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[email protected] • www.audiodev.com November/december 2008

CONTENT DELIVERY & STORAGE ASSOCIAT ION

Editor-in-Chief: Storage Formats Douglas Dixon 20 SanDisk slotMusic: The Next Music Album Format [email protected] +1-609-466-5448 By Claudia Kienzle Art Director: Advanced Blu-ray Michael E. Bevel [email protected] 30 Advanced Interactivity with BD-J: Independence Day By Van Ling European Correspondent: 38 Advanced Blu-ray Authoring for BD-Live Elizabeth Toppin By Dan Daley Contributing Editors: 44 White Paper - The Other Format War Thomas Arnold, Chuck Azar, Jim Bottoms, By 3rd I QC, Intellikey Labs, DIRECT QC Tom Coughlin, Dan Daley, Larry Jaffee, Claudia Kienzle, Tom Moran, Bruce Nazarian Digital Delivery Contributors: 48 Digital Music Distribution David English, Tim Gorman, James Wise By Dan Daley international Advertising Director: Ellen Parker Production [email protected] +1-561-374-5959 52 White Paper - Into the Blu: Process Optimization for Blu-ray By dr.schwab Inspection Technology Content Delivery & Storage Association www.contentdeliveryandstorage.org columnists Suite 204, 182 Nassau Street Princeton, NJ 08542-7500 6 media / Setting Music Free Phone: +1-609-279-1700 By Dan Daley Fax: +1-609-279-1999 10 Authoring / The Blu-ray Lockout General E-mail: [email protected] By Bruce Nazarian President: 12 digital / Ownership and Intellectual Property Charles Van Horn By Tom Moran [email protected] 16 Content / Riding Out the Storm Director of Communications: By Thomas K. Arnold Michael E. Bevel 18 Analyst / The Demand for Flash [email protected] By David Miller Director of Finance and operations: Gail Muller INSIDE CDSA [email protected] 4 CDSA Board of Directors/Platinum Members

Director of Anti-Piracy 24 Anti-Piracy Certified Plants Compliance – worldwide: 54 plastic DVD Packaging Certification Program Timothy Gorman [email protected] +1-301-941-0308 On the Cover: SanDisk slotMusic: The Next Music director – Anti-Piracy and Compliance Album Format Programs – Americas: Linda Dyson Daniel Schreiber, Senior Vice Presi- [email protected] dent and General Manager of the Phone: +1-404-349-9600 audio/video business unit at director – Anti-Piracy and Compliance SanDisk, introduces the new Programs – europe/middle east/africa: slotMusic format for selling Peter Wallace [email protected] physical media for today’s portable Phone: +44 (0) 7850 331033 devices. Containing DRM-free MP3 music in standard microSD director - Anti-Piracy and Compliance Programs – Asia: flash storage media, slotMusic James S. Wise cards are playable on devices [email protected] including multimedia phones, Phone: +852-2290-9852 iPods and MP3 players, in-car Entire contents copyright 2008 Content Delivery & Storage Association. sound systems, and computers. The CDSA logo is a trademark of the Content Delivery and Storage Association (CDSA). November/December 2008 - MEDIAWARE - 3 CONTENT DELIVERY & STORAGE ASSOCIAT ION Executive committee The ADS Group Plymouth, Minnesota USA CHAIRMAN OF THE BOARD CHAIRMEN EMERITUS Frank Russomanno Bruce M. Allan arvato digital services Manufacturing EMEA President & Chief Executive Officer Scott N. Bartlett Gutersloh, GERMANY IMATION CORPORATION Stan Bauer Gordon W. Bricker Digital Media Technology PT VICE PRESIDENT Samuel Burger Bekasi, Jawa Barat, INDONESIA Alfred Markim Paul W. Scott Entertainment Distribution Company LLC Executive Vice President Richard F. O’Brion Blackburn, Lancashire, UNITED KINGDOM Sony DADC John E. Povolny Fishers, Indiana USA Dave H. Rubenstein Grover, North Carolina USA EUROPEAN VICE PRESIDENT Donald E. Rushin Langenhagen, GERMANY Hans-Peter Huelskoetter Paul W. Scott New York, New York USA CEO Louis P. Vaccarelli Reno, Nevada USA arvato digital services Brian R. Wilson Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania USA Manufacturing EMEA Donald P. Winquist Flash Cargo, Inc. Jamaica, New York USA TREASURER LEGAL COUNSEL James N. Fiedler Ronald D. Spencer, Counsel IMS SpA (IMS Manufacturing SrL and IMS Logistics Chairman & CEO CARTER, LEDYARD & MILBURN SrL) BENWOO, INC Caronno Pertusella (VA), ITALY

PRESIDENT JVC America, Inc. Charles Van Horn Tuscaloosa, Alabama USA CDSA President NEXPAK CONTENT DELIVERY & STORAGE Duluth, Georgia USA ASSOCIATION Shanghai Huade Photoelectron Science & Technology BOARD MEMBERS Co., Ltd. Shanghai, CHINA Donna Murray Daniel Schreiber Director, Sales & Administration Senior VP and General Manager Singulus Technologies, Inc. CARTHUPLAS, INC. SANDISK CORPORATION Windsor, Connecticut USA

Morris Ballen Tom Moran Sony DADC Chairman Senior Director, Media and Pitman, New Jersey USA DISC MAKERS Entertainment Terre Haute, Indiana USA WAM!NET, A DIVISION OF Spencer Mott SAVVIS COMPANY Sony DADC Austria AG Dir - International IP/IT Security Anif, AUSTRIA and Risk Management Louis P. Vaccarelli ELECTRONIC ARTS LTD Co-CEO Sony DADC UK Ltd. SHAPE MEDIA, LLC Southwater, West Sussex, UNITED KINGDOM J. Bradford Springer Chief Financial Officer Neil Brokenshire Summit CD Manufacture Pte.Ltd. JVC AMERICA INC President/CEO Singapore, SINGAPORE SINGULUS TECHNOLOGIES AG Steve Gilbertson Summit Technology Australia Pty. Ltd. President, No. America Gerhard Blum Silverwater, AUSTRALIA KAMMANN MACHINES, INC. Vice President Distribution Services-Europe Targray Technology International Inc. Alex Wardell SONY BMG MUSIC Pointe-Claire, Quebec CANADA Director of Sales ENTERTAINMENT INT’L, LTD KYOTO AMERICA, INC. Technicolor Brett Scott Aachen, GERMANY Stephen Scherger Vice President Alexandria, NSW, AUSTRALIA President, CSG Americas TEIJIN KASEI AMERICA, INC. Boulogne-Billancourt, FRANCE MEADWESTVACO Camarillo, California USA Rodney Jones Livonia, Michigan USA Greg Burns Executive Vice President - Operations Memphis, Tennessee USA Market Manager - Media Packaging UNIVERSAL MUSIC GROUP Mexicali, B.C. MEXICO MILLIKEN & COMPANY Mexico City, MEXICO Mississauga, Ontario CANADA Boudewijn van Dijk Piaseczno, POLAND General Manager Business Support Zapopan Jalisco,, MEXICO PHILIPS INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY & STANDARDS WAM!NET, a division of Savvis Communications Bloomington, Minnesota USA 4 - MEDIAWARE - November/December 2008 up To 100% recycled

Le Parc Paumier 72600 La Fresnaye sur Chedouet -France / Tél. +33 - 02 43 31 12 62 / Fax. +33 - 02 43 97 52 95 Ms Maria Bissolotti - Sales Manager : [email protected] / Ms Catherine Garnier - Sales Assistant : catherine.garnier@ mip-packaging.biz MEDIA

Setting Music Free

There’s a lot of money to be made in “free” music

We know all about the Long Tail, but what about the Short Nose? The front end, whether it be- longs to a car or a consumer, is the place where the first impact generally takes place, where the nature of the experience is deter- mined. Western content compa- nies have had mixed results with their encounters with the digital front end. Their obsession with monitoring and monetizing every Michael Heller is Lawrence A. Wien Professor pixel and audio sample has led to of Real Estate Law at Columbia Law School a misplacement of priorities that and author of The Gridlock Economy (Basic has hobbled the evolution of their Books). business models into fully digital economics. cracked before it hits the streets, imple- Take, for example the e-book, a decidedly menting the DRM, taking support calls on niche product at the moment, but one that DRM-based material, and lost sales because typifies the divide between what content users would not tolerate the DRM? Is it providers think is their primary mission (to really worth all the headaches to stop a few Dan Daley has covered protect content, both before and after a pirates? Won’t the pirates find a way to steal the entertainment media sale) and what knowledgeable consumers and related industries for the content anyhow? Why not allow the actually are looking for (to access content 20 years. He also writes law-abiding consumer to do with the media when and where they want it). for Wired, Fast Company, as they please? Now rather than protecting the London Telegraph and assets, DRM seems to be pissing people off History Channel magazine. Copy Protection He lives in New York and Comments Benjamin Higginbotham, while the content is still stolen. It appears to Nashville. director of new technology for the intro- me to be a lose-lose situation.” spective geek site TechnologyEvangelist. Higginbotham is hardly alone in railing com, “How much money are these [content that copy protection hinders commercial distributors] losing in developing DRM that’s progress, and the success of companies

6 - MEDIAWARE - November/December 2008 like Apple (which is stripping cators in the 1990s, and that has of the same kind of patent pools DRM from its music products since been extended to consum- is what gave DVD its own as- in stages) shows that the flaw ers via the RIAA, to seemingly tounding success. resides not in infinite flavors of endless extensions of copyright The imperfect protection of- copy protection, but rather in the law that have the effect of limit- fered by anti-piracy technologies increasingly irrelevant business ing IP exploitation rather than – the notion that every lock can models it seeks to protect. That encouraging it. As author Michael be picked - is no reason to com- suggests that the sooner new Heller has noted in his book The pletely give up on them. Speed attitudes towards content control Gridlock Economy, it took World bumps do work, and the imple- are implemented, the better. War I and Federal intervention mentation of anti-piracy technolo- The instinct to protect content to get the dozens of holders of gies sends an important mes- has become less organic and aircraft patents from nearly 100 sage. But Prohibition’s lesson increasingly institutional in the years ago to let loose enough of goes well beyond the whiskey: digital era, from the ubiquitous them so there could actually be litigation that began against repli- an aircraft industry. The creation Continued on page 8

November/December 2008 - MEDIAWARE - 7 Continued from page 7

to library music for corporate dustry payments significantly in video productions. excess of the $2.9 billion that Expect plenty digital sales posted last year. In more hits of this September, Sony Ericsson fol- sort as various lowed up by expanding its new “free” prop- music distribution scheme, ositions called PlayNow Arena, by mak- continue ing 1 million DRM-free tracks to roll out. available from Sony BMG, Univer- Warner Music and EMI vaults. sal Music Phone service provider Orange Group’s Total also has one on the way. Music plan It should be mentioned that would charge these schema are launching the cell phone outside the U.S., mostly in makers and/or wire- Europe, where cellular service Forbidding things that people less services providers comes without the contractual want will not stop people from a $5 fee (which is rolled into restrictions common in the getting them, and when they the device), that would pay for U.S., making the phone itself do get them, the losers in the unlimited digital access to all of (and the services it’s a hub end are the entities that didn’t the label’s music. What makes for) the focus of all marketing want them to have it. The taxes this proposition different from strategies. But Europe is also that government could have previous aggregation models a place that’s considerably less collected on alcohol between is that phone users get to keep obsessive about IP controls, 1920 and 1933 combined with the music. making it a better place to test not having had to pay the costs Taking it a step further, Nokia, and assess how it will work. of enforcing the Volstead Act which sold 146 million phones And if it does, expect to see could have offset some of the in 2007, launched its Comes these models over here shortly effects of the Depression. With Music program this year – The Wall Street Journal and, acting as the aggregator, reports that Sony Ericsson Going Free has lined up both Universal and expects to have 5 million tracks Free music is no longer Sony BMG for content. Nokia available when it rolls the ser- economic samizdat -- a Google is being coy about exact terms vice out globally in 2009. search of the phrase turns up – if the phone maker is indeed Film, video and game execu- over 127 million responses, paying $35 per phone sold as tives will be watching closely to most of them likely completely the licensing fee for the ser- see how all this “free” music legitimate, from give-aways vice, it could give the music in- will work out.

