DIGITAL PROJECTION MAY FINALLY DO IN DRIVE-INS

A report in Saturday’s Los Angeles Times about the impact of the transition to digital projection on drive-in theaters included the surprising statistic that 368 of them still survive in the U.S. According to the Times report, the switch to digital distribution of movies, which is expected to be completed before the end of the […]

DVD COLLECTIONS MAY WIND UP IN THE CLOUD

Santa Clara, CA-based Rovi Corp. has unveiled a system that will allow consumers to purchase digital copies of their DVDs that can be stored in the cloud and accessed via the UltraViolet platform. Unlike the new Walmart solution, users do not have to bring their discs into a store to have them verified. They simply […]

MADAGASCAR 3 SHIFTING AD FUNDS TO DIGITAL

If the marketing plan for Madagascar 3: Europe’s Most Wanted is any indication, Hollywood’s studios may be moving past the traditional strategy of devoting most of their advertising budgets to Thursday-night television commercials and weekend newspaper ads. “We are migrating more and more of our budget to online and digital,” Anne Globe, chief marketing officer […]

TIME WARNER CHIEF URGES STUDIOS TO MODERNIZE HOME VIDEO

According to Time Warner chief Jeff Bewkes the reason that consumers have flocked to kiosks like Redbox and online stores like Apple’s iTunes has little to do with price and everything to do with convenience and ease-of-use. Speaking to a media conference in Palm Beach, FL, Bewkes observed that a study of the behavior of […]

NEW SAMSUNG DVD PLAYER MAKES DIGITAL COPIES

In the latest effort to marry the computer and the PC, Samsung plans to unveil several new home entertainment systems that will transfer DVDs and Blu-ray Discs to hard drives or other digital media. In a news release the company said that in order to use the conversion software, users will have to register ownership […]

PARAMOUNT REORGANIZES, CATCHES UP WITH FUTURE

Paramount announced plans on Monday to launch a major reorganization in response to such relatively new phenomena as digital distribution and simultaneous openings of films domestically and overseas. Studio Chairman Brad Grey said that its DVD, digital and television licensing units will be combined into a new division called Home Media Distribution. Paramount’s overseas operations, […]

NEWSPAPER FINDS DISNEY VOD WEBSITE

The Los Angeles Times has discovered a little-known website operated by the Walt Disney Co. where users can rent or buy digital versions of some of the studio’s movies and watch them via Internet-connected TV sets, computers, and mobile devices. The website, disneymoviesonline.go.com, “debuted in May without fanfare” as a test for what is likely […]