Opinions - Web Chatter

Insights from the experts in the home entertainment industry. Get the inside scoop on entertainment news, DVD and Blu-ray releases, and the behind-the-scenes happenings at key studios and entertainment industry retailers.

Wal-Mart and Redbox: Yea or Nay?

July 22, 2009
By : Thomas K. Arnold
From the Editors

I’ve been chastized severely by a couple of people for a recent blog entry in which I blasted Wal-Mart for allowing Redbox kiosks into its stores because they directly compete with the chain’s DVD sellthrough business.

Another Change of Habit

July 15, 2009
By : Stephanie Prange
From the Editors

For an industry accustomed to periodic and sweeping shifts of distribution and format, the about-face we’ve experienced in recent months is still remarkably jarring.

No Stop to the Kiosk Invasion

June 29, 2009
By : Stephanie Prange
From the Editors

When sellthrough goliaths such as Wal-mart and Best Buy get into the rental business, studios will have to take even greater notice.

The Classic Glamour Comes Back

June 15, 2009
By : Stephanie Prange
From the Editors

With all of the hullabaloo over disc dollars and cents, the home entertainment business for a few months lost sight of its role in preserving and extolling the virtues of classic cinema and television.

The Customer Isn’t Always Right

June 02, 2009
By : Stephanie Prange
From the Editors

Although customers want to be able to make copies of their movies, the studios put copy-protection on DVDs to prevent what happened to the CD business from happening to them.

Industry Pundits Answer ‘6 Questions’

May 19, 2009
By : Stephanie Prange
From the Editors

This week we introduce a new feature for the magazine: 6 Questions. Our intention is to engage the top executives in the industry with precise, to-the-point questions and elicit answers that offer direction and insight in these uncertain times.

Hints of Good News for Disc

May 04, 2009
By : Stephanie Prange
From the Editors

The disc business seems to be channeling Mark Twain. Reports of its demise have been exaggerated.

Digital Moves Complement Disc

April 27, 2009
By : Thomas K. Arnold
From the Editors

Digital downloading seems to be faring no better than packaged media in the current recession.

Don’t Replace the Disc Player? Nonsense.

April 22, 2009
By : Stephanie Prange
From the Editors

With an NPD survey showing 51% of respondents purchased a movie disc in the prior three months and Blu-ray Disc sales in the first three months of 2009 nearly doubling, old DVD players could be replaced by a BD player or a PS3.

‘Furious’ Hits Heading to Home Video

April 13, 2009
By : Thomas K. Arnold
From the Editors

The first quarter ended with theatrical revenue up a solid 9% from the first quarter of 2008, clocking in at an all-time high of $2.4 billion. Let’s pray theatrical keeps burning rubber.