Blu-ray Fuels First Quarter Home Entertainment Sales – The Digital Entertainment Group’s 2010 First Quartet Home Entertainment Report shows Blu-ray disc sales up 74%, Blu-ray disc set-top sales up 125% and digital distribution up 27%. Some 34 million Blu-ray discs were shipped to retail and some 75 million HDTVs were sold to consumers. Household penetration of HDTV is now about 50 million, and nearly 34% of all HDTV owners have more than one set. More than 94 million DVD players were sold in the U.S. in the first quarter of 2010, bringing the total number of players sold since the launch in 1997 to about 280 million. 67% of DVD owners have more than one player. According to the Nielsen Company, Circuit City’s liquidation significantly affected sales comparisons for the first quarter of 2010.
No Broadcast vs. Cable Channels War Anymore – Conan O’Brien’s coming move to TBS Cable is not really a shock. The phrases “broadcast network” and “cable network” are becoming anachronisms. In 1999 a quarter of U.S. homes received OTA (Over The Air) TV and had no access to cable channels. Now less than 10% receive their telecasts OTA (free and with higher resolution but with no cable channel access). TBS, for example, is seen in over 100 million of the nation’s 114.9 million TV homes. O’Brien may debut this fall to more viewers on TBS than he would have on Fox. Cable networks have dual financial streams that broadcasters currently lack. Cable networks make money both from selling ads and from fees imposed on cable and satellite systems to carry them.
Yamaha’s Keyboard Breakthrough – Yamaha Musical Instruments has introduced the AvantGrand N3 Piano which is felt by some to be one of the most important keyboard designs of the 21st century. It is a compact hybrid electric-acoustic piano that replicates the touch and sound of Yamaha’s 9-foot concert grand at ⅓ the size and 1/5 the cost. Its keyboard and action feel just like an acoustic grand, but under the lid – instead of the usual strings – is an array of drive-units mounted on a wooden cabinet. There are four different locations on the soundboard with speakers and special triamplified audio systems, which play back sounds sampled at similar points on the acoustic 9’ concert grand. A soundboard resonator in the cabinet emulates the resonances of an acoustic piano’s soundboard. A Tactile Response System also reproduces reverberation thruout the entire instrument, that can even be felt by the player’s feet on the three pedals. The technology of the new AvantGrand should have a multitude of uses.
McIntosh Ties In With Neil Young to Launch New Blu-ray Player – To promote their new $8000 Bly-ray player, the MVP881 BR, McIntosh has partnered with Reprise Records to offer a free disc with tracks from the Neil Young Archives Vol. 1, as well as a $25 discount on the complete ten-disc boxed Blu-ray set. The player also handles SACDs, DVD-As and standard CDs and DVDs, using a cast-aluminum disc tray to help control vibration.
Avatar Producer Welcomes the Coming 3D Era – The producer of the smash 3D film Avatar, Jon Landau, discussed at a press conference the state of the burgeoning 3D market. The timing was propitious, being a week prior to the release of the Blu-ray and DVD 2D version of the movie. (The 3D version will be out next year, and all three versions will be 16:9 aspect ratio rather than the 2.35:1 shown in theaters.) Those in the consumer electronics industry wondering if this time 3D is for real heard good news. The success of Avatar has created a flood of new Hollywood 3D movies, including all future films from the Cameron/Landau team. Landau said he is very impressed with the quality of the first-generation 3D TVs coming on the market. He spoke of the difficulties of doing 3D conversion of original 2D movies properly. He said it can be done but it takes time and money. He plans to do a 3D conversion of Titantic. Landau discussed the two big issues of 3D projection in theaters today: the brightness level and the frame-rate issue. Some theaters cannot project the image bright enough to withstand the darkening caused by all 3D glasses, and although sound film’s 24 frames per second has been fine for 2D, everything is more real in 3D and a faster frame rate is required.
