adult films and hd-dvd and blu-ray

[dragongodz]

i just found this link at videohelp forum and found it interesting.

http://s8.invisionfree.com/MHVF/index.php?showtopic=5203

go down to John May Jr's post. its quite lengthy but the interesting parts are
Also, Sony doesn't like to deal with "adult" oriented product. Do you think there are going to be any hardcore/XXX rated BLU-RAY discs? I highly doubt it... that factor alone is going to have a HUGE impact on the format war. Adult movies really drive the home video industry and many claim that, because Sony hesitated to sign the deal for adult films back in the Betamax days (remember they pretty much all came out on VHS?) that that alone killed Sony's Beta format.
When we met with Sony to discuss titles and told them about THRILLER and THE IMAGE and that we wanted to do BLU-RAY discs of those two titles, they pretty much told us they WOULDN'T do them because of their extreme adult content! They were like "umm... well... we don't know if we can do that sort of thing." That attitude may just outright kill the BLU-RAY format. People want adult films... it's a hundreds of millions of dollars a year business... and HD-DVD will have them. It's funny how, when I bring this up (about the adult films), that people say that "they didn't think of that" when discussing which format will prevail.

now looking at synapses catalogue i certainly have no interest in their films but this has raised an interesting point IMHO. if Sony themeselves limits what films can or can not be released on blu-ray wouldnt this potentially harm blu-rays chances of becoming the dominant format ?

note that adult films doesnt mean just plain porn. it includes horror aswell. looking at synapses web page i assume the title "Thriller" refered to is "Thriller: they called her one-eye" which is a revenge picture, sort of like Kill Bill, but sounds much more extreme and of course is low budget.

EDIT: i also see further in that thread its mentioned that Digital Playground have announced they will release adult(i am assuming porn in this case) titles on blu-ray. that still doesnt change the point raised about Sony deciding what can and can not be released.

[laserfan]

In the U.S. there was a similar situation at the launch of Laserdiscs back around 1980. At that time it was Pioneer Japan that was pressing most discs, and they were uncomfortable w/such material as well.

But as soon as other manufacturing facilities came on board that were able to produce laser discs, then "the problem" went away.

I expect the same will happen w/BD--when other mfr facilities are able to produce the discs, then the floodgates will open. Whether it happens soon enough to avoid the Beta fate remains to be seen.

[jggimi]

Sigh. To the best of my recollection, Beta lost to VHS because of market forces: -- a proprietary, high margin, Sony-only sytem, competing against a licensed group of manufacturers who were competing with each other for volume. Price, and then product availability drove the market to VHS. Content of all types followed the player market. It didn't matter that Beta produced a higher quality image, or that it created the video casette player market to begin with. Sony lost its first mover advantage to what became a commodity technology.

[lexor]

don't worry, there'll be lots of porn on Blueray, remember UMD for PSP? Sony came out and publically decried use of UMD media for porn and said they are totally against it, and there is a ton of porn on UMD, and that is a format that Sony has complete control over, I mean you actually have to tell Sony how, where and why you gonna use the disks they supply (and only Sony can supply them). So Sony's public condemnation of porn doesn't mean anything, it didn't then and it doesn't now, especially since Sony is not the one and only proponent of BD, there is a whole bunch of companies involved.

So get ready to watch "Done in 60 Seconds" on the HDTV near you!

[dragongodz]

Sigh.
why the sigh ? i agree the reasons for beta lost because of various market forces but is not availability of content also a potential market force/factor ?

don't worry, there'll be lots of porn on Blueray, remember UMD for PSP? Sony came out and publically decried use of UMD media for porn and said they are totally against it, and there is a ton of porn on UMD
read that thread and thats actually mentioned. if the information is correct Sony Japan is the one doing porn and not Sony U.S.A. so maybe blu-ray would have to be done the same ?
also i wouldnt really use UMD as being a great example of how its ok and will do well with Sony controlling it. UMD certainly isnt taking the world by storm by any stretch of the imagination. :)

So get ready to watch "Done in 60 Seconds" on the HDTV near you!
no thanks. i have as much interest in that as i do the Synapse films. it was just the idea of limiting content, even if just in the early stages, i found interesting. that is the potential impact doing so could have on the formats ability to be accepted and gain market share etc.

