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Everyone wants to talk about 3D movies and where the new 3D trend will take the industry. But there's no question a new 3D era is coming, and it's coming to Blu-ray, as evidenced by the recent release of the 3D Journey to the Center of the Earth on disc. Disney announced earlier this year that all its future animated features would be delivered in 3D, beginning with the likes of Fly Me to the Moon and Bolt.

3D movies can be fun to watch even with the dorky glasses (although those glasses may soon disappear). From a technology standpoint, it’s fascinating, and that's what I’ve been writing about recently. However, there seem to be other implications. On the one hand, part of the appeal of 3D movies to Hollywood is that you can't just download and watch a torrent of a 3D movie. So that adds value to a 3D movie since there's no downloadable equivalent. On the other hand, as soon as the 3D film is on disc, it's open season for piracy once again.

About 90 percent of pirated movies are recorded on a camcorder in the movie theater, and the good news is, there are no 3D camcorders, according to Jian Zhao, CTO of Thomson’s Software & Technology Solutions business. Will 3D camcorders ever come to market? Zhao says that realistically it is possible, but is it practical? You’ll need to register and synchronize every frame for the left and the right eye. "It will be expensive and time-consuming," he said.

Several different technologies are used to produce 3D content. These include polarized (used for Digital Cinema), anaglyph, and multiplexed 3D. The biggest challenge when authoring a 3D disc, reportedly, has to do with the fact that HD LCD monitors are progressive-scan rather than interlaced, and authoring companies can’t count on the consumer to have the right monitor. How then, can pirating 3D content even be worth the effort?

Even with the lack of ability to copy in 3D, that doesn’t mean there aren’t any piracy issues for 3D movies. "The problem is that pirates can camcorder a 3D movie and can produce a pretty good 2D copy," said Zhao. Who is the audience for pirated movies…people downloading from the internet or buying a DVD off the street for $5. Do they care if the movie is in 3D?

Tim Sassoon of Sassoon Film Design says "camming" in stereo 3D presents some additional technical challenges, but they aren't insuperable, either in a theater or at home. "Pirates will try to copy 3D material if there's a healthy 3D home entertainment market, and films are worth copying. I don't think that piracy will be any different for 3D movies than for any other type of movie. The entertainment industry often plans their DRM on the assumption that commercial pirates are interested in making a quality product, when in fact they're usually far more interested in time to market."

Alison Casey of Futuresource Consulting says while she agrees that those buying pirated copies don’t care about quality, in actuality the experience of viewing a pirate movie is improving anyway. "The internet easily allows for identical copies to be made and the growth of HD camcorder results in movies recorded in theatres being much better resolution albeit sound quality and interruption in viewing from people walking in front of the camera! There is talk of making it a criminal offence to take a camcorder into a movie theater, at the moment it is a civil offense." The law has changed in certain U.S. states like New York, and there have been some successful prosecutions as a result.

In terms of the effectiveness of watermarking, as with any movie recorded on a camcorder, it can be traced via the digital watermark back to the original location screen where it was taped. I'm not really sure what this does in the long term; I’m guessing the pirates don’t go back to the theater again. However, a major problem with piracy goes beyond the movie theater camcorders. It all has to do with pre-releases, and that’s true for any content. Frankly, I was surprised to hear that The Dark Knight and others were being distributed on Blu-ray screeners. The content will obviously be fabulous, but how big is the crack in the armor once those are sent out? Remember the scandal with the Academy Awards screeners that were stolen a couple of years ago?

Warner Home Video, Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment, and 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment have all introduced e-screener programs so that retailers can download or stream copy-protected films to their computers, according to a report in Video Business. Some retailers are reportedly not satisfied with the e-screeners because they feel the quality is not appreciated as it is with DVD. Maybe the not-so-good quality is intentional, but that all comes back to the original point. Do pirates care about quality?

