3D sales not split out /

The Digital Entertainment Group Europe today announced a Q3 2010 Software sales update which reveals that Blu-ray disc sales across Europe have doubled year-on-year, now accounting for 445 million Euros spent year-to-date. Combined with DVD sales consumer spending has increased 0.7 percent across the sector overall compared to the same period last year, reaching a total of four billion Euros.

The results emphasise the continued growth in popularity and consumer adoption of Blu-ray as well as demand for higher quality home entertainment experiences. Spurred by a range of successful Blu-ray film releases, including Avatar, The Clash of The Titans, 2012, Alice in Wonderland and Sherlock Holmes throughout 2010, growth has excelled expectations.

European summary:

Sales (Euros) +/-% Volume (Units) +/-%

BD ‘445 Million 72.3% 24.7 Million 98.3%

DVD ‘3.5 Billion -4.3% 342 Million -5.8%

Total ‘4 Billion 0.7% 367 Million -2.3%

DVD sales have noted a dip compared to the same period last year, however the substantial rise of Blu-ray sales more than offset this decline.

‘Over the past two years, we have seen Blu-ray come into the home entertainment limelight as consumers are becoming more discerning in terms of the quality they want and are seeking more immersive home entertainment experiences,’ commented Yves Caillaud, Senior Vice President (EMEA) of Warner Home Video and Digital Distribution and Chairman of the DEGE. ‘During the last quarter of the year, we expect to see sales continue to gain momentum as the latest Blu-ray blockbusters make it onto everyone’s Christmas lists.’

Caillaud added, ‘It is also important to note that today’s figures do not reflect the rapidly growing digital distribution sector, which would further underscore the strength in consumer spending in the European Home Entertainment sector.’

Upcoming releases on the Blu-ray Disc format include:

Iron Man 2

Shrek Forever

Salt

Inception

Avatar: Extended Collector’s Edition

The Karate Kid

Alien Anthology

How to Train Your Dragon

For more information on the DEGE, please visit www.deg-europe.eu

Note to editors –

The sales results in this announcement are derived from official European market performance figures and include the following countries: Belgium, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Netherlands, Spain, Sweden and UK.

source: http://hollywoodindustry.digitalmedianet.com/articles/viewarticle.jsp?id=1249948

3D TV Experience Made Even Bigger with LG and Sky 3D UK Partnering to Show Live 3D Channels

LG is pleased to announce its partnership with Sky TV to bring the next revolution in television. Revolutionizing home entertainment is the 3D TV. The next big thing in home products and technology, 3D TVs have become a must-have product for each home. Creating 3D television images involves mimicking the way that the eyes work in normal life. As the eyes are about three inches apart, each eye sees a slightly different perspective of the surroundings, and the brain merges these two images together, using the difference to calculate depth. So, 3D TVs recreate this process by showing two slightly different images and using special glasses to separate them.

Bringing the ultimate impressive viewing experience into a living room is the LG 3D TV with sports, video games, documentaries and blockbuster movies bursting out of the screen. With LG, viewers can experience the same breathtaking 3D effects that they have seen in the cinemas from their own sofa.

The range of 3D content available is rapidly increasing. Film studios such as Disney have demonstrated an ongoing commitment to developing even more in 3D. With this, Sky TV’s dedicated 3D channel is launching in autumn, which will bring a compelling range of content from sports and movies to documentaries.

Ahead of the launch of Sky 3D, UK’s first dedicated 3D channel, LG unveils its impressive new 3D product line-up at IFA 2010. Committed to making 3D accessible to everyone, LG and Sky have been working together this year to bring exciting content to thousands of consumers via pubs across the continent. LG’s passive TV uses the same side-by-side frame format as Sky’s new, dedicated 3D channel, making it the perfect choice for watching the latest content available via a Sky HD box.

Together in partnership, LG 3D TV brings the ultimate immersion viewing experience into the living room, with sports, video games, documentaries and movies. LG and Sky are also heading on a tour that will showcase to the public 3D demonstrations with experts on hand and explain everything about 3D TV to help demystify this breakthrough technology.

Check out http://www.lg.com/uk/3d/ today and experience 3D viewing at its finest.

source: http://www.i-newswire.com/3d-tv-experience-made-even-bigger/71450

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Sky 3D only attracts 200 users

Written by Matt Chapman

If you thought Blu-ray was having a tough time breaking into the home entertainment market, then spare a thought for 3D. The recently revived technology is touted as the next big thing but if the uptake of Sky’s dedicated 3D service is anything to go by, it’s got a long way to go.

A source close to the satellite broadcaster told Absolute Gadget that the current subscriber list is “only around 200 users in the UK” because “hardly anyone owns a 3D TV.”

The number is especially surprising because the service is free to many subscribers: “Sky World HD customers with a 3D TV can watch Sky 3D at no additional cost,” offers Sky’s website.

Whether that figure includes the number of public houses fitted with Sky 3D was unclear.

The low uptake won’t make pleasant reading for an industry keen to harness the extra revenue from premium services, or those manufacturers hoping to sell expensive 3D kit to consumers who may have only recently gone HD.

Virgin was the first to launch commercial 3D services in the UK, offering 3D film downloads just a few days before Sky 3D officially launched.

source: http://www.absolutegadget.com/201011083321/news/television/sky-3d-only-attracts-200-users.html