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Sony announces "Manufactured-on-Demand" DVD service

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Offline BeAStooge

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This looks interesting...

http://biz.yahoo.com/bw/080124/20080124005293.html?.v=1
Quote

Press Release Source: HP

HP and Sony Pictures Home Entertainment Announce Manufactured-on-Demand Content Licensing Agreement
Thursday January 24, 7:45 am ET

PALO ALTO, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--HP (NYSE:HPQ - News) and Sony Pictures Home Entertainment (SPHE) today announced that SPHE will license select catalog titles from its vast home video library for production and distribution via HP’s DVD manufactured-on-demand service.

This agreement makes Sony the first major Hollywood studio to present its home video titles using HP’s service.

“HP’s manufactured-on-demand service provides us with a viable means of delivering a broader range of niche and library product to consumers,” said David Bishop, president, SPHE. “We know there is strong consumer demand for these titles, and by working with HP we can monetize our deep product library and help give retailers the means to bring a wider offering of Sony Pictures product to consumers without a significant investment in inventory.”

The list and availability of SPHE titles to be licensed through this agreement has yet to be finalized.

HP DVD Manufactured-on-Demand Service

HP’s manufactured-on-demand service is used to produce a DVD of any movie, TV show or other video content, regardless of niche or obscurity. Content currently being targeted for release includes:

 - Classic and older TV shows never before released on DVD
 - Foreign movies
 - Productions for specialty genres such as religion, education, lifestyle, health, food and sports
 - Specialty cable TV programming
 - Independent movies
 - Recently broadcast TV shows and sporting events with high relevancy in specific geographic markets or within specific consumer segments.

For studios and video merchants, the HP service can eliminate the challenges of matching supply and demand on catalog and specialty titles and also reduce inventory, packaging and return costs.

The service is a component of HP Digital Content Services (http://www.hp.com/go/dcs), which helps retailers fulfill the requests of customers wanting video content in various forms, including digital downloads, traditional packaged DVDs and emerging video formats such as HD DVD and Blu-ray discs.

“HP’s agreement with Sony signals a significant move in the entertainment industry,” said Willem de Zoete, vice president and general manager, Digital Content Services, HP. “Together, we’re offering customers a greater selection of content, bridging the gap between the amount of content that is created and that which actually is published and available for consumption.”


Offline falsealarms


Offline Genius In the Lamp

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HP’s manufactured-on-demand service is used to produce a DVD of any movie, TV show or other video content, regardless of niche or obscurity. Content currently being targeted for release includes:

 - Classic and older TV shows never before released on DVD
 - Foreign movies
 - Productions for specialty genres such as religion, education, lifestyle, health, food and sports
 - Specialty cable TV programming
 - Independent movies
 - Recently broadcast TV shows and sporting events with high relevancy in specific geographic markets or within specific consumer segments.


And let's hope they add short subjects (Andy Clyde, Hugh Herbert, or Schilling & Lane, anyone?), cartoons (Fox & Crow), and B movies (particularly Boston Blackie).
"I like very much your English punk rock stars, you know, your Lulu, your Dave Clark Five!"  - Jerzy Balowski


Curley91

  • Guest
This looks really interesting.  Let's hope they decide to give the Stooges a part in this one.  After all, they are classics!


Offline ProfessorStooge

This new service seems interesting. Since Stooge fans want all 190 Stooge shorts on DVD, Sony might include them on their list of titles. It might get the remaining shorts released on DVD sooner than we think.


Offline Mike Lipincranz

I don't know.........It was my idea but i don't think much of it...... :-\


xraffle

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I don't know.........It was my idea but i don't think much of it...... :-\

You got me thinking now. What short did Moe say that line? I totally forgot, which is not like me.



Offline bbug

Hmmm - the potential is great, but I dunno....

Columbia has one of THE premier collection of shorts from the 30's and early 40's.  So far, they've clearly transfered a significant number of Stooge shorts from film negative to moderately well restored digital masters.  They've done the same with the Buster Keaton shorts from the 30's.

The two open issues here are:

   1) How many of the shorts in their library are either available in a form that lends itself to moderately good digital transfer - or have already been transfered.  My sense is they will largely be putting up for On-Demand sales those items they've already transfered, though the fact the release mentions "Classics and older TV shows never before released on DVD" indicates they either have existing digital transfers they've not released yet (this certainly is true to some extent) and/or they are reviewing the entire existing library of negative or positive prints that are in moderate good shape to decide which can turn the greatest profit the most quickly.

   2) What price premium will they add to these On-Demand products to monetize the clear interest a customer exhibits by coming to the service in search of something they want and can't easily obtain.  We all know from the arguments over inflated CD costs that once the digital master exists, the cost per copy to the manufacturer is minimal.  However, when coming to such a service, a customer is announcing their special interest, and you can be certain Sony will want to make $$$ from that interest.  I can remember when I used to shop (and sell) at flea markets ages ago, there was this style of buying that could avoid announcing your interest, so as to be able to barter down the price.  If you were over-enthusiastic, the seller would immediately recognize they could hold out and expect to get a good price for the item from you.  My sense is the price/short for this On-Demand service won't be anywhere near the price we all paid by getting the premium pre-sale price from Amazon (< $1/short).  My low-ball guess this HP On-Demand service which needs to slice profit out for HP too will end up charging ~$10/hr of content or ~$3/short.  For the remaining 166 shorts, that's would mean paying nearly $500 total, as opposed to ~$150.  A pretty significant difference - and that's assuming they'll even make the effort to do the digital transfers for all the remaining shorts that have not yet been mastered in digital form.


stooged and confused

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Xraffle:

That quote came from "Mutts To You" when Moe was pondering his idea of adopting the baby they found "abandoned" on the doorstep!


xraffle

  • Guest
Xraffle:

That quote came from "Mutts To You" when Moe was pondering his idea of adopting the baby they found "abandoned" on the doorstep!

