Site created 12/15/97.		page updated: 9/3/98 Rumor Mill (Archived Posts 6/8/98 - 3/26/98) Back to Previous Archives Back to Current Posts 6/8/98 A contact of mine, who was at this morning's press conference at Paramount, learned unofficially that the Titanic DVD may not reach stores until Jan or Feb of next year! However, Paramount will apparently release DVDs day-and-date, along with catalog on some titles, in Oct, Nov and Dec... go figure! I know the news is discouraging, but just remember how poorly Universal started in DVD? After the initial disaster of pan-and-scan titles in jewel cases (and having half their line-up pulled by Amblin) they improved tremendously. All right, so it's not much consolation. Hang in there, folks... 6/6/98 Word is that Paramount's Titanic DVD is definitely in the works, but will very likely not be a day-and-date release with VHS. A source told me last night, that the disc still in the authoring phase (as reported elsewhere in the Net). And that creates a problem - the disc will have to be a DVD-9 release (a dual-layered disc). Currently, there are only three plants capable of manufacturing DVD-9s: Nimbus, Warner's Advanced Media Operations, and Pioneer (although I'm told others will come on line in August). And their DVD-9 manufacturing capacity is very much maxed out at the moment. DVD-9s are very tricky to manufacture - as many as 1-in-4 have to be trashed as they roll off the line because of defects. And when you consider that a major title like Titanic will probably pre-sell 300,000 copies on DVD, a lot of time is needed to meet just the initial demand. This is why L.A. Confidential, Devil's Advocate, Tomorrow Never Dies, Contact and other major dual-layered releases have been in such initial short supply. Manufacturing capacity is struggling to keep up with demand, which has often been underestimated. This problem has even caused several major dual-layered titles (and you can probably guess which ones I'm talking about) to be postponed. It's also a been a major factor in keeping other longer movies from being released on DVD. Given the fact that Titanic is not yet ready to be pressed, and that pressing enough discs to meet even the initial demand will take considerable time (once manufacturing capacity becomes available to accommodate it)... well, you can begin to see why it would be difficult for Paramount to meet the film's reported 9/1 VHS street date. My guess is that on Monday, we'll hear something to the effect of "a DVD version will be announced at a later date"... and that the disc will finally hit store shelves in November. Hopefully, they'll at least say something about the DVD, rather than keeping us all in suspense. Stay tuned... 6/5/98 Just a very quick update today... I've been informed that Paramount will announce the Titanic video release at a press conference on Monday morning, with James Cameron in attendance. This is officially confirmed, not rumor. Also, I'm hearing very tentative, unofficial word that Disney may be considering releasing Dumbo as its first animated DVD for the holidays... Stay tuned... 6/3/98 My sources are telling me that Paramount is having a big meeting here in L.A. on Friday, to announce the video release of Titanic. Word is that they will specifically announce the VHS release date, and possibly info on the DVD version... Unless things change, look for them in September... I'm told that among the announcements that may be made at the upcoming VSDA show, are DVDs of The Peacemaker and Mouse Hunt from DreamWorks, and Spielberg's official grand-reentry into the DVD market with the release (finally) of Close Encounters and Men In Black from Columbia/TriStar, and possibly Jaws from Universal... Paramount will also announce their opening DVD titles, and Fox is expected to announce DVD there as well... Finally, unofficial word is that Buena Vista's DVD releases for August (8/18 street date) will include: Phantoms, Judge Dredd and Titanica (IMAX)... Titles in the works for September should improve considerably, with Good Will Hunting and Jackie Brown... I'm also still told that the first major Disney animated title will be released to DVD for the holidays... Stay tuned... 6/2/98 Some interesting rumors today... First off, there are claims that Divx has been cracked. I'm not sure how reliable this rumor is, but it's been floating around for a couple of days. The story claims a PC/DVD-Rom was used to play the video portion of a Divx test disc in Japan. Again, as I can't trace this one reliably, I include it here for interest only... Now on to stuff I know is reliable... Divx apparently has plans to launch in Canada next year, and overseas (in selected countries) in 2000. Due to export restrictions, International Divx may not use the same encryption system as the U.S. flavor, but it will reportedly be, "sufficiently robust to ensure adequate protection of the studios' intellectual property." Personally, I think thinking about overseas expansion of Divx is a bit overly optimistic at the moment... Word from down under, is that Columbia/TriStar will be releasing its Close Encounters DVD in Region 4 (Australia) in about a month. No word yet on a Region 1 release date... Finally, notice how quiet the DTS camp has been these last couple of months? Their DVDs were supposed to start appearing in April, or shortly thereafter. Word is there may now be trouble with the audio encryption and some related hardware issues. I'll post more as I hear it. Stay tuned... 