Casino Royale Helps Blu-ray Disc Sales

By Digital Trends Staff April 6, 2007

Data recently compiled by Nielsen VideoScan and distributed by Sony Pictures Home Entertainment suggests the mid-March release of Casino Royale on Blu-ray Disc marked the best single format opening thus far on any next generation disc title to date. This includes releases on HD-DVD.

The latest James Bond film, released March 13 on to Blu-ray Disc, sold over 28,000 units, which was enough to have it debut in fifth places amongst total sales of next generation disc titles. For the week it released, it easily trumped the number two title, Departed, which sold just over 3,000 units.

With the nudge from Casino Royale, total Blu-ray Disc sales for the week of March 18 climbed nearly 75% from the previous week of reported data. Sales of HD-DVD discs, meanwhile, fell nearly 15%. The total in year to date sales for Blu-ray Disc vs. HD-DVD is 549,730 versus 249,451 units, representing a 7:3 ratio.

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Where to rent DVDs and Blu-rays as Netflix ends disc rentals

Redbox DVD rentals.

After a formidable 25-year run, Netflix has announced that it will shutter its DVD-to-mail rental service, DVD Netflix, aka DVD.com. Citing the shrinking DVD business, Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos told shareholders on April 18 that the rental service would be shipping its last DVD on September 29, 2023.
And while most of the 230 million Netflix subscribers won’t miss the service -- or perhaps even knew it still existed in the first place -- DVDs and Blu-rays are still a preferred method for watching movies and TV series if you really care about quality or just don't have broadband internet.
But now that DVD Netflix is out of the game, where can people turn to rent DVDs and Blu-rays?
Well, as the news hit Twitter, two of the best alternatives chimed in, reminding their followers that they, too, still existed. GameFly -- which primarily rents video games, but also has a selection of movies for rent -- tweeted at popular kiosk-rental company Redbox with a Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid gif and the text “Out here with @redbox like … .” The two services exchanged clever gifs and tweets (Redbox and Blockbuster even exchanged jabs) about being the last ones standing, but it still might be unclear to many DVD Netflix renters where they can go to fill the void.
That’s where we come in with this rundown of where you can rent DVDs and Blu-rays now that Netflix is shutting down its DVD rental service. Oh, and if you need a Blu-ray player, check out our roundup of the best ones to buy.

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How to rip a Blu-ray or DVD

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Clinging to a heavy DVD or Blu-ray collection can make for some trying times when your collection grows too large. What if you have to move? After all, finding a place to keep hundreds (or thousands) of discs and cases is hard work, as is keeping all your discs in tip-top shape while making the move.

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This Sony Blu-ray Disc player just got a price cut for Black Friday

The Sony BDP-S3700 streaming Blu-Ray Disc player with a CD.

After taking advantage of Black Friday TV deals, the next thing that you should secure is enough content to watch on your new screen. It's a waste if you search through the best Black Friday deals for the offer that provides amazing value for money on a new TV, only to be stuck with watching local channels. Avoid facing that issue with this offer from this year's early Walmart Black Friday deals that slashes $57 off the price of the Sony BDP-S3700 streaming Blu-ray Disc player, bringing it down by nearly half to $63 from its original price of $120.
Buy Now

The Sony BDP-S3700 will let you watch movies in Blu-ray Discs on your TV in Full HD quality, which is ideal if you've accumulated a healthy collection of Blu-Ray Discs that you want to keep. The player is also capable of upscaling standard-definition DVDs to near HD resolution, so you'll have even more options during movie night. Sony dominates Digital Trends' best Blu-ray players, so you won't have to worry about quality.