July 29, 2005 06:02 AM US Eastern
Timezone
Twentieth Century Fox to Support Blu-ray
Disc Format; Studio to Release Wide Range of New Products and Titles from Its
Vast Film and Television Library
BEVERLY HILLS, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--July 29,
2005--Twentieth Century Fox, a member of the Board of Directors of the Blu-ray
Disc Association since October 2004, announced today that it will release
content on the new high definition Blu-ray Disc format through its subsidiary
Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment LLC. The company will begin releasing
new films, TV programming and other titles from Fox's vast celebrated library of
best-selling film and television programming when Blu-ray hardware launches in
North America, Japan, and Europe.
Fox's film library includes films ranging from the
ALIEN, DIE-HARD and X-MEN series, I, ROBOT, SOMETHING ABOUT MARY and MOULIN
ROUGE to SOUND OF MUSIC, ALL ABOUT EVE, LAURA and GENTLEMAN'S AGREEMENT. The
equally vast television library ranges from such shows as THE SIMPSONS, FAMILY
GUY, 24 and X-FILES to MASH, LOST IN SPACE, IN LIVING COLOR and MARY TYLER
MOORE.
Fox's commitment to emerging technologies is
dedicated to enhancing the consumer experience of its products and providing for
backward compatibility with their existing home entertainment libraries while
also aggressively protecting its intellectual property from piracy. The Blu-ray
companies fully embrace the Studio's steadfast commitment to the fight against
piracy and the preservation of the integrity of its properties. In fact, Fox's
commitment to publish on Blu-ray is a direct result of the organization's recent
adoption of copyright protection measures, including renewable security, that
address the needs and concerns of the studio and the entire Hollywood community.
"We are in creative collaboration with some of the
best filmmakers in the business and the most important thing to the studio is
that we continue to provide the best possible presentation of our films,"
commented Jim Gianopulos and Tom Rothman, Chairmen, Fox Filmed Entertainment.
"Creative advances in movie-making technology have consistently helped raise the
bar in films today and with the Blu-ray Disc the bar has now been raised for the
home viewing experience. We will take full advantage of all the creative
possibilities it offers."
"Blu-ray is a superior high definition technology
that is a full step forward in the evolution of consumer packaged media," added
Mike Dunn, President Worldwide, Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment. "For
consumers, the release of our films on Blu-ray will provide in-home
entertainment beyond anything they have imagined. On the business side, the
advanced functionality, picture quality and data capacity at a competitive
manufacturing cost along with 'room for growth' as new consumer usage options
are developed, fully realizes the promise of a next generation format and
represents the future of home entertainment."
Blu-ray Disc is a next generation optical disc
format developed for high-definition video and high-capacity software
applications. A single-layer Blu-ray Disc will hold up to 25 gigabytes of data
and a dual-layer Blu-ray Disc will hold up to 50 gigabytes of data. This greater
storage capacity enables the Blu-ray Disc to store over five times the amount of
content than is possible with current DVDs, and is particularly well-suited for
high definition feature films with extended levels of additional bonus and
interactive material. Blu-ray also features the most advanced copy protection,
backward compatibility with the current DVD format (meaning Blu-ray players will
play existing DVDs), connectivity and advanced interactivity.
About the Blu-ray Disc
Association:
The Blu-ray Disc Association (BDA) is responsible
for establishing format standards and promoting and further developing business
opportunities for Blu-ray Disc -- the next-generation optical disc for storing
high-definition movies, photos and other digital content. The BDA has more than
130 members. Its Board of Directors consists of Apple Computer, Inc.; Dell Inc.;
Hewlett Packard Company; Hitachi, Ltd.; LG Electronics Inc.; Mitsubishi Electric
Corporation; Panasonic (Matsushita Electric); Pioneer Corporation; Royal Philips
Electronics; Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd.; Sharp Corporation; Sony Corporation;
TDK Corporation; Thomson; Twentieth Century Fox; and Walt Disney Pictures and
Television.
About Twentieth Century Fox Home
Entertainment LLC:
A recognized global industry leader, Twentieth
Century Fox Home Entertainment LLC is the worldwide marketing, sales and
distribution company for all Fox film and television programming on VHS and DVD
as well as video acquisitions and original productions. Each year the Company
introduces hundreds of new and newly enhanced products, which it services to
retail outlets -- from mass merchants and warehouse clubs to specialty stores
and e-commerce - throughout the world. Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment
LLC is a subsidiary of Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation, a News
Corporation company.
Source: BusinessWire
