Fox Techs Up for DIE HARD 4

In an industry first, 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment is expected to announce Tuesday that the special-edition DVD of "Live Free or Die Hard" will come with an electronic copy of the movie that can be played on a computer and select portable video players.

"This may be the killer app, where you have physical media that allows you to have a big-screen experience and at the same time move the file around to other devices and have a great experience there as well," said Mike Dunn, the division's worldwide president.

The summer theatrical hit, the fourth in the "Die Hard" franchise and first since 1995, comes to DVD on Nov. 20 after a boxoffice run that yielded $134.4 million in domestic ticket receipts. The release precedes by nearly a month Warner Home Video's "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix," which also will let DVD buyers download a copy of the movie to a PC or portable video device.

The Digital Copy feature also will be included on select other Fox DVDs down the road, though no titles have been announced. The DRM-free feature allows consumers to quickly and easily transfer the movie file to Windows-based computers or portable video players equipped with Microsoft Windows' PlaysForSure feature, available from such manufacturers as Archos, Toshiba, Samsung, RCA, Dell and Creative Labs.

"The industry has sold nearly 12 billion DVDs to date, and the release of 'Live Free or Die Hard' is the first one that allows consumers to move their content to other devices," ...