OPINION: Piracy shows indie potential By Morris Ruskin - 04/21/2008 Morris Ruskin is CEO of Shoreline Entertainment and producer of The Fifth Patient APRIL 21 | I never expected the day when I would have a conversation with a director who was actually excited that his movie was being pirated.
More
LETTER TO THE EDITOR: Endgame By Charles Van Horn - 03/12/2008 Charles Van Horn is the president of the Content Delivery and Storage Assn. MARCH 12 | Maybe I’ve been reading too much Stephen King but I think I know how this format war between HD-DVD and Blu-ray is really going to end.
More
LETTER TO THE EDITOR: HD DVD vs. Blu-ray By Steve Bliss - 01/11/2008 Steve Bliss, Microcinema DVD, Albuquerque, N.M. JAN. 11 | I was a little surprised by Warner’s decision to abandon HD DVD in favor of Blu-ray Disc, but there is no question about its motives.
More
OPINION: Reviving retail in a digital media world By Anthony Bay - 10/03/2007 Anthony Bay, chairman and co-founder of MOD Systems (www.modsystems.com)
OCT. 3 | When online digital content originally debuted in the marketplace, many predicted the impending demise of retail. For many of us, though, those predictions bring to mind Mark Twain’s famous quote: “The rumors of my death have been greatly exaggerated.”
More
OPINION: Holding a mirror up to high-def By Russ Crupnick - 09/14/2007 Russ Crupnick is VP and senior entertainment industry analyst at The NPD Group.
SEPT. 14 | The format war does not top the list of reasons many consumers haven’t yet embraced high-def DVD—not even close. The majority of consumers, even HDTV owners, aren’t yet interested in, or don’t yet see the benefits of next-generation DVD.
More
JUNE 8 | The video rental experience works. It satisfies a growing population in a way that no other delivery method has come close to duplicating.
More
Turn passion into profit By John Sarantakis - 05/25/2007 John Sarantakis is president of People’s Choice Video Express
MAY 25 | Evolving to meet the needs of an increasingly market-savvy consumer base takes more than media advertising to keep people moving through the doors; it takes passion and drive.More
Studios want to do it all By Dan Glickman - 05/04/2007 The following is an excerpt from Motion Picture Assn. of America chairman and CEO Dan Glickman’s remarks to the LexisNexis and Variety Digital Rights Management Conference, co-sponsored by ContentAgenda, in Los Angeles April 23. Technology’s potential to enhance the consumer experience touches everypiece of the movie business.More
Dubious about downloads By Tom Paine - 03/09/2007
Despite the constant news stories, the business of legitimate movie downloads is slow to catch on. Yet the independent rentailer feels threatened by download technology and, like me, many wonder if this will ultimately mean the end of renting movies on tangible media.
More
Revenge of the movie buff By Stuart Skorman - 02/23/2007
You might assume that a movie-buff strategy is only for Web entrepreneurs, but you could not be more wrong. The only way for bricks-and-mortar video stores to survive is to completely focus on movie-buff niche markets.
More
Non-exclusive impact By Tom Paine - 02/02/2007 The Weinstein Co.’s exclusive relationship with Blockbuster for the rental channel has brought into focus the meaning of the First Sale Doctrine, the limitations of trade organizations and the power of the Internet to connect retailers all over the country to discuss and get a jump on the issue.
More
Remembering Robert Altman By Laurence Lerman - 11/22/2006
Right at the top, I’ll admit I was never a huge fan of director Robert Altman, who died last week at the age of 81. But with the arrival of video, my acceptance and respect for Altman was recalibrated and quickly jump-started.
More
On studio-retail relations By Tom Paine - 11/03/2006 Tom Paine is owner of six-store DVDNow! in Redmond, Wash.
A few weeks ago, I was privileged to participate on the EMA Retail Advisory Council, along with another indie and executives from most of the largest rental and retail chains.
More
The bigger picture By Samantha Clark - 10/13/2006 Samantha Clark is managing editor of VB.
Within hours of Pali Research releasing their report entitled “The DVD Party is Over—Movie Industry Concerns Growing,” consumer media was ready to report the DVD format was all but buried.
More
Connecting to high-def By Amy Jo Smith - 09/15/2006 Amy Jo Smith is executive director of DEG: The Digital Entertainment Group.
While the DEG remains committed to keeping DVD the focal point of home entertainment, we are equally focused on the transition to high-definition.
More
One is better than two By Dan Crider - 08/18/2006 Dan Crider is owner of video disc broker Volume Video, Carrollton, Texas Steve Devick (Guest Column, VB, 8-7) is wrong when he says that co-existing game systems prove that two different high-definition DVD formats can co-exist.
More
Two formats can co-exist By Steve Devick - 08/04/2006 Steve Devick is president of Concert Hot Spot, which is releasing titles on both high-def formats.
I know what you’re thinking. You’re thinking that the turf battle between Blu-ray and HD DVD will have a clear winner.
More
Don’t count indies out By Tom Paine - 07/21/2006 Tom Paine is owner of six-store DVDNow! in Redmond, Wash.
Much has been written or said lately portraying indie rentailers as a relic of the past.
More
The name game By Bo Andersen - 06/23/2006 Bo Andersen is president of the Entertainment Merchants Assn.
Next month, we will convene the 25th … and some will say the last … VSDA convention.
More
Indies need breadth, fresh air By Steve DeMille - 06/09/2006 Steven DeMille is senior VP of marketing services at First Look Studios Home Entertainment.
It’s time to revisit a discussion we had five years ago and five years before that: breadth vs. depth.
More
