Industry Players Look to Porn in Format War

[Brendan Goetz]

<div class='os_post_top_link'><a href='http://pcworld.com/news/article/0,aid,125618,00.asp' target='_blank'>http://pcworld.com/news/article/0,aid,125618,00.asp</a><br /><br /></div><i>“Just as in the 1980s, when the Betamax and VHS video formats were battling it out for supremacy, the pornography industry will likely play a big role in determining which of the two blue-laser DVD formats--Blu-ray Disc or HD-DVD--will be the winner in the battle to replace current DVDs for high-definition content. Ron Wagner, director of IT operations at E! Entertainment Television, in Los Angeles, said his company has already chosen the Blu-ray Disc format, in large part because of talk in the porn industry favoring it over rival HD-DVD…’If you look at the VHS vs. Beta standards, you see the much higher-quality standard dying because of [the porn industry's support of VHS],’ he said. ‘The mass volume of tapes in the porn market at the time went out on VHS.’”</i><br /><br />Well, *ehem*…um…yeah. Here’s the thing. The porn industry, whether anyone likes it or not, is a multi-billion dollar business, and a driving force in the home-video market. It seems logical that other players in the industry would want to follow their lead. It’s a juggernaut and I think it is smart for the studios to acknowledge the weight that they carry in getting people to choose their new format. Dad might not admit it to the family, but he might have an ulterior motive for choosing Blu-Ray over HD-DVD. Now, I was gonna make a joke about who has the bigger discs, but…

[Damion Chaplin]

Actually, I've thought this for a while now. One of the reasons DVD is so successful is because the porn industry embraced it almost immediately. Remember, they're an industry that makes movies that are pretty much exclusively released direct-to-video.

[Jason Dunn]

Me? I'm thinking it's not going to be enough - HD-DVD will win, especially if those are the players in the market first (and, look, they are).

[Jason Eaton]

I think it will depend on the quality of the porn. As those with the better music and lighting will create a better viewing atmosphere. Not to mention the effect of high definition boobies. :D

Okay... in a more serious mood... while I am sure there might be some impact, the porn theory gets dilutted to some extent in that most devices that play back media are already targeted by these video makers. Heck even the mostly failed UMD market got some.

I think these folks will most likely be bi orientated to get the most action out of the players. The fact that porn is near timeless just means they survive through media evolutions and look like they been there all the time.

[Damion Chaplin]

Me? I'm thinking it's not going to be enough - HD-DVD will win, especially if those are the players in the market first (and, look, they are).

Me? I tend to agree. Personally, I don't think the porn industry will choose Blu-ray in the end, simply because of the higher production costs. That and we already have HD-DVD on the market. For a while there, studios were releasing both VHS and BETA copies, then it was VHS and DVD. So I think we'll see a trickle of things released on Blu-ray and HD-DVD until there is one clear winner. As John pointed out, they even dabbled in UMDs.

[Brendan Goetz]

I'm leaning towards HD-DVD, also. They are out. They are Cheaper (the players are). That's a powerful advantage.