Home Media Magazine - May 11-17, 2008 - (Page 14)

COMMENTARY www.homemediamagazine.com THE BUZZ BY CHRIS TRIBBEY, SENIOR REPORTER P2P Upgrades: A Danger for Content Owners? I t seems like everyone at Digital Hollywood, the premiere forum for the digital entertainment world, knows what P4P means. Chat with almost anyone at the event, and he'l l easily throw you a definition: It's a means for Internet service providers (ISPs) to optimize peer-to-peer traffic. But what does it do? ªIt makes P2P (peer-to-peer) faster,º said a representative of one software company. ªI t funnels network traffic by using local routers. When you download something on P2P without P4P, it can take hours sometimes. This speeds it all up.º Another way of saying it: It's becoming easier than ever for people to download what they want, when they want. For ISPs and P2P networks, P4P is a great thing. It looks locally first for what you want to download, while SURVEYS SAY CONSUMERS WILL PAY A REASONABLE PRICE FOR CONTENT THEY CAN GET REASONABLY EASY. BUT WHEN IT BECOMES TOO EASY TO GET ANYTHING YOU WANT, WHY PAY ANYTHING AT ALL? traditional P2P downloading will grab downloads without discriminating about the location. It's especially attractive to the ISPs because it lessens the strain on their bandwidth. (A recent study by CacheLogic estimates that as much as 70% of all ISP bandwidth is used by P2P traffic.) For content owners, P4P is another reminder that technology continues to outpace the ideas to monetize their property. Studios are doing everything they can to live in this digital world. They are releasing titles day-and- Chris Tribbey' s e-mail address is ctribbey@questex.com date with VOD and are including digital copies with DVD and Blu-ray Disc releases. They also have deals with premier downloading services, such as Apple's iTunes, and exclusive content for those who pay for their media. But the advancement of P2P software has to give pause to content owners. One of the reasons physical media still reigns is convenience. And when even the least tech savvy consumer doesn't have to leave his seat to steal a movie from his neighbor down the street, physical product loses that value of convenience. Surveys say consumers will pay a reasonable price for content they can get reasonably easy. But when it becomes too easy to get anything you want, why pay anything at all? Buzz on Blu Releases By Billy Gil o Blu or not to Blu? That is the question for many early adopters who are considering whether or not to buy more expensive Bluray Discs of new and catalog releases, or stick with cheaper standard-definition DVDs. Forum posters on TheDigitalBits.com have been discussing which releases are worth double-dipping. Poster BJWanlund says every ª James Bondº movie, ª Star Warsº film, ª Star Trekº movie, Disney and Pixar film, and TV show is worth rebuying on Blu-ray. ª As far as stuff I' ll only purchase on Blu-ray, I' d probably only purchase some of the newer films, such as Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (when that comes), Meet the Robinsons, the upcoming Sleeping Beauty: Platinum Edition (first on Blu-ray), etc. I' m not gonna go overboard here,º BJWalund wrote. On the same site, Obiwan176 wrote: ª Blade Runner on BD is absolutely stunning and utterly amazing. The DVD, any version, is complete sh*t compared to what they did for it on the BD release.º Obiwan176 also added the ª Lord of the Ringsº films and those written and directed by M. Night Shyamalan to the mix of Blu-rays worth picking up. Meanwhile, poster AKmaro1 adds the ª Matrixº trilogy and Apocalypse Now. Internet forum users seem to agree that it' s worth shelling out the extra cash to get old and modern classics on Blu-ray Disc Ð when they' re available. On DVDTalk.com, user Skiblet wrote: ª Where are all the good movies? The Aliens, the Star Wars, the LOTRs, the Saving Private Ryans, etc. The BIG ones, you know what I mean. (Jaws, The Thing, Braveheart, Goonies, Ferris Bueller, etc.) ª What' s taking so long? How long do we have to wait for these? Years? One year? Two years? What is the specific reason for why things are released T H EY SA ID IT ª ONE OR TWO TITLES PER [STUDIO] EACH MONTH IS SIMILAR TO THE LASERDISC RELEASE PATTERN.º T when they are onto Blu-ray?º In response, user Grubert wrote that in DVD' s infancy, films such as The Goonies, Braveheart, Ferris Bueller' s Day Off, Jaws and Saving Private Ryan took years to release. Forum users also seem to agree that not all Blu-ray Discs are equal. DVDTalk' s Mr. Cinema lauded of Disney' s No Country for Old Men, recently released on DVD and Blu-ray Disc. ª No Country for Old Men may now be the best transfer I' ve seen so far,º Mr. Cinema wrote. ª It is flawless.º Poster applesandrice was down on Fox' s Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, citing a review of a poor transfer. On the other hand, Mr. Cinema pointed to a recent spate of strong Blu-ray releases from Fox: ª I popped in The Day After Tomorrow last night, and it' s another fantastic transfer by Fox. The opening shot is simply gorgeous. I was pissed at them as much as anyone for not releasing anything since April, but they are certainly making up for it with some very high quality titles.º On HomeTheaterForum.com, users are buzzing about recently announced Blu-ray titles such as Warner' s Justice League: Season One, as well as Warner titles How the West Was Won and Risky Business; Fox' s Independence Day; and Sony Pictures' Persepolis. ª I' m looking forward to seeing [How the West Was Won] without those distracting join lines (guess that makes me a non-purist),º wrote user Jim_K, of Warner' s efforts to remove the join lines left over from the three-screen Cinerama process originally used for the film. Whether or not these titles will measure up in the minds of Blu-ray buyers remains to be seen. Billy Gil' s e-mail address is bgil@questex.com Ralph Tribbey, The DVD Release Report, on Blu-ray Disc release patterns ª ¼ W E ARE ADDING A WHOLE NEW AUDIENCE TO OUR EXISTING CONTENT AND MAKING BOSSES THROUGHOUT AMERICA VERY ANGRY WITH US.º CBS president and CEO Leslie Moonves, on the company' s online streaming offerings We Want to Hear From You! Please send letters to: Editor, Home Media Magazine 201 East Sandpointe Ave., Suite 500 Santa Ana, CA 92707 E-mail: HomeMediaMagazine@questex.com Fax: 714.338.6712 Include name, business address (city and state) and telephone number. Letters are subject to editing. Join Us Online: www.homemediamagazine.com Visit our Web site to participate in discussion boards and weekly polls on the latest industry issues. 14 Home Media Magazine May 11± 17, 2008 http://www.homemediamagazine.com http://TheDigitalBits.com http://www.homemediamagazine.com

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Home Media Magazine - May 11-17, 2008

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