Fox Announcement today

[Leon]

Fox Set to Renew Blu-ray Commitment, Announce Future Release Plans

http://bluray.highdefdigest.com/news...ease_Plans/875

We've since received official confirmation from Fox today that in response to Paramount's announcement, they are currently fast-tracking a press release reiterating their exclusive support for Blu-ray, as well as providinglong-awaited details on their future release plans.


Here it is.

29 Titles To Debut Packed With Soon-to-Be-Announced BD Industry 'Firsts' - PLUS
- Fox's First TV Title 'PRISON BREAK' FANTASTIC FOUR: RISE OF THE SILVER SURFER
And LIVE FREE OR DIE HARD and Other Titles To Debut Day-and-Date on BD/DVD --
Blu-ray Out-Performing HD DVD 2-to-1 At Retail in 2007 --

LOS ANGELES--(BUSINESS WIRE)--
Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment (TCFHE) today unveiled an
aggressive global Blu-ray Disc release strategy including 29 new release and
"must-have" catalog titles that runs through the end of the 2007 calendar year.
Among the many highlights of the impressive worldwide slate are six day & date
BD/DVD new theatrical releases from Fox including the $241 million box-office
family favorite FANTASTIC FOUR: RISE OF THE SILVER SURFER and the $335 million
box-office action powerhouse LIVE FREE OR DIE HARD, four day & date BD/DVD (U.S.
only) new theatrical releases from MGM, 19 'must-have on BD' films from the two
studios' libraries, Fox's first-ever TV release on BD - PRISON BREAK -- and
Fox's intention to release at least one state-of-the-art title per month
featuring numerous BD 'firsts.'
The only high-definition packaged media universally supported by the film,
music, gaming and computer industries, BD is the #1 selling high-definition
packaged media. In fact, on a worldwide basis, BD is averaging nearly 70%
market-share per week of all high definition titles sold this year and, in the
U.S., it is out-performing HD DVD by a margin of 115%.
"Given that Blu-ray has consistently outsold HD DVD all year, and this is
the case for any titles released by any studio in both formats, we believe that
the time is right for us to accelerate our activities and help convert the
nearly 60 million high definition households worldwide into Blu-ray households,"
noted Mike Dunn, President Worldwide, Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment.
"By the end of this calendar year there will be expansive availability of
technically vibrant releases featuring never-before-seen, advanced BD-J
interactivity as well as a broad offering of playback devices at attractive
prices that will prove to any doubting consumers once and for all that Blu-ray
is the only way."
"And as Blu-ray continues to grows stronger, it has become survival of the
fittest which is most apparent in the retail landscape where our eager and
growing global Blu-ray consumer base has caused a shift that is forcing the
allocation of more space to the format that is selling the best. And, in many
recent instances of note, top retailers in North America are choosing to promote
the Blu-ray format exclusively in their stores," continued Dunn.
Among the BD industry 'firsts' from the Studios' upcoming global release
slate are picture in picture capability, enhanced viewing and surround sound
modes with the ability to mix and match picture and sound, direct access to
in-movie features through one of the four colored buttons on the BD remote and
the most technically vibrant BD-Java interactive multi-player challenge and
trivia games to date. The Studios' slate also takes full advantage of BD-Live
functionality this fourth quarter. Internet-connected consumers will enjoy
unique, title specific "web-enabled" interactive features and games and
"web-exclusive" downloadable content with the ability to connect and interact
with other broadband BD users worldwide.
Cementing its leadership position within the industry - previous BD
releases NIGHT AT THE MUSEUM and X-MEN THE LAST STAND rank in the Top 20
best-sellers - the vast majority of the Studios' upcoming global slate will be
presented on 50 GB dual-layer discs with advanced BD-J interactivity and feature
numerous Blu-ray exclusive high-definition bonus materials that further realizes
BD's incredible potential. Consumers will enjoy the superior video and audio
elements of AVC encoding and Lossless HD audio on many of the coming titles as
well as enhanced and integrated menus, personal scene selections, search
indexing, trivia and other title specific games and high-definition bonus
materials.
Upcoming BD-J features exclusive to priority catalogue titles from Fox and
MGM include an "Alien Scavenger Hunt" (INDEPENDENCE DAY) that challenges players
to earn points by identifying the correct number of aliens in select scenes to
unlock additional bonus features; a "Global Warming Trivia Track" (THE DAY AFTER
TOMORROW) where users must correctly answer questions about global warming to
keep the Earth's temperature from rising and being destroyed; and a historical
and geographical pop-up map (MASTER & COMMANDER) that tracks the location of
Captain "Lucky" Jack Aubrey and his enemies.
Listed below are the upcoming Blu-ray Disc releases from Fox and MGM
excluding new theatrical day & date BD/DVD releases. EXACT TITLE CONFIGURATIONS
TO FOLLOW IN THE COMING WEEKS.

TITLE N.A. RELEASE INTERNATIONAL RELEASE
MASTER & COMMANDER OCT. 2 OCT.
THE DAY AFTER TOMORROW OCT. 2 NOV.
FROM HELL OCT. 9 OCT.
THE FLY (1986) OCT. 9 Q1 08
EDWARD SCISSORHANDS OCT. 9 NOV.
28 DAYS LATER OCT. 9 North America Only
ROBOCOP (MGM) OCT. 9 DEC.
AMITYVILLE HORROR (1979) (MGM) OCT. 9 North America Only
BATTLE OF BRITAIN (MGM) NOV. 6 Q1 08
A BRIDGE TOO FAR (MGM) NOV. 6 Q1 08
I, ROBOT NOV. 13 Q1 08
DIE HARD NOV. NOV.
DIE HARD 2: DIE HARDER NOV NOV.
DIE HARD WITH A VENGEANCE NOV. NOV.
RED DAWN (MGM) NOV. Q1 08
MR. AND MRS. SMITH DEC. 4 DEC.
INDEPENDENCE DAY DEC. 4 DEC.
CAST AWAY DEC. 4 North America Only
RONIN (MGM) DEC. 4 DEC.

