Shanghai Epic And Sony DADC Begin Blu-ray Disc Manufacturing In China

Sony DADC and manufacturing joint venture Shanghai Epic Music Entertainment Co., Ltd. (Shanghai Epic) today announced the opening of the first ever BD50 replication facility in China. In celebration of the new facility, an opening ceremony was held in the Shanghai Epic factory this afternoon with hundreds of guests including high ranking government officials. Mr. Zhijing Zhang (Member of Standing Committee of Shanghai Municipal Committee and Vice Minister of Propaganda), related officials from General Administration of Press and Publicity of P. R. C. and hundreds honored guests from both China and overseas participated the opening ceremony. Mr. Zhang delivered an enthusiastic speech and started the BD line.

It is Sony’s fourth Blu-ray disc plant after sites in the U.S., Japan and Austria.

“Shanghai Epic is seizing the opportunity to lead a breakthrough in the entertainment industry during the global economic and financial crisis.” said Mr. Ruigang Li, CEO of Shanghai Media Group and the Chairman of Shanghai Synergy and Shanghai Epic, “I believe that the investment in technology upgrading and industry innovation is important as well.”

The start of Blu-ray production line not only fills the gap of high capacity and high-tech Blu-ray Disc (BD25 & BD50) manufacture technology but also marks a technological advance in the overall quality of A/V entertainment products. It will play a significant role for the Chinese cultural industry to participate in this dynamic industry on a global level.

Mr. Dieter Daum, President of Sony Disc & Digital Solutions and Board member of Shanghai Epic, stated that “more and more excellent A/V entertainment products will be introduced to China’s market with the coming of the BD era, also, Chinese movies and TV programs will be exported overseas by the BD format.”

Mr. Xiao Wu, Managing Director of Shanghai Epic, commented, “This Blu-ray production line, which is manufactured by Sony, adopts state of art manufacturing technology and is the most popular one in the world, with 70% market share of global BD lines. The production line adopts the most advanced resin spinning coating and embossing technology with a yield rate comparable of that of DVD. Moreover, the installation and trial run of this line has been operated smoothly and the finished products passed every inspection and have been approved by the Blu-ray Disc Association (BDA).”

Hancock Blu-Ray Premieres in Germany this week

Just a short note to let you know that the Hancock Blu-Ray release is actually making it’s debut this week (November 6th), courtesy of a worldwide exclusive from Amazon Germany. That’s almost three weeks before it’s available in the US (November 25th) and almost a month ahead of its UK debut (December 1st). The German edition comes in an exclusive metal case only available via Amazon for 24.95 Euro or in a regular plastic keep-case for the same price. The film itself is a special extended edition and features a full English TrueHD soundtrack, so if you can’t wait to see this one, head on over to Amazon Germany.

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UK Blu-Ray Releases for Monday November 3rd 2008

Partly because it has been a few weeks since we last did a Blu-Ray release post, and partly because there are a lot of titles out this week, I have decided to do separate posts for the two main markets we typically cover. Today we’ll take a look at the UK releases coming out tomorrow (Monday) and then I’ll follow that up tomorrow with another post to cover the new releases for the US market that will be hitting the shelves on Tuesday.

First up is Mad Detective. This is a Hong Kong police movie with a twist. It has received great critical acclaim, including Best Screenplay at the Hong Kong film awards 2008 and was nominated for a Golden Lion at the Venice Film Festival. The detective Bun, who has been thrown off the force for slicing off his ear as a gift to his boss at the chief’s farewell party, has a special gift that leads him to be called back into action… This release is also interesting as it is (as far as I am aware) the first release on BD for Eureka!. Their Masters Of Cinema series is a kind of UK equivalent to Criterion Collection, specializing in international cinema.

Next, there is the final feature-length episode of Ricky Gervais’ comedy series Extras. This final episode features cameos from George Michael and Clive Owen.

I’ll cover the releases that are common to both the UK and the US this week in tomorrow’s entry, but some other UK exclusives this week are:

The Colour Of Magic (This was a TV adaptation based on the first of the popular Discworld series of fantasy novels)

Zulu (The 1964 film starring Michael Caine about the Anglo-Zulu war in South Africa in the nineteenth century)

And Paramount finally get up to speed on the back catalogue and release the Mission Impossible Trilogy, The Italian Job and Babel amongst others.

These were the main titles that caught my eye, but you can check the full list of UK releases for this week at Amazon UK.

Blu-Ray Releases for Tuesday 7th October 2008

This week looks to be fairly non-eventful in terms of big new releases. The majority of the US releases are re-issues or classics. Don’t get me wrong, there are some excellent titles in there such as The Omen Collection or Beetlejuice, but just nothing that really stood out for me. Of the new releases, we have The Visitor which is a pretty moving tale of the friendship between a retired widowed college professor and some homeless illegal immigrants that are living in his apartment. I couldn’t make my mind up about this movie and found it maybe just a little labored and too heavy for its own good. – Maybe a second viewing would change that. At the other end of the spectrum we have the latest Adam Sandler movie You Don’t Mess with The Zohan. I have no idea whether this is any good, but the premise just sounds so ridiculous there has to be at least a couple of good moments in there. Besides, my wife was bugging me for ages to take her to see this and I never got round to it, so I figure I will at least get her the BD as she is a big Adam Sandler fan.