8 - MEDIAWARE - November/December 2008

AUTHORING The Blu-ray Lockout

As with DVD, enabling independent producers can help drive the growth of the BD market

The Thin Blu Line: Why police who can create advanced content? by Chris Brown, vice president, DVDA , CEO, Metabeam

echnology providers for the entertainment A decade ago, DVD toolmakers did pretty well by industry often refer to market “tiers” -- Tier 1 is this theory. Because the DVD format was friendly to Ttypically Hollywood; Tier 2 is outside Hollywood. Tier 2, the market for selling tools grew quickly. The Tier 1 is smaller, but more influential.T o be success- industry was fresh and open, everybody was welcome ful, you need to garner at least one Tier 1 customer, to join. Industry fellowship was tremendous, innova- because then you can attract Tier 2 customers. If tion exploded, and competition grew, which resulted you’re lucky, then you make it to the broader market in a lot more consumer choice: Tier 2 now represents of Tier 3: the pro-sumers, amateurs and wannabes. Or about two-thirds of the DVD titles market. Bigger mar- so the theory goes. ket, more players, lower prices.

10 - MEDIAWARE - November/December 2008 So, how does Blu-ray compare? ties such as BD-Live and persistent storage are only Since the Blu-ray format launched, Tier 2 produc- accessible through expensive programming tools, or ers have been stuck in a holding pattern, waiting for through time-consuming hand-programming. prices to drop low enough so they can join the party. BD promises true high-quality, interactive imagery Both production costs and consumer prices have with connected potential. The Web is finally poised to remained high. arrive in the living room… but how will the industry Producers seeking to innovate are disappointed grow if only major media can participate? Can you to learn that an expensive AACS license is required imagine what the World Wide Web would be if only in order to replicate, and advanced content capabili- Hollywood created content for it?

As President of the DVDA, are happening at this point in BD’s young life. I share Chris’s concerns on The DVD format received tremendous benefit the implications of current from the influx of creativity provided byT ier 2 Blu-ray Disc format and and Tier 3 producers that took to DVD’s capa- license issues. bilities, and “open access” approach to content DVDA has surveyed and protection. If you wanted DVDs with CSS, you Bruce Nazarian, had conversations with could have it, without flipping cartwheels. “the Digital Guy,” is many DVD Tier 2 and 3 pro- A big concern about the current state of BD is president of the DVD ducers, many of whom are that by “pricing out” Tier 2 producers with unaf- Association (DVDA). corporate or industrial au- fordable AACS license and participation fees, thors. Many of these have the BD format will not receive the benefit of the yet to create or burn their firstB D, for a variety creativity that helped push DVD into the main- of reasons. stream position it occupies today. Over half have expressed their opinion that We’re not discounting the tremendous input the cost of AACS licensing is “fiscally impossi- of Hollywood, but we’re also not overlooking ble for us,” and many have voiced their dismay the “grass roots” acceptance of DVD from Tier at being “priced out” of BD publishing due to 2 and 3 producers. We fear this acceptance may the mandatory AACS licensing for BD. Some of not happen in time for the BD format to firmly these producers had already produced HD DVD establish itself as a viable option to the migra- titles with success, and with far less fuss and tion to online distribution, and in some ways, bother. might actually be accelerating that migration! As a DVD developer, I have been actively in- We would encourage re-thinking the AACS volved with a large number of Tier 2 producers, licensing schemes in a way that allows greater and we have seen many Tier 2-produced titles participation by the many Tier 2 and 3 produc- emerge as DVDA Excellence Award winners ers who are anxious to being their creativity to over the years. the Blu-ray format. The impact of Tier 2 and 3 creativity on optical Locking pirates out of the format is the long- disc development cannot be overlooked, and range goal – but locking producers out of the should not be discouraged. Yet it seems both format is not the answer.

November/December 2008 - MEDIAWARE - 11 DIGITAL

Ownership and Thoughts from the Austin Intellectual Property Game Developers Conference

With the phenomenonal growth of the video gaming market over the last few years, many of us have turned our atten- tion to this area of the business looking for new opportunities. To that end, and in the interests of educating myself a little more about the gaming industry, I recently attended the Austin Game Developers Conference, the smaller of two events held every American science fiction author & futurist Bruce Sterling year that bring together keynoted the Austin Game Developers Conference 2008. Photo courtesy of the Austin Game Developers Conference game developers, pub- lishers and of course the vendors who supply the are indeed fascinating, considering the tools of the trade -- because somebody has audience I’ll stay here in the real world for to pick up the tab for all those wonderful now. Tex-Mex meals. Relative to other conferences, the Austin Intellectual Property GDC is targeted at a particular subset of One of the issues that I have become the gaming industry, as evidenced by the increasingly curious about over the last Tom Moran is Senior fact that even keynote addresses cover top- couple of years is the evolving definition of Director, Media and ics like “next generation audio for console intellectual property. The gaming industry Entertainment, at Savvis games”. However it was abundantly clear and other types of Internet based compa- Communications ... but nies struggle with the common challenges the views and opinions after spending a few days in the heart of expressed here are game country that the gaming industry of managing and protecting intellectual solely his own. offers valuable insight into the direction property, while at the same time having to of the entertainment industry as a whole. deal with issues of identity. Virtual worlds While next generation audio and fractal create very real liability issues and chal- shape shifting avatar-based virtual worlds lenges around managing the behavior of users who are by and large anonymous.

12 - MEDIAWARE - November/December 2008 Considering that the very attraction of many role approach has not been universally accepted, and playing games is the escape from the rules and more importantly, it only works in cases where mores of the real world, it is no wonder that many ownership of the content has been established in the gaming industry are now struggling with prior or can be easily established. While many how to preserve the appeal of this escapist expe- of us think of “intellectual property” in relatively rience while at the same time ensuring it is safe grand terms, we are in fact creating and dealing for everyone. with intellectual property every day, and while More than one discussion at the GDC surround- it may be somewhat easier to protect the big ing identity eventually morphed into a discussion assets, it is everyday ideas, what I will call “com- of both identity and intellectual property based on mon intellectual property” that is potentially going the common thread of “ownership.” Consider for a to be difficult or even impossible to protect suf- moment how even those of us who take precau- ficiently for the near term. tions to protect ourselves from “identity theft” As a real world example, I recently had a are not protecting our identity so much as we are conversation with the legal representative of a protecting our assets -- In this case the asset is Continued on page 14 our access to credit and the financial wherewithal to go about our daily lives. Within virtual worlds players are now accumulating real assets that have value outside the virtual world in the sense that they are bought and sold with more tradition- al currencies such as uhhhh ... money. Using the more generally interesting but by no means mainstream keynote address of sci- ence fiction writer and futurist Bruce Sterling as inspiration, I can see in the not so distant future a monumental challenge that could make putting the Napster cat back in the bag seem as complex as a game of Pong by comparison. The issue of adjudicating ownership of digital assets first came to my attention in a meaningful way when I heard that a judge in the Far East had thrown out a case against someone accused of illegal file sharing, based on the principle that he could not deter- mine the actual ownership of a digital file because there was no means of establishing either a chain of custody or some other judicially accepted proof of ownership.

Protecting Assets While U.S. judges in file sharing cases have established ownership based on the contents of a file, e.g. the music or the video it contains, this

November/December 2008 - MEDIAWARE - 13 Continued from page 13

rather large publisher who was troubled by the protect the very foundation of the Western econo- fact that some of their employees had been using my by failing to come up with a way to protect our the “Google Docs” service to share pre-release ideas. Without a common way of “fingerprinting” drafts of manuscripts. These particular employees a digital file available to us, every idea we share had neglected to read the license for Google docs, in digital form, whether it be a word doc, a story- which clearly suggested that the service was not board or an email, is essentially being given away suitable for the sharing of such content, and left the moment we hit the send button. And while this particular publisher on very shaky ground with many of our ideas are not really worth protecting, regards to protecting their intellectual property I am willing to bet that most of us have and share from being available to the general public prior to ideas that are worth protecting on a regular basis, them actually “publishing” it. These professional and do not give a second thought to them being people were essentially giving away valuable rights stolen. to their company’s assets without even knowing it. Now that you have read this you can’t say you While I am very much a believer that it is the weren’t warned. Someday that new screenplay, ability to execute an idea successfully that is far ice cream flavor, or cure for a previously incurable more important than the idea itself, I find myself disease that you thought of might make someone

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14 - MEDIAWARE - November/December 2008 Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement

More Storage than a Speeding Network at the 2009 Storage Visions Conference By Tom Coughlin, Coughlin Associates

Don’t go to the 2009 CES until you know about the convergence one of the most significantly growing markets in the consumer of technologies including digital storage that are revolutionizing space. In addition to speakers discussing personal storage man- the creation of digital content, its distribution and consumer elec- agement and devices, there will be a special area in the SV09 tronics. The pre-CES 2009 Storage Visions Conference (SV09) exhibit area focusing on mobile and fixed external storage. brings together technologists, vendors, retailers and users to explore the pod-, web-, life-casting consumer revolution. Conference Program At SV09, keynote speakers from Panasonic and Warner Brothers Participants will learn how to capture, preserve, protect, and will explore digital storage developments in consumer electron- search their lives on Digital Storage. Conference sessions ics including Blu-ray optical technology and the developments in explore key infrastructure supporting the growth of richer media display and entertainment technology will point the way to future experiences including storage technologies, privacy protection, applications demanding ever increasing supplies of data storage. power creation and management, search and indexing technolo- gies, home and mobile storage, next generation user needs and Other speakers will include leading suppliers of storage and its business opportunities. use including: NBC Universal, Seagate, STMicroelectronics, Fujitsu, Silicon Image, iSuppli, IDC, Intel, Samsung, SanDisk, The 2009 Storage Visions Conference will have the usual Vision- Toshiba, Brocade Communications, Macrovision, HD Giants, Pin- ary Product and Service awards, but in addition there will be a nacle Systems, Oxford Semiconductor, Pioneer Electronics and new media center challenge using high definition audio and video Plasmon. content from HD Giants. Media centers and media servers are poised to be a very high growth area as rights management Returning again to the 2009 conference is the Young User Panel, issues are resolved, and as the technology and software to sup- “I’m Your Future, Hear me Roar!” that will be composed of con- port sharing content in the home is resolved. This challenge will sumers in their late teens and early 20’s discussing how they use match major players in this developing market. devices, and what role digital storage will play in the products that appeal to them. This was an extremely informative and well External storage demand is also growing as consumers accu- received panel at the 2008 event. mulate ever greater libraries of digital content, especially user generated photos and videos and expansion storage for DVRs. Sessions will focus on digital storage for content creation, Backing up data with external storage is another major trend and editing, archiving and distribution as well as smart and secure storage. There is a session with a panel of VARs and resell- ers discussing the trends and drivers for digital storage in professional and consumer markets. Another session will explore technologies enabling the next generation of rich content consumer devices, as well as one on digital stor- age needs for social networking and remote access. The expanding use and growing sophistication of metadata will also be explored, including automated generation and use of metadata to help organize and protect professional and personal content.