[deuce2]

So do we really need Blu-Ray or HD? I'm just now coming up to speed on DVD. I think I've mastered SL and am now working on DL (big deal there other than the cost). My question is why is the move necessary? Perhaps it's just the ADVANCED TECHNOLOGY that makes it a big deal and I'll have to buy it to stay current (BIG SIGH!).:devil:

[foxyshadis]

I think you were looking for the thread just below this one, where that argument has been simmering.... HD isn't necessary? (http://forum.doom9.org/showthread.php?t=107482)

[Mug Funky]

from what i can tell from the DVD market (don't look at me like that :) my friend works at a porn franchise called "club x" selling this stuff), most of the discs aren't professionally replicated anyway - they're just DVD-Rs, most likely burnt on a short run duplicator (think 2 plextor drives, an inkjet printer and a robot arm picking up discs and changing them for you). i'm sure pr0n in japan is a bigger market though.

so that would mean no matter what sony says, there'll be plenty of the stuff circulating once BD-R discs become cheap enough to make it worthwhile.

[Inventive Software]

If I remember a thread a long while ago, somebody also said that most of the porn titles in availability on DVD are region-free, to maximise their potential in the world market. After all, it's one language that we all understand (I hope!)

[jggimi]

why the sigh ? i agree the reasons for beta lost because of various market forces but is not availability of content also a potential market force/factor ?Because content was dragged by the player market, not the other way 'round. I wasn't sufficiently clear.

[arch_angel16]

Unlike previous generations of technology, porn isn't going to drive the adoption of HD. Simply put...it's ugly. Seeing every droplet of sweat and dirt on someone's face is great for sports and sometimes gritty dramas, but porn isn't that.

When porn transitioned from VHS to DVD, production standards had to go up with it. Girls who were reasonably attractive on blurred, softened VHS weren't looking so hot on the crisper, clearer picture of DVD. Soft lighting, blur filters, and heavy makeup had to be employed to keep the girls looking good on video.

With HD-DVD, you can see every vein and blemish on a person's skin. Porn is about idealized sexual fantasy, and that fantasy is dispelled when the audience sees the girls with more focus. It's why strip clubs use low-intensity, non-white ambient soft lighting - it hides the imperfections of the strippers's appearance.

The only type of porn that will benefit from HD is, *maybe* amateur / brutal stuff, since the motivation for watching those IS brutal reality, not soft fantasy. In the meantime, the advent of DVDs and the Internet have sort of killed the lucrativeness of porn production by reducing its entry barrier. DVDs cost tens of pennies to produce.

HD media costs tens of *dollars* to produce. When the profit margin on the product isn't that great, do you really think the industry will transition to a more expensive, less desirable product with a tiny userbase?

[Doobie]

Unlike previous generations of technology, porn isn't going to drive the adoption of HD. Simply put...it's ugly.

That's my thought. But, with digital processing, it's very easy to soften videos and reduce the detail level to DVD.

[mpucoder]

That's my thought. But, with digital processing, it's very easy to soften videos and reduce the detail level to DVD.
So if the picture looks the same as SD why use HD at all? The HD players will play SD, and the cost is lower for SD.

and,btw, Beta did not die as early as many people believe, it moved into the prosumer and professional market. It was only a few years ago that Sony stopped making Beta as digital formats in the broadcast industry had taken over.

[Blue_MiSfit]

Beta is very much not dead. Lots of TV stations still use Beta SP, as do a large number of corporate filmmakers.

One of my clients swears by it, and makes over 500k per year making little 30 second commercials on BetaSP for corporate meetings etc... on her Power Macintosh 9600 :D

[jggimi]

BetaCart and BetaSP are not he same as Beta. Same branding, but different products.

