News Stories

3D Blu-ray, Blu-ray and DVD art for "Thor"

7.15.2011

[by Lex Walker]

Kenneth Branagh’s Thor, starring Chris Hemsworth as the god of thunder, Natalie Portman as Jane Foster, Tom Hiddleston, Rene Russo, and Anthony Hopkins, was one of the unexpected hits of the summer, performing modestly here in the US but getting a thunderous applause abroad. While the details on the extras for the 3D Blu-ray, Blu-ray and DVD releases of Thor are unspecified (as of yet), Paramount has released the cover art for all three.And call me crazy, but the artwork for the regular Blu-ray and DVD versions is definitely better than the art on the 3D Blu-ray cover.

Thor seems to be getting the Tron: Legacy release treatment in that they’re offering the Blu-ray combo packs (3D and regular) that also include the film on DVD and as a digital copy, whereas the DVD release has no extra formats to keep it company. Though speculative, it’s also possible that the Blu-ray releases may feature a picture-in-picture commentary track and other possible goodies you might not get with DVD. That’s just guessing though, but it wouldn’t be too surprising if a few additional Blu-ray exclusives are tossed in there just to force the hand of a few stalwart consumers holding out on the new format.

See the original post here: http://www.justpressplay.net/articles/8154-3d-Blu-ray-Blu-ray-and-dvd-art-for-qthorq.html

 

 

U.S. video game industry sales continue slide

7.15.2011

Nintendo sold another 143,000 Nintendo 3DS systems, double digital growth over May

[by ]

The U.S. video game industry continued to show signs of weakness in June, research firm NPD Group reported today.

Total video game industry sales in the country, which includes hardware, software, and accessories, fell 10 percent to $995 million, compared to June 2010. Software sales fell steepest–12 percent–to $469.5 million. Sales of accessories dived 11 percent to $158.9 million, while hardware sales slid 9 percent to $366.6 million.

In May, NPD reported that total U.S. game industry sales fell 14 percent to $743.1 million, the worst month in nearly five years.

The two best-selling games in June–L.A. Noire and Duke Nukem Forever–come from Take 2 Interactive. The company also snared the seventh best-selling game, NBA 2K11. Sony’s inFAMOUS 2 was the third best-selling game in the month, followed by Lego Pirates of the Caribbean from Disney Interactive Studio and Nintendo’s Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time 3D.

NPD doesn’t release console-specific data publicly. The firm shares the information with the console makers, who then choose to release the data they want made public.

Microsoft said its Xbox 360 maintained its lead in the U.S. console market last month. The company said that 507,000 Xbox 360s sold in June, giving the console the top spot in the United States for 12 of the past 13 months.

And even though domestic hardware sales throughout the industry are declining, Microsoft said that Xbox 360 was the only console to post year-over-year growth in June. Microsoft also said that total retail spending on the Xbox 360 platform, covering hardware, software, and accessories, hit $350 million, more than any other console in the country.

Nintendo said its Wii console sold 273,000 units last month, well off the Xbox pace. But Nintendo also sold 386,000 units of its Nintendo DS family of systems. And the company sold another 143,000 Nintendo 3DS systems. Nintendo said those numbers represent double-digit growth from May for each product line. It also noted that the Wii has now sold more than 36 million units.

Sony didn’t disclose any details about the sales of its various consoles and portable game devices. In a statement, company spokesman Patrick Seybold focused on software sales, including inFAMOUS 2, which Sony made exclusively for its PlayStation 3.

“According to the latest NPD report, PlayStation continues to see growth in software with a strong demand for exclusive PlayStation 3 franchise titles,” Seybold said.

See the original story here: http://news.cnet.com/8301-10797_3-20079621-235/u.s-video-game-industry-sales-continue-slide/?tag=mncol;2n

< PREVIOUS ARTICLES NEXT ARTICLES >

Specification for Naming VFX Image Sequences Released

ETC’s VFX Working Group has published a specification for best practices naming image sequences such as plates and comps. File naming is an essential tool for organizing the multitude of frames that are inputs and outputs from the VFX process. Prior to the publication of this specification, each organization had its own naming scheme, requiring custom processes for each partner, which often resulted in confusion and miscommunication.

The new ETC@USC specification focuses primarily on sequences of individual images. The initial use case was VFX plates, typically delivered as OpenEXR or DPX files. However, the team soon realized that the same naming conventions can apply to virtually any image sequence. Consequently, the specification was written to handle a wide array of assets and use cases.

To ensure all requirements are represented, the working group included over 2 dozen participants representing studios, VFX houses, tool creators, creatives and others.  The ETC@USC also worked closely with MovieLabs to ensure that the specification could be integrated as part of their 2030 Vision.

A key design criteria for this specification is compatibility with existing practices.  Chair of the VFX working group, Horst Sarubin of Universal Pictures, said: “Our studio is committed to being at the forefront of designing best industry practices to modernize and simplify workflows, and we believe this white paper succeeded in building a new foundation for tools to transfer files in the most efficient manner.”

This specification is compatible with other initiatives such as the Visual Effects Society (VES) Transfer Specifications. “We wanted to make it as seamless as possible for everyone to adopt this specification,” said working group co-chair and ETC@USC’s Erik Weaver. “To ensure all perspectives were represented we created a team of industry experts familiar with the handling of these materials and collaborated with a number of industry groups.”

“Collaboration between MovieLabs and important industry groups like the ETC is critical to implementing the 2030 Vision,” said Craig Seidel, SVP of MovieLabs. “This specification is a key step in defining the foundations for better software-defined workflows. We look forward to continued partnership with the ETC on implementing other critical elements of the 2030 Vision.”

The specification is available online for anyone to use.

Oops, something went wrong.