3D movies, which captivated audiences in theatres, are now set to woo movie buffs on the home screen. Hollywood studios like Walt Disney Studios and Sony Home Entertainment Pictures are introducing popular titles in 3D Blu-ray discs to cash in on the growth of 3D hardware in India.
Walt Disney Studios, for example, had tested the waters by introducing two titles Bolt and A Christmas Carol last year. This year it is to make a bigger splash by introducing 15 more 3D Blu Ray titles by August and 30 by year-end. Titles like TRON: Legacy and Tangled have just come to market, while Disney’s popular summer theatrical releases like Cars 2 and Lion King will be available in 3D Blu-ray discs soon.
For Disney, it is a step up to their existing delivery format of 2D (popularly referred to as DVD) and Blu-ray. “Technology has been the cornerstone for Disney, both in terms of content production and content delivery,” says K Seshasaye, executive director, marketing and distribution, The Walt Disney Studios India.
Disney is not alone in bringing the 3D viewing experience home. Sony Pictures Home Entertainment is also looking to ramp up fast in this space. It has five titles now: Cloudy Chance with the Meatballs, Green Hornet and Resident Evil After-Life. “Movies like Priest and Smurfs are slated for release. We plan to take our total 3D offerings for home viewing to 20 titles,” says Anupam Sengupta, director (sales and commercials), Sony Pictures Home Entertainment.
BIG Home Video distributes a few titles by Universal Pictures in the 3D Blu-ray format - Dolphins and Whales, Sharks, Coraline and Ocean Wonderland. Excel Home Videos which handles the home entertainment business for Fox Star Studios in India is also working on launching 3D titles like Ice Age 3, The Chronicles of Narnia: Voyage of the Dawn Treader and Rio in the 3D format.
For international studios, bringing such content to India is not difficult. These titles are already available globally, and launching in India only requires dubbing in an additional language. The 3D Blu-ray disc for Tron will be available in Hindi, Tamil and Telegu.
Unlike their international counterparts, Bollywood movies have not been available on the 3D Blu-ray format. Firstly, the cost of making 3D movies meant for theatre is high. Thus, availability of 3D Bollywood titles in home entertainment is a far cry. Reliance Big Home Videos which has the distribution rights for 3D film Haunted (produced by Vikram Bhatt) is contemplating on introducing the title on 3D Blu-ray discs.
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Given the format’s nascency, Disney is educating consumers through on-pack instructions and in-store promotions. “A 3D Blu-ray disc requires 3D glasses, 3D Blu-ray player and a 3D television,” says Seshasaye.
Hardware manufacturers are hoping that as volumes increase, price of hardware (which is a major hindrance to 3D adoption) will drop.
LG Electronics India Business Head (home entertainment) Rohit Pandit says, “price erosion of 3D Blu-ray players has already taken place in the last one year. For 3D televisions, the market in 2010 was estimated at 10,000 units but is expected to touch 200,000 units this year. “We currently have five SKUs in 3D TVs and plan to launch four more SKUs in July starting from 32 inch screens,” says Pandit. LG also offers two home theatre systems that are capable of playing 3D Blu-ray content.
“With the advancement in manufacturing techniques, the price of 3D TVs as well as Blu-ray players is expected to get more affordable,” believes Tadato Kimura, general manager (marketing) Sony India. Samsung is bundling LED and LCD panels with 3D Blu-ray DVD players and 3D home theatre systems to grow the market.
Despite content producers and hardware manufacturers flexing their muscles to grow the 3D space, adoption of 3D for home viewing will have a niche audience. “In the Rs 300 crore home entertainment space, 70-75 percent is dominated by the DVD format, VCD (video compact disc) accounts for 20 per cent, Blu-ray (high definition) is 3-4 per cent,” says Sweta Agnihotri, chief operating officer, Reliance BIG Home Video.
Right now people are just about converting to high definition (Blu-ray discs). As Deloitte Haskins & Sells, partner, media Ashesh Jani opines, “until the next round of technology adoption sweeps into India, the old DVD format will be around for at least the next few years.”