say that just because these devices have been adapted does not mean that people are cancelling their television service. He does say though that “it can mean shaving some premium channels for a set of households.” Source: Home Media MagazinePosted Thu Feb 16, 2012 at 07:00 AM PST by: -
Onkyo Announces New Entry-Level Home Theater Systems[teaser]Onkyo is all about the entry level in early 2012. [/teaser] The folks over at Onkyo are doing their best to ramp up entry-level components with features that you might not expect to see included. In addition to the newly announced receivers, Onkyo will be launching a pair of home theater systems complete with receiver, speakers and a subwoofer. The HT-S3500 is the lower priced of the two and gives you 5.1 channels of audio. It decodes Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD Master Audio, 3D video, Burr-Brown 192kHz/24-bit DACs and discrete output components instead of the integrated amps you’ll find on most HTiB solutions. Onkyo’s HTS5500 bumps things up to 7.1 channels and offers features the S3500 doesn’t. You’ll find Dolby ProLogic IIz for height channels and Audyssey 2EQ acoustic calibration that adjusts your settings based on the room you’ve set your speakers up in. The HT-S3500 will run $399 while the HT-S5500 will cost $649. Both will be available in March. Source: OnkyoPosted Wed Feb 15, 2012 at 11:00 AM PST by: -
Panasonic Reveals a Top of the Line 3D HD Camcorder[teaser]The camera is an improvement over last year’s model and offers full HD 3D thanks to an optional 3D conversion lens. [/teaser] Whether you’re shooting home movies, filming your own cinematic masterpiece, or taking the kinds of videos that aren’t fit for public consumption (that guy look familiar?), adding a third dimension can make things a lot more interesting. If you’re equipped with a 3D TV it can even make watching little Billy’s soccer game tolerable for the extended family. Panasonic’s HC-X900M is an improvement over the previous model, adding the 3MOS System Pro which improves specs across the board. It handles low light shooting better, with 40% less noise than the older version. The brightness of the 3D conversion lens has also increased, from f3.2 to f2.0. “Panasonic has really improved the core components of the HC-X900M,” says senior product manager Chris Rice. Improvements range “from its lens to its processor to its engine to ensure that it can power full 1080/60p at a 28-Mbps bit rate, thus resulting in absolutely stunning video, but also capturing rich deep sound.” The HC-X900M is available for preorder now at a price of $1,199. Source: eCousticsPosted Wed Feb 15, 2012 at 09:00 AM PST by: -
Onkyo Boasts High-End Features on Entry Level Receivers[teaser]The cheapest features a discrete-component output stage, while the most costly offers up support for three zones, Spotify streaming, and plenty more. [/teaser] Onkyo’s latest additions to its receiver line may be on the lower end of the price spectrum, but they offer quite a bit of functionality for the cost. The TX-NR616 ($699) is at the top of the line for these new receivers and gives you 7.2 channels of THX Select2 Plus certified audio. It streams from online sources like Spotify and MP3tunes and even packs video scaling up to 4K if you’ve got a display to match. If you’re willing to sacrifice a bit of power and a third zone out, the NR515 does much of the same for $599. The price drops even further if you’re willing to accept the 5.1 channels offered by the NR515. The most bare-bones receiver from Onkyo is the TX-SR313, which comes in at $299. It drops many of the features of it bigger brothers, but still shirks the cheaper integrated amplifier in favor of a discrete-component output stage. Source: OnkyoPosted Wed Feb 15, 2012 at 07:00 AM PST by:
