Blu-ray Disc Sales Up

by Melissa J. Perenson, pcworld
The Digital Entertainment Group released its midyear report today, and Blu-ray Disc is a noteworthy bright spot. The DEG's industry report echoes the rosy picture of Blu-ray that the Blu-ray Disc Association presented at a press conference at the Consumer Electronics Show in January, and it reinforces the data offered by Adams Media Research this spring-namely, that Blu-ray Disc sales doubled in the first quarter of 2009 over the first quarter 2008.
Consumer spending on Blu-ray discs was up by 91 percent, to $407 million. More consumers have been renting Blu-ray discs, too: Revenues from rentals are up by 62 percent.
This news comes in spite of a recent Harris Poll report indicating that consumers were uninterested in adopting Blu-ray Disc.
According to DEG, consumer spending on prerecorded entertainment as a whole (including DVD, Blu-ray Disc, and digital distribution) during the first half of 2009 was off by 3.9 percent against last year's numbers. Blu-ray Disc sales are up at a time when HDTV household penetration has increased by 13 percent since the end of 2008. Sales of Blu-ray players have grown by 25 percent, and hardware prices continue to decline--a testament to the format's strength in the weak economy. The market success of Blu-ray also reflects the robust trend seen at the theatrical box office: Even tough times don't stop people from consuming entertainment. The DEG numbers note that U.S. households now have more than 2 million stand-alone player units. That brings the total installed base of Blu-ray players--including Sony PlayStation 3 consoles--to 11 million. Of that number, nearly 75 percent are BD-Live capable, meaning that they can handle discs with special Internet-connected content.
More than 40 million Blu-ray titles have now been sold in the United States, and more than 1600 titles are available. Over 190 titles offer BD-Live content.

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Google sees YouTube profitable in near future

by Anupreeta Das, reuters
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Web video site YouTube will be profitable for Google Inc in the near future, the Internet search leader said on Thursday.
Google acquired YouTube for $1.65 billion in 2006, but has lost money on the site that lets people post and share videos free.
Analysts have raised concerns about the huge costs involved in streaming millions of videos with only a tiny swathe of them being supported by advertising.
"YouTube is now on a trajectory that we're very pleased with," Google Chief Executive Eric Schmidt said during an earnings call on Thursday.
He added that Google is helping marketers and advertising agencies create "great ads easily" for YouTube.
Google executives have recently made bullish remarks on YouTube's revenue growth. Schmidt told reporters at the Sun Valley technology and media conference this month that new advertising formats, such as pre-roll ads that appear before a Web video program, will draw in more revenue.
On Thursday, Google's head of product management and marketing, Jonathan Rosenberg, said "monetized views" -- people viewing videos that are supported by advertising -- more than tripled in the past year.
"We're now monetizing billions of views of partner videos every month," he said.
In response to an analyst question, Google Chief Financial Officer Patrick Pichette said recent efforts to introduce new ad formats and promote videos have helped to establish YouTube's home page among advertisers as relevant and "desirable for customers."
"We're really pleased both in terms of (YouTube's) revenue growth, which is really material to YouTube, and... in the not long, too-long-distant future, we actually see a very profitable and good business for us," Pichette said.
Google reported a quarterly profit on Thursday that beat Wall Street expectations, but its revenue growth was not as stellar as some investors had hoped, sending its shares down nearly 3 percent.

Gaming Laptop - Alienware M17x

By Cisco Cheng, pcmag
Most hardcore gamers couldn't care less about how a gaming laptop looks. Give them the fastest processor and most powerful 3D graphics card and let them get on with the show. While most gaming laptop manufacturers would agree (they would buy the bulkiest bare-bone chassis from a Taiwanese factory and customize it with their own parts), Alienware is the one company that goes against the grain. The Alienware M17x ($4,850 direct) is now the benchmark of gaming laptop designs, as its frame is completely covered in aluminum metals—a look reminiscent of an all-terrain vehicle. Even after focusing much of its attention on design, Alienware didn't forget about its processing roots: An Intel Extreme Quad core processor and the ability to switch between a low-powered and a ridiculously powerful Nvidia graphics card deliver a gaming punch like no other. Yeah, it'll cost you a bundle, but we're still giving it the Editors' Choice in the gaming category.
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