With the rise of numerous flash memory storage options the conference will explore all the different storage devices and how each technology can be used most effectively. Op- tical storage developments will also be explored in an optical storage session looking at the future of optical technology and physical content distribution in general.

For more information on conference registration, hotel reservations, and sponsorship and exhibit opportunities, visit www.StorageVisions.com, call +1-408-871-8808, or email us [email protected].

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Riding Out the Storm

Can home entertainment save the holiday season?

These are challenging times, not just for and that will give packaged media another the home entertainment industry but for five to 10 year ride. everyone. With the mortgage meltdown, But in the meantime, studio executives Thomas K. Arnold is skyrocketing unemployment, and the Dow can’t sit idly by and simply play the waiting publisher and editorial an unpredictable roller-coaster, it’s begin- game. Keep in mind Hollywood’s depen- director of Home Media Magazine. He also is home ning to look more and more as though we dence on home entertainment as its No. 1 entertainment editor for are headed for a recession — if we’re not revenue source — and, as recent financial The Hollywood Reporter already in one. reports indicate, its savior in rocky econom- and covers entertainment Three late-summer studio financial re- ic times. Study after study has shown that for USA Today. He regularly ports fingered home entertainment as sav- home entertainment is remarkably resilient comments on entertain- ing the day. And yet DVD sales are flat, at when the economy crashes; Buying a DVD ment for such broadcast outlets as CNBC, CNN and best, while Blu-ray Disc is taking off a little for $15, or renting one for $3, is a cheap the G4 Network’s Attack of slower than many had hoped. date in comparison to other entertainment the Show. So the mood in Hollywood these days activities — including going out to the mov- is to ride out the storm as long as it lasts, ies, where you’re going to be out quite a bit with the expectation that better times are of cash once you factor in the overpriced ahead. Ultimately, the world will go Blu, popcorn and jumbo-size Jujubes.

16 - MEDIAWARE - November/December 2008 Forward Thinking If history is any indication, we as an industry So what’s Hollywood doing? Look for a flurry will ride out this storm with only a few bumps of activity to lift home entertainment sales in and minor bruises, and then once again enjoy the weeks leading up to Christmas. You can see sunny days ahead — at least for a while. But it in the rash of ultra-ultra-ultra special editions that’s just the way this business is. And if you coming to market, like Warner’s recent How start to feel sorry for yourself, just think how the West Was Won package. You can see it in better off you are than, say, the folks at GM, the stampede to release high-profile titles on who are trying to figure out what do with all Blu-ray, such as Paramount’s Godfather trilogy those Hummers! and Disney’s animated classics. And you can see it in the parade of big summer theatri- cals being rushed to home video, including The Dark Knight, which Warner is releasing right before Christmas — in part, sources say, to prop up the studio’s bottom line for the calendar year. Then you can see stepped-up marketing efforts such as Sony Pictures’ Emmy tie-in for TV DVD collections, and a studio-wide Blu-ray awareness campaign that should be starting right about now, just in time for the holiday rush. The home entertainment industry also is doing an unprecedented amount of forward thinking, experimenting with new technologies in the hopes that something, anything, will stick. Studios are adding digi- tal copies of movies to DVDs and Blu-ray Discs in the hopes of beating the Internet at its own digital-downloading game. We’re also seeing all sorts of out-of-the-box interactive features, such as video messag- ing and live on-screen chats, through the Web-enabled BD-Live technology. And the record companies, after suffering several years of steadily declining CD sales, are toying with putting albums on media cards in the hopes of pumping up packaged me- Courtesy Warner Home Video dia sales, at least for the short term.

November/December 2008 - MEDIAWARE - 17 Analyst

The Demand for Flash

Flash memory storage is accelerating

n both the consumer and professional Ifields the demand for storage space continues to skyrocket, with the three key competing formats -- removable opti- cal, flash memory, and hard disk -- bat- tling it out on an ever-expanding land- scape that continues to demand larger and larger storage capacities. In the consumer arena, traditional optical media solutions such as CD and standard definition DVD are be- coming unsuitable for high volume storage requirements, as capacities SanDisk Cruzer Gator USB Flash Drives fall short of the demands of many users. Consumers’ changing at- sumer arena, as it is no longer critical for titudes to physical content also mean that professional end-users to receive content less removable optical media is needed in on optical media. For example, the music order to share or store content. We’re also and movie companies are sending out far seeing a continued migration from optical fewer discs for promotional purposes and disc to hard disk devices via PVRs, fea- are increasingly pushing more data file- ture-laden set top boxes, personal media based promotions, a trend we expect to players, and Media Centre PCs, with DVD see increase as we move forward. recording becoming a more peripheral Despite the installed base of recordable activity. hardware continuing to increase steadily Looking to North America, like else- - with many households having access to where, the recordable optical media more than one optical disc recorder - this market has reached its peak, with annual won’t stimulate demand for blank optical shipments estimated to hit just over 2.8 media. At Futuresource Consult- billion discs in 2008, a decline of nearly 15 Flash Growth ing, David Millar is an ex- percent compared with last year. Within pert on the global storage this total, the Mexican market is still Instead, the Flash memory card is one media market. His projects showing some signs of growth. of the fastest growing consumer storage also have included profes- Increased competition from alterna- products of all time, with aftermarket sales sional broadcast, optical tive storage devices, such as HDD and expected to reach over 100 million units and magnetic storage this year in Europe alone, representing media, electronic distribu- Flash memory, remain a key contributor growth of over 20 percent from 2007. tion of entertainment, and to declining volumes in the optical media digital imaging. sector. This is having an impact on the Demand for Flash memory is being professional sector as well as the con- driven by a widening range of suitable

18 - MEDIAWARE - November/December 2008 applications including photos, music, movies, gaming, and sat nav, as well as the storage of data. The success of Flash memory comes not only from the ap- plications themselves, but also the way the cards and USB drives can be used to store and move content from one hardware device to another. Regardless of the primary storage format used within a particular device, the USB port is now becoming a ubiquitous larly desirable in the field of electronic news gather- feature within the CE hardware universe. ing – and the fast transfer rates of material to digital The increasing demand for Flash is also driven editing systems, is moving Flash memory to the by the sharp price declines seen over the last year, forefront of this market segment. which is prompting many users to buy more than In addition, USB Flash ‘sticks’ have become the one card per hardware device. Typically, in any given ‘sneakernet’ weapon of choice for transferring data territory, the previous year’s average 1 GB price between computers. Additionally, their larger form will become the average 2 GB price for this year. factor, when compared with SD cards and the like, Although with accelerated price declines this year, means that the primary constraint on capacity is the Futuresource expects 2 GB cards to drop slightly cost of the memory. below this level by year end. Though the battle between hard disk, optical disc, However, looking at the market as a whole, the and tape has run for decades, Flash memory con- total average trade price is not falling as fast as the tinues to emerge as a worthy contender. Initially price for individual capacities, and this is because capacities were low and cost per megabyte was we’re seeing the lion’s share of the market being very high, pricing it out of the marketplace, but this taken by high-end cards. has most definitely changed. In the brave new world In particular, sales of premium-priced cards for of Flash memory, price points have dropped to a video applications are growing, with the format prov- level that allows PC manufacturers to offer products ing attractive for both consumer and professional with hybrid Flash/hard disc drives and, increasingly, applications alike. The card’s ruggedness – particu- Flash-only drives.

November/December 2008 - MEDIAWARE - 19 Storage formats slotMusic: The Next Music Album Format

SanDisk introduces music on a flash card for portable players

By Claudia Kienzle

he need is clear: consum- ers want their media on Tdemand, and they want it to go. No longer wanting to be tethered to a playback device, music aficionados have taken to portable media devices, including Apple iPods, MP3 players, and multimedia-enabled cell phones. Recently, Apple announced that music fans have purchased and downloaded over five billion songs from the iTunes Store, making iTunes the number one music retailer in the U.S. The iTunes music catalog now offers Daniel Schreiber with the SanDisk slotMusic Claudia Kienzle is a over eight million songs, as well card and Sansa slotMusic Player professional freelance as over 50,000 movies for sale writer who has been or rent. covering the digital too big to be popped into today’s compact Yet as music downloads — both legal media market since playback devices like MP3 players or mo- and illegal — have grown in popularity, 1988, including film, bile phones. video, broadcast, music sales on CD have been sinking year But there may be life yet in physical multimedia, and the after year. While music CDs have had an media -- SanDisk Corporation of Milpitas, Internet. impressive 30-year run, the optical disc California is betting that there is still market format is quickly being relegated to the demand for music distributed through sidelines by the burgeoning digital media big-box retail channels, but preloaded onto revolution. After all, optical discs just are smaller media.

