The Big Battle is on about the future of DVDs and while some companies may fall by the wayside in a big bucks battle over which format will triumph, porn producers are sticking it out — in the battle over the format, that is.
Yes, according to the New York Times, the decision over high definition DVDs’ future of could be stimulated by porn producers in a high-stakes battle that will climax in one format being on top:
LAS VEGAS (Reuters) – As goes pornography, so goes
technology. The concept may seem odd, but history has proven
the adult entertainment industry to be one of the key drivers
of any new technology in home entertainment. Pornography
customers have been some of the first to buy home video
machines, DVD players and subscribe to high-speed Internet.One of the next big issues in which pornographers could
play a deciding role is the future of high-definition DVDs.The multi-billion-dollar industry releases about 11,000
titles on DVD each year, giving it tremendous power to sway the
battle between two groups of studios and technology companies
competing to set standards for the next generation.“It’s sort of like the buzz around the campfire,” said
Peter Warren, DVD editor at industry bible Adult Video News.
The two key sides, the Times reports, are:
- Blu-ray backed
by consumer electronics heavyweight Sony and Philips, Thomson, and movie-studios such as Fox and Disney. " Blu-ray offers storage up to 50
gigabytes, enough for nine hours of high-definition content."
- sHD-DVD, structured about the same as today’s DVds and, its proponents argue, cheaper and easier to make. "Supporters of the disc
format and its 30 gigabyte capacity include companies like NEC, Toshiba and Warner Home Video.
And can you guess what porn producers want?
Adult film producers want the higher quality picture as
well as extra space for creative expression — like giving
viewers choice of camera angles.
Cool…
Pornographers weighed in on the coming battle last week at
the industry’s Adult Entertainment Expo, which ran parallel
with the largest U.S. technology fair, the Consumer Electronics
Show, and had many of the same technologies — sometimes a
generation ahead.Sentiment about the format rivalry varies, depending
largely on the size of porn producer.Smaller outfits seem to prefer HD-DVD for its lower cost,
while larger outfits tend toward Blu-ray for the capacity.“We’re kind of riding it out a little further to see where
the trend goes,” said Jackie Ramos, an executive in the DVD
division at leading porn producer Wicked Pictures. But if he
had to choose, Ramos said, “Blu-ray technology sounds pretty
attractive.”Paul Hesky, chief operating officer of Multimedia Pictures
Inc., one of the smaller groups, disagreed.“Most of the DVD manufacturers in my business do not want
the Blu-ray format because it requires new capital investment,”
he said, adding, “I know for sure one format or the other will
be out (on the market) by this time next year.”
Others say they want to see what consumers prefer.
But something tells us buyers of porn will be less concerned with the format then the specific image…
And Hollywood, those decisive leaders in deciding America’s tastes and choosing values? What are they going to do?
Hollywood has begun lining up on both sides of the battle
as they have watched the growth of DVDs slow. They will want a
new standard in place soon, to accelerate again.Many are watching the porn industry to see what happens.
“That whole business has driven technology adoption of
several platforms,” said one major studio executive. “A better,
more intense experience is a good thing for porn.”
So Hollywood will be watching the porn industry.
But whichever format is rejected by the porn makers, its producer should continue pitching their product: they should turn the other cheek.
Joe Gandelman is a former fulltime journalist who freelanced in India, Spain, Bangladesh and Cypress writing for publications such as the Christian Science Monitor and Newsweek. He also did radio reports from Madrid for NPR’s All Things Considered. He has worked on two U.S. newspapers and quit the news biz in 1990 to go into entertainment. He also has written for The Week and several online publications, did a column for Cagle Cartoons Syndicate and has appeared on CNN.