Earth Day March-April 2009

Compiled by Barbara Wexler -- Video Business, 2/20/2009

News and upcoming titles being released March through April 2009 for Earth Day.

NEWS

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Gaiam and Planet Green partner for new DVD line
Companies partner for new environmental DVD line.
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Watching the deep Blu sea
Blu-ray titles feature natural wonders of the ocean.
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UPCOMING TITLES

March 3

Planet Earth: Vol. 3 Great Plains, Jungles, Shallow Seas and Vol. 4 Seasonal Forests and Ocean Deep BBC/WARNER prebook now; DVD $19.98 each Documentary: The best-selling series is released in single volumes.

Ocean Animal Emergency: Troubled Waters for Marine Mammals? WGBH prebook now; DVD $24.95 Documentary: Showcases the efforts of wildlife veterinarians as they fight to save sick and injured ocean mammals.

March 24

Light at the Edge of the World SMITHSONIAN/INFINITY prebook now; DVD $19.98 Special interest: Anthropologist and conservationist Wade Davis hosts this four-part series about disappearing cultures in Peru, Polynesia, the Himalayas and the Arctic.

March 31

Handy Manny: Manny’s Green Team DISNEY prebook now; DVD $19.99 Children’s: The Playhouse Disney handyman learns about conserving and preserving Earth’s valuable resources.

Schoolhouse Rock! Earth DISNEY prebook now; DVD $26.99 Educational: The creators of the original series offer new songs about global warming, carbon footprints and other green concepts.

Serenity Travel Series: Vol. 1 MILL CREEK prebook 2-27; BD $9.98 Travel: This travel series looks at the most beautiful and interesting sites in the world.

The Day the Earth Stood Still FOX prebook 3-4; two-DVD $29.98, three-DVD special edition $34.98, three-BD $39.99 Sci-fi: A renowned scientist (Jennifer Connelly) finds herself face-to-face with an alien (Keanu Reeves) in this $79 million-grossing remake.

April 7

Sesame Street: Being Green GENIUS prebook 2-24; DVD $14.93 Children’s: Mr. Earth (Paul Rudd), Elmo and Cookie Monster host Sesame Street’s Earth-a-Thon.

Blue Gold PBS prebook 3-10; DVD $24.99 Documentary: Hypothesizes that future wars will be fought over water, as they are over oil today.

Nature: American Eagle QUESTAR prebook 3-10; DVD $19.99 Documentary: This episode looks at the bald eagle and its struggle to survive in the wild.

Nova: The Big Energy Gamble WGBH prebook 3-10; DVD $24.99 Documentary: Nova examines California’s pursuit of a sustainable energy future.

April 21

Sprawling From Grace CINEMA LIBRE prebook 3-10; DVD $19.95 Documentary: Explores the ravages of American suburban sprawl.

Arctic Tale PARAMOUNT prebook 3-10; BD $39.99 Documentary: The adventures of a polar bear cub and a walrus pup.

EcoDisc spins eco-friendly DVDs

EcoDisc, a green alternative to the traditional DVD, offers suppliers a disc with the same capacity for content but produced with less than half the raw material of its predecessor, according to the parent company.

Introduced in Europe in 2007, the disc also offers the environmental benefit of being manufactured on CD equipment. This difference in the production equipment, combined with the use of fewer raw materials (oil-based polycarbonate) in its creation, reduces carbon emissions more than 50%.

In an independent study commissioned by EcoDisc Technology, the disc’s playability was compared with that of two other discs available in the U.S. market. EcoDisc was found to have the same “playabilty” as a similar disc produced by Technicolor.

Based in Switzerland, EcoDisc’s DVDs have been used largely by accounts in Europe. More than 25 million discs have been distributed to date by clients including Future Media, the U.K.’s largest magazine publisher. —W.W.

Green titles turning Blu

Nature programming is one of the best ways to showcase a high-definition TV. Scenes of natural environments shot in high-definition look great on the sets, and some companies have begun promoting nature videography as a way to turn the TV screen into an art display. Two companies that originally released video landscape programming in standard DVD and HD DVD have expanded their lines by issuing these titles on Blu-ray Disc.

DVD International is producing new programs for Blu-ray under its HDScape brand. Nine Blu-ray discs in the line are already available, the newest being Stargaze HD and Ocean Aquarium ($24.99 each).

Another series that turns TV screens into art platforms is Allegro Media Group’s Earthscapes: Living Landscapes. Nine titles are available on Blu-ray, with more to come. The Blu-ray titles include Olympic Rainforest and Rocky Mountains ($14.98 each). —VB staff