20 - MEDIAWARE - November/December 2008 Introducing slotMusic Setting its sights on the mobile entertainment market, SanDisk launched its new slotMusic product in October that combines the appeal of listening to digital music files on a portable device with the convenience of buying ’Consumers will be able to pre-packaged music on physical media. The idea is to distribute music albums in DRM-free MP3 format on slotMusic microSD cards, which then can be walk into a Wal-Mart or Best played back on mobile phones, iPods, MP3 players, and other devices that Buy, spot an artist or song have a microSD slot -- as well as on the new SanDisk Sansa slotMusic Player. “There are hundreds of millions of mobile phones already on the market they like, buy the slotMusic that can play slotMusic cards,” says Daniel Schreiber, senior vice president album, open the package, and general manager of the audio/video business unit at SanDisk. “Consum- and plug the card into their ers already have the players, and the ability to play this media, so the tech- nology to support this new business model is already in the hands of con- phones. And, before they sumers. They don’t need to adopt any new technology to make this work.” leave the store, they can be (Schreiber also recently became the SanDisk representative to the Content Delivery and Storage Association). enjoying the music.’ This assessment was reinforced by market analyst Dan- Daniel Schreiber ielle Levitas, vice president, consumer, broadband, and new SanDisk media for IDC: “This year, more than 1.2 billion mobile phones will ship globally, outstripping portable media players by an order of magnitude—and this trend is accelerating.” The slotMusic cards will be sold as a preloaded music “album,” with roughly a dozen MP3 tracks performed by top recording artists -- in much the same way that music has been distributed on CDs. With 1 GB of storage capacity, slotMusic cards also can hold liner notes, album art, vid- eos, and other creative content. The suggested retail price is $14.99, comparable to a music CD. Recognizing a global mar- keting opportunity, SanDisk joined forces with the four largest music companies to SanDisk Sansa slotMusic Player Continued on page 16 with slotMusic card

November/December 2008 - MEDIAWARE - 21 Storage formats

Continued from page 15

launch the slotMusic format: EMI Music, The music pre-loaded onto the microSD Sony BMG Music, Universal Music, and cards is encoded DRM-free in MP3, at Warner Music. up to 320 kbps, offering a high-fidelity The first wave of slotMusic releases, music experience. “There’s no DRM on due in stores in the U.S. by the holidays, slotMusic,” says Schreiber. “Consumers has more than 40 albums from artists in- have paid for the songs; they own them; cluding Coldplay, Katy Perry, Leona Lewis, and frankly they’re not the problem. It’s Rihanna, Daughtry, Kelly Clarkson, Toby the people who are downloading content Keith, Tim McGraw, Usher, Nelly, Con- illegally that are the problem, and that nie Talbot, Sugarland, Weezer and Young will happen whether or not you sell the Jeezy. SanDisk also has created personal- cards with DRM.” He adds that CDs have ized, branded slotMusic players for popu- never sold with DRM, and if people were lar artists such as ABBA and Robin Thicke. determined to rip them, and put songs on the Internet, they’ve always been able to Innovation in a Flash do that. As the inventor and leading supplier of Since the tracks are DRM-free, consum- Flash storage cards and drives, SanDisk’s ers also can move their favorite songs Flash storage technology serves as the from the slotMusic card to other portable platform enabling slotMusic. slotMusic devices that have a microSD slot, or to a is based upon microSD cards—a com- computer. And since the slotMusic card is pact, solid state Flash storage card that a standard microSD flash device, con- was originally developed by SanDisk and sumers can load their own content onto has become a widely adopted the slotMusic cards to create their own industry standard. personalized plug-and-play media library. As a result, slotMu- So, in a way, the format is a hybrid of the sic cards can be pre-packaged and digital downloading enjoyed in a paradigms. wide variety In addition, SanDisk has introduced the of playback small and inexpensive Sansa slotMusic devices with Player for $19.99, expressly designed to microSD slot play slotMusic card albums or a self-load- -- just plug ed microSD card full of music — without and play in most any need for a PC, Internet connection, or microSD-enabled computer skills. At a little over 2 ounces, multimedia phones, MP3 the slotMusic Player has no display and no players, and a growing number separate built-in memory. of in-car sound systems. slotMusic cards are also packaged with a tiny USB A New Music Paradigm adapter so they can be read and played on This holiday season, consumers will virtually all computers, including Windows, see slotMusic products on the shelves at Macintosh, and Linux. Best Buy and Wal-Mart, as well as at their

22 - MEDIAWARE - November/December 2008 respective online outlets. that’s pre-packaged on slotMusic cards then are physical media—and in expected to be available some cases these markets in Europe in 2009. will overlap.” “Consumers will be “With slotMusic, the able to walk into a Wal- consumer cedes control mart or Best Buy, spot an over the music choices, artist or song they like, but gains the simplicity and buy the slotMusic album, open the pack- immediacy of plug-n-play media,” he says. age, and plug the card into their phones,” “Rather than compiling single songs by a says Schreiber. “And, before they leave the variety of artists onto one player, slotMu- store, they can be enjoying the music.” sic will feature a collection of songs on a “This is a completely different experi- single card, largely from a single recording ence from the iPod paradigm,” he says. artist-- to promote ‘album’ sales.” “To do digital downloads, the consumer Schreiber points out that the use of must buy an iPod, install special software, flash storage has been happening at the have a broadband connection [ideally], grassroots level for some time, but now and a credit card handy to buy the songs. the entire music industry is embracing If they’re comfortable using all of those the technology. Bands can market their elements, then they can tap into that eco- own music using flash drives, for ex- system. But for many people, some or all ample through MusicFlashDrives.com, an of those elements may be unavailable, or independent website (not connected to they may not want to engage in the time- SanDisk) for musicians to promote and and labor-intensive process of computer distribute their music using branded flash downloads every time they want to put a drives, complete with customized designs song on their players.” and logos. Schreiber adds that there still are con- He adds that Disney also has been sell- sumers that want to browse, own, collect, ing movies for kids on flash cards, since and gift music on physical media, and this the cost per gigabyte has been falling to miniaturized storage fits well with today’s the point where it’s now a very cost-effi- digital media lifestyle. cient and attractive distribution option. The slotMusic format is not intended to With slotMusic, says Schreiber, “For the supplant digital downloads from sources first time in decades, the entire music in- like iTunes. “This just gives consumers a dustry is standing up behind a single new new choice,” says Schreiber. “slotMusic format, and each of the four major music and digital music downloads will co-exist, labels and the physical music retailers— and they’ll satisfy two different needs. Best Buy and Wal-Mart—have come out Some consumers will want the creative in support of this. It’s a pretty big deal to control of digital music downloads, while see such a unanimous vote of confidence others will want the immediate gratifica- in a single new format—the microSD card, tion and convenience of buying music and yes, slotMusic.” 

November/December 2008 - MEDIAWARE - 23 The Content Delivery & Storage Association (CDSA) and its worldwide Anti- Piracy and Compliance Programs reduce the risk of intellectual property being pirated, stolen or produced without authorization. Supply chain sites providing post production, manufacturing, and physical and digital distribution services are certified by ISO-accredited auditors to ensure compliance with rigorous APCP content protection and security standards. Your content is in safe hands when you use a CDSA-certified site.

FOR MORE INFORMATION: • Timothy J. Gorman, Director of Anti-Piracy Compliance Program - Worldwide [email protected] • Peter Wallace, Director of Anti-Piracy Compliance Program - Europe/Middle East/Africa [email protected] • James S. Wise, Director - Director of Anti-Piracy Compliance Program - Asia [email protected] www.contentdeliveryandstorage.org

The CDSA Anti-Piracy Certification/Compliance Programs are supported by the following worldwide agencies: • International Federation Of The Phonographic Industry (IFPI) • Business Software Alliance (BSA) • Digital Software Association (DSA) • Entertainment Software Assoc. (ESA) • Software & Information Industry Assoc. (SIIA) • International Video Federation (IVF) • Motion Picture Association (MPA) • Bureau International des Sociétés Gérant les Droits d’Enregistrement et de Reproduction Mécanique (BIEM) • Bescherming Rechten Entertainment Industrie Nederland (BREIN) We're proud to protect your content

Copyright and Licensing Verification Certified Sites United Kingdom CINRAM UK LTD, Ipswich www.cinram.com Africa EDC BLACKBURN, Blackburn, Lancashire www.edc-blackburn.co.uk South Africa ENTERTAINMENT DISTRIBUTION COMPANY (EDC) BLACKBURN LTD., COMPACT DISC TECHNOLOGIES, Midrand Blackburn www.edcllc.com SONY DADC UK LTD, Southwater, West Sussex www.sonydadc.com Asia/Pacific Australia North America ARVATO DIGITAL SERVICES PTY LTD, Chester Hill, NSW Canada www.arvatodigitalservices.com Q-MEDIA SOLUTIONS CORP, Richmond, British Columbia www.qmscorp.com SONY DADC AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, Huntingwood, NSW www.sonydadc.com SONY DADC CANADA CO., Toronto, Ontario www.sonydadc.com SUMMIT TECHNOLOGY AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, Silverwater, NSW USA www.summittechnology.com.au AMERIC EVOLVED INC., Charlotte, North Carolina www.americdisc.com TECHNICOLOR PTY LTD, Alexandria www.technicolor.com.au arvato digital services llc, Weaverville, North Carolina TECHNICOLOR PTY LTD, Braeside, Vic www.technicolor.com.au www.arvatodigitalservices.com China CINRAM INC., Huntsville, Alabama www.cinram.com SHANGHAI EPIC MUSIC MANUFACTURING OPERATIONS/SONY DADC CHINA CO CINRAM INTERNATIONAL, Richmond, Indiana www.cinram.com LTD, Shanghai DELUXE DIGITAL STUDIOS, Burbank, California www.bydeluxe.com SHANGHAI HUADE PHOTOELECTRON SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY CO LTD, Shanghai DISC MAKERS, Pennsauken, New Jersey www.discmakers.com Hong Kong DISCFARM CORPORATION, Corona, California www.discfarm.com ARVATO DIGITAL SERVICES LTD, Tai Po www.arvatodigitalservices.com.hk ENTERTAINMENT DISTRIBUTION COMPANY, Grover, North Carolina www.edcllc.com SONY DADC HONG KONG LTD, Tuen Mun www.sonydadc.com JVC AMERICA INC., Tuscaloosa, Alabama www.jvcdiscusa.com L & M OPTICAL DISC LLC, Brooklyn, New York www.dxbind.com India OPTICAL DISC SOLUTIONS, INC (formerly SANYO Laser Products), SONY DADC INDIA PVT LTD, Mumbai www.sonydadc.com Richmond, Indiana www.odiscs.com Indonesia OPTICAL EXPERTS MANUFACTURING (OEM), Charlotte, North Carolina DIGITAL MEDIA TECHNOLOGY PT, Bekasi www.dmtech.web.id www.oemdisc.com PT. TAKDIR JAYA ABADI, Tangerang SONY DADC US, Terre Haute, Indiana www.sonydadc.com Malaysia THE ADS GROUP, Plymouth, Minnesota www.theadsgroupdifference.com GSB SUMMIT CD (M) SDN BHD, Kuala Lumpur www.gsbsummit.com.my UNITED RECORD PRESSING, Nashville, Tennessee www.urpressing.com Singapore VIGOBYTE DE MEXICO, San Diego, California www.vigobyte.com.mx ARVATO DIGITAL SERVICES PTE LTD, Woodlands www.arvatodigitalservices.com SUMMIT CD MANUFACTURE PTE LTD, Singapore www.smsummit.com.sg South/Latin America Taiwan Argentina INFODISC TECHNOLOGY CO., LTD, Taipei www.infodisc.com AVH S.R.L, San Luis www.avh.com.ar U-TECH MEDIA CORPORATION, Tao-Yuan Shien www.utechmedia.com.tw EPSA FABRICACIÓN, Buenos Aires www.epsa.com.ar LASER DISC ARGENTINA S.A., Buenos Aires www.grupolaserdisc.com Europe TELTRON S.A., Buenos Aires www.teltron.com.ar Austria Brazil KDG MEDIATECH AG, Elbigenalp www.kdg-mt.com ARVATO DIGITAL SERVICES, Manaus www.arvatodigitalservices.com.br SONY DADC AUSTRIA AG, Anif www.sonydadc.com ARVATO DIGITAL SERVICES, São Paulo, SP www.arvatodigitalservices.com.br Belgium MICROSERVICE TECNOLOGIA DIGITAL da AMAZONIA, Barueri, São Paulo VOGUE TRADING VIDEO NV, Kuurne www.vtv.biz SONY DADC BRAZIL, Manaus, Amazonas www.sonydadc.com.br Czech Republic VIDEOLAR S.A., Barueri, São Paulo www.videolar.com GZ DIGITAL MEDIA, Lodenice www.gzcdm.com VIDEOLAR S.A., Manaus www.videolar.com France Mexico CINRAM OPTICAL DISC S.A./CINRAM FRANCE, Louviers www.cinram.com ARVATO DIGITAL SERVICES MÉXICO, Atzcapozalco, Mexico City www. CINRAM OUEST S.A., Gallion www.cinram.com arvatodigitalservices.com MPO FRANCE, Averton www.mpo.fr CINRAM LATINOAMERICANA, S.A. DE C.V., Mexico City www.cinram.com.mx Germany SONY DADC MEXICO S.A. DE C.V., Tlalnepantla, Edo. De Mex. www.sonydadc.com ARVATO DIGITAL SERVICES MANUFACTURING EMEA, Gütersloh www.arvatodigitalservices.com CINRAM GmbH, Alsdorf www.cinram.de Digital Download Supply Chain Certified Sites ELSÄSSER GLASSMASTER GMBH, Horb an Neckar www.elsaesser.com ENTERTAINMENT DISTRIBUTION COMPANY, Hannover www.edc-gmbh.com Europe INFODISC TECHNOLOGY GMBH, Renchen www.infodisc-gmbh.de France OPTIMAL MEDIA PRODUCTION GMBH, Röbel www.optimal-online.de OPENDISC, Paris Italy IMS MANUFACTURING SRL, ITALY, Caronno Pertusella (VA) www.imsgroup.it Netherlands Post Production Anti-Piracy Security Certified Sites docdata media b.v., Tilburg www.docdatamedia.com Poland North America TAKT Sp. z o.o., Boleslaw www.takt.eu USA Russia DELUXE DIGITAL STUDIOS, Burbank, California www.bydeluxe.com REPLIMASTER, Moscow www.dvdpro.ru Spain ARVATO DIGITAL SERVICES, Madrid www.arvatodigitalservices.com Sweden DICENTIA SWEDEN AB, Kista www.dicentia.se

