Friday, July 24, 1998
Prepared to be upset with Disney: Apparently, their earlier promises of parity with open DVD and Divx have been broken. Goodwill Hunting (presumably in all of its' pan and scan glory) is slated for release on Divx this week, according to Video Business magazine and a quick check of the Divx web-site revealed the cover art for the critically-acclaimed title. An open DVD version hasn't even been announced by Disney.
Buena Vista's slap to Open DVD supporters
Goodwill Hunting slated for Divx
The news gets worse: Another reader wrote to report:
"This is my first time writing in to here, but I thought you might like to know about some other reasons to be VERY upset with Disney and their "DVD Promise". First of all, I went onto the DIVX website after reading about them and their DIVX release of "Good Will Hunting" and I found out some other DIVX Disney
titles that would be REALLY nice to have on DVD that are not announced yet for open DVD.
1. Jackie Brown (the Quentin Tarantino Flick)
2. Chasing Amy (I don't know why Criterion hasn't done a DVD for this yet. They did a laserdisc after all.
3. Good Morning Vietnam ( I know it's not new, but wouldn't it be great to have it on DVD?)
Also, THIS MAY BE IMPORTANT NEWS. DIVX, which is well known for not releasing any WIDESCREEN material, has announced their first WIDESCREEN title. And SURPRISE It is good ol' Steven Spielberg's film AMISTAD. It even says
widescreen edition beside the title of it. It is on the coming soon list on the DIVX site. You may want to check there, there are some interesting titles coming out that are not announced for DVD, such as Spaceballs (an MGM film, which I thought was surprising that it wasn't out on DVD yet), and other lower Disneys like Romy and Michele's High School Reunion, and Jungle 2 Jungle. I figured this may be important info to post on the BIG PICTURE site for everyone to see. I personally found it shocking and it made me a little bit more angry at the fine people (to be read sarcastically) at DISNEY."
This is it folks -- The gloves are off. Today the bloody battle for your future home video enjoyment has officially begun with Divx.
The DVD sPy claims to have a relative on the Fox payroll and here is what he had to say during a Midnight communique:
"The info about the FOX plans on September 1st is bogus!!! ...I've got an in-law at FHV that told me that. His name is (withheld by TBP editor) and he says that FOX will announce just before the Holiday Season! With 6 Titles as Follows:
SPEED
SPEED 2
VOLCANO
INDEPENDENCE DAY
DIE HARD
WAITING TO EXHALE
All DVD's will be in KEEPCASE Packaging, without 16X9 Enhancement, and not a lot of extras, except the ID4 with comentary by the director and deleted scenes with alternate ending, all other movies will be released with theatrical trailer and scene access. The street date For ID4, Speed and Waiting to Exhale will be on DEC 1st and Speed 2 and Volcano on DEC15 in 1998. What will follow in 1999 is 8-12 Movies Quarterly with major blockbusters in 2nd or 3rd Quarter of 99'. Currently they do not see as DIVX taking over the Market, and if then only in the US and they know DVD is opportunity, but due to contractual obligations with DIVX during the testing phase which expires in early September, they are not allowed to announce titles on DVD. Same goes for Paramount. The Press release may come as early as August 1st or as late as November! If FOX announces before end of September, which is highly unlikely, we will see titles before Thanksgiving Holiday. But one thing is for sure -- we will see the FOX titles this year. This information is legit, take it seriously or not, its up to you. I don't have a page on the Internet, I just have a in-law who works there. Also I have never told anyone before because I never knew, he just called me one day and asked me if I wanted to know about FOX's plans, as they are not top secret or anything. ID4 is not in a warehouse!!! It was not produced and, only the glass master was produced. FOX did not have any intentions to annouce at VSDA, and some sources on the Net said they pulled out at the last minute. Thats not true, FOX had a big conference on Wednesday, and was talking seriously about DIVX vs. DVD content, which came to DIVX failing miserably. The numbers of DIVX players are about 75% Lower than anticipated, due to early adopters, adopting DVD!! Apparently FOX movies are not bringing any profit, not a single FOX movie was being repurchased thru modem in last 20 Days. Again, It could be sometime in November or don't be suprised if FOX announces publically before August 10th to meet The 4th quarter releases."
This has all made for some very interesting and entertaining reading, but it was our understanding that Fox has no Divx titles in testing at the moment -- so how could there be any titles "repurchased" by modem in the last 20 days? Are we missing something? Or have we just punched an iceburg-sized hole into the hull of this Titanic-sized story? We'll do our best to identify the legitimacy of any part of this information today.
