Audio Video News

According to the Hollywood Reporter on November 7th, HBO Video will release The Sopranos: Season 6 day and date on DVD and HD DVD, making the critically acclaimed HBO series the first TV series to appear in high-definition on disc. According the article, a Blu-ray release is being planned for 2007.

Retail cost for the HD DVD set is spec'd at a whopping $129.99, which is a $30 premium over the standard DVD box set.

In addition, coverage in the Hollywood Reporter and Video Business of the Entertainment Media Expo in Universal City revealed some other interesting HD notes regarding the studios and their plans. While Warner is reported to currently have 21 HD DVD titles available, it claims it will release as many as 50 more by year's end. Universal, currently HD DVD's only exclusive studio, plans to have 60 HD DVD titles to market by the end of 2006. Paramount's HD DVD support is more tepid however, planning only 10 more releases by the end of the calendar year.

The Video Business piece quoted Warner's Steve Nickerson as saying that consumer spending on HD DVD and Blu-ray software will total $10 million during August and September before "jumping to between $225 million and $500 million during the fourth quarter." According to Nickerson, Warner forecasts that the adoption the next-gen HD formats will happen faster than with standard DVD, which to date is regarded as the most successful consumer electronics launch in history.

While the Hollywood Reporter quoted Toshiba's Jodi Sally as saying there are "tens of thousands" of HD DVD players in consumer's homes, Warner is estimating that by the end of 2006 there will be 500,000 standalone HD DVD and Blu-ray Disc players sold, plus two to three million game consoles and two to four million computers with HD DVD or Blu-ray capability.

According to Nickerson, DVD sold over 300,000 standalone players in its first year, and that just four years later there were 35 million DVD "consumer electronics devices" in the market. His hearty forecast for HD DVD and Bu-ray is that by year four there will be 100 million devices in the market capable of "playing high-def media."

So, as far as Warner is concerned, I guess the format war is no big deal.