Despite another overall decline of 3.3% in consumer spending on home entertainment (DVD, Blu-ray Disc, digital distribution) to $8.8 billion in the first six months, sales and rentals of Blu-ray Disc reached a combined total of $982 million for the first half of the year, with  Blu-ray Disc sales accounting for $733 million in the period, and $363 million in the second quarter alone.

Blu-ray Disc hardware sales also continued to climb by 103% in the first half of the year, selling almost 2 million set-top units to bring the total installed base of Blu-ray Disc players in the U.S. to 19.4 million units.

Shipments of Blu-ray discs to retail were also way up in the first half of 2010 to 77 million, a 98% increase from last year, according to figures compiled by Swicker & Associates on behalf of the DEG. Household penetration of all Blu-ray Disc compatible devices, including set-top players, PC drives and PlayStation 3 consoles, has now reached 19.4 million U.S. homes.

“The growth of Blu-ray, both hardware and software, continued to dominate the home entertainment landscape in the first half,” said Ron Sanders, President, DEG and President, Warner Home Video.

In related HiDef data, 79 million HDTVs have sold to consumers, with some 8.5 million HDTVs selling in the first half of the year to put U.S. household penetration at approximately 51.32 million, according to figures compiled by the DEG based on data from CEA, retailers and manufacturers.

Overall, packaged media sales dropped an alarming 7.1% in the first half of the year, and that is compared to a fairly poor showing last year as well. But the decline was not as steep in the second quarter, when packaged media sales were down 3%.

“Clearly, we are still grappling with a challenging marketplace and a tough economy, but overall the trends that we are seeing are encouraging,” Sanders said.

Overall consumer spending on home entertainment also looked brighter in the second quarter when it was nearly flat at -0.7%.
Also encouraging, consumer transactions for home entertainment products were up 2.3% for the first half of the year.

Digital distribution continued a steady rise with electronic sales up 36.9% to $285 million and video-on-demand (VOD) up 19.1% to $865 million in the first half of the year, a combined growth of 23.1% to $1.1 billion. This marks the first time that digital distribution surpassed the $1 billion mark in the first six months of the year.

Overall rental spending was down 4.9% to less than $3 billion in the first half of 2010, according to Rentrak Corporation’s Home Video Essentials, although kiosk revenue was up 55%.

It’s not surprising that DVD sales and rentals are down as the market has clearly achieved an astounding maturity level with 284 million DVD players, including set-top and portable DVD players, Home-Theater-in-a-Box systems, TV/DVD and DVD/VCR combination players, having been sold since the format was introduced in 1997. There are now about 91 million DVD households and the DEG estimates that some 68% of DVD owners have more than one player.

Nonetheless, another 8.7 million DVD players were sold to U.S. consumers in the first half of 2010, according to figures compiled by the DEG based on data from CEA, retailers and manufacturers.

The DEG compiles quarterly sales data for various products within the home entertainment category, including Blu-ray, DVD and HDTV. The industry association compiles its data based on input from member companies, retailers and industry association tracking sources.

– by Scott Hettrick

Among the extras in Criterion’s special edition of the story of a French colonel who goes head-to-head with the army’s ruthless top brass when his men are accused of cowardice after being unable to carry out an impossible mission in treench warfare:

• New, restored high-definition digital transfer, with uncompressed monaural soundtrack
• New audio commentary by critic Gary Giddins
• Television interview from 1979 with Douglas
• New video interviews with Kubrick’s longtime executive producer Jan Harlan, Paths of Glory producer James B. Harris, and actress Christiane Kubrick
• Excerpt from a French television program about real-life World War I executions
• Theatrical trailer

• PLUS: An essay by Kubrick scholar James Naremore

Criterion is also releasing another black-and-white classic on Blu-ray in October (19th), a two-disc special edition of the 1954 Japanese 3 1/2-hour “Seven Samurai,” which inspired the 1960s American adaptation “The Magnificent Seven.”

Special features with the Akira Kurosawa film starring Toshiro Mifune and Takashi Shimura in Japanese with English subtitles include:

• Restored, high-definition digital transfer, with uncompressed monaural soundtrack
• Two audio commentaries: one by film scholars David Desser, Joan Mellen, Stephen Prince, Tony Rayns, and Donald Richie and the other by Japanese film expert Michael Jeck
• Fifty-minute documentary on the making of Seven Samurai
• My Life in Cinema, a two-hour video conversation between directors Akira Kurosawa and Nagisa Oshima
• “Seven Samurai”: Origins and Influences, a documentary that looks at the samurai traditions and films that helped shape Kurosawa’s masterpiece
• Theatrical trailers and teaser
• Gallery of rare posters and behind-the-scenes and production stills
• PLUS: A booklet featuring essays by Kenneth Turan, Peter Cowie, Philip Kemp, Peggy Chiao, Alain Silver, Stuart Galbraith, Arthur Penn, and Sidney Lumet, and an interview with Toshiro Mifune from 1993

– By Scott Hettrick

Sasha Jackson of “One Tree Hill” stars with Sharni Vinson (”Step Up 3D”), Elizabeth Mathis (”Enchanted”), Ben Milliken “(Newcastle”) and newcomer Chris Fisher, in this story of a Beverly Hills high school graduate who rebels against her father’s prodding to start college and heads to her late mother’s beloved South African beaches to ride some of the world’s most spectacular waves, make new friends, and find a path to her future.