Worldwide there was nothing major of note released that I could see in other markets this week, although Amazon France is listing a Ghostbusters Box Set due out tomorrow.

Here’s the US release list for this week in full:

• The 7th Voyage of Sinbad (Sony)
• The Amityville Horror (1979) (MGM)
• Beetlejuice (Warner)
• Body Heat (Warner)
• Carrie (1976) (MGM)
• Faces of Death (Gorgon)
• The Happening (Fox)
• Korn: Live on the Other Side (Image)
• The Omen (1976) (Fox)
• The Omen: The Collection (Fox)
• Otis: Uncut (Warner)
• Ray Harryhausen Collection (20 Million Miles to Earth, Earth vs. the Flying Saucers, It Came From Beneath the Sea, 7th Voyage of Sinbad) (Sony)
• Rest Stop (Warner)
• Rest Stop: Don’t Look Back (Warner)
• Sleeping Beauty (Walt Disney)
• Stuck (Image)
• The Visitor (2008) (Starz)
• You Don’t Mess with The Zohan (Sony)
• Young Frankenstein (Fox)

Blu-Ray Releases for Tuesday 30th September 2008

The big release this week is without doubt Iron Man. I haven’t yet seen this so cannot offer an opinion, but I will maybe import it given that it is region-free. There are some comedy offerings in the form of Forgetting Sarah Marshall and from the same team, also released are The 40 Year Old Virgin and Knocked Up. All three are available as a set or individually. Re-releases include The Sixth Sense and a clutch of horror / slasher movies such as The Texas Chainsaw Massacre and Day Of The Dead.

This week’s French exclusives include Walk The Line (excellent film in an extended cut), Rendition (which if the UK release is anything to go by has a great transfer)

Here’s the full list of US releases for this week, as always courtesy of Hi-Def Digest.

• The 40-Year-Old Virgin (Universal)
• Angel in the Family (Echo Bridge)
• Can’t Hardly Wait (Sony)
• A Christmas Visitor (Echo Bridge)
• Daredevil: Director’s Cut (Fox)
• Dawn of the Dead (2004) (Universal)
• Forgetting Sarah Marshall (Universal)
• Halloween Starter Pack ['The Thing (1982),' 'Land of the Dead,' 'Dawn of the Dead (2004)'] (Universal)
• Iron Man (2008) (Paramount)
• Jethro Tull: Live at Montreux 2003 (Eagles Rock)
• Knocked Up (Universal)
• Land of the Dead (Universal)
• Legends: Live at Montreux 1997 (Eagle Rock)
• The Man Who Saved Christmas (Echo Bridge)
• Roy Orbison: A Black & White Night (Image)
• Salem Witch Trials (Echo Bridge)
• The Sixth Sense (Walt Disney)
• The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1973) (Dark Sky Films)
• The Thing (1982) (Universal)
• Ultimate Unrated Comedy Collection (Forgetting Sarah Marshall, Knocked Up, The 40-Year-Old Virgin) (Universal)
• When We Left Earth: The NASA Missions (Image)

Blu-Ray Price Cuts; Amazon Selling BDP-S300 For $199

Amazon.com on Monday price cut Sony Corp.’s BDP-S300 1080p Blu-ray Disc Player to $199.98 to clear inventory of the stand-alone product. The BDP-S300 previously carried an MSRP of $399.99, but recently became available for $299 on SonyStyle. Amazon claims that the product is available at the discounted price while supplies last. There is no word if Sony will match this aggressive price cut, which would certainly surprise the hell out of consumers and most certainly induce more spontaneous purchases of the player. Sony Insider is assuming this pricing scheme may be standard by Christmas.

Buy a Sony Blu-Ray Player, Get a Blu-Ray Discovery Sampler Disc

Consumers purchasing Sony Blu-ray Disc(TM) players this fall will be able to view spectacular high-definition programming from Discovery Channel and HD Theater, thanks to a co-promotional agreement between Sony Electronics and Discovery Commerce, the consumer products arm of Discovery Communications. Under the terms of the deal, consumers who purchase select Sony Blu-ray Disc players will receive a gift-with-purchase coupon redeemable for an exclusive high-definition program sampler, Discovery on Blu-ray Disc, which features episodes from FEARLESS PLANET and SUNRISE EARTH.

The two-week promotion launches October 5 at more than 11,000 retailers throughout the U.S., including leading chains such as Sears, Circuit City and Sony Style. Additionally, Sony will showcase the Discovery on Blu-ray Disc footage through an in-store trailer that will run on Sony BRAVIA(R) display televisions at these retail locations.

“Discovery has emerged as the gold standard among high-definition television programmers,” said Patrick Gates, president and general manager of Discovery Commerce, “We could think of no better partner than Sony Electronics to help showcase our spectacular adventure and nature programming to Blu-ray customers.”

“The Blu-ray Disc format unlocks the true potential of today’s high-definition televisions with a stunning full HD experience,” said Chris Fawcett, vice president of marketing for Sony Electronics’ Home Video Division. “Discovery’s high-quality programs are a tailor made showcase for Blu-ray Disc and a great first experience for a consumer new to the format.”

