HD DVD Brings the Heat to Digital Life 2006 With New Titles and Consumer Momentum

HD DVD Brings the Heat to Digital Life 2006 With New Titles and Consumer Momentum

HD DVD Mobile Experience Rolls Into New York Fueled by Strong Consumer Adoption and New Blockbuster Title Announcements

NEW YORK, Oct. 12 /PRNewswire/ -- Today at Digital Life 2006, the North American HD DVD Promotional Group showcased increasing momentum for the high definition format, offering a glimpse at new titles and interactive features that continue to redefine the standard for high definition movie experiences. With the 18-wheeled HD DVD Mobile Experience set-up inside the Javits Center, attendees were treated to HD DVD's unrivaled video and sound quality, and unique interactive capabilities that are already tipping the scales with consumers.

Bringing new meaning to "action-packed," Universal Studios Home Entertainment announces the release of one of the year's most anticipated crime thrillers and the first HD DVD title shot completely in high definition -- "Miami Vice." Shooting in high definition offered benefits that are clear for HD DVD, providing a new level of depth and clarity that often can be lost on film. Coming to stores on December 5, 2006, "Miami Vice" will be released as a combo disc that will play the R-rated version of the film in standard DVD players and an Unrated version in HD DVD players. The high definition Unrated version introduces 19 minutes of never-before-seen footage coupled with mind-blowing interactive features enabled by Universal's revolutionary "U Control" menu system. Without leaving the Unrated movie, you can check out the tech specs on the expensive cars and boats, track the car chases through the streets of Miami with an on-screen GPS locator, or examine production photographs and details about the cast as you watch the scenes.

According to recent ACNielsen reports, the average HD DVD owner has purchased 8.4 HD DVD movies to date.(1) By annualizing this rate of activity, the average HD DVD household will own more than 28 HD DVDs after one year. During the month of August alone, HD DVD movies outsold all other high definition formats by a factor of nearly three.(2) Last week, Universal Studios Home Entertainment's "The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift," became one of the fastest selling HD DVD movies, selling through 30% of inventory on the first day of availability.

"Titles such as the recently released 'Batman Returns' from Warner, and upcoming titles like 'Miami Vice' from Universal are taking full advantage of the unique capabilities only HD DVD can offer," said Craig Kornblau, president of Universal Studios Home Entertainment. "When you add in the combo disc option that gives you both a standard DVD version and a high definition version of the movie on one disc, consumers can be assured that it will play on any player in the home. We're not settling for offering great high definition movies with cutting edge interactivity -- we also want to deliver value by future-proofing your collections."

For anyone who owns an HDTV, but isn't getting the full high definition experience, HD DVD players for the living room, the PC, and for Xbox 360 are on the market or coming soon at competitive price points, providing an easy, affordable transition to HD. Recently, HP unveiled HD DVD-enabled PCs and an external drive that will be available for sale this holiday season, and Toshiba announced its second generation HD DVD players for the U.S. market, the HD-A2 and HD-XA2. The HD-XA2 is designed to output 1920 x 1080p, the highest HD signal currently available. The Xbox 360 HD DVD Player available this holiday will come packaged with an Xbox 360 Universal Media Remote and a copy of Universal's "King Kong," all for $199. These products will offer consumers a wide variety of options this holiday season to experience movies the way they were meant to be enjoyed.

The lineup of great titles available in HD DVD continues to grow with Warner Home Video's latest title announcements, including "V for Vendetta," starring Natalie Portman. With a release date scheduled for October 31, "V for Vendetta" will make its HD DVD debut with In-Movie Experience (IME), the interactive feature allowing viewers to enjoy new ways of accessing interviews and other material while the movie is running. The IME for "V for Vendetta" features the Director's Notebook: Reimagining a Cult Classic for the 21st Century. And on November 28, this summer's blockbuster, "Superman Returns" will make its debut, along with two special edition versions on the HD DVD format: the original "Superman: The Movie," as well as the completely re-edited version from the original director himself, "Superman II: The Richard Donnor Cut."

There are now more than 80 HD DVD titles available from major studios -- more titles than any high definition format, with more than 150 titles expected this holiday season including "Mission: Impossible 3," "King Kong" and "Nacho Libre." Additionally, with the backing of Universal Studios Home Entertainment, Warner Home Video, Paramount Pictures Home Entertainment, HBO, New Line Home Entertainment, Rhino Entertainment, Image Entertainment, The Weinstein Company, Brentwood and HDNET, HD DVD ensures consumers will continue to receive some of the best HD movie content available.

About HD DVD

The DVD Forum develops and defines DVD formats. Its more than 200 strong membership brings together leaders in movies and entertainment, computing, consumer electronics and software. In November 2003, the DVD Forum selected a single technology as the next-generation, post-DVD standard for high capacity, high definition optical discs -- HD DVD. HD DVD is fast becoming the primary visual medium for the age of high-definition TV. The North American HD DVD Promotional Group, Inc. is an organization established to promote the HD DVD format and educate consumers in North America. For more information and a complete listing of HD DVD launch titles please visit http://www.thelookandsoundofperfect.com/ .

(1) Source: ACNielsen

(2) Source: Nielsen VideoScan DVD sell-through data for August 2006

Source: North American HD DVD Promotional Group, Inc.

CONTACT: Dane Estes, +1-425-452-5400, or destes@webershandwick.com, or
Wayne Hickey, +1-425-452-5400, or whickey@webershandwick.com, both of Weber
Shandwick for North American HD DVD Promotional Group, Inc.

Web site: http://www.thelookandsoundofperfect.com/

-------
Profile: intent