AACS's watermarking and analog constraints put on a disc "are aimed at preventing a full HD program copy to be made to a disc, and played back on a compliant hardware player. Very few movie torrents are even in full standard-def, let alone HD, and that they're most often viewed on a computer," says Sassoon.

What has seemed to help in the area of piracy has nothing to do with 3D or HD. According to Casey, "Consumers don’t want to wait 2-3 months to see a title on DVD. In Russia, the DVD market has been boosted, and the pirate market curtailed, by releasing titles onto DVD two to four seeks after the theatrical release rather than 12-16 weeks." Couple this with lower prices, and piracy has gone from 95 percent of the market to 50 percent in the major cities, she adds.

So is putting out 3D movies on DVD or Blu-ray before the end of their theatrical run the answer to piracy? Maybe, but it's not one Hollywood is likely to pursue. "Given the movement to alternative viewing devices and the apparent demise of Managed Copy, and an authoring fee structure discouraging to smaller publishers, I'm of the sad opinion that strong DRM will probably end up hurting the packaged media business much more than it will help," Sassoon says. "The best way to combat piracy in the long run might actually be to move to a free, advertiser-supported model, like most other content on the web, or for that matter like broadcast television."

I fear that Tim is right, but for the sake of the physical disc industry, hope he's wrong!

Debbie Galante Block (debgalante at comcast.net) is a freelance writer based in Mahopac, N.Y.

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The Authoritative Blu-ray Disc (BD) FAQ: Updates

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Hitachi Launches New Web Site For Its Blu-Ray DZ-BD10HA Just in Time for the Holiday Season

Hitachi Home Electronics (America), Inc. will introduce a new sales channel for its award-winning Blu-ray camcorder, introduced last summer, using a direct sales Web site, www.hitachibd.com. Launched on November 17th, the microsite provides a convenient outlet for consumers to purchase the coveted camcorders. The user-friendly site also provides consumers direct online access to help them prepare for the holiday season.

Hitachi’s new Web site will also feature several tools to help educate consumers about the Blu-ray, including an interactive guide that clearly demonstrates all of the key features of Hitachi's Blu-ray hybrid camcorder. The site will also feature an RSS feed that will provide visitors with up-to-date news, information and updates.

Additionally, the new portal allows Hitachi consumers to purchase and checkout quickly and securely with their newly-purchased Blu-ray camcorder. The site is secure and safe where privacy is always guarded and personal information never stored.

"Our new Web site is a great way to provide consumers with options for buying the DZ-BD10HA. The convenience of it all allows consumers to purchase a Hitachi Blu-ray camcorder all with a simple click of a mouse," said Daniel Lee, Vice President of Marketing. "This is a great solution for people trying to avoid the holiday crowds in shopping centers."

The Hitachi model DZ-BD10HA model Blu-ray Hybrid with built-in 30GB hard disk drive (HDD) is priced at a Manufacturers Advertised Price (MAP) of $1099. The camcorder has been available in North America since September 2008.

Several key features of the DZ-BD10HA include the following:

Three-Format Hybrid Compatibility The camcorder has the versatility of being able to record HD video onto three separate formats (Blu-ray Disc, Hard Drive, SDHC) and provides the flexibility and ease of playback and long recording time all in one camcorder.
7 Mega Pixel CMOS Image Sensor
The built-in CMOS image sensor is designed to record the highest resolution video with effective 4.67 mega pixels while minimizing distortion and artifacts to ensure the most clear and vibrant high definition picture. Additionally, the camcorder is also capable of capturing 6.22 mega pixel stills onto an optional SD or SDHC card.
One-Touch Dubbing
With the push of one button the user can transfer HD video from the SDHC card or hard drive to a Blu-ray disc all within the camcorder; this eliminates the need to turn on a computer.
Face Detection
This feature automatically detects and focuses on the face to provide true-to-life color accuracy and sharp picture quality to the user.
O.I.S. (Optical Image Stabilization)
O.I.S. automatically detects and cancels camera shake by accurately stabilizing the lens to produce the most sharp and vibrant picture possible.

