20th Century Fox aims to juice digital sales by jumping gun on Blu-ray, DVD release (Link)

    20th Century Fox will release the film "Prometheus" three weeks ahead of the movie's release on Blu-Ray and DVD. This is done in an effort to promote a rise in sales of digital copies of films. The Washington Post says "The move is a reflection of the industry’s effort to promote the concept of movie ownership on digital platforms." Apple's iTunes service as well as Amazon.com but less than 4 percent of sales  were from movies sold during the first half of this year. "Prometheus" is now being sold on iTunes, Amazon.com, and Google's Play store for $15. Whit this said and done, Fox plans on promoting digital movie sales in a campaign they call "Digital HD" The deal is that in future releases, high-definition digital copies will be sold at two weeks before its official DVD/Blu-Ray release date. These digital copies do not come with deleted scenes and can only be viewed at a maximum 720p which is not as clear as 1080p which is offered on Blu-Ray. "Prometheus" was also offered in standard definition on iTunes for a pre-order price of $13. 

     Digital copies of films are great becasue you can watch them anywhere if you have an iPhone or iPod and to me is great compared to walking around everywhere with a mini Blu-Ray player (Ive Done it before) and making yourself look silly. The only downside to digital copies are the following: No deleted scenes, No Featuretts, commentaries or "Making of..." options to chose from. What the real downside of it all, is that you pay for a "close-to" Blu-ray movie but can only watch it a maximum 720p. How or why is this important at all? well it shows how much a company will try and reach ot and grab you by the shirt and say to you "buy a digital copy of my film" but at least they try unlike some other companies *cough netflix. What really caught my eye was how they in other words are using "Prometheus" as a prototype test subject to see if it will sell as much as they want it to. I chose this article because i want to start buying Blu-Rays that come with a digital copy (so i can watch on my iPod on demand anytime). The Biggest  impact on me as a student is seeing that the movies being made only make money at the box office. Beyond that they maybe fester on the shelves of Fry's Electronics or Best Buy. As a future filmmaker it gives me a heads up on the reality of not only making a movie, but getting the audience to love it and say "I'm buying this when it comes out on DVD/Blu-Ray" As a consumer, this gives me options to buy my favorite films on the fly or practically anywhere (if there's Wi-Fi)