An industry executive speaks

In a series of Q&As, frontline practitioners in all facets of the packaged media and digital delivery industry share their views of things past, present and yet to come. It's the turn of SARAH BRADLEY, Founder and MD of Meedja, a London-based authoring and post-production house.

Where do you see your company's comparative advantage in this highly competitive market?

We have unrivalled experience in the market and combine this with exemplary and personal customer service. This is why we have kept our customers loyal for many years - they appreciate the continuity and simplicity of working with us.

Amongst the range of services you offers, which one did grow in importance over the past 2 years, which one diminished, and which new service(s) will you be offering in the coming 2 years?

Over the past few years we have (unsurprisingly) seen a growing demand for re-versioning of existing products and there has also been an inevitable interest in apps, in particular video-as-apps.

There is a lot of alarmist talks about the rapid demise of packaged media in the face of online delivery. What is your view as to how long discs will be around?

Online delivery has already replaced packaged media for many consumers (myself included), but there are still large areas of the market that are not ready for the change; in particular, the older demographic and those living in areas with expensive or unreliable online connections. I was recently surprised when speaking to a group of my contemporaries to find that they still favoured owning packaged media over the idea of a digital locker, not trusting that the content would be available 'forever' online. This probably suggests that I'm now falling into the older demographic, as the younger people I've spoken to on the subject are just as happy with Lovefilm and Netflix.

Given the slower than expected take-up of 3D, do you thing 3D is here to stay or consumer interest in stereoscopy is temporary?

Many consumers have fully embraced 3D at the cinema, encouraged by must-see 3D theatrical releases such as Life of Pi, and many of my friends will now choose 3D over 2D. I'm beginning to revise my previous opinion of 3D as a temporary aberration.

Do you think the consumer take-up of 3D depends on the arrival of glasses-free autostereoscopic systems. If yes, how many years do you believe consumers will have to wait for a high-quality glasses-free system to rival the existing shutter glasses 3D systems?

I don't see many people rushing to invest in 3D at home yet. This may be down to the price of the equipment, including investment in multiple pairs of glasses, but is more likely that in main home viewing it's a more casual activity. I certainly never have the opportunity to stay still in one place for the duration of a movie. I don't see this changing with glass-free systems as this will still require static viewing angles.

Cloud-based UltraViolet digital delivery has yet to make inroads in Europe. What needs to happen for consumers to embrace this digital service? Could UltraViolet be superseded by large retailers' own digital locker system like Tesco's Blinkbox?

I'm disappointed that UltraViolet has yet to take off here as I'm a big fan of the concept, but I think that this is partly due to the lack of marketing in this region - no-one I speak to outside the industry has heard of the technology. It is also still quite complicated to use. If the UV locker could be tied in with an existing subscription services (Lovefilm/Netflix) with their simple and reliable cross-platform viewing, then it may start to register with the consumer. Blinkbox currently seems to be taking the upper hand (helped by a large marketing budget), but still doesn't have the universal playability that's required.

Do you think UltraViolet has the potential to increase sales of BD discs (as the studios intended) or be the death knell of the packaged media?

Packaged media won't be pushing up daisies that soon, but I don't believe UV licences bundled with disc will have much effect on sales.

What do you see as the opportunities and pitfalls associated with Digital Copy on a disc?

Digital Copy on disc gets around the issue of limited and unreliable home connections, but has the inherent problem of how the content can be viewed - there have been discs released which have been poorly received because the Digital Copy on-disc version was not compatible with iTunes.

How much of a revolution Smart TV represents, given that consumers are already comfortable using other screens (laptops, tablets, smartphones) to access Internet-delivered content?

I think Smart TV will become the norm as the ideal companion to other screens. When consumers are used to accessing content easily on tablets and smartphones they will obviously want to replicate this experience on the bigger screen - watching half a programme on the train on the way home from work, then picking up the remaining on the TV at home. This is reliant on the Smart TV manufacturers keeping pace with tablets and smartphones apps (frustratingly my Sony Smart TV doesn't have a Netflix app), but when the content can be accessed on the TV it leaves the smaller devices free for second-screening.

Ultra high definition 4K TVs are coming to the market. Is it a response to consumers demanding a better quality picture or a push by CE manufacturers who need to introduce higher-margin products?

There is a small consumer interest in 4K, but until the format is supported by broadcast channels or bandwidth high enough for reliable streaming I don't think the sales will be high.

Do you think 4K could be the shot of adrenalin Blu-ray needs given that a BD disc is best suited to bring ultra HD content to the home?

The launch and education of BD was far from flawless, but now that it's likely that when 4K is adopted by consumers the content will be provided online by download or streaming. I can't see another version of BD (or other physical media platform) becoming mainstream - most consumers have format fatigue and feel aggrieved if they're forced to buy yet another black box.

The revival of vinyl points to a renewed interest for high-quality audio. Pure Audio Blu-ray (BD disc with uncompressed audio) is being launched. Do you think there is a sustainable market for it?

I don't think that the vinyl revival is as much to do with the quality of the audio as a nostalgic regression to the time when music was appreciated in a different, more linear manner - the 'anti-shuffle' generation who likes nice artwork on their album covers. It's unlikely that Pure Audio BD format will be widely adopted.

How to you see Hollywood squaring the circle between the inexorable fall of high-revenue producing packaged media and the unstoppable rise of low-revenue generating online digital delivery?

Subscription delivery is the current solution for reliable revenue generation, and so far these providers have avoided the 'Spotify-backlash' with paid subscription from the onset. These solutions can be seamlessly combined with digital lockers containing purchased 'right-to-view' content, and suitable priced to reduce piracy.

If you let your imagination run wild, what system, format, application aimed at delivering content to the home would you like to see implemented in 10 years time?

I don't think there will be any great shift in how content is delivered, but I can imagine having access to a large number of online 'broadcast' channels that are curated and created based on my personal viewing habits - the iTunes Genius, Tivo's smart functionality combined with social media input. I don't have enough time to research what I should be watching and currently rely on traditional broadcasters choosing for me, plus suggestions from friends whose judgement I trust. I can imagine all of this being combined in a single viewing portal that can be accessed from any screen (TV, computer, tablet, smartphone, Minority-Report-midair-touchscreen) at any time. However, I'm not sure where the revenue stream will be in this paradigm, so it may just be a pipe-dream.

A last word?

I'd like to state categorically that (now I've had a chance to watch it as it has finally landed on Netflix) Cowboys and Aliens was a huge disappointment of a film not even saved by Daniel Craig wearing chaps!

Contact: www.meedja.co.uk....

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