www.hitachi.us/tv

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Aleratec DVD/CD Shredders Make it Easy to Be Sure Data is Secure

Aleratec Inc., leading developer and manufacturer of "Prosumers' Choice" solutions for the USB, Flash, HDD, Blu-ray, DVD/CD, duplicating, and publishing markets, is now shipping the 2nd generation of its award winning compact Aleratec DVD/CD Shredder™. The Aleratec DVD/CD Shredder is the quick and easy way to prevent unauthorized use of secret, classified, business, and personal confidential information recorded on discarded discs. The unit has an attractive compact design to fit on any desktop, yet it is equipped with a powerful motor and enclosed steel cutters that safely cut DVDs and CDs into 4 strips, successfully rendering them useless. A demo of the DVD/CD Shredder can be seen here.

"Sensitive data stored on CDs or DVDs can change frequently and disposing of old discs is a growing problem. With identity theft and corporate espionage increasing almost exponentially, just tossing them in the trash is more than dangerous," states Perry Solomon, Aleratec President and CEO. "An Aleratec DVD/CD Shredder makes destroying unwanted discs very easy. This light weight desktop unit shreds DVDs and CDs in seconds. With its auto start/stop feature all a customer needs to do is insert a disc and the shredder does the rest."

The great news is this innovative data security product has a low Estimated Retail Price of $44.99 making the Aleratec DVD/CD Shredder (Aleratec Part # 240143, Ingram Micro SKU U08101, Tech Data SKU 25377I), an easy addition to any Prosumer, Business, Government and Education office and due to its low price and small footprint it is ideal for small office/home office users.

The full line of Aleratec solutions, and accessories is featured at AAFES, Adorama, Amazon.com, B&H Photo Video, Best Buy, Buy.com, CDW, Dell, Hewlett Packard, Insight, J & R, Mac Connection, MacMall, Meijer, Micro Center, NewEgg, Office Depot, PC Connection, PC Mall, PC Nation, ProVantage, Quill, QVC.com, Ritz Camera, Staples, Tech Depot and Wal-Mart in addition to other leading U.S. retailers. Government and Education customers may purchase from Government and Education Specialists including AAFES, B&H Photo Video Gov, Best Buy Gov/Ed, CDW-G, CompuCom, EnPointe, GovConnection, GTSI, Insight Gov, PC Mall Gov, Pomeroy, Sayers, Shi.com, Softchoice, telcobuy, TIG, and Unisys. All products are available to resellers in the U.S. through D&H Distributing, Ingram Micro, and Tech Data; in Canada through D&H Canada and Ingram Micro Canada; in Latin America and the Caribbean through Tech Data Miami.

Complete information available at www.aleratec.com. About Aleratec Aleratec Inc. is a leading developer and manufacturer of "Prosumers' Choice" solutions for the USB, Flash, HDD, Blu-ray, DVD/CD duplicating, and DVD/CD publishing markets. Exciting new disc duplicating and disc publishing products and optical recording media are establishing a higher standard in the industry offering professional strength solutions at consumer prices that are exceptionally easy to use, creating the ultimate "out of box" product experience. Aleratec, Inc. is headquartered at 9851 Owensmouth Avenue, Chatsworth, CA 91311. For more information visit www.aleratec.com. E-mail sales@aleratec.com. Toll Free Phone: 866-77-ALERATEC, FAX: 818-678-0486.

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Adobe and RED Collaborate to Create Next-Generation Raw Workflows

Adobe Systems Incorporated and RED Digital Cinema Camera Company are partnering together to bring a truly native, color-rich, 4K tapeless workflow to desktop tools, allowing filmmakers to harness the full potential of high-resolution raw digital cinematography.