Produced by Brian Grazer and Ron Howard for Imagine Entertainment and distributed by Universal Studios Home Entertainment this surfing sequel to the 2002 original that starred Kate Bosworth and Michelle Rodriguez is helmed by veteran disc-premiere producer/director Mike Elliott (Universal’s “Beethoven’s Big Break,” “Smokin’ Aces 2: Assassins Ball,” “American Pie Presents: The Book of Love,” and upcoming “Death Race 2″).

Among the locations for “Blue Crush 2″ are the renowned “home of the perfect wave,” Jeffrey’s Bay (aka “J-Bay”), North Beach, Glenmore, Banana Beach and Coffee
Bay.

The production incorporates expert female surfers from the Roxy team, including #1 ranked Sally Fitzgibbons as well as Laura Enever, Bianca Buitendag, Rosy Hodge, Tanika Hoffman, and Danielle Le Roux.
Additional female surfers are Sarah Baum, Roxy Louw, Tarryn Chudleigh, Kirsty Delport, Mia Hordyk, Morag Steele and Heidi Palmboom.

Men surfers featured are the top two highest-ranked Taj Burrow and Jordy Smith, as well as Travis Logie. Big wave surfer Grant “Twiggy” Baker, Rudi Palmboom Sr, Casey Grant, Warwick Wright, Mikey February and Andrew “Roosta” Lange are also featured.

– By Scott Hettrick

The bonus material will also be accessible in a new “MU-TH-UR Mode” interactive access feature to connect material from every previous home video release of the “Alien” saga, including the 1991/1992 laserdisc releases, the 1999 “Legacy” release and 2003’s “Alien Quadrilogy.”

The set also includes two versions of each film and more than four hours of previously unreleased exclusive material such as original screen-tests of Sigourney Weaver prior to filming the original “Alien,” unseen deleted scenes, thousands of still photographs from the Fox archives, and the previously unseen original cut of “Wreckage and Rage: The Making of Alien3.”

The three-disc sets of “Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban” and “Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire” ($49.99 each) from Warner Home Video each offer never-before-seen footage and hours of special features..

As with last December’s releases of the first two ultimate editions of “The Sorcerer’s Stone” and “The Chamber of Secrets,” the new editions each include a book featuring more than 40 pages of movie stills, production sketches, concept paintings, collectible character cards, and a bonus digital copy of the film.

The releases are timed to precede the Nov. 19 theatrical release of “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part I.”

– By Scott Hettrick

Other new member companies include Amazon.com, Samsung Electronics, SRS Labs, Testronics and Verance.

As DEG kicks off its 14th year, several new executives have been appointed to the board of directors, including Lori MacPherson, executive Vice President & General Manager of Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment. MacPherson replaces the seat long held by Robert Chapek, who was most recently DEG chairman until he was promoted to president of Distribution at Walt Disney Studios.

“The DEG is grateful for Bob’s many years of service to the organization,” said Amy Jo Smith, Executive Director, DEG. During Chapek’s tenure DEG grew from 42 member companies to 70.

MacPherson joins new board directors Stephen Nickerson, president of Summit Home Entertainment and Jim Belcher, Vice President Advanced Technology & Production at Universal Music Group for the fiscal year Aug. 1, 2010 – July 31, 2011.

Warner Home Video president Ron Sanders was re-elected DEG president. One of the committee’s two vice presidents is newly elected David Bishop, President, Worldwide Home Entertainment, Sony Pictures Home Entertainment.

The other three members of the executive committee were re-elected: Craig Kornblau, VP; Mike Dunn, Secretary; and Eisuke Tsuyuzaki, Chief Financial Officer. Each will serve a two-year term.

The DEG recently relocated to 10635 Santa Monica Boulevard, Suite 160, Los Angeles, Calif. 90025.

Other board members are: Henry McGee, President, HBO Home Entertainment; Tim Alessi, Director, Product Development, LG Electronics; Steve Beeks, President, Lionsgate; Eric Doctorow, General Manager, Worldwide, MGM Home Entertainment; Blair Westlake, Corporate Vice President, Media & Entertainment Group, Microsoft; Dennis Maguire, President, Home Entertainment Worldwide, Paramount Home Entertainment; Marty Gordon, Vice President
Philips Electronics; Andy Parsons, Senior Vice President, Corporate Communications & New Product Planning, Pioneer Electronics; Leslie Cohen, Senior Vice President, New Products & Services, Sony Music Entertainment; Chris Fawcett, Vice President, TV Business Unit, Home Division, Sony Electronics; and Jodi Sally, Vice President, Toshiba America Consumer Products.

