25/10/2007 by john.

DEG Europe, the pan industry body to promote DVD and HD formats to consumers and trade across Europe, has revealed that the DVD industry remains buoyant in Europe and continues to go from strength to strength throughout 2007. Having had a bumper summer season with high profile releases in the cinemas, DVD sales are expected to be on track to achieve year-on-year growth and a record fourth quarter as these films are released in time for Christmas.

According to DEG Europe, and based on GfK and OCC/Nielsen tracking, it is predicted that sales volumes will have hit eight per cent growth by the end of 2007 and the overall market value is set to grow by 0.6 per cent in 2007. Analysis for January to June 2007 shows that sales volumes have soared by 5.7 per cent compared to three per cent in 2006. Forecasts from Screen Digest indicate that 31.5 million DVD players and/or recorders will have been sold throughout Europe in 2007, representing a growth of 3.4 per cent over the number sold in 2006.

Yves Caillaud, Senior Vice President Warner Home Video EMEA, for and on behalf of DEG Europe, commented, “It is hugely promising to see such healthy figures for the year so far, and we are confident that 2007 will finish on a high. Looking at the impressive list of box office titles that will be coming to the DVD market this quarter, we are able to make very positive, full year predictions of substantial year-on-year growth.”

This expectation is further supported by the theatrical experience this summer with the unusual number of huge blockbusters released in the cinema. Across Europe, new releases such as Harry Potter and The Order of the Phoenix, Pirates of the Caribbean – At Worlds End, Shrek III, Spiderman 3, The Bourne Ultimatum and 300 each saw attendance figures reach between seven and nine million. This is expected to lead to a strong fourth quarter of DVD sales. Importantly, each of these strong titles will also be released in High Definition fuelling further consumer adoption and availability of high profile movies in this format.

Caillaud concludes, “Digital products, including DVDs, hold their position high on the list of top Christmas presents each year and it seems that consumers are still buying physical products therefore adding to their collections. The success of this summer’s blockbusters is set to push this market into further expansion into 2008.”

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25/10/2007 by john.

BBC Children in Need returns on Friday 16 November at 7pm on BBC One, with a rich offering of stellar entertainment acts, all appearing to raise money for disadvantaged children and young people across the UK. Terry Wogan will host the 28th Appeal Night, live from BBC Television Centre – which over seven hours will feature some of the UK’s top TV, musical and theatrical personalities and acts

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25/10/2007 by john.

New DVD released Monday 5th November 2007 on 4DVD
“A masterclass in comedy…Carr’s persona is irresistible and his wisecracks have you quivering with satisfaction.” The Guardian

“Definitely get into Carr… He’s the Rolls Royce of Comedy.” Metro UK

“Top quality stand-up from a comic operating at the top of his game.” Empire

Following the huge success of his Live Collection, the multi-award-wining Jimmy Carr returns with his third live stand up DVD, simply titled Comedian. Featuring over 90 minutes of new, uncensored material, the eagerly anticipated release also includes an hour of exclusive, never-seen-before DVD extras from one of the biggest faces in comedy (in every sense of the word).

Recorded live this year at London’s Bloomsbury theatre, the posh-suited gagster unleashes his rapid-fire wit upon his audience, with jokes that are just too rude for TV. Jimmy walks a fine line with truly outrageous gags that would be thoroughly offensive if not so expertly delivered with an ironic glint in his eye, demonstrating the length and breadth of his comedy credentials.

As Jimmy explains: “This isn’t a show for the easily offended, it’s not even a show for people who are quite difficult to offend. Essentially, this is a show for people without a moral compass.”

Armed with his trademark one-liners and gags ranging from the slick to the downright sick, Comedian shows Jimmy at his most contentious, with no-one escaping his biting, withering sarcasm and take-no-prisoners approach to subject matter.

Never one to recycle jokes, Jimmy takes his dry and sardonic style and delightfully crafted one-liners to a whole new level with a raft of new tongue-in-cheek gags which often border on sexism, male misogyny and snobbery – but all successfully carried off by crediting his audience with enough intelligence to be in on the joke and able to keep up with his rampant wit.

DVD extras include: Thumbing In A Softie – Jimmy’s exclusive DVD Sketch Show; coverage of Jimmy’s one-off Second Life gig, where he became the first major comedian to do a live gig in the virtual reality world; footage from Soccer Six, Rubber Face Jimmy (featuring Leigh Francis of Bo Selecta) plus Jimmy’s classic radio interviews with Chris Moyles and Steve Wright.

As the face of Channel 4, Jimmy has risen to become one of the most original and distinctive stars of British Comedy, developing the unique brand of perfectly timed one-liners and deadpan delivery for which he has become so well known.

And it’s been another manic year for Jimmy. His sell out 130 date tour in 2006/7, Gag Reflex, played to well over 175,000 fans across the country. At this year’s Edinburgh Festival Jimmy launches his all new tour Repeat Offender with 8 nights at the Edinburgh International Conference Centre (EICC). Repeat Offender is Jimmy’s biggest tour yet, where he’ll play to over 200,000 fans over the next 12 months. The tour contains all-new, unseen material, completely updated from that seen in any of his previous performances and DVD releases. Many dates have already sold out and new ones are constantly being added (details at www.jimmycarr.com).

Last year Jimmy had his first book, The Naked Jape, published in the UK and the US, which is now on its second print run. He also became the first ever major comedian to perform a virtual reality show in the hugely-popular online world of Second Life, landing himself a Guinness World Record for his efforts.