CONTENT DELIVERY & STORAGE ASSOCIAT ION

28 - MEDIAWARE - November/December 2008 November/December 2008 - MEDIAWARE - 29 Advanced Blu-ray Advanced Interactivity

A Creative Designer/Producer’s with BD-J Perspective

By Van Ling

fter working on several Blu-ray titles using systems of the kind I had done in the DVD Athe more rudimentary HDMV format, I format. As a result, I was very much looking was extremely aware of its limitations in creat- forward to trying out BD-Java to see if it lived up ing compelling and often complex navigation to the promise of being touted as HDMV’s more advanced and capable brother. So I took my first baby steps into designing for BD-J authoring on Independence Day for Fox Home Entertainment (also known by its promotional abbreviation ID4). We authored the disc at Panasonic Hol- lywood Laboratory (PHL) under the produc- tion supervision of Paulette Pantoja and Lisa Casella at PHL and Sven Davison and Gina Vadnais at Fox Home Entertainment. I made it a point to work closely and directly with the BD-J programming team of Bhani Srikanth, Juan Reyes, Nathan Epstein and Walter Mor at PHL because they were my direct partners in making sure that my designs and features are realizable. Once the team realized that I was serious in learning how the programming worked and that I was willing to revise my graphics deliv- ery and instructions in order to make it easier for them to program, they put in extra effort to try new ways of getting me the functionality I wanted. On ID4, Fox and I made a conscious decision to design for the faster, most cur- rent players like the PlayStation 3, because we believe that the players will evolve in their speed and graphics power. This way, we can Independence Day Blu-ray images courtesy encourage manufacturers to build players with Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment bigger buffers and processing power, which

30 - MEDIAWARE - November/December 2008 may be the key to showing off the format’s capabilities wide) comes in over New York City and hovers, and a and accelerate consumer adoption. portion of its surface seamlessly becomes the interactive Coming to Blu-ray from DVD as a menu designer as menus. My extensive experience in feature film visual well as disc producer, I was initially concerned by what effects made it possible for me to design my graphic seemed like a series of particularly strict graphics limita- elements to create the illusion of dimensional perspec- tions in using BD-J: a limited buffer size, only so much tive shift using only the scaling and translational moves, complexity due to processing times, and no guaranteed without resorting to multi-frame animation elements that synchronization of the graphics and video elements when would have used up all the allotted graphic buffer space. working with the admittedly “asynchronous” interactive Similarly, the transparent green energy beams that emit layer for pop-up menus. from the underside of the saucer to display the vari- Even without sounding the bells and whistles of BD- ous submenus were done with a single graphic file that Live Internet connectivity and video picture-in-picture was used in multiple instances and animated over time. (PiP), it is possible to design and execute creative fea- By using minimal graphic elements and providing the tures just using the less processor-intensive BD-J graphic programmers with transformational data over time in a functions like translation and scaling of elements. For spreadsheet, I was able to achieve the desired result. example, I wanted to have a full HD video first-play where an alien destroyer from the film (a giant saucer 26 miles Continued on page 32

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Subchapters

There is also a physical limitation in creating menus original ID4 DVD, I had included 52 of them. For in BD-J, and that’s the buffer size for active graph- Blu-ray, I went a wee step further and effectively ics. When the player loads a set of graphic ele- had 432 chapter stops (!) using a combination of ments to be used in a BD-J menu system, there BD-J and metadata tagging. From a graphic stand- is a limit to the amount of graphics that can be point, I had only 52 thumbnails, but each chapter buffered at the same time. It’s roughly equivalent had a submenu that listed anywhere from 2 to 17 to fiveHD frames worth of elements (5 x 1920 x subchapter points that could be jumped to in the 1080 pixels). Since menus should react quickly to feature. Arrowing down from the currently selected the viewer’s remote operations, the general goal chapter thumbnail would display the subchapter is to try to fit all of the menu graphics into that 45 menu for that chapter, which included both the Mb buffer. If you have complex menus or a lot of elapsed time from the start of the film plus a full chapter thumbnails, this can be a challenge. text description of the scene. This feature allows I’m a big believer in nonlinear access via granular- the viewer to locate a particular place in the film ity, so I like to include a lot of chapter stops; on the with much greater precision.

32 - MEDIAWARE - November/December 2008 Detailed Keyword Search One of the most powerful capabilities of Blu-ray is that instance, providing the viewer with the detailed informa- you can use the primary video timeline as a base struc- tion they need to locate 120 of their favorite scenes and ture for invoking and displaying metadata. Any point or characters. points in a video feature can be tagged with nearly any sort of information and commands in BD-J, which allows The graphic interface design for this feature was critical, the viewer to access data in different contexts or search in that it had to be intuitive as well as themed to the film. for specific items in the film. I used a scrolling columns design that went from general Creating a search function involves taking a list of (an alphabet column on the left) to specific (keyword desired keywords and building a timecode-based list of instances in chronological order with scene descriptions instances in the film where that person, action or item on the right). And since HD is higher resolution than SD, is seen. In this instance, I took a standard “keyword text can be smaller onscreen and still be legible in Blu- search” function a step further by providing a full text de- ray, allowing for a denser, more detailed array of informa- scription of the action taking place at any given keyword tion on the screen.

Continued on page 34

November/December 2008 - MEDIAWARE - 33 Advanced Blu-ray

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Detailed Personal Bookmarks Similarly, a “simple” feature seen on many discs In addition, I added visual interest to the mark- -- the user-defined index marker -- can be made ing process – usually indicated by a static pop-up more useful and compelling by adding an infor- graphic when you hit the designated “add a book- mational component based on a database stored mark” button on the remote — by creating instead on the disc. In this instance, the normal ability for a quick animation of an alien fighter swooping in, viewers to “bookmark” any point in the film and hovering for a beat while displaying the new marker display a custom list of timecode points that could number, then flying off the screen. T his 3-second be jumped to was augmented by a text descrip- dimensional animation was achieved using only tion of the exact scene and screen action that they seven actual graphics (with pre-rendered motion had marked. This provided a “smart” interface that blur) that were animated using the standard trans- proved much more useful to the viewer than the lational capabilities of BD-J. Furthermore, these standard “numbered-marker with a chapter number user-defined bookmarks were stored in the player’s and abstract timecode” display often seen with this persistent memory so they were not lost when the feature. player was shut off or the disc ejected.

34 - MEDIAWARE - November/December 2008 Presentation Graphics Even with indexed color graphics, it is possible to take a design for film production-related factoids; and an alien capability that often is relegated to carrying simple sub- “fighter” background for in-story, narrative-related notes. titles and use it for more creative features. Rather than These graphics backgrounds, themed to the film and the simply doing “pop-up” style text-only graphics, I used rest of the menus, not only added visual interest to the the presentation graphics plane to create a dense trivia trivia info but gave a subtle cue as to the type of informa- track that sometimes included both images and anima- tion that was being presented at any given point. In ad- tion, all in sync with the film. dition, supportive photos were sometimes incorporated There were over 250 graphics that consisted of informa- into the graphics as well, and in some instances, an tive text wrapped in one of three different high-quality animated box would flash over a specific area of frame spaceship image frames: an alien “mothership” frame to draw the viewer’s attention to something the trivia for real-world research-related trivia; an alien “destroyer” graphic then explained.

Continued on page 36

November/December 2008 - MEDIAWARE - 35 Advanced Blu-ray

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Alien Scavenger Hunt Game The idea of a movable cursor is a familiar one to items during the film and use the movable cursor to anyone with a computer, but for set-top home click on them while they are visible on screen. This entertainment, it tends to evoke images of joysticks necessitated the ability to designate moving, active and first-person shooter games. I ndeed, this cursor areas on the screen in sync with the feature video, technique had been previously used for such shooter which meant tracking dozens of objects throughout overlays on Blu-ray. However, I felt it was possible to the course of the film. T hese bounding-box locations tie such an interface to a game of observation, rather in both time (via timecode) and space (via XY coordi- than a shoot-em-up, so I designed the “Alien Scaven- nates) were provided to the programming team, along ger Hunt” to allow the viewer to pay attention to the with the control grid for the “targeting reticule” cursor feature itself and locate a wide variety of items seen itself, which could be manipulated using either the throughout the course of the film. arrow keys on the remote or the joystick controls on a A list of 12 items (a pitcher of orange juice, a bust of PS3 game controller. Lincoln, Ron Howard’s dad, etc.) is presented to the Other enhancements included the randomization of viewer in an unobtrusive interface at the bottom of the game (the 12 items to be found were randomly the screen, and it is their task to find these selected from a list of 36 items, so almost no two