...Well, I'll be gob-smacked. Our DVD sPy wrote back to provide concrete proof that Divx is indeed selling 20th Century Fox titles during the testing phase (or more accurately, attempting to) and a check at the Divx website confirmed that these titles are available now. We apologize for our error. We were missing something. Here are some of the cover shots of just some of Fox's Divx product. Gasp! Could the rest of the information thisDVD sPy provided be... true? We're beginning to think so... Insofar as what he had to say about Fox, we certainly hope so - except for the non 16:9 enhanced stuff. When will these studios ever learn?? Check our DVD Opinion Poll page to see if DVD purchasers think 16:9 enhancement is important.
Here's more of what he had to say this morning:
"FOX has no intentions to proceed with more (DIVX) titles, although Richard Sharp's money could be the reason that FOX will do some more, but it is unlikely. Like I told you -- FOX received almost no money from those (Divx) titles." The DVD sPy has provided me with personal information (his full name, phone number, employer, etc) and he and I will be talking by phone in the next few days so I can clear up some other questions I have, like: Why is it that Fox and Paramount can't make any title announcements for open DVD during the testing phase while Universal and Disney can? Inquiring minds want to know... It was our understanding that no Divx contracts with the studios were exclusive.
A special thanks to two of our readers that also discovered the Fox titles at the Divx web-site. It has since been confirmed by several of our readers that at least a few Fox Divx titles are indeed being offered for sale in Circuit City and Good Guys! stores.
Thursday, July 23, 1998
Bob has two new reviews on The BIG Picture and you should read them both. JACOB'S LADDER: SE and DO THE RIGHT THING. Both of these excellent, new reviews are sponsored by Digital Eyes.
We're getting some great suggestions for how to go about giving away our latest DVD. Everything from an Internet scavenger hunt to guessing how many DVD players sold in July. Somone even had the clever idea of awarding the DVD to whoever comes up with the best contest idea that we could actually use in our next contest! But for now, based on our poll results, check our contest page to see exactly how we're going to give away a sealed copy of Artisan's new JACOB'S LADDER:SE DVD!!
Wednesday, July 22, 1998
The BIG Picture has it on very good authority that the Eagles: Hell Freezes Over concert on DVD in DD 5.1 will be released by Warner this Fall...
Disney takes an unexpected 57% plunge in merchandising and film profit. So... how about releasing some of those animation classics on DVD, Mr. Eisner? Special thanks to one of our readers for alerting us to this story...
The ayes have it: 59% of those responding to our poll expressed an interest in accessing our previous news stories. Not exactly a landslide, but hey, majority rules. You'll find the entrance to our new DVD News Daily Archive index further down this page. Enjoy the trip down memory lane.
Mark Yates from Mark's DVD Page across the pond wrote to tell us about the first , full-length animated feature released on DVD in Region 2 -- Columbia Tri-Star's The Swan Princess. Here's what Mark had to say: "Probably the first animated film from the US to be released on DVD - I think so anyway, and of all things it's been released in the UK first (by Columbia TriStar). I thought animation was hard to encode on DVD - well I guessed CT would do a good job of encoding it. Not only were my expectations fulfilled - but I was blown away. I have 15 discs now, and this one is the best (and I own some amazing looking DVD's "Contact", "Das Boot", "5th Element", "Dante's Peak" etc.If you have a region free player I urge you to buy this disc - the quality of the DVD is as good and sharp as the original animation cells. It is beyond gorgeous! If nothing else please include a link in your news section mentioning the "stunning quality" and the "gauntlet this has thrown down to Disney". I've demod it to 2 friends since purchasing it last week. We're all gob-smacked - not one single mpeg artifact and colours so rich ...!" Thanks for the great review, Mark! Gob-smacked? What the heck is a gob? A gob of what? And hey, Columbia? Why don't we have this title already as a Region 1? I'd like to be gob-smacked, too!
The bad news! for The Good Guys! is that they announced a net loss of $2.6 million in their third fiscal quarter. The good news! for The Good Guys! is that their net earnings are up more than a year ago at this time, when they posted a $4.1 million loss. DVD is one of the things attributed to the upturn in numbers.
CompUSA deepens it's committment to open DVD video sales through a distribution deal with Navarre Corporation
Let the judging begin! The first DVD Creative Excellence Awards nominations are in and the ballots are being tallied. Ooh, I feel a chill of excitement in the air! Check the press release for more information about this bi-annual, two-day event featuring over 60 expert DVD speakers and 30 conference session.