5/31/98 I have it from a number of sources, that director Steven Spielberg may finally be ready to warm to the DVD format... Word is that he has asked Universal to begin preparing digital masters of a select few of his older, non-Amblin films for DVD release... In addition, Columbia/TriStar may be releasing its indefinitely postponed Close Encounters DVD this summer, after all... Also, I've been hearing that when DTS finally gets around to releasing DVD titles later this year, Jurassic Park could be among them... A source in a position to know, has confirmed that discussions are underway, between Fox and Lucasfilm, to determine a DVD release date for The Star Wars Trilogy: Special Edition... A March 1999 date has been floated, but this has yet to be confirmed... I am told that the trilogy's release to DVD is now a matter of when, rather than if... Stay tuned... 5/15/98 Those of you who have been waiting for classic Disney animation to appear on DVD, may not have much longer to wait. A disc called Mickey Mouse: The Black and White Years has just been announced for a May 25th release in Japan (Region 2). I'm told that a similar release, Spirit of Mickey, is tentatively scheduled to hit store shelves here in the States in August. Word is that Hercules may also be tentatively scheduled for DVD release in September. What's more, I have heard that the Lion King is being digitally mastered for eventual DVD release. And (cross your fingers here) Disney may have decided to adopt 16x9 enhancement for at least its animated titles... A quick note - I have learned that the September 1 release date (and $19.96 MSRP) reported yesterday for Titanic, is for the VHS release. I have no specific word yet on the DVD, but if Paramount follows their press release, it should be available around the same time frame, at probably $24.99 - $29.99. Finally, I've had further confirmation that Fox plans to make their DVD announcement at the VSDA convention (July 8-11) in Las Vegas. I'll post more as I learn it, so stay tuned... 5/13/98 Well folks, look for DVD to get a lot easier to find this summer. Word from a very good source is that WalMart plans to roll out DVD to 1,500 of their stores nationwide in June. They'll be carrying at least the top 40 titles at these locations, as well as 2 or 3 different players. Target stores are also rumored to be preparing a late-June, nationwide DVD rollout. Add to that the upcoming Blockbuster Video DVD rollout to 1,000 of their stores (expected within 60 to 90 days), and Hollywood Video's similar plans... I have it on very good authority that Paramount has in fact decided upon the street date for their Titanic DVD. Look for it on September 1, at an MSRP of $19.96... I have heard again today, that VSDA will be the likely venue for the Fox DVD announcement. Paramount is also expected to officially announce their first DVD titles and release dates there... Stay tuned! 5/12/98 There have been several rumors that Fox will be announcing DVD support this week. According to my sources, this isn't true. The best word they have at the moment indicates that Fox will be making some kind of DVD announcement at VSDA in July. Announcing there, with great fanfare, actually makes more sense than anytime before that anyway... Word on MGM's Bond discs, according to one of my sources, is that once the current discs are sold, no more will be pressed. Why you may ask? I'm told it has nothing to do with legal issues at all. Remember that Goldeneye: Special Edition we've been hearing about? Well MGM is apparently working on a lot of Bond Special Editions, the first of which will be released for the holidays. So to increase demand for them, the basic discs will not be repressed once current supplies are gone. It will be interesting to see how the success of Tomorrow Never Dies affects this. Also, I've heard that HBO's From the Earth to the Moon is going to be released to VHS in October or November, but there are no plans at the moment for a DVD release. What say you start using that e-mail form on their web site and let them know you want it on DVD! Finally, I'm told (not officially) that Columbia/TriStar's Gattaca DVD has tentatively been rescheduled for June 16th... 5/8/98 I've been hearing rumors that DreamWorks is planning to release The Peacemaker and Mouse Hunt to DVD in August. This news comes by way of a distributor, and is also corroborated (at least in part), by a recent Variety article on DVD (5/4 - DVD Hopes 'Titanic' Proves A Lifesaver). Here's the relevant paragraph: "Only Warner Bros., Columbia and MGM routinely issue new releases on DVD and video simultaneously (though Paramount says it will also). But fear of digital piracy has so far kept Disney, Universal and DreamWorks from issuing new releases on DVD until 30 days or more after VHS release." The article seems to group DreamWorks as a pro-DVD studio. As you know, both The Peacemaker and Mouse Hunt are now in stores on VHS. Stay tuned... 