– By Scott Hettrick

Warner is also expected to showcase the November theatrical release of part one of “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows” in 3D, but no details have been revealed as yet.

On the Blu-ray front, Sony has a title tailor-made for Comic-Con with its Oct. 5th release of “30 Days of Night: Dark Days,” based on the second book of the vampire graphic novel series by Steve Niles and Ben Templesmith. The studio plans a sneak peek, a one-hour panel (7:30 p.m. Friday night, July 23) and press interviews with Niles, co-writer of the film; director and co-screenwriter Ben Ketai (”Dusk to Dusk”); and stars Keile Sanchez (”Lost”), Diora Baird (”TCM: The Beginning”), Rhys Coiro (”Entourage,” upcoming “Straw Dogs”), and J.R. Young, producer at Sam Raimi’s Ghost House Pictures,k which produced “Dark Days” along with Stage 6 Films.

Disney has booked multiple Tron media and/or attendee events each day of the first two days of the show — they are dubbing it “ComiTron” — with a 90-minute cast and crew panel in the famed Hall H of the San Diego Convention Center at 11:15 a.m. Thursday, July 22, as the main event. Director Joe Kosinski and producers Sean Bailey and Steven Lisberger (of the original 1980 “Tron”) as well as cast members Jeff Bridges, Garrett Hedlund, Olivia Wilde, Michael Sheen and Bruce Boxleitner, and other “surprise guests” are all scheduled to sit in on the discussion moderated by Patton Oswalt and featuring film clips from the December 17 Disney Digital 3D and IMAX 3Drelease.

The studio also plans an interactive Tron booth on the convention floor (aisle #3712) providing a preview of movie-related merchandise launching this fall, including content for mobile electronic devices, as well as the “TRON: Evolution” video game from Disney Interactive Studios.

Nicolas Cage will appear on a Hall H half-hour panel at 10:30 a.m. Friday, July 23, to promote Summit’s February 2011 release of “Drive Angry 3D.” Joining Cage and in addition to the debut of film clips from the film depicting a gory road trip of a vengeful father who has escaped from hell to hunt down the people who brutally killed his daughter and kidnapped her baby, will be director Patrick Lussier (”My Bloody Valentine 3D”) and co-stars Amber Heard and William Fichtner. Summit is also setting up multiple media opportunities with them.

– By Scott Hettrick

The three-disc “Complete First Season” of the series featuring an ensemble cast reflecting the cultural and sexual diversity of many families will include all 24 episodes, cast interviews, behind-the-scenes featurettes, deleted, extended and alternate scenes, a gag reel, and more for $59.99. Among the extras are featurettes on Fizbo the Clown and “Modern Family Hawaii.”

Available next month for about $400, Sony’s BDP-S1700ES Blu-ray 3D player features an IR input on the back panel for integration with control systems, and also offers built-in Wi-Fi (802.11n) for access to Sony’s Bravia Internet Video platform and Sony’s new premium video service, Qriocity.

Users with an iPhone or iPod touch device can control the player using the free “BD Remote” app available from the Apple App store. The app, which will also be available soon for Android devices, allows the hand-held to function as a remote control and displays Blu-ray Disc details such as jacket artwork, actor, and production information as well as search for related video clips online.

The new Elevated Standard (ES) AV receivers — STR-DA5600ES, STRA-DA4600ES, STR-DA 3600ES — and the Blu-ray 3D  player, the BDP-S1700ES, complement the recently introduced line of Sony 3D-capable of Bravia  HDTVs.

Sony said in today’s announcement that the company is focusing its distribution strategy exclusively on specialty AV retailers and custom installers, and therefore ES products will no longer be offered for sale online or through telesales.

Sony’s 2010 ES AV receivers offer 3D pass-through and flexible multi-room features, as well as IR input jacks and two-way serial control, among other things.

The company also added the 110-watt STR-DN2010 network 3D capable model to its receiver line up. The model will be available in August for about $800.

The receivers also feature new HD Digital Cinema Sound that was developed together with Sony Pictures Entertainment to transform and replicate both the sound quality and acoustics of a movie theater in the home environment.

All of the models support 1080/24p video signals and x.v.Color™ and Deep Color™ video codecs, as well as all advanced audio formats (Dolby® Digital Plus, Dolby® TrueHD, dts® Master HD, dts® ES, Dolby® Digital EX, Dolby® Pro Logic IIx and 8 channel Linear PCM).

