By DVDJ Mediapar (Bruce Apar > dvdj@dvda.org)

1) HD PACKAGING INSPIRED BY BUZZ LIGHTYEAR

Lionsgate's new Blu-ray Disc packaging says at bottom of its face, "Beyond High Definition," evoking the battle cry of Toy Story's endearingly hapless hero, Buzz Lightyear, who bellowed, "To infinity and beyond."

What, you ask, is "beyond" high definition on a Blu-ray disc? Come on, stop being literal. This is Hollywood marketing, where you even can create out of whole cloth a fictional movie critic and ghostwrite superlative quotes for him about your new movie and put the phony quote in a real ad as if it's genuine praise ... like a certain studio (not Lionsgate) did some years ago. Hey, you want literal copy points in your collateral or packaging, then go into pharmaceuticals or food processing, where the labels are regulated. [CLICK ON READ MORE TO CONTINUE ...]

Blu-ray packaging from Lionsgate says 'Beyond High Definition' at bottom.

Third-party regulation is not easily encouraged by sensible types. But since self-regulation for something as creative as movie ads or labeling isn't about to hold sway in Hollywood, where "best practices" yield to "wild west practices," wouldn't it be nice if the highly critical and sensitive launch of high definition disc products actually WAS somehow regulated, if only to give the hapless consumer a break and try to demystify, instead of further confuse, the maddening mix of standard- and high-definition discs and players about to muddle the marketplace.

Don't get us wrong. We are very fond of people at Lionsgate we've known for many years, and are genuinely glad to see that it's a very hot enterprise these days, with "Crash" the deserving winner of this year's Best Picture Oscar. But there's no way around the fact that "Beyond High Definition," especially under current market conditions, best described as both fragile and volatile, is hyperbole that not only mocks Blu-ray specifications but also mocks the consumer.

How's that? It teases the customer, "You don't even know what high definition is, so if we say this is beyond that, you'll buy it." For those in the know, the subtext, wink wink, is that Blu-ray titles, which are not authorized by DVD Forum to bear the DVD logo, are "beyond high definition" (HD) DVD titles. The semi-revelation, in marketing terms, is that this studio, at least, has decided to position Blu-ray as something other than high definition to differentiate it from HD DVD. Paradoxically, using this rationale, Lionsgate arguably believes it is helping to clarify for the consumer that there are two high, uh, resolution formats that are not interchangeable.

Adding to the curious coinage of "Beyond High Definition," alongside it on the cover of BD Lionsgate titles like "Crash," it says "1080p," codifying the 1,080 pixels that are a top-end specification of high definition. Point being, 1080p IS squarely within the definition of high definition, not outside, or beyond, it.

Hey, wouldn't it be cool, since Hollywood nominally is under the jurisdiction of the State of California, if The Governator Arnold Schwarzenegger issued a manly mandate that required movie studios to prove glib claims like "Beyond High Definition," as it appears on Lionsgate Blu-ray titles such as "Terminator 2."

We're eager to find out how these BD titles are able to go higher than any movie image has gone before, except of course for Buzz Lightyear.

2) EMX MARKS SPOT FOR DVD FORUM'S U.S. MEETING

[Full disclosure: I am currently an independent contractor for EMX, in my role as Executive Producer of its 9th Annual DVD Awards with Leonard Maltin, and also was hired by DVD Forum in 2005 to author an industry white paper on HD DVD -- so if I'm biased, at least it's for two good reasons.]

DVD Forum, the consortium of companies that define, publish and verify format specifications for Digital Video Discs (or Digital Versatile Discs, depending on how silly you want to sound), is holding its North American DVD Conference as part of Entertainment Media Expo (EMX), slated August 7 through 9, 2006, at Hilton Los Angeles/Universal City. (www.entertainmentmediaexpo.com)

Although everyone who's anyone in consumer electronics circles belongs to DVD Forum, including all principal Blu-ray advocates, the organization is known for not looking kindly on the mere mention at its events of non-Forum-approved formats, namely arch-rival Blu-ray. For the sake of novitiates, DVD Forum is strictly endorsing HD DVD, on the apparent premise there ain't room in this here world for two high-def disc formats, a theory about to be put to the ultimate survival-of-the-fittest-format test.

As I was moderating a Hollywood studio panel at DVD Forum's 2005 North American conference at Digital Hollywood, I blabbed on about how HD DVD programming language iHD was developed by both Microsoft and Disney -- a Blu-ray studio -- and immediately realized I had ventured into forbidden territory. Even though I had been duly briefed beforehand on avoiding references to the B-word and its exponents, my journalistic training to matter-of-factly report the facts simply got the better of me. Truth be told, I was not chastised afterwards, but I did have the uneasy sensation of back-pedaling on eggshells as soon as I broached Disney's name during the panel.

It will be interesting to see if casting a practiced blind eye towards Blu-ray at its official events will continue by the time DVD Forum's North American August meeting convenes. Both date-defying formats by then presumably will have transcended their extended status as vaporware, at last beckoning early adopters to put their plastic where their home theater is. Once actual goods are in the pipeline, on store shelves and in homes, it will take some fancy footwork for HD DVD faithful at DVD Forum events to tap-dance around the 50Gbyte elephant in the living room.

According to Charles Van Horn, President of International Recording Media Association, which is a partner in EMX with CMP Entertainment Media, credit for landing the DVD Forum as an EMX event goes to my pal Guy Finley, IRMA Director of Operations, a man of many talents, including professional musician.  

Also noteworthy about this year's EMX, where the August 7 Maltin Awards will be the first to honor high-def movie discs, is its welcome return to Hilton Universal City, home to the first six DVD Entertainment Conferences. Mr. Van Horn notes that "exhibitors and attendees asked for this return in order to ensure ease of access to all events with the conference sessions adjacent to the exhibit floor."

The past two EMX shows have been at Renaissance Hollywood Hotel, neighboring Kodak Theater, where the Academy Awards are held, and landmark Graumann's Chinese Theater. Although a well-appointed, still-new venue that is connected to touristy Hollywood & Highland shopping complex -- known for its picture-perfect perch gazing straight at the famed Hollywood sign -- the Renaissance's unfortunate layout requires conference attendees to exit the main building, enter the plaza, and ascend a couple of flights before reaching the dislocated exhibit hall. Not the kind of natural traffic flow that excites exhibitors, to put it mildly.

Mr. Van Horn adds that DVD Forum is scheduled to officially announce on Tuesday, April 18, its decision to meet at EMX. Coincidentally -- or not -- Universal City of course is home to HD DVD backer Universal Studios. We wonder how DVD Forum would have felt about hooking up with EMX if the convention was headquartered at the Disneyland Hotel.

 DVDJ Mediapar Bruce Apar is Editor-in-Chief of www.dvdj.info (now in beta), "the digital media crossroads of sight > sound > work > play," and also operates a consultancy specializing in digital media communications. Email dvdj@dvda.org.