RED and Adobe share the goal of developing a native raw workflow that keeps filmmakers close to the lens, so that you’re always working with the sensor data the camera captured. By always working close to the lens, without proxies or other restrictions, editors can adjust the look and feel of their work all the way through the production process, knowing that their changes are completely accurate.

The first step of this long-term partnership is the importer plug-in bringing native support for RED R3D files to Adobe Premiere Pro CS4, Adobe Encore CS4 and Adobe After Effects CS4, allowing 4K resolution native R3D files to be dropped straight onto the timeline without transcoding or rewrapping. It is now in beta and available for download at www.red.com/support.

RED is making the beta plug-in available as early as possible to provide customers a more flexible workflow immediately, and in order to obtain feedback from the community on how best to develop this workflow. Over the coming months, you can expect to see new developments that move both companies closer towards our shared vision for advanced raw workflows.

Adobe Creative Suite 4 Production Premium software is an indispensable part of a film and video professional’s toolkit and leads the way in tapeless and raw workflows. The alliance with RED underscores Adobe’s commitment to integrate tapeless camera formats into its line of professional video products, and will enable advanced post-production workflows to be faster and more flexible.

Hollywood-caliber digital cinematography made more affordable: RED cameras have taken the digital filmmaking world by storm, making high-resolution digital cinematography accessible to many more productions. RED cameras capture extremely high resolution raw files, opening up the possibility of a digital production workflow that allows filmmakers to make image processing decisions throughout the post production process because raw files keep the image sensor data directly. Until now, a truly native, nondestructive workflow has not been possible in desktop video tools
A native, raw workflow today: Importing R3D files directly into Adobe Premiere Pro, Adobe Encore and Adobe After Effects without conversion delivers a faster, color-rich workflow that gives users control of the look when they edit. Filmmakers can dynamically change the resolution; applying color correction to the footage in full resolution for example, and then lowering the resolution on the fly to gain better performance from their hardware as they scrub through edits.
A more powerful, streamlined workflow tomorrow: Because Adobe Premiere Pro works directly with the sensor data, editors can work with footage as close to what the lens saw as possible, opening up much richer, more powerful ways of working non-destructively on the color and look of their work.

Customers who want to get started with the RED and Adobe workflow today can download the free Adobe Premiere Pro CS4 and After Effects CS4 trials for Mac OS X or Windows at www.adobe.com/downloads and the RED importer plug-in at www.red.com/support.

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Nortel Blurs the Boundaries Between TV and Interactive Applications at TelcoTV '08

Nortel [NYSE/TSX: NT ] is showcasing IPTV and Video solutions that are blurring the boundaries across TV, Internet, consumer devices and mobile phones by integrating services like text messaging, VoIP, media sharing, and interactive applications into the entertainment experience. Nortel is demonstrating these capabilities at TelcoTV 2008 from November 11 to 13.

Nortel's video solutions make it possible for service providers to blend the applications and communications capabilities of computers and mobile devices with TV programming to enhance the entertainment experience. This allows interactive and multimedia Internet applications like text messaging, photo and video sharing, as well as VoIP, to be easily accessed while viewing TV or video on demand. For example, sports enthusiasts can text friendly rivals right from their TVs during a big game. Or, consumers can order a new product directly from an ad on their TV with a simple click of the remote control connecting them with the sellers through VoIP or text messaging. Nortel's IPTV solutions also allow users to take TV content out of the house to be viewed on a mobile phone or laptop.

"Nortel's video solutions can take service providers beyond bundling of services to true convergence of entertainment and interactive applications," said Sameer Sheth, general manager, Video Solutions, Nortel. "Nortel allows service providers to create a more personalized and convenient user experience for their subscribers where any device can be used for a multitude of functions. For example, a TV, computer or mobile phone can be used to watch video on demand from a single account. A TV can be used to order a pizza, buy tickets to an event, or share photos with friends."