[dragongodz]

Because content was dragged by the player market, not the other way 'round.
of course but what i mean is that the market place now is much different than then. also the reasons for wanting to but new tec has changed. for example when video recorders came out there was not exactly anything for it to compete against. now however people already can go and buy or rent their favorite or latest movies and tv shows on dvd. so if thats limited in some way for the either of the HD formats that could possibly have an adverse reaction on if someone is as quick or certain buying in to it.
i propose it as a simple possability as being a potential factor of course and not an absolute, which is why i thought it may be worth discussing. of course things like cost of players and availability of such will still be large factors aswell. :)

porn isn't going to drive the adoption of HD
1. note i said adult video, not just porn, but further encompassed the question to be any limiting.
2. i didnt propose it as driving adoption but as a possible factor, of which more have already been mentioned.

don't look at me like that :) my friend works at a porn franchise
riiiight. ;)

most of the discs aren't professionally replicated anyway - they're just DVD-Rs
i i would be curious to know if this was true in other countries etc. aswell.

[setarip_old]

most of the discs aren't professionally replicated anyway - they're just DVD-Rs
i i would be curious to know if this was true in other countries etc. aswell.Some of the investors I'm associated with finance many video production companies in the US. Among the production companies' clientele are several major adult video studios. Their DVDs are pressed, just like those of the major "legit" studios...

[deuce2]

So then what is the big deal aout HD (Blu -Ray whatever)? Porn aside, what are the benefits? Why should we switch? And by the way when I :o watched porn (notice past tense) I was never sitting there with my pixel counter considering the quality of the product.

[Mug Funky]

those japanese AVs are always full of macroblocking anyway. and it always seems to cover things :)

...or so i've heard.

i can see advantages in HD pr0n. but not many. it's not the sort of stuff people buy into home theatre for... can you imagine a 7.1 system at 100 watts per channel and sub playing this stuff? the neighbors would be nonplussed.

[Rockas]

I watched porn (notice past tense) I was never sitting there with my pixel counter considering the quality of the product.
LOL ... and you still remember that :D ... I usually take off my glasses :D

...or so i've heard.
LOL LOL .... personally I didn't had the pleasure to see a Japanese porn movie to corroborate what you "heard" about them :D

Now... lets get serious... I don't think that dragongodz wanted to discuss the quality of porn movies... as far as I'm concern I was chocked with his first message... it makes me realize that everytime I'm convinced that I won't be surprised with Sony anymore... they come up with a new JOKE... I think they are close to manufacture wallets and then they will be telling me that I'm forbiden to put Dollars on it... just Euros 'cause they will have another model for dollars...

I don't know if I'm into a triple LOL or is I should cry.

[Soulhunter]

Unlike previous generations of technology, porn isn't going to drive the adoption of HD. Simply put...it's ugly. Seeing every droplet of sweat and dirt on someone's face is great for sports and sometimes gritty dramas, but porn isn't that...
So you prefer seeing sweaty football players instead of sweaty 20y old chicks? Humm, I guess the only ones that will prefer STD pr0n over HD pr0n are the kind of ppl which turn the light off when having sex, eh!? C'mon, current 2Mpix pr0n picture content looks so much better than the shitty low-res stuff from the 90's! The only thing that beats HD pr0n is the "real thing" ...well, and UHD pr0n... imagine, 20Mpix... gynecologic-o-vision... XD


Bye

[lexor]

So you prefer seeing sweaty football players instead of sweaty 20y old chicks? Humm, I guess the only ones that will prefer STD pr0n over HD pr0n are the kind of ppl which turn the light off when having sex, eh!?
I'm fairly certain that no one will prefer STD (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/STD) over HD.

[Soulhunter]

I'm fairly certain that no one will prefer STD (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/STD) over HD.

ROFL! Would make a good commercial: "Get rid of STD, buy HD!" XD


Bye

[siddharthagandhi]

LMFAO mad funny

no.....screw STD and HD....get LSD!!!!!

[Shinigami-Sama]

maybe the got the STD from the LSD? Xd
stranger things have happened
what next, new improved PCP?

[Wilbert]

Please people, stay on topic ...

[Sirber]

http://www.macworld.com/news/2006/05/02/pornhd/index.php?lsrc=mwrss