The jury remains out on consumer acceptance of high-definition digital video discs, and that means we won’t be hearing high-definition audio discs anytime soon.
Because of the tentative acceptance of the new DVD video formats, Chatsworth-based Image Entertainment Inc. has put any thoughts of an audio-only disc format on hold.
Both of the competing HD-DVD and Blu-Ray disc formats are capable of holding audio-only content, but the initial battle for consumers’ hearts and minds will be played out on video formats. Sony Corp. is behind the Blu-Ray format, Toshiba Corp. the high-def.
“It’s still too early to try to take video off the formats because there is so much at stake,” said Garrett Lee, Image’s senior vice president of product development. “If one format becomes the clear winner, then all capabilities will be exploited including audio. For retailers, just having to stock two different video (units) of what is essentially the same product is difficult with shelf space being limited.”
Film and music creators and distributors have hopes that high-def or Blu-Ray will replace standard definition on video and perhaps audio disc, providing a new source of profits. Both of the competing formats offer a clearer picture and hold up to five times as much data as a standard DVD.
Image is proceeding cautiously in the video fray, too.
Just three of 3,000 video titles have been released in high definition, all on HD-DVD. The popular “Chicago and Earth Wind & Fire: Live at the Greek,” “Heart: Live in Seattle” and “Barry Manilow Live” were selected because they saw good distribution numbers in standard definition.
The first two of the titles debuted a month late, making it to retailers in mid-December rather than the previous month. “Sales started very slow,” conceded John Powers, Image’s vice president of catalog. “But we’ve seen them picking up as the number of (high definition) disc players increases.”
For manufacturers, the cost of investing in the production lines to turn out the DVDs is high and the low market penetration of high-def makes anything less than a major motion picture with a successful theatrical track record a real gamble that few independent distributors are willing to take.
Further complicating the landscape is the theory held by some in the industry that the entire disc format, video or audio, could be eclipsed by one of the emerging distribution formats such as wireless, broadband or video on demand in the next few years.
Playboy Entertainment, whose production facilities are in Glendale, has no high definition DVD titles at present, and does not have plans to release any in the immediate future, said company spokesman Matt Kalinowski.
The adult film world, considered a frequent driver of new technology, may offer a barometer of consumer acceptance soon. Last month, Vivid Entertainment Group released “Debbie Does Dallas Again” on HD DVD, and last week in Blu Ray the first licensed porn release to hit the market in both high definition formats, making it closely watched. Howard Levine, Vivid’s national sales manager, said that HD DVD sales have tripled expectations at nearly 3,000 units sold to date.