36 - MEDIAWARE - November/December 2008 plays of the game would be the same), the saving of the game progress even after player shutoff (by writing data into the player’s persis- tent memory), and a reward for finishing the game (a hidden video clip of outtakes that only became available if the game Van Ling is a was completed). freelance DVD/ This Blu-ray BD-J game was the recipient of a 2008 DVDA Excellence Blu-ray producer, Award, but for me the key creative element is not necessarily the game visual effects su- itself – some folks enjoy such games, while others do not — but the pervisor, consul- tant and digital creative possibilities that this application represents. Imagine such an artist whose film interface applied to an entirely different type of movie and application: a credits include The Abyss, Terminator romantic comedy about fashion, in which the viewer could use the cursor 2, Twister, Starship Troopers, Doc- interface to select outfits on the screen and then be taken to a new page tor Dolittle and Titanic. A veteran of on the disc (or even on the web through BD-Live) -- to not only find out ground-breaking feature productions more about the clothes, but also purchase them immediately. The pos- with James sibilities are endless, as it can Cameron’s Lightstorm Entertainment, be applied to any genre of Ling has brought the same envelope- In Conclusion film for any variety of com- pushing spirit to the home enter- In all, the ID4 Blu-ray disc afforded me mercial or educational pur- tainment arena, producing in-depth an opportunity to explore the possibili- poses. Moreover, this “point special features on titles from Field of ties of BD-Java and provided a glimpse and click” hyperlink paradigm Dreams to Titanic and often creating at the future of interactive media. And is already familiar to anyone innovative menu systems, including even though this disc was designed those for The Abyss Special Edition, who has used a web brows- and created in early 2007 and released Independence Day, Terminator 2 and er. The labor-intensive portion almost a year later in 2008, many of its all six of the Star Wars films. H is work of creating such applications features still remain unique, and hope- on many of these titles have helped is the tracking of items in fully will inspire other Blu-ray designers define and inspire theDVD art form, the feature footage, but and producers to further build upon the garnering multiple awards and nomina- there would be specialized tions from various home theatre and capabilities of Blu-ray and BD-J to carry companies (such as my own industry trade organizations, and is and harness the power of metadata to division, called lingKedge) to widely respected by both DVD profes- create compelling content.  provide such services. sionals and consumers.

November/December 2008 - MEDIAWARE - 37 Digital delivery Advanced Blu-ray Authoring for BD-Live by Dan Daley

Blu-ray’s second s the Blu-ray disc format takes on its hard-won mantle as the future of the generation physical media industry, the transition for the entertainment business has Ajust begun. “It’s like going from driving a car to flying an airplane,” saysT imur technology Insepov, digital content services manager at the Sony DADC DigitalWorks facility in poses creative Los Angeles. The metaphor is indeed apt: the introduction earlier this year of BD-Live, which makes Blu-ray network connected via a Java-based authoring environment, is challenges not an incremental step but a quantum leap. BD-Live effectively takes the two- dimensionality of DVD and adds a third dimension, in which scores of interactive applications are added in authoring that will await instructions from the player and from an Internet connection, as opposed to DVD’s pre- rendered MPEG elements and preset menus. This connectivity will allow Blu-ray discs to be updated, adding content such as additional subtitle languages and promotional features that are not included on the disc at the time of replication. So is BD-Live a creative boon or creative nightmare? It’s a bit of both -- The process of authoring these so- called BD-J titles is radically different enough that it calls for a completely Advanced authoring at Giant Interactive different type of specialist. “The ideal candidate for BD Java authoring is someone with a background in programs like Macromedia Director, rather than conventional DVD programs,” says Jeff Jewett, account executive at the Sony DADC DigitalWorks authoring technology center. Rather than DVD’s integrated bag of pre-processed ele- ments, each Blu-ray title is a landscape of discrete elements that will be called upon randomly by the processing in the BD player. Some of these take the form of on-disc games, which are becoming a popular add-on for early Blu-ray discs, such as the

38 - MEDIAWARE - November/December 2008 ’There’s such a range of possibilities [with blackjack game integrated onto Sony them immediately. “All titles released BD-Live] that we have Pictures’ film 21 and a trivia game to market after November 1, 2008 with Men In Black. Picture-in picture will be BD-Live-ready, but they will to learn to be techni- (PIP), which allows animated story- not have specific features on them,” cally creative before we boards or interviews with cast and states Sven Davison, vice president, crew to play simultaneously with the worldwide product development and can just focus on being program elements, is also a Blu-ray production at Fox, who declined to esthetically creative.’ feature. These can be programmed discuss which specific features the Timur Insepov, to pop up automatically at appropri- studio is including in the BD-Live ate points in the film, but also can be releases. “We have a very long list Sony DADC disabled by the viewer. “Using these of features we’re working on, but we DigitalWorks features presents a moderate [author- ing] challenge,” says Insepov. Continued on page 40 “It’s not as easy as adding a drag-and-drop plug-in onto a standard DVD disc, but PIP is a standard type of BD fea- tures and doesn’t require Java engineering ability. There’s such a range of possibilities that we have to learn to be techni- cally creative before we can just focus on being esthetically creative.” Most studios have BD-Live titles already in the pipeline; some, like Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment, plan to make all of their Blu-ray releases BD-Live titles start- ing in later this year or in early 2009, though Java content will Courtesy Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment not necessarily accompany

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could certainly add content to [the titles] anytime we see a reason to do so. This is based on if a title merits a specificBD -Live feature or not.” Davison acknowledges that BD-Live authoring is both labor- intensive and time-consuming, but says Fox plans to stay on its release schedule. “We have to work a lot harder, but it will not affect release dates,” he says.

Complex New World The complexity of BD authoring contributes to concerns caused by a still-ramping-up manufactur- ing base about the ability of Hollywood to produce enough product to support Blu-ray’s necessary big push at this year’s end-of-year selling season. Insepov says the creation of more third-party drag-and-drop authoring environments, as well as Courtesy Sony Pictures Home Entertainment programs like Biddle, from Korea-based Dreamer, which streamlines the addition of new content to the player via its Internet connection, will help bring market yet, so in testing the discs we have to work more authoring capacity to the business and help on assumptions to a large extent.” facilitate the creative process. Player compatibility is among the issues that Pi But BD’s connectivity means that as complex Waller, vice president of digital operations at Giant as the format may be, there will still be aspects Interactive, ponders. The New York City authoring beyond the control of authoring that will impose facility, which does catalog film titles and television artificial boundaries on the creative process. For in- series work for clients including HBO Films, started stance, the speed of the user’s Internet connection, experimenting with BD-J last winter, drawing exper- which will largely determine the kind of experience tise and base knowledge from an array of sources, the user will have with BD-Live’s post-purchase use, including Java-savvy new hires. is a key concern but one that Hollywood has no The studios are in the loop on these matters. “We control over. Another issue is the compatibility and are cognizant of these issues, but we go out of processing power of the set-top player in the home. our way to push the envelope, not dumb down our “For BD-Live, it’s still a challenge figuring out how features,” says Fox’s Davison. “So, no, at the end of much to push through the pipe at any given time,” the day this is not a factor in what we deliver.” says Insepov. “Blu-ray is presented as a revolution- On the other hand, Waller is seeing some of the ary technology that can do anything, but the real- ways that BD-J discs will actually make the author- ity is that there are limits on creativity in the form ing process a bit more streamlined, such as the of interoperability concerns, Internet connection ability to rectify mistakes or missing content after speeds and so forth. The programming may have the fact by updating titles in the field via theI nternet to be scaled to the lowest common denominator connection. “The studios are going to have adjust to avoid these problems, at least in the beginning. their way of thinking for this,” he says. “The creative And we don’t have all the players that will be on the decisions [for BD-Live] are not all going to be made

40 - MEDIAWARE - November/December 2008 before the disc is done. The creative process could Given the cost of new software, testing systems, additional potentially be an ongoing process for every title.” human resources and the extended time frame it requires, Todd Collart, senior vice president for new media at “It’s rare that you make a profit onBD -Live authoring at this Deluxe Digital Studios in Burbank, California, says this point,” Prokop says. But he’s not feeling particularly pressured all argues for achieving an efficient work methodology by this. “We’re all in the same boat at the moment – if every- as soon as possible. “With DVD, the creative aspect one working on BD-Live doesn’t do what it takes to get it to was encapsulated within the authoring process – take off, no one’s going anywhere.” when you delivered the finished product, you were done with it, you put the SKU on the shelf and moved Studio POV on to the next one,” he says. “With BD-Live, the If the authorists are still feeling their way around BD-Live, creative is ongoing, before, during and well after a so are the studios. “We’re at the ‘Pong’ stage of the video title is delivered for manufacturing.” Collart says that game world in terms of BD-Live,” is how Tracey Garvin, senior Deluxe is integrating its recently expanded technical vice president of worldwide marketing at Sony Pictures, and creative staffs so that both understand the needs Continued on page 42 and the limitations of the other. “We want what gets JVC REVISION_2.pdf 10/23/08 12:02:09 AM presented to the studios to be what’s feasible and doable, to have already gone through player compat- ibility testing and QC,” both capabilities that Deluxe has as part of its “microplant” – a pair of Blu-ray rep- Mapping the Perfect Experience lication lines to test disc performance. “The marriage between technology and creative has to be accom- REPLICATION plished as quickly as possible.” VMI Another way of accelerating that is the develop- PACKAGING ment of third-party applications developers. Keith POP Prokop, CEO of Radius60 Studios, which has au- C DISTRIBUTION thored several BD-Live titles for Sony Pictures and other studios, says that developing code templates M DIRECT TO STORE can accelerate the workflow, as for the trivia game Y EDI they created for the Sony Pictures Men In Black CM SUPPLY CHAIN MANAGEMENT BD-Live title. “They become like game engines that MY WAREHOUSING can be updated as you go along for future use,” he CY explains. CMY

In fact, workflow is part of the creative proposition. K “With any pure code like Java, there’s more than one way to do most things,” says Waller. An example of this intersection is how Giant has developed its menus to have the disc query the player to see if there is an Internet connection; if not, menu buttons America Inc. relating to connectivity will remain hidden. “We don’t www.jvcdiscusa.com want to frustrate users who have Profile 1 players or who don’t have Internet connections,” he says.

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describes the moment. Garvin is at the workflow will be critical to makingBD -Live nexus of a complicated universe, trying authoring profitable. “[BD-Live authoring] to parse the results of numerous polls is going to be working on a kind of time and surveys – some even taken online by line that home entertainment is just not BD-Live-connected users – as to which used to,” he says. “There is a real poten- features they like best and why. tial to have the workflow back up, jeopar- At the same time, Garvin’s team is dizing deadlines.” ramping up an aggressive marketing Teofan says that it’s inevitable that some plan that will use the Internet connection BD-Live titles will hit the street even as ’BD-Live authoring is feature to send trailers and other promo- their connected content is still being tional materials to users; Sony will also developed. That buys the still-evolving going to be working on extend its Sony Points customer reward BD-Live authoring and creative processes a kind of time line that program through BD-Live later this year. some time. “But the extra content will home entertainment is Garvin even senses BD-Live as a social be advertised on the packaging, so we networking proposition. For instance, the don’t want to wait too long,” he says. “It just not used to. There trivia game included on the Men In Black has to be transparent to the user. That‘s is a real potential to title can be played solo or can take the critical to ensuring the format is accepted user to a game lobby to play with others by consumers.” To that end, Blink Digital’s have the workflow back elsewhere in the world. BD-Live crew is being cross-trained in up, jeopardizing dead- This all suggests that a huge new Java as well as standard BD and DVD. infrastructure will need to be built out lines.’ behind BD-Live. Garvin says it is in the Tools of the Trade Austen Teofan process of being assembled, bit by bit, If authoring BD-Live is more like writ- Director of Blu-ray, right now. She also is establishing proto- ing software code, then its current toolsets reflect that focus. Sony’s own Java and New Format cols for directors and other creatives to have input into their BD titles’ feature sets Blu-Print software kit has been scaled to Development, and trying to manage all of that on the cover BD-J; Technicolor released its initial Blink Digital extended workflow timelines thatBD -Live version of its BD Jive software late last demands. “It’s not easy,” she says. “But year. Sonic, the major independent sup- we’re in the process of building a shared- plier of authoring software, announced experience community based on Blu-ray, the release of Scenarist BD Version 5 in and that’s a major undertaking. There are September. While not a BD-Live authoring a lot of things to worry about, like player kit, per se, it adds functionality focused interoperability and consumer connection on the creation of titles that fully leverage speeds. But the value that the connected advanced interactive features, and also Blu-ray disc can bring will make it the ulti- streamlines data exchange with third-party mate packaged media for entertainment.” interactive programming applications for Authoring companies are essentially BD-J - such as those available through the doing the same. Austen Teofan, newly Sonic Extended Developer Group (EDGe) appointed director of Blu-ray, Java and - to enhance and simplify the workflow new format development at Blink Digital’s in the production of cutting-edge BD title Burbank facility, says that creating a viable releases.