5/6/98 Major info!! Word from a well-placed industry insider is that Circuit City and Divx will announce tomorrow that they are postponing the test-launch of Divx! I'm told that the launch will now definitely not happen in May, and may be delayed even longer, perhaps indefinitely. The reason? Divx is apparently blaming the studios for dragging their feet with lackluster support for the beleaguered format! I'm told that the news will break tomorrow in the press. Stay tuned...! NEW UPDATE - 5/4/98 Paramount has officially denied the Titanic July video release date rumors. Check their page in the Studio & DVD News section for the details... 5/4/98 I've been hearing rumors that Fox is tentatively planning to re-release the Star Wars Trilogy: Special Edition to VHS in March 1999, to help generate excitement for the Summer release of Episode 1 (possibly titled Guardians of the Force). Word is that the re-release will feature a trailer for the new movie, and will include a DVD version as well... Word is that Paramount may be considering releasing Titanic to home video as early as July. There are a number of reports, indicating that the studio is concerned about the number of bootleg copies circulating, as a result of intense demand for the title. Paramount would rather that demand be filled by purchasing their legal copy of the video. So to stem this illegal activity, they have moved the release date up by two or three months. Other evidence for this comes from Billboard magazine, which has reported a July 28th release date for a second CD of music from Titanic. Billboard indicates that the CD's release date is set to coincide with the release of the film to video. And as we all know, Paramount recently announced that it would release its new films to DVD day-and-date with VHS. Looks like the lines at your local video store could get a bit longer this summer... 4/30/98 Word from Circuit City employees in Richmond, VA, is that Divx players and discs are expected to arrive in their stores in mid-May (15th-18th)... Also, word now is that the Fox press conference may involve the Theatrical Division, not Home Video... Stay tuned... 4/29/98 I'm getting information from someone who runs a major Star Wars web site on the Internet, that the Fox announcement Friday may have to do with unveiling the name of the new Star Wars film (Episode 1), which will debut next year. Once again, the announcement may have nothing to do with Home Video or DVD. Stay tuned... NEW UPDATE - 4/28/98 Word is that Buena Vista will bring Swingers, An American Werewolf in Paris, Mr. Magoo and Scream 2 to DVD on July 21st. Stay tuned... A possible Titanic release date? Word from someone in the video retail community is that Paramount Home Video has informed retailers that the VHS version of Titanic will hit stores on Tuesday, September 1st. Retail is $19.96, so it's likely a 2-taper. If Paramount sticks to this, and to their promise of day-and-date DVD releases, you may all be standing in line at your local video store on 9/1... 4/28/98 Ok, this is very tentative information, but I have heard that Fox Home Video may have scheduled a press conference for Friday morning. The purpose is uncertain, but I wouldn't be surprised if an announcement of support for open DVD were made then... Also, word is that at least some of the major DVD studios are considering ways to move the retail cost of their software down to around the $16 price range. One way being considered to accomplish this, is to release two separate versions of each movie (as is currently done with VHS): a pan & scan copy and a widescreen/16x9 copy. This would eliminate the need for two-sided discs and thus reduce manufacturing cost. More on this as I hear it... 4/27/98 I have it from someone who's in the know, that among the first titles Paramount will announce are: Face Off, Star Trek: First Contact, Event Horizon and obviously Titanic. Face Off is to be first, with a possible release date as early as July. No word yet on features. FYI - there are no Divx exclusives. That's definitely false information. Word is that the Titanic screen shot is a fake. Apparently the guilty party fessed