Discovery has assumed a leadership position among high definition programmers, offering one of the largest exclusively high-definition networks available, HD Theater; and HD simulcasts for Discovery Channel, TLC, Animal Planet, Science Channel and Planet Green. Discovery’s home entertainment arm offers a robust selection of Blu-ray Disc titles, including the critically acclaimed series, NASA: When We Left Earth. FEARLESS PLANET, a Discovery Channel series, follows extreme sportsman Will Gadd as he travels to locations around the world to understand how amazing natural formations were created. SUNRISE EARTH, HD Theater’s ground-breaking wildlife documentary series, chronicles the start of the new day in stunning locations around the world.

Blu-Ray Releases for 23rd September 2008

There are quite a few high profile releases this week, but without a doubt the most eagerly awaited is Sex and the City. Yeah right… It is of course The Godfather Collection which comes to BD in an all new “Coppola Restoration” which offers a hugely improved transfer of all three movies in the series. The set of four discs which is fairly reasonably priced at Amazon at $61.95 offers a raft of extras on the fourth disc including many new features in HD plus all of the extras from the previous dvd releases. This set is not out until October 27th in the UK so it’s definitely worth importing as this release is region-free.

As for the other regions this week, the UK has nothing much of note on new release. France always seems to have a couple of exclusives and this week they get The Good Shepherd and my tip for this week – La Haine. I cannot reccomend this hard-hitting film highly enough and it comes with a killer soundtrack, so check it out.

Here are this week’s US releases in full, courtesy as always of High Def Digest.

• Animalia: Welcome to the Kingdom (Porchlight)
• Blow (New Line)
• Cirque du Soleil: Corteo (Sony)
• Deception (Fox)
• The Godfather Collection (Paramount)
• Halford: Live Insurrection – Remastered (Metal God)
• L.A. Confidential (Warner)
• Leatherheads (Universal)
• Madagascar (DreamWorks)
• Re-Cycle (Image)
• Run Fatboy Run (Universal)
• Sex and the City (New Line)
• Shrek the Third (Paramount)

Blu-Ray Releases for 2nd September 2008

So here we go again with the weeks Blu-Ray disc releases. I know this isn’t strictly Sony news, but as a movie freak I enjoy finding out what new releases are coming up when and where. As you’ve maybe gathered from my previous posts there are often quite a few quirks with BD releases being released at different times in different regions or even on different dates within the same region. Releases usually happen on different days in different countries too (Monday in the UK, Tuesday in US).

Take for example this week; The big release in the US on the 2nd September is the Transformers 2-disc set. UK fans will have to wait until next week to get their copy. However Jerry Maguire came out yesterday in the UK but doesn’t appear until next Tuesday stateside. Fascinating stuff huh…

Anyway, apart from Transformers there wasn’t a whole lot that took my fancy this week in any region. UK fans might want to import the US release of Married Life as this is still showing in theaters in London and won’t be out for sometime yet. This release is region free so you should have no trouble viewing it in Europe.

Fans of Arnie and / or Clint can expand their collections with either Eraser or Every Which Way But Loose. Eraser is confirmed as region free and Every Which Way.. should also be too as it comes from Warner who to date have released everything as region free.

Here’s this week’s US releases in full courtesy of HiDefDigest:

• Black Mask (Lionsgate)
• Cirque du Soleil: Corteo (Sony)
• Eraser (Warner)
• Every Which Way But Loose (Warner)
• The Gauntlet (Warner)
• The Invincible Iron Man (Lionsgate)
• Marine Aquarium (BCI)
• Married Life (Sony)
• Next Avengers: Heroes of Tomorrow (Lionsgate)
• Outbreak (Warner)
• Robotech: The Shadow Chronicles (FUNimation)
• Transformers (2007) (Paramount)
• Under Siege 2: Dark Territory (Warner)

Sony Sued Over Blu-Ray Patents

Edge-online has revealed a serious lawsuit against Sony, by Mountain View, Calif.-based Orinda Intellectual Properties, claiming the PS3-maker has infringed on Blu-ray-related patents. In the August 20th court filing obtained by Edge, Orinda alleges that Sony infringed on patent number 5,438,560 – which in layman’s terms are methods for recording and reproducing information via optical disc. Orinda also named as defendants subsidiaries Sony Electronics, Sony Computer Entertainment and Sony Computer Entertainment America, making sure that the entire company is basically under fire. You have to be pretty brave to go against the lawyers of Sony, who must be quite conditioned against lawsuits as they face them often.

Orinda has demanded a jury trial, and is seeking an injunction on manufacturing, sales and distribution of Blu-ray devices such as the PS3, computer peripheral products and dedicated Blu-ray players.

The plaintiff is also asking for “a reasonable royalty.”

“Orinda has been and will continue to be damaged as a result of Defendants’ infringing conduct,” the company said in the filing. “Defendants’ infringing conduct will continue unless permanently enjoined by this court.”

The majority of this Blu-Ray lawsuit information and article content above originates from Edge-Online.