42 - MEDIAWARE - November/December 2008 Initially, these new products will range from $5,000 technical limits but one with plenty of external ones, to $15,000, and hope to do what products like Dream- ranging from bandwidth limitations to the need for weaver did for website building years ago: create tem- facilities to rethink their knowledge base. Despite hav- plates that minimize or eliminate the need for the user ing won a protracted and costly battle to become the to actually write his own code. “This will open up Java successor format to DVD, Blu-ray’s interactive iteration creation tools for nonprogrammers,” says Simon James, is essentially in a neonatal stage. “We are in the early Sonic’s senior marketing manager in the U.K. “But you’ll stages of technical development and know-how for still need to have a degree of programming expertise to interactive Blu-ray,” says James. “It’s like web program- integrate the Java elements into the finished title.” ming was years and years ago. The knowledge base BD-Live presents the authoring world with a rare had to be built one day at a time then, and that’s what’s creative proposition: a format with virtually no inherent happening now.” 

November/December 2008 - MEDIAWARE - 43 Whitepaper The Other Format War Comments on developing the Blu-ray format from three independent Quality Assurance houses

by 3rd i QC, Intellikey Labs, and Direct QC

Blu-ray is the undisputed victor in the war for the winning high-defi- nition format. But there’s been another format war underway. One that was overlooked while the winning format battles took center stage. The other format war is the one between Blu-ray and Standard Definition DVD (SD). One could say that the installed base of SD is in large part responsible for the delay of the mass adoption of the Blu-ray format. From a consumer perspective, there’s nothing wrong with Stan- dard Definition DVD. It’s affordable, it is compatible with most TVs, image and audio quality are satisfactory, and usually it delivers on its promises. From a content owner perspective, production of Standard Definition is practically rote. Looking at Blu-ray from those same two perspectives, the consumer is required to make a substan- tial financial commitment to experience what Blu-ray has to offer. And to the content owner, Blu-ray presents daunting development and production challenges that the less complex format of SD will never be expected to address or even compete with. Recently, three independent Quality Assurance houses -- 3rd i QC, Intellikey Labs, and Direct QC -- met to discuss the subject of Blu-ray; how well the technology is working, the consumer attitudes towards it, and how the testing houses can best help Blu-ray get from where it is now to where it can be. Each of the testing houses has been on the front lines of Quality Assurance for high-definition DVD since its inception in early 2006, servicing the major movie studios and testing hundreds of Blu-ray discs from concept to delivery. Following is a selection of the discussion highlights from each of the QA participants:

From Al Limón, President When we test the newest Blu-ray bell or whistle, 3rd i QC, Culver City, California we are often faced with a compromise in player “The challenge to bring about the speed, and intricate functions which confuse in- adoption of Blu-ray is a complex one. tuitiveness -- along with a less than optimal num- As a result of strong Blu-ray market- ber of discs on which to test and too little time ing efforts, consumers have been to complete what we’re being asked to test. educated to expect more from Blu-ray “One of my Blu-ray mantras has become than they do from SD. They want the ‘A fast QC is an oxymoron.’ I have enormous spectacular image, the crystal clear respect for the programmers, designers, and audio, but they also want the same everyone working in the Blu-ray trenches! We speed, connectivity, and basic in- do everything we can to support their efforts so tuitiveness that SD players exhibit. that Blu-ray and BD-J technology can realize its

44 - MEDIAWARE - November/December 2008 full potential. But the necessary time to develop and Blu-ray. But it’s not a given, and this is so easy to do. test these great ideas isn’t there--and may never be. Taking small technological steps is okay—isn’t it bet- Consumers don’t yet appreciate the capabilities that ter to try new Blu-ray ideas incrementally, rather than Blu-ray has. They only see what’s in front of them over-program, which means over-testing, which can at the moment. It’s too early to expect Blu-ray to be also mean ‘over budget.’ If every Blu-ray title would perfect, so when a consumer compares Blu-ray to incorporate something a little different than what’s their standard DVD player at home, Blu-ray can come expected, but maintain the simplicity of the idea and up looking inferior, even though in theory, it’s not. the implementation of it in the disc, it would create “Some titles put a lot of effort into added value less stress on everybody in production.” that becomes very complicated to test. Things like extensive indexes, real-time tracking locators, and About 3rd i QC: additional film footage made available during the Since 1982 from VHS to Blu-ray, 3rd i is a collabora- feature. Testing reveals the potential of the program- tion of talent and expertise, pioneering procedures in ming--the good and the bad. And sometimes that quality control for the Home Entertainment software reality check can be too risky to the content owner. market. In 1996, 3rd i established a quality assurance They may end up pulling the entire VAM (Value procedure for the launch of the then new DVD for- Added Material) because the risk of a failure is too mat. 3rd i prides itself in delivering the most detailed great. and intensive 3rd party independent quality control “There are some Blu-ray applications that do work and assurance that offers hands on support from well. Like something as simple as including themed Digital Master to Blu-ray test disc. To date 3rd i has menus for each of the titles. Consumers already get worked on over 400 Blu-ray projects for both Domes- this on every SD title, so it’s logical to expect it on tic and International markets.

From Lauren Evers, President “In answer to the need for immediate and first- Intellikey Labs, Glendale, California hand evaluation of how consumers are responding “The demand for a sub- to digital technology, Intellikey began conducting stantial number of Blu-ray independent Usability tests in concert with the con- titles requires an accelerated ventional QA testing. (Last holiday season, Intellikey production of all the titles provided the world with the first ever Buyer’s Guide in the pipeline. This in turn to Blu-ray, generating an inundation of interest from limits the time and resources to consumers, publishers, and content owners alike.) markedly differentiate a Blu-ray title “In a recent survey of potential Blu-ray buyers, from an SD title. Other than the Intellikey demonstrated the Bonus Content which obvious image resolution and audio was exclusive to Blu-ray (not available on the SD enhancements, however, the average movie version) on the top-selling Blu-ray movie titles. consumer may see little or no difference between Participants were asked to list the five Blu-ray exclu- the SD title and the Blu-ray one. When an innovation sive features that were the most appealing and would does make its exclusive way to a Blu-ray title, it is contribute positively to their decision to buy a Blu-ray often under-tested or overly technical--too complex to be practical. Continued on page 46

November/December 2008 - MEDIAWARE - 45 Whitepaper

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system. Interestingly, no one participant could to hear comments like that, when we know that come up with five. the best of Blu-ray is just getting started. We “In a separate Blu-ray study, Intellikey made believe that when the full potential of Blu-ray and a surprising correlation: The more Functionality especially BD-Live is fully realized, it will excite testing that is required per Blu-ray title, the less consumers enough to tip that tenuous balance.” intuitive and/or engaging the title tends to be. A Blu-ray menu design can look absolutely gor- About Intellikey Labs: geous, but be tricky as hell to navigate. You have In August 1997, Intellikey Labs became the first to ask yourself: What will make the consumer independent testing facility dedicated to quality more satisfied: If they perceive the navigational assurance for DVD technology. Since then, Intel- menus to be broken (when they’re just overly likey has been widely recognized for its unique complex)? Or is it smarter to create and program expertise in combining technical quality assur- a menu that is less stunning, but ease of naviga- ance for digital media with consumer experience tion is assured? testing. Intellikey provides services for the major “In one Blu-ray survey, we cringed when a movie studios, as well as corporate and educa- participant stated: ‘BD-Live does what we can tional content developers for digital consumer already do, only worse.’ It’s almost heart-breaking technology, and has tested over 300 Blu-ray titles.

From James Richardson, President “One of my friends had a Blu-ray system for Direct QC, Studio City, California several months, but didn’t flip the switch to acti- “SD DVD has had more than vate high-definition. For 3 months he thought he 11 years to shape the technical was experiencing Blu-ray, but it was just his big- expectations of the DVD con- ger TV screen. It’s not going to be easy to simplify sumer. So now, it’s like Blu- something as complex as Blu-ray. ray is being marketed to the “The number of active Blu-ray players within technically elite. You really have each Blu-ray region is still well under 50; many to have the technical know-how hundreds of players less than SD. Even so, some to navigate the vastness of the studio clients reluctantly eliminate several first Blu-ray landscape. It’s a process of generation and other problematic Blu-ray players educating the consumer so they from their compatibility tests. They lack the time can understand why it’s important to and resources to debug the technical challenges, have the latest BD profile and how the varying de- which forces a dramatic compromise of Blu-ray coding capabilities will affect their Blu-ray experi- compatibility.” ence. I can’t tell you how many friends who have seen the ads for Blu-ray, still want me to explain About Direct QC: the requirements of Blu-ray, the TV, the sound Before he founded Direct QC in 2003, James system, the receiver, and why it’s all necessary. Richardson spent more than six years overseeing Some people may not be able to see or hear any domestic and international production of optical difference between SD and Blu-ray until it is actu- media content for home entertainment divisions ally pointed out to them. of major movie studios. Specializing in testing for

46 - MEDIAWARE - November/December 2008 SD DVD, Hi-DefinitionDVD , emulation, electronic media, hundreds of thousands of optical media products. hardware, authoring, telecine, video and down conver- In October, the QC facilities of Intellikey Labs and sion services, Richardson has established himself as an Direct QC merged their operations to form a single entity, invaluable partner to the entertainment sector, testing THE TESTING GROUP.

The three QC houses concluded their meeting with the fol- technology for the masses. It’s a thrill to experience-- lowing consensus: at times even downright spectacular. The efforts of the It’s not likely the QA houses will be given the time or content owners and production houses know that this budgets that a format as new and significant as Blu-ray technology is capable of more than the average con- requires. Even setting aside the strength of Standard sumer realizes. The QC houses, those of us who see the Definition’s installed base, Blu-ray faces more contenders disappointments, the stumbling blocks, and the setbacks, in the other format war, as alternative entertainment op- see these things because that’s what we’re being asked tions like On Demand and Download-to-rent/own vie for to do, and because that’s what we’re good at doing: We consumer dollars. point out the flaws because we know about perfection. That said, Blu-ray is still far and away the greatest It’s only a matter of time before we really start to experi- distance we’ve come in terms of home entertainment ence the uniqueness and perfection that is truly Blu-ray.

