Blu-ray Sale

If ever there was any doubt that consumers were most reluctant to part with their money this Christmas, the early 'January Sales' should silence the nay sayers! Both online and offline retailers have started sales campaigns in earnest! Considerable discounts are available for savvy shoppers...

Stock up on a top class selection of Blu-ray titles in Amazon.co.uk's 3 for 2 promotion, where you can pick three titles and get the cheapest one free! Just add three qualifying titles and the discount will be applied automatically at checkout.

The Blu-ray format is designed to bring out pristine picture clarity and the crispest sound, so that horror titles like Hostel and The Exorcism of Emily Rose become more real and action flicks such as Layer Cake, Casino Royale and Spider-Man 3 seem like they're bursting right out of your screen. Have a browse and start building up your Blu-ray collection now!

I Do Blu

Since Sony's PS3 opened my eyes to the joie de vivre known as Blu-ray, I've been smitten!

Whether it's watching Spider-Man scale the heights of a New York skyline or Spielberg's majestic encounter with visitors from a distant star, Blu-ray excels.

Now a proponent of Blu-ray, here are my aStores, which feature my recommendations:

I Do Blu Shop UK
I Do Blu Shop USA
I Do Blu Shop Canada

Sensing the need to step up promotional efforts behind the Blu-ray Disc format heading into the critical holiday selling season, a group of hardware manufacturers and studios have pooled their resources on a "multimillion-dollar" television, print and online advertising campaign, billed as the largest for the format so far.

The effort, called "I Do Blu," quietly kicked off its prime-time TV portion with a spot on "Dancing With The Stars," and will continue through the Super Bowl.

Companies backing the project include hardware manufacturers Sony, Panasonic and Philips, and Blu-ray-backing studios include Walt Disney Studio Home Entertainment, Sony Pictures Home Entertainment, Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment, Lions Gate and Warner Home Video. While they declined to reveal the exact size of the budget, they say it is the largest to date for the Blu-ray Disc format.

"Before we were really targeting the early adopter [with Blu-ray] but now the time is right to really go broad," said Rich Marty, Sony Pictures Home Entertainment new business development VP. "The [PlayStation3] is coming out at $399 now, and while some of purchasers will be into games, we believe a lot more of them will also really be into movies."

"There are 35 million HDTV sets out there in U.S. homes now, and they need to be informed that if they want to maximize their high-definition movie playback, they really need a Blu-ray player," said Lexine Wong, Sony Pictures Home Entertainment marketing VP.

The ads don't focus on any particular brand to remain fair to the three supporting equipment manufactures.

"It was agreed that we can get a bigger and better message out there if we all do this together," Marty told TWICE. He added that some companies were invited to participate but opted out at this time.

Movies featured in the 30-second TV spot include some of the biggest releases of the fall, including "Spiderman 3," "Fantastic Four: Rise of The Silver Surfer," "Live Free or Die Hard," "Ratatouille," "Wedding Crashers," the "Harry Potter" series, "300" and others.

HD-what?

The Blu-ray Dream Machine

After 5 years my ageing, but trustworthy, Toshiba SD-520 multi-region DVD player finally stopped working on Tuesday night! Sony's PS3 (60GB Premium Version) price cut, announced on Wednesday, couldn't have been better timed! A backlog of Doctor Who DVDs and a desire to indulge in Blu-ray eye candy notwithstanding!

I most certainly couldn't justify a PS3 purchase at launch! £424.99 was far too high an entry fee! However, the new price, £349.99 (including two selected video game titles) while stocks last, is a veritable bargain! Why? The key selling point is Sony's ongoing firmware update strategy (combined with technological trimmings)! And this month is no exception to that rule!

Not satisfied with adding standard definition DVD upscaling for HDTV. This month's firmware update will usher in Blu-ray Profile 1.1, which includes upgraded interactivity featuring true video picture-in-picture playback, and improved DVD player performance (the 40GB model ships with the latter). Future updates purportedly will be headlined by the highly-anticipated DTS-HD Master Audio upgrade!

Such firmware-based scalability arguably puts the PS3 at the forefront of Blu-ray playback and no other standalone Blu-ray machine can compete at this price point! I can't comment on the intrinsic value or merits of Microsoft's external HD DVD drive for Xbox 360.

Throw in PlayStation 2 backwards compatibility, SACD playback and MemoryStick / SD / CompactFlash connectivity (options only available on the 60GB model) and gadget-geeks (myself included) have an all-in-one multimedia hub worthy of the 5 stars awarded by T3 magazine!

My advice is to invest in the 60GB model, HDMI 1.3 compliant cable and Sony Blu-ray Remote, because the 40GB is nowhere near as good value by comparison! And, while you're at the checkout, be sure to grab a copy of the amazing Spider-Man Trilogy (Blu-ray)!