Established as a huge ratings winner, with over 3.5m viewers tuning in to its Friday night edition, Jimmy continues to host a fifth series of hit Channel 4 prime-time TV show Eight out of Ten Cats.

Last year, Jimmy made three appearances on the big screen; starring in Brit comedy Confetti, in Alien Autopsy alongside Ant & Dec and in Stormbreaker.

A household name in the UK, Jimmy is also a rising star in the US, where his profile continues to grow. The second series of his game show Distraction aired on Comedy Central last year and is currently being repeated. Jimmy has also appeared four times on NBC’s flagship programme The Tonight Show with Jay Leno and five times on NBC’s Late Night with Conan O’Brien. Last July Jimmy performed at the Montreal ‘Just for Laughs’ Comedy Festival for his fourth time, performing his full length show ‘Gag Reflex’ across six sell out nights.

Over the past few years, Jimmy has deservedly earned his place amongst the premiere league of British comics. His stand-up achievements to date include a British Comedy Award for best Live Stand Up Tour, a Loaded LAFTA Award for Best Stand Up (both awarded in 2006), a Perrier Award nomination, Best Stand Up at the Time Out Awards and Best on Screen Newcomer from the Royal Television Society. Jimmy’s other TV accolades include the prestigious Silver Rose of Montreux award and a Rose d’Or nomination for best gameshow host at last year’s awards.

DVD Details

Released: 4DVD
Format: 1 x DVD
Running Time: 94 mins + 58 mins extras
Released: 5th November 2007
Cert: 18
Price: £19.99

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25/10/2007 by john.

Seoul, October 22, 2007 - Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd., a leading mobile phone and telecommunication equipment provider, officially announced the launch of the Samsung G800, world?셲 first 5 megapixel camera phone with 3x optical zoom today. With the debut of the Samsung G800, Samsung proved itself as a market innovator, introducing First of its kind??technology.

The Samsung G800 is the answer for customers needs to have the perfect digital camera and the perfect multimedia mobile combined into one single device. For example, optical zoom is very common in most digital cameras, but the Samsung G800 is the first and only 5 megapixel camera phone to have this capability. Features such as face detection, and Wide Dynamic Range (WDR), which are very up-to-date features even in today digital cameras, are also equipped in the new G800.

The Samsung G800 helps its owners to capture fragments of their lives vividly and to express themselves beyond words. With the Samsung G800, users can store their lives in perfect detail at every moment. It is the smartest match for digital photo fans who aspire to own the best possible digital camera features on their mobile phone. Boasting 3x optical zoom and Xenon flash to enable close-ups and exceptional photo detail, the G800 also comes with other most up-to-date digital camera features such as panorama shots, multi shots and macro shots.

Not only just taking pictures, the G800 also provides a very easy tool for sharing images and videos. Plus, the Samsung G800 offers professional video editing functions so that people can easily cut, paste, and edit their own films. A mobile blogging feature helps users to upload their favorite User Created Contents (UCC) site very easily. Supporting High Speed Downlink Packet Access (HSDPA), the photos or videos can be sent to others very quickly.

The G800 has a new camera Graphical User Interface (GUI) which is intuitive and simple to use so that the user experiences the same environment as a digital camera when using the camera function on the phone. An On Screen Display (OSD) shows various camera indicators in a horizontal preview mode.

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25/10/2007 by john.

Following on from the huge success of the first three series, the complete Peep Show Series 4 is available to own for the first time from Monday 5th November 2007. Featuring all six episodes plus a wealth of exclusive DVD extras, the eagerly anticipated fourth series of the Golden Rose-winning sitcom, is released by 4DVD in tandem with the Peep Show 1 – 4 Boxset (RRP £44.99). An absolute must for fans of the show and a great addition to any DVD collection, the box set features all four series in their entirety plus all additional extras and bonus material.

Peep Show 4 continues to follow the domestic adventures of Mark (David Mitchell) and Jeremy (Robert Webb), two late-twenty something flat mates living in south London. As ever, viewers are party to Mark and Jeremy’s innermost thoughts as the dysfunctional duo try in vain to find their place in modern culture, to grow up and maybe even find love and fulfillment.

Mark’s the sensible one, a professional brogue-wearer with a slightly disconcerting interest in World War Two. Jeremy is the loose cannon, a lazy waster with dodgy friends who dreams of becoming a musician but can never get his act together (or up in the morning).

Peep Show 4 sees Mark, after accidentally proposing to Sophie (Olivia Coleman), facing the horror of actually having to go through with the wedding. Or will he? And when Jeremy’s beautiful ex “visa wife” Nancy (Rachel Blanchard) unexpectedly turns up, how far will he go to win her back?

Also in this series, Mark spends a horrific weekend with Sophie’s argumentative parents, tries to get his gym instructor sacked, and also gets involved in a spot of arson. Meanwhile, Jeremy performs some “handy” work for a male pop star, does something pretty unspeakable to a dog and, worst of all, sleeps with Sophie’s mother

Peep Show is produced by Objective Productions and directed by Jeremy Wooding (series one) Tristam Shapeero (series two and three) and Becky Martin (series four). Series one and two were produced by Phil Clarke (Big Train, Brass Eye) while series three and four were produced by Robert Popper (The Timewaster Diary, Timewaster Letter Series, Look Around You) with Phil Clarke as series producer. Peep Show is written by Jesse Armstrong & Sam Bain (Smack the Pony).

Peep Show 4 DVD details
Released: 5th November 2006
Format: 6 x 30 minute episodes
RRP: £19.99
Discs: 1
CERT 15
Cat No: C4DVD10142

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