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Adult Film Industry Chooses HD-DVD
Posted by
kdawson
on Thu Jan 11, 2007 05:11 PM
from the BetaMax-deja-vu dept.
from the BetaMax-deja-vu dept.
Sarusa writes "If this is true, it's Beta vs VHS all over again and HD-DVD may be the foregone winner of the format wars. First, Heise reports (summarized from the German by sgknox.com) that Digital Playground, who were committed to Blu-ray last year, are now producing HD-DVD titles instead. No Blu-ray disk manufacturer would make their disks because Sony doesn't want porn on Blu-ray (just as with Betamax). Second, as reported by tgdaily, the porn industry overwhelmingly favors HD-DVD because it's much cheaper and easier to produce. As noted in the tgdaily article, porn was a huge factor in VHS winning the VHS/Beta format wars even though many people don't like to acknowledge it. Porn, like gaming, pushes tech adoption."
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TopSpin writes "Early this year the meme circulated that Blu-ray might be going the way of Betamax, and for the exact same reason: Sony's unfriendliness to the porn industry. But at Japan's recent euphemistically named Adult Treasure Expo 2007, adult filmmakers said Sony has begun offering technical support, and this was later confirmed by Sony PR. The company stated that Sony would offer support to any filmmaker working on the format, no matter their industry. Apparently, Blu-ray is now the preferred medium for Japanese adult films."
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I'm not sure I want my porn in HD (Score:5, Funny)
Re:I'm not sure I want my porn in HD (Score:5, Funny)
1080pee
Parent
Re:I'm not sure I want my porn in HD (Score:5, Interesting)
Parent
Re:I'm not sure I want my porn in HD (Score:5, Funny)
Parent
Re:I'm not sure I want my porn in HD (Score:5, Informative)
2. Be over 18.
3. Select "show porn" in preferences.
Um, that's what I heard, anyway.
Parent
Re:I'm not sure I want my porn in HD (Score:5, Funny)
They have many references to a movie where the lead character was "Jack Sparrow", I was expecting the lead in this version to be "Jane Swallows".
Parent
It's not bad, really. (Score:5, Insightful)
Same thing with HD. Yes, if you pause it and zoom in, it may look much worse. But you've got a giant HDTV and some nice surround sound; again, why count the hairs in her landing strip when you can just sit back and enjoy the show?
Parent
Re:It's not bad, really. (Score:5, Insightful)
"Sitting back and enjoying the show" would be watching it on DVD.
Going out and buying the HD version instead is like buying a microscope.
Parent
Re:It's not bad, really. (Score:5, Insightful)
Parent
Re:It's not bad, really. (Score:5, Funny)
1. I can actually read the coach's clipboard (especially the ones that print it instead of writing it on a whiteboard).
2. The crowd looks like real people instead of a blur. You can see the thrill of victory and agony of defeat. Entertaining, really.
3. And probably most important....you can see the cheerleaders in more shots.
Layne
Parent
I just don't get it (Score:5, Insightful)
I think that just as most people (of the appropriate gender and orientation) prefer to see a naked woman in real life vs.a naked woman on DVD, so too would most people prefer to see a high-resolution picture of a naked woman vs. a picture which is so low-rez that you can actually see the individual pixels fairly clearly from 10 feet away (I can, at least.) Now don't get me wrong, that's not enough to make me want to rush out and buy an overpriced, over-DRM'ed piece of shit AND a new TV to use it with, but saying that HD is the TV equivalent of a microscope is just dumb. My laptop has a WUXGA (1920x1200) screen, and you'd have to be smoking some amazing crack to say that it makes naked women look uglier. It most certainly does NOT. It makes pictures--ALL pictures, regardless of whether or not they involve naked women--look vibrant and real in a way that makes owners of XGA-resolution laptops weep with envy. I suppose I COULD stare with my eyeball an inch from the screen and scream "AHHHHHHHH! I SEE A PIMPLE!" but... why? Just why would you do such a thing? Not to imply that imperfections bother me that much--on the contrary, I find that the plastic, 'pancake makeup' look to be pretty unappealing... I'm just saying, why would you go out of your way to look for such things?