up on the newsgroups. Nice work in any case! See I told you it was easy... I don't think there's too much else that needs to be said in light of today's great news, BUT... now that Paramount is officially in... keep a VERY close eye on Fox. Trust me on this one... 4/25/98 Ok, folks... the latest is that a new screen shot, allegedly of a Titanic DVD menu screen, was posted today on the newsgroups. Here it is (same disclaimer as below applies): Is it genuine? I have no idea. I do know that digital masters of Titanic have been undergoing compression at an authoring facility in LA. Since Divx discs will include no extra languages, this pix is either a fake, or the first look at an actual Titanic DVD screen. But there's no way to really tell. The reason is that these post houses use some of the same software (namely Adobe Photoshop) that many of us on the Internet do. Heck, all of the graphics on The Digital Bits were done in Photoshop. In a couple of hours, I could probably whip up a killer-looking DVD menu screen, for just about any movie you want. So while these pictures are all tantalizing, that's all they are. Unfortunately, this is probably just the tip of the iceberg (no pun intended). I fear we'll be seeing lots more such shots in the months to come, precisely because any half-talented yahoo can make them so easily... Now... that said, there's some news on the ID4 shots. After a day's worth of detective work, and several rounds of phone calls to my contacts, I have able to ascertain the story behind the Great Independence Day DVD Mystery. The first call, naturally, went to the offices of Fox Home Video. Rest assured, they've been getting lots of calls on this subject. They're answer was, as expected, no surprise: "No comment." The gentleman I spoke with was polite, but it was clear they were irritated about the whole thing. I was told that Fox Home Video's VP of Media Relations, Steve Feldstein, had been taking calls all day and had been telling people, "We are not in the DVD business." At this point, Fox should just record this message and have their receptionist transfer anyone who calls asking about DVD to it. The Cineram/POP DVD Center (which does a great deal of DVD authoring and mastering, and allegedly did the ID4 work) was also unable to tell me anything. They were very kind, but after inspecting the pix, made it clear that they had not created them. They too had been receiving calls and e-mails about these pictures - more than 40 when I spoke to them. Undeterred, I set out calling more than a dozen of my contacts, many of whom I knew had seen ID4 on DVD late last year. The thing that puzzled me, was that while some recognized the screen shots immediately as genuine, others were adamant that the screens they remembered seeing were completely different. Finally, after some serious legwork, and a round of mutual arm-twisting, I was given the skinny... It seems that last summer, Fox was giving serious thought to jumping on the DVD bandwagon. Fox went so far as to send a D1 master tape, containing a widescreen digital film transfer of ID4, to a handful of LA-area authoring and compression facilities. Each facility was to fully master the film for DVD, including all menu screens and interactive codework needed, and the facility returning the best work would get the contract to handle all Fox DVD product. Three versions were returned, with DVD test pressings made of each for comparison purposes. The artwork and menu screens were different on each. The pix below are genuine, from a test disc of one of these versions (which explains why my contacts saw different discs). From that point, information is more sketchy, but I'm told that one was chosen, and discs were made and packaged to be sold either during the holidays last year or early this year. However, a change in leadership at Fox Home Video, resulted in all DVD work being placed on indefinite hold. Fox has since, of course, officially denied any DVD work or plans, and has committed instead to the Divx format only. So when will Fox finally release their Independence Day DVD? Time will tell. There are however, rumors of plans in the works at Fox, to join DVD later this year. All right, now that you know the story, I'm going to step on the soapbox and editorialize a bit, because I know Fox people will read this. The irritating thing about all this, is not that DVD work has clearly taken place at Fox, despite their official denials. That's how the business works - closed doors and nondisclosure agreements abound. What's upsetting is that consumers are begin treated so poorly in the meantime. I've gotten numerous e-mails from people, who tell me that they've been talked to like children and even hung up on when calling Fox, asking about DVD. I've even experienced it myself - during one call a few months ago (following their Divx announcement), a