Sayonara "Father of PlayStation"

The "Father of the PlayStation" is stepping down from his position of CEO of Sony Computer Entertainment.

"Kutaragi has said that he has been considering this decision for some time. He stated that, in the six months since the appointment of Kazuo Hirai as President in December, the new generation of management, led by Mr. Hirai, has continued to develop. With the March introduction of PS3 in Europe completing the successful launch of PS3 worldwide, Mr. Kutaragi has identified SCE's Annual Shareholders' meeting in June as the ideal timing to pass on the torch to the new generation of management. Mr. Kutaragi will now apply his extensive technological knowledge and leadership skills to take on new challenges beyond the world of PlayStation. Sony and SCE will continue to seek Mr. Kutaragi's input and ideas from a broad perspective, while continuing to support him as much as possible in the realization of his dreams."

Can Spider-Man 3 save Sony and its ailing brand equity?

Who Wants to Be a Superhero?

“Surprisingly sparkly, like a summertime comic book… it’s hard not to get caught up in all the inner-child fun.”
NEW YORK DAILY NEWS

“There’s no shortage of fun… you have to tune in to believe it in this entertaining series.”
HOLLYWOOD REPORTER

“This funny show is a nice surprise. 4 Stars ****”
PEOPLE MAGAZINE

“A summer pleasure.... this is summer camp!”
USA TODAY

“The SCI FI Channel outdoes itself...”
THE WALL STREET JOURNAL

“Amid all the laughs there’s a feel-good element to ‘Superhero.’ The show proves that the Stan Lee generation has finally taken over the universe....Genuine cast makes ‘Superhero’ superior.”
HOLLYWOOD REPORTER

UK PREMIERE - SERIES
WHO WANTS TO BE A SUPERHERO? BANK HOLIDAY SPECIAL
SATURDAY 5, SUNDAY 6 AND MONDAY 7 MAY FROM 7PM

If you think you’ve seen every possible reality TV show known to man, think again… you haven’t seen anything quite like this before. From the production stable of legendary comic-book writer, editor and creator STAN LEE (SPIDER-MAN, HULK, THE FANTASTIC FOUR, X-MEN) comes this smash hit, six-episode competition reality series that allows ordinary folk to become superheroes! And the prize for such an incredible deed? Something equally remarkable… immortality!

Fed up of creating fictional superheroes, STAN LEE embarks on a quest to find a real-life character who can save the day. But this is no easy task. Featuring a hilarious, X-FACTOR-style audition process, each contestant begins with an original idea for a superhero, a self-made costume, and their best superhero mojo. From thousands of hopefuls, STAN LEE chooses 11 lucky finalists who move together into a secret lair. There they begin their transformations — and the competition to become a real-life superhero.

In each episode, the aspiring hopefuls are faced with a series of challenges that are designed to reveal their true natures. With their mettle tested to the max, the contestants try to overcome their limitations, and do what it takes to prove that they are truly super. How? Well, forget feats of impossible strength… the modern-day saviour needs to display courage, integrity, self-sacrifice, compassion, and resourcefulness — traits that every true superhero must possess.

With contestants ranging from the scantily-clad Monkey Girl (“ooh ohh, ah ah”), to the unashamedly bold Fat Momma (who wears a belt of Krispy Kreme doughnuts for whenever she needs a sugar rush of super-human ability), these superheroes are surprising to say the least. But don’t count them out just yet. In the end, one lucky finalist will have the inner strength and nobility to open the gates to immortality, in a new comic book developed with Stan Lee. And that's not all — the winning character will also appear in an original SCI FI Channel movie!

Now onto its second series in the USA, something tells us that the world is going to be a far safer place if STAN LEE continues to churn out real-life superheroes. But don’t just take our word for it: tune in every day over the bank holiday weekend at 7pm and see for yourself WHO WANTS TO BE A SUPERHERO?

DID YOU KNOW?

* STAN LEE makes a cameo appearance in a forthcoming episode of HEROES (Mondays at 10pm on SCI FI) – as a bus driver. The episode, titled UNEXPECTED, will receive its UK premiere on May 28.

* Movie sequels SPIDER-MAN 3 and FANTASTIC FOUR: RISE OF THE SILVER SURFER are both scheduled for UK release later this year.

* Rumours currently circulating around Hollywood are tipping BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN star JAKE GYLLENHAAL to play Captain Marvel in New Line’s potential movie, SHAZAM! The studio is reportedly looking to bid on a big franchise along the lines of BATMAN and SUPERMAN and think the DC comics character is the perfect project.