Picture This

HIGH-DEF DECISION: A high-definition (HD) DVD-Video standard has been chosen by the DVD Forum, the international association of hardware manufacturers in charge of setting next-generation DVD guidelines. The nod went to Toshiba/NEC's blue-laser format, initially presented to the forum in September (Billboard, Sept. 28).

This decision pits the forum against a consortium of eight manufacturers (Hitachi, LG Electronics, Matsushita, Pioneer, Philips, Samsung, Sharp, and Thompson) who proposed a different HD option, known as Blu-ray, outside of the forum in March (Billboard, March 16).

The forum aims to develop Toshiba/NEC-backed HD discs within the next five years. Blue-laser players are expected to debut next year, and will read both current DVD-Video discs and future HD discs, which will contain a shorter laser wavelength and greater storage capacity.

In other Toshiba news, the company has licensed digital video recorder technology from TiVo to use in its new DVD players set to debut next Christmas. The players will record TV shows and play back DVDs, though it does not allow for programs to be recorded onto a DVD.



IMAGE REDUCES DISTRIBUTION: In an effort to increase profit margins, Chatsworth, Calif.-based Image Entertainment is dramatically decreasing its home-video distribution duties. Beginning Dec. 31, Image will no longer distribute nonexclusive product from the major studios and will only continue distribution relationships with about 20 independent labels. (Currently, the company distributes product from 150 suppliers.) Image will continue relationships with specific independents due to requests from a group of national retailers including Tower, Best Buy, Musicland, Trans World, Alliance Entertainment, and Virgin Megastores.



STUART, TAKE 2: As Stuart Little 2 is about to debut on VHS ($24.96) and DVD ($27.96) Dec. 10 from Columbia TriStar Home Entertainment, director Rob Minkoff is excited that viewers of all ages will get to share Stuart's antics just in time for the holidays.

"We are hoping that everyone will want to watch Stuart's new adventure," says Minkoff, who also helmed Stuart Little. "The big challenge was to do something different and fresh. "We added digital characters and took Stuart on a big adventure outside of the house and into New York City."

Minkoff says that shooting scenes that would eventually contain a digital character proved particularly challenging because the live actors had to do a lot of pretending. These scenes are now among the most personally rewarding for him to watch, he adds, although shooting them required "a lot of storyboards" and could be "quite laborious."

Behind-the-scenes footage of this process is just one of the features on the Stuart Little 2 DVD. Kids can participate in special read-along activities, get a sneak peek at a new Stuart Little game from Infogames, and play the "Stuart Circle of Friends" game.

A VHS two-pack featuring both Stuart Little and Stuart Little 2 will also be available for $36.95, while the DVD two-pack will list for $42.95.



STUDIOS PARTNER FOR DVD GAME: Twentieth Century Fox, DreamWorks, MGM, Sony Pictures, and Universal Studios have come together to provide content for a unique DVD game called Scene It?, currently available for $49.99 at specialty retailers including Nordstrom, the Game Keeper, and Wizards of the Coast. Created by the Seattle-based company Screenlife LLC, Scene It? is similar to a trivia board game but uses a DVD player, and players are presented with on-screen challenges relating to movie clips.

Virginia King, executive director of licensing and merchandising for Fox, notes that her company provided clips from about 50 films, including Alien, Young Frankenstein, Edward Scissorhands, and Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. "It was really a collaboration between the studios who participated. From the time we first started discussions, it's been a year-and-a-half," she says. "Our home-entertainment division and Screenlife are looking to do joint inserts where we can cross-promote each other's products. I really look forward to developing supplements for Scene It? as well."