Lauren Evers, Founder and CEO of Intellikey Labs and Direct QC Founder and President James Richardson announce that the companies have merged under the newly formed corporate entity:

the testing group 1265 los angeles street glendale, ca 91204 818-241-7373 thetestinggroup.com

November/December 2008 - MEDIAWARE - 47 music distribution Digital Music Distribution

by Dan Daley

Internet music usic has been the point man begins to fragment for the larger entertainment Mindustry’s evolution into the as iTunes rivals digital distribution model. Movies and get busy later games learned from the music experience in its ongoing transition from a purely physical media to one that is distributed across a wide range of formats. So new developments in music distribution are of interest well beyond the walls of the Capitol Tower in L.A. and Sony’s Manhattan Blackrock redoubt. Apple’s iTunes and its iPod carrier remain the dominant force in digital music distribution. Citing data from The NPD Group, Apple CEO Steven Jobs recently told the media that the iPod has a 73.4 percent market share, followed by other MP3 players at 15.4 percent, SanDisk at 8 percent and the Microsoft Zune at 2.6 percent. And the iPod remains a purposely incom- patible device with other digital music carriers, locking its users in via its pro- tected AAC format, versus Windows Pandora on Sprint Media Audio (WMA) used by most Upstage by Samsung other players. But iTunes, which since it launched During that period several major record in 2001 has sold 5 billion legal downloads labels and artists have held back content at about a buck each, is beginning to expe- from iTunes, most notably the Beatles rience some blowback against its position (whose Apple Corps brand management as the 600-pound gorilla of digital music. company has had regular litigious skir-

48 - MEDIAWARE - November/December 2008 mishes with computer maker Apple over branding and markets). Other notable holdouts include Led Zeppelin, Garth Brooks, Radiohead and Kid Rock. However, newer digital distribution paths are begin- ning to draw some of the holdouts out of their pro- tective shells, such as the V CAST music and video service from cellular service provider Verizon Wireless, and in the process are creating a map of a digital dis- tribution landscape on which iTunes may not seem as dominant.

New Distribution Verizon V CAST Music For instance, the band AC/DC says it’s bypassing on Samsung Glyde Apple’s iTunes and has brokered an exclusive arrange- ment with Verizon to sell its music through Verizon’s online music store. In addition, content owners are but rather compelling them to buy entire albums – those finding that they can use their own portals to distribute who want to download Shoot To Thrill will have to buy unique content and thus avoid the approximately 30 the entire Back In Black album, which will sell for $11.99, percent vig that iTunes reportedly charges its vendors. compared to the CD of the same album on Amazon for For instance, BBC Worldwide is reportedly working on $9.97. (One track available as a single download is “You an ad-supported music service that would offer free Shook Me All Night Long,” but it’s only available to Veri- streaming or paid downloads of songs and videos from zon Wireless subscribers on their mobile phones.) Garth the BBC archives, including live performances from its Brooks made a deal to distribute his new product and “Top of the Pops” and “Live Lounge” programs. That back catalog titles (which were ceded to him contractu- service is expected to launch next year with at least ally by his erstwhile label, Capitol Records) exclusively 1,000 tracks, and the BBC is reportedly negotiating through Wal-Mart. The Eagles made a similar deal with rights with record labels including EMI, which was the the store for their new recording. last and most vocally reluctant of the four remaining major labels to license content to iTunes. Seeking Change But these mavericks are not simply recreating the At the heart of these moves lies Apple’s dominance iTunes model on a different street, and how they are of the digital music distribution business – it report- reconfiguring digital distribution could suggest some of edly handles over 70 percent of the legitimate music the new wrinkles that other digital content distributors download transactions globally, and that dominance and could pattern after in the future. For instance, Verizon is ubiquitousness has allowed Apple to set the terms of not allowing customers to buy individual AC/DC songs, Continued on page 50

November/December 2008 - MEDIAWARE - 49 music distribution

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those transactions. Labels and artists have bristled cost more will make it harder for fans to get what at Apple’s refusal to up its 99-cent per-song fee and they want legitimately, thus encouraging more illicit Apple CEO Steven Jobs’ demand that labels furnish downloads. A study by U.K.-based Entertainment Me- more DRM-free tracks (which Apple currently sells at dia Research indicates that music piracy in the U.S. is a slight premium cost of $1.25). Universal reportedly down this year, at least in part due to the easy avail- hesitated before renewing its deal with iTunes for ability and affordability of iTunes. those reasons. Ed Ruth, Verizon Wireless’ director of digital music, That sets the stage for deals like the AC/DC/Veri- says his company isn’t trying to challenge iTunes, but zon pact, and the variations on the terms that come does see music distribution as a way to grow the with it. But so far, the latest iterations of digital market share of its core communications business, distribution recall many of the problems that iTunes as well as create new sticky points between it and its solved in the first place. Radiohead famously made 80 million cellular subscribers. To that end, Verizon is their most recent album available through their own pursuing a format-agnostic strategy, using DRM-free website at whatever price buyers wished to pay, but files and streaming MP3 (versus the strings-attached most wished to pay less than the $12 the band had AAC files of iTunes) from aggregators like Rhapsody suggested (if they paid anything at all). And pundits to maximize content and access. Music distribution is wonder if raising prices for music or limiting its dis- highly competitive, Ruth agrees, but he says Verizon tribution to configurations like albums that implicitly Wireless would not pursue it even as a marketing strategy for cellular service if it weren’t able to be profitable on its own. “That’s a prereq- uisite for anything we do,” he says, “so it tells you there is profit to be made from music distribution.”

Unique Content Apple’s entry into the cellular phone busi- ness two years ago might at first seem only peripheral to music distribution, other than the fact that the phone can download, store and playback music files. But the entry of other cellular service providers more forceful- ly into music distribution and the imminence of both new “4G” wireless broadband service (with LTE and WiMAX) and GPS capability in phones ties into a range of music-related tan- gents. These include Sprint’s newly rolled-out Eventful service, an API created by a third-

Sprint Digital Lounge Music Store

50 - MEDIAWARE - November/December 2008 party developer of the more comfortable with same name and part music on their phone, of Sprint’s new XOHM and the usage curve WiMAX business unit, increases, much like it which will offer list- has for earlier data ap- ings of local events like plications such as text concerts displayed in messaging, then we a map view. Custom- will continue to review ers can select sub- other music-related categories of interest, options to offer our search for events and customers.” click through to Event- Music distributed ful.com to get more through cellular phone event information and networks will be a sliv- purchase tickets. er of the larger content Like Apple, Sprint is collections that these pricing music down- wireless providers will loads at 99 cents, but ultimately channel. has broadened its au- Market research com- dio offerings to include pany NSR estimates ringers, call tones, that mobile TV and video, and stream- mobile video services ing radio applications offered over broadcast from partners such as and unicast distribution Pandora and SIRIUS. are projected to grow It also is offering almost ten-fold, from unique content -- Sprint Verizon V CAST Music with Rhapsody Store an estimated user base Exclusive Entertain- of over 57 million at the ment, the only net- end of 2007 to 566 mil- work of original content produced by a U.S. carrier, lion users in 2013. Global service revenues comprising includes music news about artists, album releases and subscription, advertisement and transactional revenue upcoming tours. The carrier’s Sprint Radio streaming are projected to reach $9 billion by 2013. Cellular provid- radio application also is included in some form in every ers also could benefit from the dwindling Internet radio consumer data plan – the entry level $15 plan includes sector, which has been squeezed by the Federal deci- 10 channels, and the other plans include 50 channels sion to compel them to pay performance royalties that as well as 100 more local channels. “Sprint’s music satellite and cellular providers have thus far avoided. strategy is to make mobile music as easy to use and in- But if the future of mobile entertainment is video, the expensive enough for all our customers to enjoy,” says canary in the coal mine is music, which is creating the Aaron Radelet, corporate communications manager template for revenue and operating models for cellular- for Sprint. “As customers gradually become more and distributed media.

November/December 2008 - MEDIAWARE - 51 Whitepaper Into the Blu: Process Optimization for Blu-ray Discs Dr. Leonhard Schwab, CTO and managing director, comments on the latest technical developments from dr.schwab Inspection Technology

New PTM processes for Blu-ray mastering the integrated functionality to fully control and the ´Art of Coating´ within the limits of the Phase Transition Mastering (PTM) BD specs are still demanding tasks for ev- processes for Blu-ray Disc. A high-precision ery manufacturer. Focussed on 3rd genera- spectrometer measures the thickness of tion media, dr.schwab Inspection Technology phase-change layers for all types of PTM is supporting the industry with new features Mastering, two layers at a time, on Si-wafer and enhancements for process control and and glass-masters. optimization, including inline environmental Dr. Leonhard Schwab, control and climate chamber test. Spin Coating Layer Thickness dr.schwab Inspection The spin coating process is very sensi- Technology PTM Mastering tive to changes of temperature. This is of As one of the most relevant enhance- particular importance in case of Blu-ray Disc ments to the diffraction order measure- cover layer application due to its thickness ment system DOMS XEblu, it offers now with tight variation limits. dr.schwab offers

200th Blu-ray Scanner from dr. schwab On Monday, 18th of August 2008, dr.schwab Inspection Technology delivered the 200th IQPCblu to Singulus Technologies, one of the leading manufacturers of production lines for Blu-ray Discs. Stephan Hotz, Head of Product Management Optical Disc at Singulus Technologies, comments the reasons for his commitment to dr.schwab solutions: “Singulus is pleased to have a competent and reliable partner with dr.schwab as provider of inline scanners for our Blu-ray Disc production systems. The IQPCblu is a technically mature product and widely accepted throughout the optical disc industry. A significant number of renowned replicators rely on this system.” Ceremonial presentation of the 200th BD scanner from dr.schwab. From left to right: Oliver Großenbach - Service Manager dr.schwab, Jürgen Sperfeldt – Director of Sales and Marketing dr.schwab, Stephan Hotz – Head of Product Management Optical Disc Singulus AG, Serverine Josun – Operational Procurement Singulus AG).

52 - MEDIAWARE - November/December 2008 a solution for in-line CLT layer thickness measurement count of particles as well as temperature and humidity directly after coating process with immediate feed- inside of production lines is made easy. Integrated in back to the production line. This allows to quickly and our Trend and Analysis software this offers the ability to automatically adapt process parameters in a closed monitor production yield and environmental conditions. loop process. Measurement is possible while the disc is moved from one station to the next by the disc Climate Chamber Test handling. The asymmetric layer structure makes Blu-ray Discs highly sensitive to environmental changes. Tight Particle Counter & Temperature Sensor specifications require ensuring the accuracy under all Inline measurement and monitoring of the ambi- climatic conditions. Therefore dr.schwab IT has devel- ent air are an essential enhancement to control and oped a special off-line version of IQPCblu for Tilt mea- optimize the production process. Measuring size and surement inside a climate chamber.

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