very senior marketing person at FHV was a good deal less than civil. Look, I can understand why the folks at FHV may be a bit irritated by all the calls. I'm certain that they've had to listen to some pretty harsh language, judging by some of the posts on the newsgroups. But those in charge at Fox made their own bed... now they have to sleep in it. By announcing a commitment to Divx only releases, Fox effectively vilified themselves within the home theater, consumer electronics and computer communities. With the help of Paramount and Dreamworks, all those fears of a format war akin to VHS vs. Beta were suddenly made real. Anger is especially strong in the case of Fox, because just about everyone with a DVD player is anxious for Star Wars. The George Lucas trilogy remains the Holy Grail of DVD - the so-called 'killer app'. Let's face it - the announcement of a DVD release of the Star Wars Trilogy: Special Edition would probably sell half a million players. Amblin, at least, has made public statements that they will likely join DVD, once the market has matured a bit. But as long as they remain silent on the issue, Fox and Paramount will continue to draw the ire of hundreds of thousands of consumers. What surprises me the most, is how clearly out of touch those in the industry seem with consumers, when it comes to Divx. Everyone refers pleasantly to Divx as an add-on feature or enhancement of DVD. On the other side of the coin, consumers who have examined the issue see Divx as a rival format, that will confuse other consumers, and keep everyone from getting Star Wars and Titanic on DVD. History has shown that consumers usually have the last laugh. Listen up Fox and Paramount... it's time to elevate yourselves above these bogus statements about Divx being so great for consumers. People are buying DVD players - so many that in one year, nearly a half a million have been sold to dealers. And judging by the e-mails I've been getting, you're pissing a lot of them off. These are folks who pay good money for your product. Why not forget the 'business as usual' thing for a moment, and show them just the tiniest bit of courtesy for a change...? Enough said. 4/24/98 As many of you know, a set of screen shots allegedly showing menu screens from the illusiveIndependence Day DVD were posted on the alt.video.dvd news group a couple of days ago, by someone calling themselves The Venerable Arch-Mage Meniscus. They were e-mailed to me almost as soon as they went up, by readers eager to know if they were legit. Many of you will recall my comments late last year, that I had it on good authority that ID4 had indeed been mastered and pressed to DVD, for what would have been a holiday release. But a sudden change of leadership at Fox Home Video resulted in the discs being warehoused until further notice. I was reluctant to post the pix until I had done a bit of leg work, to be sure they were the real deal. I've sent them to some of my contacts (who I know have seen the disc), to ask if they can authenticate the screen shots. And while one or two said they were not the same ones they remember, the overwhelming majority said, "That's definitely it." That being the case, I examined the shots carefully for myself. I believe they are genuine. Some of you have seen them by now, but I'm posting them again for those who haven't. I am awaiting official comment from Fox Home Video and the Cineram/POP DVD Center, who allegedly created these screens. I'll have more on this soon. In the meantime, here are the pix in question. DISCLAIMER: The following pictures were sent to me, and are presented here for reporting purposes only. They are widely available on the Internet, and have entered the public domain. Neither the The Digital Bits, nor its editor, accepts responsibility or liability for their distribution. Also buzzing around the Internet, are claims that Republic's recent announcement that it will begin releasing films to DVD is evidence that Paramount will be joining the DVD fray as well. Many of you know that Paramount owns the distribution rights to some of the Republic catalog. But, while I believe that Paramount will release DVDs by the end of the year, please note that this isn't the proof we're waiting for. All of the titles Republic is releasing are older catalog titles like It's a Wonderful Life. The titles Paramount owns are newer films, and there are no plans to release them to DVD yet. Stay tuned... 