According to HollywoodinHidef.com, a 3D Blu-ray release of Avatar 3D will come out in November 2010,  for several months it will only be available for the buyers of Panasonic 3D Blu-ray equipment. In turn, Disney is reportedly close to signing a similar deal with Sony Electronics to bundle the 3D Blu-ray of Tim Burton’s Alice in Wonderland with the purchase of Sony 3D hardware.

In February, Avatar director James Cameron had said to the Wall Street Journal that a 3D Blu-ray of the movie would come out in November (see Blu-ray.com, February 18). That was promptly denied by 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment with a note that said verbatim: “3D is in the conceptual stage and Avatar will not be out on 3D Blu-ray in November” (see Blu-ray.com, February 19).

If those exclusivity deals are confirmed, most of the major studio movies recently released in 3D in theaters will be bundled for exclusive release.

The first 3D feature film to receive a 3D Blu-ray was Monsters vs. Aliens, from Dreamworks Animation, and that was available exclusively as part of Samsung’s Blu-ray starter kit (see news and review). Interestingly, again according to HollywoodinHidef, that exclusivity window expired recently, but Dreamworks Animation has not revealed any plans for a general release of the 3D BD of this movie.

In turn, the stereoscopic Blu-ray editions of Coraline from Universal and Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs from Fox are being offered to buyers of the VT25 line of Panasonic Viera 3D Plasma HDTVs (see Blu-ray.com, May 18).

The 3D version of Disney’s A Christmas Carol will be available in November as part of a 4-disc BD/DVD/digital copy combo (see blu-ray.com, May 22).

Sony Pictures Home Entertainment is set to release a 3D edition of Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs in the summer. That title will also be “primarily bundled” with Sony 3D hardware, but a standalone retail 3D version will also be offered.

Consumer electronics manufacturers – especially Panasonic, Samsung and Sony -, are allegedly offering studios substantial fees for these exclusive deals, to the tune of millions of dollars for each title. This is a profitable deal for studios, as these fees dwarf the potential revenue from a traditional retail release, considering the very small installed base. As Avatar producer Jon Landau graphically depicted it, “we would be the egg coming before the chicken.” And the free 3D titles become a significant marketing asset for hardware makers and retailers, enticing TV buyers to upgrade to a 3D model.

The only people who stand to lose in the deal are buyers of 3D TVs, as they theoretically would need to buy new 3D hardware to be able to access 3D titles other than the ones bundled with their initial purchase.

As of this writing, the only 3D BD titles with a general release date come from Europe: 3D editions of Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs is up for preorder in Germany and the the UK for June (see blu-ray.com, April 14 and April 15, respectively), and Grand Canyon Adventure: River at Risk is coming out in Germany on June 30 (see blu-ray.com, May 19).

source blu-ray.com

Blu-ray disc unit sales rocketed 167% last year, helping to steady the falling DVD market in Europe, according to the Digital Entertainment Group Europe (DEGE) quoted by the UK Press Association.

2009 sales of Blu-ray discs – worth nearly £400 million – partially offset last year’s 9% decline in DVD sales, which decline 2% by volume. Indeed, Europe’s overall home entertainment market was worth £5.5 billion in the last 12 months – a fall of 7% on 2008.

DEGE chairman Yves Caillaud, speaking at the annual general meeting in London, said: “Blu-ray is gaining further momentum in Europe thanks to a concerted cross-industry promotional effort, near universal penetration of high-definition TVs, increased consumer awareness and greater player affordability.”

He added: “Last year was never going to be easy, but in comparison to many other similar sized industries, the European home entertainment businesses in 2009 held up well.”

Despite last year’s sales drop, the industry is hopeful that the introduction of 3D TV will give the market a fresh injection.

Source DVD Intelligence – reproduced with permission

Universal Studios Home Entertainment announced the introduction of dual-format disc containing both Blu-ray and DVD versions of some of Hollywood’s most iconic films. The new “flipper” discs will launch on 19 January 2010 with the blockbuster ‘The Bourne Identity,’ ‘The Bourne Supremacy’ and ‘The Bourne Ultimatum,’ premiering as individually packaged Blu-ray discs.

“For the first time ever, consumers will have the ability to choose between Blu-ray and DVD formats, simply by flipping a single disc. With complete utility in one convenient package, the revolutionary medium can be used on any DVD or Blu-ray compatible player, game platform or computer, making it ideal for anyone planning to upgrade to Blu-ray at a future date as well as current owners of both Blu-ray and DVD systems,” says the studio.

Each side of Universal’s flipper discs includes the entire movie as well as all available bonus features, with the Blu-ray side featuring BD exclusives such as U-Control and BD-Live.