Nortel's IPTV solutions will be used to bring enhanced entertainment to subscribers by such customers as Spruce Knob Seneca Rocks, a telecom service provider in West Virginia; BIT, a service provider in Virginia; and Yadkin Valley Telecom, an operator serving over 30,000 households in North Carolina. Both Spruce Knob Seneca Rocks and BIT will deploy Nortel's Communications Module 9520 to bring new interactive applications such as click-to-call, text messaging and picture sharing to their television subscribers. Yadkin Valley Telecom is implementing Nortel's pre-integrated IPTV Solution to provide a secure, reliable, scaleable high-definition entertainment service.

In this era of Hyperconnectivity where any device or application that should be connected to the network is being connected, Nortel's video solutions give service providers the ability to leverage a multitude of different devices – TV, Blu-ray player, computer, mobile phone – in an open environment to create new services and applications designed to generate additional revenues from their network investment. But offering these new interactive applications on many devices can lead to an explosion in bandwidth demand on networks as well.

To help service providers meet this demand, Nortel's Ethernet Access solution based on WDM PON technology provides dedicated, super-fast, secure, and reliable optical bandwidth starting with speeds of 100 Mbps and easily scalable as services grow on a foundational infrastructure. At Telco TV Nortel will demonstrate the delivery of IPTV, VoIP , and data services over Ethernet Access based on WDM-PON, including simple network management and recovery of services.

Here are other IPTV and video applications Nortel is demonstrating in booth #401 at TelcoTV 2008 in Anaheim, CA:

TV widgets – a TV interface that users can personalize, much like they would on a computer, displaying content such as the latest news, weather, sports schedules, and video on the TV screen.
Convergence of consumer electronics with entertainment, providing the ability to perform interactive two-way multimedia communication between a mobile device and an Internet connected BD-Live Blu-ray player. With this capability, consumers can receive photos on a Blu-ray player and make a click-to-call back to the sender.
Single subscription video services that allow a subscriber to order video on demand from a set top box and then watch it on other devices, such as a TV (with set top box), mobile phone or laptop.
Interactive TV advertising that puts merchandise only a "click-to-call" or "click-to-purchase" away
A network based digital vault that can be accessed from anywhere, allowing users to share and store pictures and personal videos from mobile to PC and vice versa.

These demonstrations are testament to Nortel's strength in delivering applications that allow service providers to innovate and monetize personalized video applications, leverage existing network investment and enhance consumers' experiences. Nortel's video solutions enable and leverage an open Video Services Platform that is part of the company's Agile Communications Environment , promoting third-party application development.

Nortel is working with companies at the forefront of consumer electronics to help service providers' extend the reach of communications applications to consumer electronics by developing advanced application convergence opportunities with BD-Live capable Blu-ray players. The companies include RCDb, a leading developer of network services and software for Blu-ray discs and devices and Vantrix, a leading provider of content adaptation and optimization solutions for converged wireless, broadband and cable networks.

Nortel experts will be contributing to two panel sessions at Telco TV:

Peter Ashton, Nortel IPTV Product Marketing, will speak at a panel session in the Consumer Experience track called Integrating the Social Network Experience: Fad or Reality? on November 12, 4:30 to 5:30 PM
Richard Brand, Nortel Video Solutions and vice-chair of ATIS ** IPTV Interoperability Forum, will moderate a panel session in the Evolve with Technology track called Set Top Box Evolution: Gateway to the Home? on November 13, 2:15 to 3:15 PM.

About Nortel
Nortel is a recognized leader in delivering communications capabilities that make the promise of Business Made Simple a reality for our customers. Our next-generation technologies, for both service provider and enterprise networks, support multimedia and business-critical applications. Nortel's technologies are designed to help eliminate today's barriers to efficiency, speed and performance by simplifying networks and connecting people to the information they need, when they need it. Nortel does business in more than 150 countries around the world.

For more information, visit Nortel on the Web at www.nortel.com.

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