The_Omega_Man
11-03-2009, 06:57 PM
An Excerpt:
By MIGUEL BUSTILLO (http://online.wsj.com/search/search_center.html?KEYWORDS=MIGUEL+BUSTILLO&ARTICLESEARCHQUERY_PARSER=bylineAND) AND BOBBY WHITE (http://online.wsj.com/search/search_center.html?KEYWORDS=BOBBY+WHITE&ARTICLESEARCHQUERY_PARSER=bylineAND)
Some of the biggest companies backing the Blu-ray format for high-definition movies are hedging their bets by introducing players that can also show Internet video, which is making surprising inroads in the home-entertainment market.
Electronics retailers and manufacturers including Best Buy (http://online.wsj.com/public/quotes/main.html?type=djn&symbol=BBY) Co., Samsung Electronics America Inc. and LG Electronics USA Inc. are selling Blu-ray disc players that tap into movies from online rental companies. The devices provide an alternative to pay-per-view cable services.
The hybrid movie players tap a growing library of online movies and television shows from Amazon.com Inc., which screens movies for as little as 99 cents, and from Netflix Inc., which allows unlimited movie streaming for $8.99 a month.
http://s.wsj.net/public/resources/images/MK-AZ271_BLURAY_NS_20091102194058.gif
Blu-ray supporters fought a bruising and expensive battle over competing formats a few years ago. Now, to salvage those investments, they're incorporating a feature, Internet video, that threatens to make the players irrelevant over time but allows them to sell the disc players as multi-purpose machines this holiday.
Best Buy recently disclosed a partnership with Netflix to offer streaming video through its private-label Insignia players, and last week slashed the price of one older Insignia model by $50 to $99, promising that it will soon be made Netflix capable through a software patch.
U.S. movie disc purchases dropped 13.8% during the third-quarter of 2009 as digital distribution such as Internet streaming and cable pay-per-view rose 18%, according to Digital Entertainment Group, an industry association. Blu-ray disc sales are up 80% year-to-date, according to The Nielsen Co., but remain a fraction of overall disc sales. Nielsen estimates DVD sales are off 14%.
Sony (http://online.wsj.com/public/quotes/main.html?type=djn&symbol=sne) Corp., which led the Blu-ray charge and licenses the technology, insists consumers won't abandon the format.
"The streaming services are complementary," said Lexine Wong, senior executive vice-president of worldwide marketing for Sony Pictures Home Entertainment. Customers of such services "don't get to add it to your collection of movies," she said.
"The horse is out the gate and there's no going back. Consumers want Internet-enabled devices," said Reid Sullivan, a vice president at Samsung Electronics America, which also makes Blu-ray players that stream movies. "We can upgrade the software on the players to offer more content or new kinds of services."
Full Article: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704746304574503961562233046.html
By MIGUEL BUSTILLO (http://online.wsj.com/search/search_center.html?KEYWORDS=MIGUEL+BUSTILLO&ARTICLESEARCHQUERY_PARSER=bylineAND) AND BOBBY WHITE (http://online.wsj.com/search/search_center.html?KEYWORDS=BOBBY+WHITE&ARTICLESEARCHQUERY_PARSER=bylineAND)
Some of the biggest companies backing the Blu-ray format for high-definition movies are hedging their bets by introducing players that can also show Internet video, which is making surprising inroads in the home-entertainment market.
Electronics retailers and manufacturers including Best Buy (http://online.wsj.com/public/quotes/main.html?type=djn&symbol=BBY) Co., Samsung Electronics America Inc. and LG Electronics USA Inc. are selling Blu-ray disc players that tap into movies from online rental companies. The devices provide an alternative to pay-per-view cable services.
The hybrid movie players tap a growing library of online movies and television shows from Amazon.com Inc., which screens movies for as little as 99 cents, and from Netflix Inc., which allows unlimited movie streaming for $8.99 a month.
http://s.wsj.net/public/resources/images/MK-AZ271_BLURAY_NS_20091102194058.gif
Blu-ray supporters fought a bruising and expensive battle over competing formats a few years ago. Now, to salvage those investments, they're incorporating a feature, Internet video, that threatens to make the players irrelevant over time but allows them to sell the disc players as multi-purpose machines this holiday.
Best Buy recently disclosed a partnership with Netflix to offer streaming video through its private-label Insignia players, and last week slashed the price of one older Insignia model by $50 to $99, promising that it will soon be made Netflix capable through a software patch.
U.S. movie disc purchases dropped 13.8% during the third-quarter of 2009 as digital distribution such as Internet streaming and cable pay-per-view rose 18%, according to Digital Entertainment Group, an industry association. Blu-ray disc sales are up 80% year-to-date, according to The Nielsen Co., but remain a fraction of overall disc sales. Nielsen estimates DVD sales are off 14%.
Sony (http://online.wsj.com/public/quotes/main.html?type=djn&symbol=sne) Corp., which led the Blu-ray charge and licenses the technology, insists consumers won't abandon the format.
"The streaming services are complementary," said Lexine Wong, senior executive vice-president of worldwide marketing for Sony Pictures Home Entertainment. Customers of such services "don't get to add it to your collection of movies," she said.
"The horse is out the gate and there's no going back. Consumers want Internet-enabled devices," said Reid Sullivan, a vice president at Samsung Electronics America, which also makes Blu-ray players that stream movies. "We can upgrade the software on the players to offer more content or new kinds of services."
Full Article: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704746304574503961562233046.html