LIVE FROM CES CESdate 01.06.06 - DVDJ @ CES 2006 as reported by Bruce Apar > dvdj@dvdj.info Today, in the subsiding buzz of splashy CES shindigs by HD DVD Promotion Group (Wednesday at Wynn Hotel where stadium theater seating was built in a meeting room), Blu-ray Disc Association (Thursday at Mirage’s Jet nightclub, bathed in blue light and packed to the rafters with press, studio and electronics people), and the platform-agnostic industry association Digital Entertainment Group, the post-party reality is setting in like quick-drying cement: “So we’re really going to have two formats?” one industry figure, who deals directly with both studios and electronics companies, plaintively, and rhetorically, asked me. The only response I could muster was the same one proffered to the previous person who made the same ominous observation: “I don’t know anymore what’s going on. It’s very confusing, and insane.” That’s the way this long-toothed observer feels. Like so many others, I came to the show excited about the noise anticipated from the high-def digital disc Blues Brothers, Ray and DaViD. Like real siblings, these two seem to want to get along sometimes even as they slap each other around at other times. But now, without vouching for the other industry spectators of this prizefight that will be decided either by technical knockout or by the wallets of millions of judges, my mood is turning decidedly blue. This situation is not like memory cards, which are commodities and can survive several incompatible configurations marketed simultaneously. This is a curiously sad case of an industry not learning its lesson from the DVD-Audio and SACD debacle. As is the case with high-def disc, those formats were not commodities, but incremental upgrades, and they inspired the mass-market consumer to slouch and yawn.
Blu-ray’s answer to vivacious TV hostess Nancy O’Dell, who gamely labored to entertain the tired and jaded press attending the HD DVD presentation, was widely respected industry figure Andy Parsons, senior vp of Pioneer Electronics and de facto spokesperson for Blu-ray. Let’s face it, though. These convention events are more a battle of PR packagers than of technology, and on that level, the edge goes to Blu-ray: For one, its nightclub venue was cooler and more relaxed, allowing people to network the whole time. For another, it didn’t put press people through the third degree to gain admission, as did the HD DVD PR people (who at first insisted my name wasn’t on the list, then told somebody else later on it was), and Blu-ray didn’t oversell its event, as did HD DVD, which called it “Dinner and A Screening,” and then under-delivered on both counts: the “screening was film clips and the “dinner with executives” was buffet serving stations, with many of the participating execs not in evidence. But apart from all that window dressing whining on my part, the most notable fixture missing from both events was a question-and-answer session. In both cases, those present were invited to mill around and ask one-on-one questions, but clearly these Blues Brothers did not want to have any of their answers to tough – and obvious – questions (about what the heck is going on) amplified for everyone to hear. What I did pick up, from my milling around, though, is this: one high-level studio executive at the Blu-ray party was quick to tell conversation partners like me that Toshiba was telling its HD DVD lead retailers the national allotment of players for the late March launch would be – drum roll, please – 28,000 units. If true – and this executive said his source was one of the HD DVD retailers (see 01.05.06 blog entry below) – it’s the familiar merchandising tactic of “one to show and one to go,” used for soft launches of new technology. After my half-lap constitutional towards the bar on the other side of the room, a major BD hardware executive told me that “Pioneer has egg on its face” after its gaffe at the show, when Toshiba announced a $500 HD DVD player while Pioneer announced an $1800 BD player. Yet, the executive assured me, “We’re not done. You’ll see our response to Toshiba very soon. Don’t judge us by that [Pioneer’s announcement]” Part of that response is Blu-ray companies telling visitors to its booth that neither Toshiba’s $500 nor $800 player outputs 1080p resolution. Both are 720p/1080i. Andy Parsons also made the point – and I apologize for a factual oversight in the previous blog (below) – that Blu-ray studios include Paramount and Warner, which are charter HD DVD supporters, as well as major independent Lions Gate Films. For “special effects,” Parsons brought out filmmaker Barry Sonnenfeld, a director by way of cinematography, and Michael Dell, plus showed a personal video message from musician John Legend, nominated for 8 Grammys. All three, of course, sang the praises of BD, Legend more tunefully than the other two. Dell called Blu-ray “the best choice for the customer,” while Sonnenfeld talked about how it was the kind of cool name he might have used in his film, “Men In Black,” as in, “they have a blue-ray gun.” Let’s hope neither of these high-def disc formats ends up as little more than a cheap joke in a Hollywood movie. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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