HD isn't a microscope; it's simply a MUCH NICER PICTURE TO LOOK AT.
Parent
Re:I just don't get it (Score:5, Funny)
You do realize that you just posed this question to Slashdot members, right?
Parent
Re:It's not bad, really. (Score:4, Funny)
Parent
Re:It's not bad, really. (Score:5, Funny)
Parent
Obligatory (Score:5, Funny)
You must be new here.
Why else do you think pr0n technology makes headlines around here?
Parent
Re:Obligatory (Score:5, Insightful)
Parent
Re:It's not bad, really. (Score:5, Funny)
Parent
Re:It's not bad, really. (Score:5, Insightful)
Parent
Re:I'm not sure porn was that big a factor (Score:5, Insightful)
The OP was not suggesting that Beta had higher quality pr0n. He was suggesting that in the VHS v. Beta war there was no interweb. When you can get (legally or illegally) high quality pr0n online, who cares if you can get high quality pr0n on HD-DVD as well?
Parent
Protect Reputation or Shoot Foot? (Score:5, Interesting)
However, hearing that Sony itself has been pressuring the porn industry away from the Blu-Ray format, it seems they've shot themselves in the foot and mooted their brand from competition.
I suspect they want to keep the format that is used in their gaming system free of purient-interest content and not be a portal for pornography, preserving it as a "kid friendly" device. And with a limited number of facilities able to produce BD disks compared to DVD houses refitted for HD-DVD production, that scarcity allows Sony more control. Perhaps Sony is still stinging with the parental backlash against kids putting porn on their PSPs [wired.com]. How many more PSPs to adults did that revelation sell again?
Re:Protect Reputation or Shoot Foot? (Score:4, Funny)
Must. Resist. Urge to comment.
Parent
Re:Protect Reputation or Shoot Foot? (Score:5, Insightful)
Ultimately, if I see this as the likely outcome next christmas I will probably buy a HD-DVD player because I will have no worries about the content I buy not playing in future devices.
Parent
Re:Protect Reputation or Shoot Foot? (Score:5, Interesting)
Parent
Re:plus the features!! (Score:5, Interesting)
I think Leo went on to predict the Porn industry will win the race with this feature alone...
Slashdotters will be able to superimpose their own face over Ron Jeremy's and finally get to see themselves (albeit a hairy version) do nasty things to girlz.
Parent
Re:Protect Reputation or Shoot Foot? (Score:5, Interesting)
But porn is different. There already exists a thriving movie download industry. The quality regularly improves as bandwidth allows. Small studios coexist with large ones without the conltroling cartels that force "legitimate" indie movies to distribution hell. In short, unlike in the "legitimate" movie industry, customers have both accepted the quality and continued to pay for downloadable content in large numbers, despite the greater production values and higher resolution of DVD.
I have no doubt that many people will buy HD-DVD to view porn. There's a market for higher quality and physical media. But I'll be very suprised if the download scene doesn't outpace the HD-DVD scene all the way to the point where HD downloads start making practical sense for everyone.
TW
Parent
Re:Protect Reputation or Shoot Foot? (Score:5, Interesting)
Really??? then why am I able to store HD content as Xvid at only 5.5 gig at full resolution and 120 minute length??? It looks FAN-TAS-TIC on customers Projectors and high end LCD and plasmas. This is a conversion from a HD-DV recording shot with a Canon XL1HD at the Michigan international speedway. We use it to show the customer what their display is capable of
I can easily fit a HD movie in a standard dual layer DVD. There is no need for HDDVD or BLU RAY for HD video content. and hard drive space will easily hold many many movies at that bitrate.
The only reason BluRay or HD-DVD exists is to introduce a new DRM type and licensing revenue stream.