Bill Hunt's Digital Bits has posted rumors about MGM's DVD line-up for the remainder of the year: October 20th: Species 2, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, Last Tango in Paris and West Side Story... October 27th: Gone With the Wind... November 17th: Casablanca, Tomorrow Never Dies: Special Edition, Pee Wee's Playhouse, Vol. 1, Kingpin, A Fish Called Wanda and The Secret of Nimh. My contact at MGM is out until Monday, so I have been unable to confirm these rumors as fact. I also want to ask my contact about aspect ratios, anamorphic treatment and Dolby Digital 5.1 in relation to these titles. As soon as I know, you'll know.
Tuesday, July 21, 1998
A deranged DVD sPy with a bogus e-mail address wrote to say that Fox Home Video will announce support for open DVD on September 1st with a press release. Among the first titles -- Top Gun, ID4, Die Hard and to follow in October, Alien, Aliens and X-Files. Don't believe it. We don't. Unless it happens, in which case we'll claim credit for making the first announcement, har har. That's how it works in DVD web-page land, doesn't it? And speaking of DVD web-page land...
Our good friend, Steve Tannehill from the DVD Resource Page e-mailed me today to admonish my mentioning the street price of U.S. Marshals (below), without specifying that the MSRP is actually $19.95. We sure wouldn't want to mislead anyone into thinking that the MSRP is $14.99 any more than we'd want anyone to pay the full retail price of $19.95. What's the fun in that? Thanks for keeping an eye on The BIG Picture, Steve! Keep up the good work over there!
While we're glad-handing and back slapping, we'd also like to thank our friends Ron and Parker over at the Home Theater Forum for providing a cool, little secret link to The BIG Picture right on their home page, hidden discreetly under the artwork for Tron. Click on Tron and you get us! Neato!!
We know that many DVD owners and frequent visitors of The BIG Picture are also Laserdisc owners... so I couldn't keep a lid on this one. One of our sponsors, 21st Century Video in Escondido, CA wants to blow out their remaining inventory of about 1,100 used Laserdiscs for just ten bucks a pop. Call Bruce Cash at 760-480-6884 if you're interested in saving cash while fattening up your LD library. Be to tell 'em that The BIG Picture sent you. We're not getting anything out of this other than the satisfaction of helping our local video retailer and our readers who are looking for a great Laserdisc bargain. By the way, Bruce also sells DVD at Costco-like prices!
Warner raises the stakes: Ready for another BIG Picture 5-globe awarded reference quality disc to add to your collection? For $14.99 or less, no less? If it weren't for the fact that U.S. Marshals had such a tough act to follow in The Fugitive, there would be no excuse not to buy this disc. Read Bob Banka's excellent and comprehensive review of U.S. Marshals today! Another review sponsored by our friends at Digital Eyes.
The DVD sPy checked in to say: "Rumor has it that Thomson Electronics (manufacturer of RCA and ProScan hardware) is in serious talks to become an investor in Divx. Such a partnership would be in keeping with Circuit City's previous announcements that they're seeking funding to keep Divx investment from impacting the bottom line."
The cost of DVD authoring software is coming down... But at $12,500, I don't think I'll be transferring my home movies to DVD anytime soon.
Monday, July 20, 1998
And the beat goes on: SpeedServe Inc. Partners With Hollywood Stock Exchange to Offer Movie Fans One-Click Access to Videos. It looks like the already-crowded DVD online marketplace just gotten more crowded!
We learn something new every day. In our story from Friday, we optimistically surmised that since DES was cracked, the hackers were 1/3 of the way towards cracking Divx. One of our readers sent an e-mail to set us straight on the matter: "...cracking DES does not equate to being 1/3 of the way to cracking 3DES. In any case, 3DES has about 112 bits of
strength (double that of DES). The work factor increase for a brute force attack (like the EFF's) would be 2 ^ 56 (2 raised to the 56th power) approximately and on average. So there's no reason to expect 3DES to fall anytime soon. The only hope for cracking the codes is if there are implementation or usage flaws which give the crackers a wedge. We can only hope!" Thank you, professor! Now, if you can tell us more about that package that Mary Ann mailed to Gilligan recently...
The DVD sPy -- the same one that tipped us off to the insider trading info at Circuit City -- has informed us that a report is on the way that will stir even more interest and controversy than Richard L. Sharp's massive stock sell-off last month. Stay close....
If you get the chance, please read our latest editorial: DVD Video Retailers: Where's the beef? If you feel so inclined, print it out and give it to your local video retailer if they still aren't promoting open DVD rentals and sales. This is an important topic for all those interested in stopping Divx before it can start.
The DVD sPy provided unconfirmed reports that Circuit City has removed widescreen VHS tapes from their stores in an effort to keep Divx looking like the "best" way to view home video.
Another DvD sPy (codename: DANTANA) is working overtime. Check the commentary by Richard Dean on NPR regarding DVD versus Divx. RealAudio player required.