The Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) has proudly released their annual Theatrical Market Statistics Report for 2011, and members of the MPAA have released a statement bragging of world growth – up 3% internationally from 2010 – claiming the movie industry is still one of the most affordable forms of entertainment for consumers, and at the same time brandishing piracy for stealing their works and threatening to undo the industry.
Both U.S. theatergoers and analysts are noticeably down on 3D movies this year. But in 2010, the industry saw a huge surge over the previous year. While it's too soon to say how the format will fare when 2011 wraps, analysts believes its attractiveness outside America will only help.
Hard disk drive maker Western Digital and memory card giant SanDisk have partnered with movie studios Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment and Warner Bros. Home Entertainment Group to launch a next-generation digital rights management model that supports the industry's fledgling UltraViolet digital distribution platform.
Netflix continued its dominant control of the US video market in 2010, and had a successful introduction into the Canadian market towards the end of the year. Netflix looks to continue its success with an international launch outside of North America in early 2011, but exact launch information hasn’t been released.
It's been a long-time coming, but Netflix finally seems poised to cross the Atlantic. That is, if you trust anonymous insider sources and a Spanish entertainment industry president. And why shouldn't you?
Coinstar CEO Paul Davis made an announcement during the company’s quarterly earnings conference this week and stated that Redbox is currently holding "detailed negotiations with a number of highly interested parties" to begin an online streaming service some time during 2011.
Sony announced that it will introduce a new online service that offers access to movies, video games, e-books and other content content when the new site launches early next year.
Many children are growing up with cell phones, laptops and tablets - the technological innovations of the past decade thrust into their tiny hands. It's no longer unimaginable for kids to log onto a computer and instantly stream their favorite shows either. Netflix is addressing this phenomenon with a newly-minted Just For Kids option.
Expert Reviews has now carried out their own HDMI cable tests, but rather than focusing on an individual cable, they went to prove whether or not expensive cables make any difference over much cheaper cables. They used a PC as the source, a TrueHD capture card to capture the frames and compared MD5 hashes of source and captured frames.
Have you promptly canceled a pre-existing pay TV package in the last year because of your Netflix subscription? If so, you're not alone. A report published by analyst firm The Diffusion Group this week found that the amount of Netflix subscribers likely to cut back on cable TV costs as a direct result of using the streaming VOD service has doubled from 2010 to 2011 - rising from 16% to 32%. Is this just a temporary setback for networks, or a sign of things to come? The TDG is leaning toward the latter.
Technology entrepreneurs rallied against the PROTECT IP act this week, calling it vague and a likely innovation killer. Over 100 executives signed a letter asking Congress to vote down the bill should it hit the floor. The Motion Picture Association of America swiftly criticized the move, suggesting that the signatories "should read the PROTECT IP Act before attacking it."
It’s an age-old battle between creative forces and corporate heads: Executive leaders want more of what is bringing in revenue, but that might not necessarily be what is flowing through the creative minds. That’s what is happening in the American film industry now as filmmakers face off with Hollywood producers who want to cash in as much as they can on the current 3D movie trend.
The law firm of Evan Stone, the legal team representing Hustler in their mass peer-to-peer porn film file sharing lawsuits, has run into a bit of a stumbling block while trying to obtain the identities of 4,000+ John Doe defendants involved in the cases.
A new report from entertainment industry research firm The NPD Group this week shed new light on the battle to push 3D technology onto consumers - a battle some believe 3D proponents are losing.
Not a week after a cease-and-desist letter from anti-piracy group FACT shut it down, and usenet index site NZBsRus is more or less back online. The group migrated to a new server over the weekend, retaining all its data and original URL. Access is available but limited, and its user forums are still offline.
A Walt Disney Pictures and Canal Plus partnership? Mais oui. The animation powerhouse has inked a deal to bring 100 of its shows and movies to the French pay TV company's streaming video service, Canalplay Infinity.
