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07-24-2007, 07:06 PM
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Dan
Member
Location: West Chester, Ohio
Join Date: Jun 2007
Local Time: 03:50 AM
Local Date: 07-06-2008
Posts: 140
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I thought I write my thoughts on the event - hopefully you find it worth reading.
As a 1st timer, I had no idea what to expect and I must say that the HTF and the Digital Bits did a great job organizing the event for us. Even if there were no perks at the show, it was worth attending to have a better insight into the future. It was great meeting all of the attendees, studio representatives and vendors.
Before the show started, Ron took time out of his schedule to purchase tickets to the Beatles Love show. It’s a very impressive show and the seats were good to allow you to see the overall show. I want you to picture listening to the Beetles music, drinking a beer, kicking back and watching a visual interpretation of the music.
Show Kickoff
Some key points are pushing high definition, but the format war was not even mentioned. It was like the industry is avoiding the topic. There was mention of project Mercury, which provides downloadable rentable movies.
In my opinion, the future looks like we are moving to subscription based movie rentals off the Internet. With the speed of networks and bandwidth increasing, it is just a matter of time. We are used to paying a monthly fee for content though Direct TV, Dish Network, or Cable. This is just the next evolution. There will still be the need for the physical disc for purchase, until there is a viable backup solution.
Like any business that wants to make it today, Video stores need to understand their customers, what they need and want and provide it in a way that delights them. There are many defilement ways of renting movies today.
There was a panel of 6 people that was supposed to represent power users. I would classify the panel as representing different varieties of customers that the Home Media vendors have to understand. No one used HD-DVD or Blu-ray. Some were still watching VHS tapes. The fact is that most customers are not concerned with the quality of the picture or the impact of the sound. This makes it even harder to sell high quality content to the mass market.
I don’t think there is enough difference between high definition movies and up converted DVDs to make someone pay more for a player or disc. While I can notice a difference, I don’t know if it would make a difference to anyone else in my family.
I was disappointed that the presentations were not in high definition for the show.
Warner Brothers
Warner Brothers showed off their first deviation to supplying same content between Blu-ray and HD-DVD. The HD-DVD release of 300 will include picture in picture to show the viewer the actual screens with the blue screen. Warner Brothers stated that they do not have the authoring tools yet to provide this feature. Along with PIP, Warner is branching into selling ring tones and wallpaper for your phone. This option breaks down into two camps. The first is great another way to sell me something and the second believes this is convenience. My personal thoughts are that if I really wanted something like the ring tone, I would purchase it from the web when the movie is first released and not when the HD-DVD is released. As long as I don’t have to plug the player to the Internet I am fine. How many consumers are willing to wait for a download to their DVD player? You could notice the delay, which is not there when the content is on the disk.
Warner Brothers also showed their new navigation cinema. Navigation cinema is a feature that allows the viewer to branch down different story lines within in the film, which gives you 94 different versions of the film. I have to say a very cool feature. Imagine the times you watched a movie and thought that was too predictable, the character walked right into that trap. This time you can decide to avoid the trap and take the movie into a whole different direction. This could persuade me to purchase a film that I might have only rented. The current downside is this feature has to be part of the movie making process to have viable story lines.
Meeting Ernest Borgnine
This was one of the main highlights. He is an actor in his nineties with more class than many actors today. He answered questions with hummer, stories and was very sincere. I look forward to reading his book, when it is released.
Meeting Comedian Katt Williams
I leaned that Katt is from Ohio and lived in Cincinnati. He is has a great attitude and knows where he wants be in the future.
The THX presentation
While the THX presentation was educational, it was a little too detailed for me. I would like a high level overview and some examples in the differences in sounds. Going though a power point presentation for the entire meeting would not be my recommendation.
The HD-DVD panel
I want to thank the HD-DVD panel for being there personally and answering hard questions. As with any two opposing points of view the truth gets slanted more toward your side of the issue. The points made during the meeting are valid but I don’t think the delivery was taken as a conversation. Before the panel started, there were some words spoken by Michael Greeson, CEO and Co-Founder of The Diffusion Group, which got me a little hot under the collar. Sorry about all the statements instead of questions!!
My hope is that Universal realizes that their customers want both formats now. If they care about their consumers it should not matter if they provide both formats. So I have to ask myself, why are they sticking to HD-DVD instead of doing that Warner Brothers is doing and releasing both? In my eyes this was not answered during the QA session.
So if the studios and hardware providers are reading this, take note that the war between the two formats will make high def DVDs become the next laser discs. Not adopted by the masses and only a niche market. In my opinion, the only way for high definition to be accepted by the masses is not a magic price point, like presented by the panel, but a match in cost between the current DVD player and high def DVD player.
I guess as a customer I am disappointed in the bully tactics of the studios on both sides of the formats. If they really had us in mind, they would supply both formats. All we want is the best quality movie with the best sound and some extras and most important at a reasonable price.
The Sound
SVS supplied the sound for the THF/Bits presentations. The sound was great and I purchased a sub woofer from them over the weekend.
The Parties
I can’t say enough about the hospitality of THF/Bits, Twentieth Century Fox, Disney, Sony, Lions, Gate, Blu-Ray, Starz, EMA, and Rhino. You guys rock.
The Exhibitors
I was interested in the PolorFrog presentation for writing DVDs. This is the next avenue to provide content to consumers.
The DTS demo was great. I wish our HD movies had this sound.
The Sony demo to educate the differences in picture quality and how DVDs are authored was interesting.
Conclusion
I met people I like to stay in contact with, got a better understanding of the industry, learned more about the different formats and options, and picked up some information that I will pass on to co-workers. Oh yea one of the big surprises was the perks. 
Thanks everyone.
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It was a little slow going Wednesday morning after the late night Tuesday night. Thank you to all the sponsors.
