Our DVD and Blu-ray sales estimates are based on weekly retail surveys, which we use to build a weekly market share estimate for each title we are tracking. The market share is converted into a weekly sales estimate based on industry reports on the overall size of the market, including reports published in Media Play News.

For example, if our weekly retail survey estimates that a particular title sold 1% of all units that week, and the industry reports sales of 1,500,000 units in total, we will estimate 15,000 units were sold of that title. The consumer spending estimate is based on the average sales price for the title in the retailers we survey.

We refine our estimates from week to week as more data becomes available. In particular, we adjust weekly sales figures for the quarter once the total market estimates are published by the Digital Entertainment Group. Figures will therefore fluctuate each week, and totals for individual titles can go up or down as we update our estimates.

Because sales figures are estimated based on sampling, they will be more accurate for higher-selling titles.

DVD and Blu-ray Releases for May 31st, 2011

May 30th, 2011

It's getting to be that time of year again when the cable networks debut the new seasons for their summer shows. As a result, there are a lot of TV on DVD releases coming out to help promote the new season. One of the biggest such shows is True Blood, which just arrived on my desk. Clearly, it takes longer than an afternoon to review a full season TV on DVD release, so the review will have to wait; however, given the competition, there is an excellent chance it will be the Pick of the Week. Its main competition is the Stanley Kubrick: Limited Edition Collection Blu-ray and it really is down to a coin toss between the two. More...