Thanks, a karma point for you. What's funny is that when someone mentions a line, I usually know automatically what short it came from. This is not like me at all. I'm only in my 20s and my memory is fading.

Speaking of "Mutts To You," that is great short that will be on Volume 2 if it ever comes out.


Offline bbug

'Mutts to You' also has that great scene at the end with Curly in drag masquerading as the baby's mother, and Bud Jamison a thickly broughed Irish cop:

O'HALLORAN: Ah - Mrs. O'Toole is it - from me 'ole sod.  A fine brahth ofa bayh ya' have there Mrs. O'Toole.  Is he on th bahttle, yet.
CURLY: Hmm - I should say not.  He don't smoke, drink, nor chew.

O'HALLORAN: Mrs. O'Toole (puts his hand on Curly's shoulder who flinches and pulls away) Oh, I beg yahr, pahrdon.  (chuckling) You remind me of a cahleen I once knew in the county Kerry.
CURLY: And you remind me of a cop I once knew in the county jail.


Offline Three Stooges 4Life

Now is this on demand thing something us fans have to request to them for them to keep making all the remaining stooges shorts? or is it something that they will automatically produce as long as they have the rights to all the shows


Offline archiezappa

I think this is a great idea.  I think they should offer this and downloads.  My brother has expressed interest in having Stooges on his iPod.  I hope this idea works well.  I know I'll use it.  We may be able to get all of the Columbia short subjects that we want.


Offline ProfessorStooge

Answering ThreeStooges4Life's question, i am not sure how this service will operate. I am hoping that is done by request of the public. If that is the case, I have a request:

Soup to Nuts
Meet the Baron (with Nertsery Rhymes as a bonus feature)
Dancing Lady (with Beer and Pretzels as a bonus feature)
Myrt and Marge
Fugitive Lovers (with Plane Nuts as a bonus feature)
Hollywood Party (with The Big Idea as a bonus feature)

Time Out for Rhythm
Rockin' in the Rockies
Swing Parade of 1946
Gold Raiders

All 6 Curly-Joe features, with Kook's Tour as a bonus feature on one of them.

I am not sure how this will work out since not all these films are in Sony's vault.


Offline BeAStooge

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Soup to Nuts
Meet the Baron (with Nertsery Rhymes as a bonus feature)
Dancing Lady (with Beer and Pretzels as a bonus feature)
Myrt and Marge
Fugitive Lovers (with Plane Nuts as a bonus feature)
Hollywood Party (with The Big Idea as a bonus feature)

Swing Parade of 1946
Gold Raiders

... Kook's Tour


These are not Columbia films, and will not be distributed by Sony.

Already available on DVD, from...

20th Century Fox Home Entertainment
SOUP TO NUTS

Warner Home Video
BEER AND PRETZELS
DANCING LADY
GOLD RAIDERS
MEET THE BARON
PLANE NUTS

Legend Films, GoodTimes, other misc pd distributors
SWING PARADE OF 1946

Madacy
KOOK'S TOUR


Offline ProfessorStooge

Considering that most of the films I listed are not in the Columbia archives, do you think the studios that own those films could accept suggestions for DVD's of those films? I am just curious.


xraffle

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Professor: Some of those films you mentioned are already on DVD such as Soup to Nuts, Meet The Baron, Dancing Lady, Nertsery Rhymes, Beer and Pretzels, Plane Nuts, The Big Idea, Swing Parade, Gold Raiders, and Kook's Tour.

Out of the 6 Curly-Joe Movies, 5 of them have been released on DVD. "Have Rocket Will Travel" hasn't been released.


Offline ProfessorStooge

I am so curious as to why Have Rocket-Will Travel has not yet been released on DVD. Hopefully we will see it on DVD someday, like the remaining Stooge shorts. Last I checked Amazon.com, the 1934-1936 DVD set had a sales rank of #192.


xraffle

  • Guest
I am so curious as to why Have Rocket-Will Travel has not yet been released on DVD. Hopefully we will see it on DVD someday, like the remaining Stooge shorts. Last I checked Amazon.com, the 1934-1936 DVD set had a sales rank of #192.

I know, especially since it's the best one, in my opinion. They should've released that movie and not bother with "Stop, Look and Laugh."

Last I checked Amazon.com, the 1934-1936 DVD set had a sales rank of #192.

Last I checked, it was priced at $13.99. I wish I bought it for that price. I got ripped off!



Offline locoboymakesgood

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Last I checked, it was priced at $13.99. I wish I bought it for that price. I got ripped off!
Meh. I paid $20 for mine and I consider it the best $20 I've ever spent.
"Are you guys actors, or hillbillies?" - Curly, "Hollywood Party" (1934)