In a surprise move , Paramount and DreamWorks Animationannouncedthis week that they would line up themselves exclusively with the HD videodisk high - definition formatting . The controversial decision has draw in a lot of attention , and not just because it comes at a meter when mart indicators have been point to competitor Blu - ray Disc as consume the lead ( disc sales have been running 2 - 1 in Blu - ray ’s favour ) . Rumors have twiddle since the news ruin , suggest that Paramount and DreamWorks are being heavily even off for their exclusivity accord — to the melody of $ 50 million and $ 100 million , severally . A Paramount spokesperson say only : “ … whenever we carry carbon monoxide - marketing , production good deal , or other agreements , we never discuss business term . ”
I do n’t doubt that some level of fiscal bonus made this a practiced business determination for the two studio . But according to Alan Bell , executive frailty president and main engineering officer for Paramount Pictures , there ’s more to the change in allegiance than either a bare forsaking of Blu - ray ’s eminent - capacity advantage or pure job dealings .
Here ’s some background from Bell about the late news .
PCW : Presumably , create this move was n’t something you did light . What led up to the decision to shift your production exclusively to HD DVD ?
bell shape : Paramount has been getting experience with publication titles in both formats for the last year . We ’ve had a hand - on ability to see how these formats process in drill . And after some hands - on analysis , we settle that HD videodisk was the format we wanted to support .
PCW : Why was that ?
Vanessa Bell : For one matter , the scummy prices of the players : It ’s good for consumers , it ’s honorable for our client base .
For another thing , HD videodisc came out of theDVD Forum . The DVD Forum is very experienced at developing and manage specs . [ HD DVD ] was establish in a very static way , with stable spec , and they had specified a character reference musician model , so all player had to be compatible with the HDi interactivity layer , and all players had to be capable of the interactivity . So when we publish titles in the future that have interactivity , we can be assured that every HD DVD player will be capable to handle this subject .
PCW : So , as a studio apartment , you trust that the underlie stability of HD DVD ’s spec is a welfare ?
Bell : When you attend at what the videodisc Forum has specified as need , it ’s a good set of advanced technologies . you’re able to be assured that that benefit will be uncommitted to all consumers , no matter what [ player ] poser they purchase . That speaks to the DVD Forum , that it print eyeglasses that were complete and market - ready , and that it did n’t call for to publish up [ and alter the specs ] , as Blu - ray has . To some level , [ such change are ] go to create some bequest government issue .
For exercise , HD DVD players have [ ethernet ] connectivity built - in . If the player does n’t have that , or it ’s optional , you ca n’t rely on that [ as a feature ] .
PCW : Did n’t we see the same thing with videodisc players , though , where some features were mandatory and others were n’t ?
doorbell : When you have a format , you in general have required requisite on players , and you sometimes have optional lineament . On DVD , Dolby Digital 5.1 was mandatory , but DTS 5.1 was optional . But that meant that when you published a title , you never really knew how many customers had musician that patronage the feature you were adding to the disc at some cost . On HD DVD , the mandatory audio technologies are Dolby Digital , Dolby Digital Plus , and Dolby TrueHD . [ For more item , see an explanation of thedifferences among the various Dolby technologies . ]
PCW : Over clip , though , DTS became a de facto monetary standard on videodisk role player . Do n’t you await to see the same matter chance over clock time with Blu - ray ’s specs , such as the necessity for store and interactivity via an ethernet connection?[Paramount ’s decision comes in advance of Blu - ray’snew minimum specs , which go into effect for players sold after October 31 . ]
Bell : Eventually , that ’s unfeigned , but right on now we have early adoptive parent and enthusiasts [ buying players ] . If you do transmigrate the spec and your alternative are not included on the early players , these are the very people you leave behind . They ’re our most worthful customers in launching a fresh format , and you need to make certain that what they buy continues to play the best of the format .