Model Specifications:

STR-DA5600ES 7.1 Channel Network Multi-room AV Receiver

Available in September for about $2,000

•           130 watt  x7 @ 8-ohms, 1kHz, .09% THD

•           DCAC EX Speaker Auto-Calibration with Speaker Relocation (distance and degree) and Automatic Phase Matching (APM)

•           3D pass-through

•           Integrated four port Ethernet switch

•           Second zone CAT5e output

•           DLNA Client and Live Audio Server

•           iPhone / iPod Touch remote control application

•           Quick Click feature for multi-room source control (with iPhone/iPod touch app)

•           On-screen graphical user interface with overlay (main and second zones)

•           H.A.T.S. clock synchronization for HDMI and DSD

•           Standby pass-through of audio and video via HDMI

•           Control system integration via control over IP, RS232 or IR

•           PC set up manager

•           Audio Return Channel for TV audio over a single HDMI cable

•           Shoutcast® Internet Radio and Rhapsody® Music Service

•           Dolby® TrueHD and dts® HD Enhanced audio codecs

STR-DA4600ES 7.1 Channel Network Multi-room AV Receiver

Available in August for about $1,500

•           120 watt  x7 @ 8-ohms, 1kHz, .09% THD

•           3D pass-through

•           Integrated four port Ethernet switch

•           Second zone CAT5e output

•           DLNA Client

•           iPhone / iPod Touch remote control application

•           Quick Click feature for multi-room source control (with iPhone/iPod touch app)

•           On-screen graphical user interface with overlay (main and second zones)

•           Standby pass-through of audio and video via HDMI

•           Control system integration via control over IP, RS232 or IR

•           PC set up manager

•           Audio Return Channel for TV audio over a single HDMI cable

•           Shoutcast® Internet Radio and Rhapsody® Music Service

•           Dolby TrueHD and dts HD Enhanced audio codecs

STR-DA3600ES 7.1 Channel Network Multi-room AV Receiver

Available in August for about $1,100

•           100 watt  x7  @ 8-ohms, 1kHz, .09% THD

•           3D pass-through

•           Integrated four port Ethernet switch

•           DLNA Client

•           iPhone / iPod Touch remote control application

•           Quick Click feature for multi-room source control (with iPhone/iPod touch app)

•           On-screen graphical user interface with overlay (main and second zones)

•           Standby pass-through of audio and video via HDMI connected devices

•           Control system integration via control over IP, RS232 or IR

•           PC set up manager

•           Audio Return Channel for TV audio over a single HDMI cable

•           Shoutcast® Internet Radio and Rhapsody® Music Service

•           Dolby TrueHD and dts HD Enhanced audio codecs

STR-DN2010 7.1 Channel Network AV Receiver

Available in August for about $800

•           110 watt  x7  @ 8-ohms, 1kHz, 1% THD

•           3D pass-through

•           Integrated four port Ethernet switch

•           DLNA Client

•           iPhone/iPod touch remote control app

•           On-screen graphical user interface

•           Wireless second zone audio (S-AIR™ multi-room capability)

•           Standby pass-through of audio and video via HDMI connected devices

•           Audio Return Channel for TV audio over a single HDMI cable

•           Shoutcast® Internet Radio and Rhapsody® Music Service

•           Dolby TrueHD and dts HD Enhanced audio codecs

BDP-S1700ES Blu-ray 3D Player

Available in August for $400

•           Full HD 1080p single-disc Blu-ray Disc, DVD, CD, SA-CD player

•           Blu-ray 3D capable

•           BRAVIA Internet Video and Sony’s Qriocity

•           IR input jack on rear panel for easy control system integration

•           Built-in Wi-Fi  Wireless (802.11n) with Wi-Fi Protected Setup (WPS)

•           Entertainment Database Browser with Gracenote™ technology

•           BD Remote (iPhone/iPod touch and Android remote control – free app.)

•           Photo/music/video playback via USB and DLNA

•           DVD upscaling to 1080p with Precision Cinema HD Upscaling

•           Dolby TrueHD and dts-HD Master Audio™ decoding

•           Built-in 1GB Memory

The same band that popularized quadraphonic sound, The Who, will have the soundtrack from their 1975 rock opera “Tommy” presented in the original theatrical “Quintaphonic” five-channel soundtrack on the movie’s first HiDef Blu-ray release Sept. 7.

Sony Pictures Home Entertainment’s newly digtially restored and remastered version of “Tommy” ($24.95), directed by Ken Russell, also includes a re-mastered 5.1 soundtrack to allow viewers to choose how they want to hear iconic songs such as Elton John’s rendition of “Pinball Wizard.”

“Tommy” was first and only film with a Quintaphonic soundtrack, using five discrete channels of sound in a “Sound in the Round” manner that enveloped the audience from all directions.

– By Scott Hettrick