3/31/98 Rumor is that DTS will announce their first set of DTS-encoded DVD titles on April 8th, at a press conference in New Jersey... Info should be on their web site by April 10th... Look for more hardware announcements related to DTS in the near future... As I mentioned in the Rumor Mill a few days ago, MGM has announced that they will make discs in Divx format as well as open DVD... Word from a very reliable source (close to the director) is that when the installed DVD player base reaches over 1,000,000 (expected around the end of the year) Steven Spielberg will be more favorable to the idea of his Amblin titles appearing on DVD... Spielberg will eventually allow both his recent blockbuster titles and smaller films as well onto the format... He apparently is a big fan of DVD and is interested in his films appearing in the best possible quality on the format, which means 16x9 anamorphic transfers... Look for the first batch of titles around the holiday season... Stay tuned... 3/30/98 This information came to me within the last few days... Source is generally good, but take it with a grain of salt... Fox was planning to announce open DVD releases in June with first wave of titles to hit the street on July 7th... These plans appear to have been pushed back by a month or so... Fox is now likely to announce its commitment to open DVD at VSDA (July 8-11 in Las Vegas)... Look for Independence Day, Speed, True Lies, The Towering Inferno, The Poseidon Adventure and Home Alone to be among their first titles... All will be in letterbox format and in keep case packaging... There may be few extras on early Fox discs (like early Columbia / TriStar titles), but discs will include 16x9 enhancement... Unknown if pan & scan version will also be included on their discs... As for Paramount, announcement should also be made at VSDA...Look for their first DVDs to hit store shelves around the end of August... Early plans are for release of four initial movies - Face Off, Mission Impossible, Days of Thunder and Summer School... Biggest Paramount news at VSDA is likely to be announcement of DVD version of Titanic (but not the Special Edition, which will be a separate release) for fall release... Features on their discs will include letterbox and pan & scan, trailers, production notes, but not 16x9 enhancement... Packaging is said to be jewel case... Keep in mind that these are only very tentative plans, and much may change between now and July... FYI - For those who have been asking me what Disney's Spirit of Mickey is... It's a collection of animated shorts that is scheduled to be released to VHS on July 14th ($22.95 SRP)... A DVD version is said to be in the works... 3/27/98 Buena Vista just confirmed some of those titles I told you about yesterday... Specifically, Playing God, From Dusk Till Dawn, and Flubber... No word yet on Kundun, Dumbo and Spirit of Mickey... I've heard that DTS may finally be close to announcing its initial DTS DVD title list... Word is Jurassic Park and possibly Men In Black will be on it... I've also heard that if you have a Sony 7000, and a DTS receiver with the newer variable-speed decoder chip, you don't need a new DTS-capable player... Stay tuned... 3/26/98 I have heard that Divx may be courting Viacom's Blockbuster Entertainment as a retail outlet for its software... Circuit City may even be making an attempt to purchase the company from Viacom... Word is that Sears is also being approached as a second retail hardware partner, after The Good Guys... I am told that either (or both) MGM and Polygram may be announced as additional Divx studios prior to its rollout... The expected start date of the test market run in Richmond, VA and San Francisco, CA is April 23rd... No Fox titles are expected to be in the initial wave of Divx discs, nor will any appear until after the test run... Fox apparently has a 20% clause in their contract - they've committed to releasing Divx titles ONLY if Divx can capture a 20% market share during the test run... Some distributors have apparently been made aware that both Fox and Paramount have unannounced open DVD release plans waiting in the wings... Fox is rumored to be well along in mastering and packaging of DVD titles... When they announce, expect up to 40 titles to be ready to ship... Thousands of copies of Independence Day on DVD have reportedly been sitting in a warehouse since last November... As for Paramount, I'm told that there are tentative plans to release a wave of 4 open DVD titles in September, to include Titanic and Mission Impossible... I have been sent a list of Buena Vista titles that are reportedly being mastered for possible June-July release... Official word from the studio is that only a few of the titles are accurate (none of them animated), but the individual who sent me the list accurately pegged the April and May titles, so we'll see... Titles are Playing God, From Dusk Til Dawn, Flubber, Dumbo, Spirit of Mickey and Kundun... Regardless of the accuracy of this list, Disney has apparently been considering animated releases to DVD for the fourth quarter of '98... Stay tuned... Back to Current Posts
		Site designed for 800 x 600 resolution, using 16M colors and .gif 89a animation. © 1997-2015 The Digital Bits, Inc., All Rights Reserved. billhunt@thedigitalbits.com