Parent
Re:Protect Reputation or Shoot Foot? (Score:4, Insightful)
"No, we don't want porn released on our products, but secretly installing crippling software on computers -- regardless if people accept the EULA -- we fully support (*ahem* until we get caught and sued *ahem*)."
Just me or is that a big hypocritical? On the other hand, I'm sure there is a "business philosophy" disconnect between the HD DVD and music groups/divisions.
Parent
Re:Protect Reputation or Shoot Foot? (Score:4, Funny)
My understanding is that if Sony were a person, they'd be diagnosed with severe multiple-personality disorder.
Parent
Re:Protect Reputation or Shoot Foot? (Score:5, Interesting)
You have a wife and 3 kids -> you're not buying a $3000 TV
You have a wife and 3 kids -> you're not buying a $500/$1000 DVD player
The format war will be over before the average family even knows there has been a format war.
From what I have seen, early technology adopters seem to be the young single well employed men or older men with no children living at home who are still empolyed; in either case they are (probably) interested in porography because they have no woman or no woman who is interested in sex. I (used to) know a woman who worked in a video-rental store that had an adult section and one of her comments was that it seemed like men lost their interest in the 'Adult Section' at 30 and regained it at 50.
Parent
VHS vs. Beta (Score:4, Insightful)
Re:VHS vs. Beta (Score:5, Insightful)
And if VHS was 'technically inferior' to Betamax, mp3 compared to SACD/DVD-A would be off the charts bad. And guess what people chose?
Parent
History repeats (Score:5, Insightful)
one big difference (Score:5, Insightful)
In the VHS vs Beta days you couldn't get high quality porn for free. I want HD DVD to win as I have invested in it but I just don't think this will be a big push for team HD DVD.
Re:one big difference (Score:5, Interesting)
Parent
So in other words (Score:5, Funny)
Credit Card ready (Score:5, Funny)
Profit? (Score:5, Funny)
2.Create new HD Disc spec
3.Shoot feet
4.??????
5.Profit
Oh its really hacked now... (Score:5, Insightful)
Oh noes!! (Score:5, Funny)
I've got Blu-Balls!
HD-DVD will win over "Blu-Ray" because of names... (Score:5, Insightful)
Average consumer: "WTF is Blue Ray?"
Answer: "It lets you watch high-definition DVDs."
Average consumer: "Is there a Red Ray?"
Average consumer: "WTF is HD-DVD?"
Answer: "It lets you watch high-definition DVDs."
Average consumer: "Sorry I was such a dumbass."
Re:HD-DVD will win over "Blu-Ray" because of names (Score:5, Funny)
Isn't that HD-DVDA [wikipedia.org]?
Parent
Right on (Score:5, Funny)
(Anyone who doesn't know the reference should watch this [imdb.com])
PS3 has no porn then.... (Score:4, Funny)
Bad Comparison (Score:5, Insightful)
This has been on /. before, but you can't call the war based on this.
When VHS/Beta came around, there was no real way to watch that kind of content at home before. That was HUGE. Right now, that exists in the form of VHS and DVDs.
People wanted VHS. Going from nothing to a way to record TV or watch movies at home when you want was HUGE. DVD->Whatever is just going to higher quality. There is no massive benefit like before.
Then there is the computer factor. You know where I could watch high quality content without buying a $500+ player? My computer. You know where I can find tons of FREE content? My computer. The only competition that VHS had was "those kind" of theaters in the "bad part of town". People already are in the privacy of their homes
Then there is the higher quality is not better argument.
Let's face is, no one cares that much about this battle. It's almost NOTHING LIKE VHS/BETA. Same field (home video), same circumstance (two competing formats), same players (Sony on one side, this time with other people). But the reasons why people will choose a format are different. VHS was longer. Blu-ray is longer, but but since HD-DVD isn't limited to 60min like Beta was that isn't as much of an issue.