Blu-ray Disc is a next generation optical disc format developed for
high-definition video and high-capacity software applications. A single-layer
Blu-ray Disc holds up to 25 gigabytes of data and a dual-layer Blu-ray Disc
holds up to 50 gigabytes of data. This greater storage capacity enables the
Blu-ray Disc to store over six times the amount of content than is possible with
current DVDs, and is particularly well-suited for high definition feature films
with extended levels of additional bonus and interactive material. Blu-ray also
features the most advanced copy protection, player backward compatibility with
the current DVD format, connectivity and advanced interactivity.
Fox takes advantage of the next generation format's high definition
technology and advanced functionality to present its titles with the highest
quality audiovisual elements. Showcasing picture quality with six times the
resolution of DVD and theater quality "uncompressed" audio for the purest
digital sound, the cutting-edge discs also feature enhanced and integrated
menus, games, high-definition bonus materials and Java-encoding for more dynamic
and sophisticated interactivity.
The Studio's commitment to emerging technologies is dedicated to enhancing
the consumer experience of its products and providing for backward compatibility
with their existing home entertainment libraries while also aggressively
protecting its intellectual property from piracy. The Blu-ray companies fully
embrace the Studio's steadfast commitment to the fight against piracy and the
preservation of the integrity of its properties. Twentieth Century Fox is a
member of the Board of Directors of the Blu- ray Disc Association.
A recognized global industry leader, Twentieth Century Fox Home
Entertainment LLC (TCFHE) is the worldwide marketing, sales and distribution
company for all Fox film and television programming on VHS, DVD and Blu-ray Disc
(BD) as well as acquisitions and original productions. The company also releases
all products around the globe for MGM Home Entertainment. Each year TCFHE
introduces hundreds of new and newly enhanced products, which it services to
retail outlets -- from mass merchants and warehouse clubs to specialty stores
and e-commerce - throughout the world. Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment
LLC is a subsidiary of Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation, a News
Corporation company.
Source: Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment
Contact: Fox Home Entertainment
North America
Steve Feldstein/Callie Jernigan
310.369.5369 / 310.369.8370
or
International
Marla Rothschild/Stephanie Wenborn
310.369.5827 / 44.77.986.28695

[Blu-News.com]

Yay, I hope they announce The Simpsons Movie. I really want that movie in high def, I would also like Epic Movie hahaha.

[PIHB]

nice thats one of those "you know, someday i should replace that burned out light bulb, but not right now" statements

[pkremer]

We were wondering what it would take to get them to finally get back in...looks like it took losing a major studio to do it!

It also seems that they weren't planning to make this announcement yet, but they are having their hand forced. Paramount going exclusive was huge news for HD-DVD, and the BDA can't let this stew for the next few weeks, they've got to come back with some great news for Blu-ray as well to keep BD fans from considering neutrality.

[Leon]

Please please bring out die hard and alien Maby they will start with Simpsons The Movie ! Its on !

oh by the way F¤¤k Microsoft, Paramouth was thinking blu, but they screw us all again.. War to continue

[cleeve]

nice thats one of those "you know, someday i should replace that burned out light bulb, but not right now" statements

Umm, i think you need to improve your reading comprehension, because it's not like that at all.

It says Fox is going to unveil its' release schedule TODAY, not 'some time soon', or just saying 'we still support blu-ray'.

This is a solid move for sure. Finally Fox is back!

[Xyz123]

Sad that it took Paramount kind of news for Fox to make an announcement.

[Balian]

nice thats one of those "you know, someday i should replace that burned out light bulb, but not right now" statements

Better get some shades because a new bulb is coming later today.

[Balian]

Sad that it took Paramount kind of news for Fox to make an announcement.

Well Fox may have lost Paramount all by themselves. They decided not to make anymore releases on Blu-ray until BD+ is in placed. This decision helped HD DVD. Had Fox keep their schedule, Blu-ray would be THAT MUCH farther ahead and Paramount might not decided to be HD DVD exclusive after all.

[Blu-News.com]

Sad that it took Paramount kind of news for Fox to make an announcement.

I think it's great they announced today, it's the best time for them to speak out. Hopefully they don't dissapoint titles wise.

[pkremer]

Well Fox may have lost Paramount all by themselves. They decided not to make anymore releases on Blu-ray until BD+ is in placed. This decision helped HD DVD. Had Fox keep their schedule, Blu-ray would be THAT MUCH farther ahead and Paramount might not decided to be HD DVD exclusive after all.

Of course, if BD had waited until all its specifications were finalized, BD+, BD-Java, they never would have been able to penetrate the market in the first place...

[Bulldog]

Whoopie shit, Fox can "announce" all they want, funny they only do when BR takes a hit. Christ, their supposed support has been a joke from the start.

[Legobricke]

LOL......

The Big FOX announcement is that they are going HD-DVD exclusive!

Lego

[Xyz123]

Well Fox may have lost Paramount all by themselves. They decided not to make anymore releases on Blu-ray until BD+ is in placed. This decision helped HD DVD. Had Fox keep their schedule, Blu-ray would be THAT MUCH farther ahead and Paramount might not decided to be HD DVD exclusive after all.

Fox certainly hurt blu-ray these last many months. Let's see if they finally walk the walk and not just talk the talk.

[rkobylka]

Fox needs to stop making announcements and actually release something. Who's to say that the titles they do announce today won't be delayed again for months.