PCW : What about the additional mental ability of Blu - ray , which has 50 GB dual - layer discs , as fight down to HD DVD ’s 30 GB dual - level discs ? Some studios have adduce the additional content as necessary . Are you perish to miss having the extra headroom ?
Bell : This is a little bit overrated . Making a choice like the one Paramount has made is a multifaceted choice : It calculate upon manufacturability , the reliability of players , the price , the substructure that ’s acquire to stomach our cosmos of titles . Many unlike factors came into play — include capability . When Paramount made this decision , we considered the broad spectrum .
If everything else were equal , more capacity would be sound . Why not ?
But if you convert the playing metre , a 30 GB disc gives you somewhere between 3 and 4 hour of capacity . It depends upon the nature of the motion-picture show and how you contract it . There ’s no compromise on the timbre . We ’ve found that 95 percentage of movies are less than 2.25 hour long . With a disc whose capacity is 3 or 4 60 minutes , you may put a fair amount of incentive material on that disk as well . So 30 GB with the option to add another disc is fine , from our gunpoint of thought .
PCW : What if the multiple soundtrack and gamey - definition bonus material wo n’t agree on a undivided disc ?
Bell : If there ’s an overflow of bonus material , we⁏ll just go to another phonograph record . That ’s not an issue for consumers . In some event , they consider that it has more economic value . It ’s done routinely in DVD . Why put every unmarried title on a high - capacity disk if it does n’t need it ?
PCW : Do you gestate capacity necessitate to alter in the future ?
capacitance is a factor , but it ’s not an overriding constituent . In the grand schema of things , the better proposition for consumers in our view , and for our clientele needs , is HD DVD .
PCW : From your first - bridge player experiences , what can you order us about the difference in programing languages between HD DVD , which utilise Microsoft ’s HDi applied science , and Blu - ray , which uses BD - Java ?
toll : BD - Java is a programming language . The benefit is that it ’s very elastic . The drawback is that you may postulate 100 lines of BD - Java code . HDi is a comparatively thickset piece of code ; one command can cover quite a minute of interactivity .
BD - Java is also more complex , so the possibility of errors is expectant . And when BD players are put out , [ there ’s the interrogation of whether ] they all back the scenario as rag up from the depleted level . [ Some of the early job with BD - Java discs ] were in part due to the complexness that BD - Java brings . From our detail of persuasion , HDi offers all of the flexibleness we want , in praxis , and it does so in a more simplified fashion and in a way that we finger lead to better compatibility , better dependability , and lower price .
PCW : Up until now , how have you approached fool your magnetic disc for HDi and BD - Java ?
doorbell : At this particular distributor point in time , we ’ve been able to supply more features with HDi and HD DVD than with BD - Java and Blu - ray Disc . What we have typically done in practice is that we ’ve create the synergistic scenarios in HD DVD and then tried to pull them into Blu - light beam . But that has not been entirely potential : Some thing we can do in HDi are not stomach in BD - Java . If you ’re going to do BD - Java , you require someone who ’s adequate to of programming at a low level . With HDi , you do n’t require somebody with that additional level of training . We do n’t need programmers to code our disc .
PCW : Do you think users are interested in the interactivity on these discs ?
Vanessa Stephen : Interactivity is an significant part of why you would move up from DVD . Yes , [ eminent - def ] has a slap-up motion-picture show , but is that enough ? Connectivity is something that studios will grow into , and it ’s something that we consider studios will grow into .
We ’re think about [ having media servers to allow extra content via the Internet ] , but those kinds of investments cost money . The motive to do them grow as the install stand grows . If we see there ’s a sufficiently declamatory put in floor to justify the cost of the server , we ’ll do it . properly now we&38217;re concentrate on generate a great moving picture out , and great interactivity .
PCW : Will this sole period of time extend for a modified time , or is this an indefinite system ?
Bell : At this moment in clock time , it ’s an indefinite commitment . The effect of this promulgation come from our experience , and what our consumers are wait for . We hope this will influence consumers ’ selection .
