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HD DVD player sales in the US during a week from Jan 6 to 12, 2008, declined 88% to 1,758 units compared with the previous week, Tech-On! is reporting citing research company NPD Group.

Tech-On! further reports, “The period measured was immediately after US movie studio Warner Bros Entertainment had announced that it had shifted its support from HD DVD to Blu-ray Disc Jan 4, 2008.

Meanwhile, BD player sales grew 42% compared with the preceding week to 21,770 units, NPD said. An NPD analyst said Warner’s announcement might have impacted HD DVD player sales.

HD DVD supporter Toshiba Corp announced price reductions for its HD DVD players targeting the North American market following Warner’s announcement.” More at Tech-On!

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LOS ANGELES – Nov 21, ‘07 –Big-screen casualties from the Hollywood writers strike mounted further on Tuesday as movie studios reported postponing two more films, one starring Johnny Depp and another with Penelope Cruz and Sophia Loren, according to Reuters.

Warner Bros. said Depp’s adventure drama “Shantaram,” which was slated to begin shooting in India in February 2008, has been put on hold due to “strike-related script issues.”

The Time Warner -owned studio said the inability to guarantee a February start date threatened to push production of the film into India’s monsoon season.

Another high-profile feature production delayed by the 15-day-old strike is Weinstein Co.’s “Nine,” a musical adaptation of the Frederico Fellini classic “8 1/2″ to be directed and choreographed by Rob Marshall and starring Cruz, Loren, Javier Bardem and Marion Cotillard.

The delays bring to at least four the number of feature film projects derailed by the strike, which began Nov. 5 after contract talks between the Writers Guild of America and major film and TV studios collapsed.

Columbia Pictures announced last Friday it was delaying production on “Angels & Demons,” a sequel to last year’s box-office hit “The Da Vinci Code.”

The two sides agreed last Friday to return to the bargaining table on Nov. 26, but the union’s 12,000 members remain on picket lines for now, with a major rally and march down Hollywood Boulevard planned for later on Tuesday. More at Reuters.

Nov 20, ‘07 — Speaking exclusively with High-Def Digest, Jim Noonan, SVP of Strategic Promotion and Communication for Warner Home Entertainment Group says its previously announced Blu-ray / HD DVD hybrid disc won’t be hitting stores anytime soon.

High-Def Digest further explains, “roughly six months after unveiling “Total HD” plans, Warner announced it was delaying its plans for Total HD until early 2008, but said it remained committed to the concept, promising ten to twenty launch titles upon the format’s eventual release.

Though the studio had since remained mum on the status of its plans for the hybrid format, a Warner exec has now confirmed to High-Def Digest that all current plans for Total HD have been shelved in response to a perceived shift in retailer needs following Paramount’s move to HD DVD exclusivity. “The short answer is, for the moment, it [Total HD] is on hold,” said Noonan citing reason that, they were the only studio producing content in both formats.

More at High-Def Digest.