Europe's online source of news, data & analysis for professionals involved in packaged media and new delivery technologies
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 METTE BONO, CEO of DDD Solutions, a post-production specialist in Helsinki, Finland.
Where do you see your company's comparative advantage in this highly competitive market?
Knowing the product and caring passionately about the end result, as well as being able to adapt rapidly. Working in a multi-language, multi-currency territory has also given us a special advantage in knowing how to tackle certain uncommon issues.
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?
Growth is in the digital sector, no doubt about it. Packaged media is dwindling slowly, but it still has lots of potential we just have to focus on the right products and services. UltraViolet is firmly in our sights and I see many companies in need of our assistance, especially in territories that share the challenges of the Nordic region.
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?
Packaged media will be around for several more years, but the focus should be on quality, not quantity.
Given the slower than expected take-up of 3D, do you thing 3D is here to stay or consumer interest in stereoscopy is temporary?
It's here to stay, as a niche market. The format's main problem seems to be the lack of proper marketing
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?
Opposition to 3D glasses at home has been strong and loud, certainly. If CE manufacturers launch high-quality glass-free 3D displays that are also affordable, 3D might wake from its slumber. But it will require more effort than simply putting out a few displays; marketing and a variety of content are equally important. As for waiting... it feels like good auto-stereoscopic 3D is always 5 years away, doesn't it?
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?
The companies backing UV really need to start pulling together for UV to succeed. So far, the efforts have been quite unfocused and fragmented, and as a result, consumers remain clueless about the format. If the industry gets its act together, UV has nothing to fear from retailers' own digital locker systems.
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?
If implemented smartly, it certainly has the potential to increase BD sales, while simultaneously acclimating consumers to the all-digital future.
What do you see as the opportunities and pitfalls associated with Digital Copy on a disc?
Digital Copy on a disc is a waste of resources. Put the data in a cloud and while you're at it, make it UltraViolet.
How much of a revolution does smart TV represent, given that consumers are already comfortable using other screens (laptops, tablets and smartphones) to access Internet-delivered content?
It's not much of a revolution until Smart TVs are as fast and easy to use as our other screens. Awkward user interface and sluggish performance are a hindrance.
Ultra high definition 4K TVs are coming to the market. Is this a response to consumers demanding a better quality picture or a push by CE manufacturers who need to introduce higher-margin products?
It's the latter, obviously. No regular consumer is asking for anything better than Blu-ray. Most consumers are still happy with DVD, and the majority can't tell the difference between SD and HD because they are sitting way too far from their displays or have their system set up incorrectly. Personally, I would love to see 4K gaining ground and sooner rather than later.
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?
Sadly, it might very well be a case of too little, too late.
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?
Not really, no.
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?
By first spending more effort on special packaging and content for deserving titles, adding UltraViolet to all new releases, then later by moving to digital-only and selling new releases at premium prices.
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?
Holograms flying all over the place from my flexible bracelet!
Contact: www.ddd-solutions.fi....
On predicting the future
Predicting the future, let alone the future of packaged media, is a perilous exercise, and possibly counter-productive, as the exercise closes doors rather than keep them open, argues JEAN-LUC RENAUD, DVD Intelligence publisher. Consider that: Apple was left nearly for dead 15 years ago. Today, it became the world's most valuable technology company, topping Microsoft.
Le cinéma est une invention sans avenir (the cinema is an invention without any future) famously claimed the Lumière Brothers some 120 years ago. Well. The cinématographe grew into a big business, even bigger in times of economic crisis when people have little money to spend on any other business.
The advent of radio, then television, was to kill the cinema. With a plethora of digital TV channels, a huge DVD market, a wealth of online delivery options, a massive counterfeit underworld and illegal downloading on a large scale, cinema box office last year broke records!
The telephone was said to have no future when it came about. Today, 5 billion handsets are in use worldwide. People prioritize mobile phones over drinking water in many Third World countries.
No-one predicted the arrival of the iPod only one year before it broke loose in an unsuspecting market. Even fewer predicted it was going to revolutionise the economics of music distribution. Likewise, no-one saw the iPhone coming and even fewer forecast the birth of the developers' industry it ignited. And it changed the concept of mobile phone.
Make no mistake, the iPad will have a profound impact on the publishing world. It will bring new players, and smaller, perhaps more creative content creators.
And who predicted the revival of vinyl?
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