Can't compare the situations. Doesn't hold up.
Random theory: Blu-ray will win in end. Why? Cooler name. I have no idea.
tired of HD-DVD called "technically inferior" (Score:4, Interesting)
Blu-ray is capable of having some more storage capacity. Meanwhile, HD-DVD disks are cheaper to make, do not scratch as easily, are more backwards compatible, have a more capable and author friendly development environment/UI system, more advanced video encoding algorithms (as of at least very recently), and support the highest available resolution available (1080p)!
Apparently, what people mean by "technically superior" is "has a little more storage capacity". I prefer my way of looking at things -- HD-DVD is "better" and was more intelligently designed because it has all the advantages above over BluRay. It appears that Sony reinvented the wheel for negligible gain, yet many-fold setback.
The VHS/Beta Porn myth sufaces again (Score:5, Informative)
Sony had chosen to go after the high-end market, a practice that had been successful with other items in their audio and video equipment line. Sony imagined that VCRs would be used mostly for TV time-shifting, with sales of modest numbers of (expensive) prerecorded videos to enthusiasts. Sony players tended to be the videophile favorite, because they usually got the hot new features such as stable still display and hifi sound a bit earlier, with VHS catching up a few months later. The cheaper VHS machines sold to the more budget-conscious buyers. What Sony failed to anticipate was the emergence of rental outlets as a major market force. The first rental stores that I saw carried both beta and VHS (and yes, all ratings in both formats). But since the cheaper VHS machines were a bit more common, they stocked VHS a bit more heavily. Consumers noted this that the rental selection was better for VHS, and began favor VHS machines even more heavily. In response, to the increased demand for VHS tapes, the rental outlets cut back still further on beta to favor VHS. Within a couple of years after rental outlets became common, I began to see stores eliminating their beta departments. Around that time, Sony dropped the price of beta VCRs to make them competitive with VHS, but by then it was too late for Sony to catch up.
Re:It's Over (Score:5, Funny)
Parent
Re:This is big "fucking" news (Score:4, Insightful)
movies (theatrical): 8-11 billion annually (US)
dvds (non-porn/rental and purchase): 21-25 billion annually (US)
music: anyones guess. numbers range from 5-15 billion depending on who is doing the telling. the music industry is notorious for lying about sales though - perceived popularity of music makes people buy more music. This number is probably high.
Complete fabrication. Porn is a large industry but not larger then the Theatric movie release industry. The 12-15 number is based on interviews AVN did then re-enforced in Frobes for mentioning it. It's not based on hard numbers. Let me ask you this, how many porn produces are as WEALTHY as Speilberg. Or how about the head of any major studio? According to those numbers, under a similiar distribution system there should be at least 1/3 as many WEALTHY porn makers as there are film makers. But it's not supported. Even well known industry icons like Seymour Butts is only "rich."
Porn is a little more democratic then hollywood since any person wiht a camera can make it, but distribution (digital* or old school) still requires money. So we may have 100,000 producers but only several large distribution houses and online pushers. More conservative "studies" peg the amount to be 2-3 billion per year within the US.
*for online distibution, you still need to attract traffic which require money. The most successful online porn retailers use some pretty complex referral systems and networks of sites to generate cash. You need cash for this.
Parent
Re:This is big "fucking" news (Score:4, Informative)
Complete fabrication. Porn is a large industry but not larger then the Theatric movie release industry. The 12-15 number is based on interviews AVN did then re-enforced in Frobes for mentioning it.
Yes. According to a bunch of adult industry folks [boingboing.net], the real figure is more likely $400-500 million annually, which makes much more sense than $12-15 billion if you believe the guy from the BoingBoing post who says $216 million is spent making porn movies each year. The $12-15 billion number includes the entire adult entertainment industry -- strip clubs, sex toys, etc. in addition to porn movies, but keeps getting pushed as the size of the "porn industry".
Parent
News for Nerds. (Score:5, Insightful)
Parent