Different projects call for different
playback technologies

A few words from Jacques Maltais, President of La Boîte numérique

For any given film project, there’s always a choice of playback technologies. And in video production, three such technologies dominate: DVD, Blu-ray and streaming Internet. Each has its strengths and weaknesses, including image quality, cost, resistance to piracy, ease of distribution and production time. Different criteria pertain to each.

DVD: the most widely used format

The DVD was officially inaugurated in late 1995 and has remained the most widely available format in the world ever since. “It’s the format that reaches the most users, whether they’re on Mac, PC or on dedicated DVD playback devices. The cost is low, because the playback technology is always integrated into the viewing system, as opposed to CD-ROMs. All the viewer has to do is program his video playback preferences.”

It takes one or two weeks to produce a DVD, including authoring, computer graphics and quality control. A DVD 5 can hold a 2-hour video; a DVD 9 might contain as many as three-and-a-half hours. The SD quality is always satisfactory too, with image quality steady at 720 x 480 pixels (480i).

All eyes turn to Blu-ray

But when it comes to image quality, all eyes inevitably turn to Blu-ray, which can reproduce images with unbeatable resolution as high as 1920 x 1080 (1080p). And with the more advanced playback devices, even that quality can be improved. Using an HDCAM SR, extremely impressive image quality can be easily obtained.

However Blu-ray technology is far more expensive than DVD. A virgin Blu-ray disk (BD-r) rings up at $25, as compared to 50 cents for a DVD-r. But there’s no question as to the valued added, which is why the film industry has lobbied hard for Blu-ray products to rack up market share: it’s simply that they’re difficult to copy.

Technically speaking, Blu-ray functions brilliantly. Because it uses Java technology, it can be elaborately programmed. Most Blu-ray readers have an Internet connection, as well, which allows the user to modify content and enjoy dynamic production values. Banner ads can also be activated through its Internet connectivity. But Blu-ray production time is much longer than for DVD. The encoding process alone is 6 to 10 times longer than real time, whereas DVD encoding occurs in real time with proper equipment. Consequently, it takes two to three weeks to bring a Blu-ray disc to market.

La Boîte numérique Internet streaming Platform

The continuous reading process known as “streaming” is a method of Internet broadcast that enables content to be sent in real time to the user’s terminal — or within a very slight delay. It entails a direct exchange of content between the server and the user. Very little data is stored directly on the computer hard disc, which creates numerous advantages for streaming technology. “Distribution costs are minimal, time is saved and the film is immediately accessible to the user. And at La Boîte numérique, we’ve developed our own distribution platform. True, it requires installing a completely new structure that requires servers, new machines and fiber-optics, but the pay-off is in unlimited space that results in consistently high picture quality.”

Streaming video is roughly equivalent to DVD quality. It’s all a matter of frequency capacity, and if that is sufficient, image quality will be maintained regardless of the number of potential users. Most importantly, films broadcast via streaming technology are very difficult to copy, which makes it the medium of choice for the film industry. “Since the product is not saved to the hard disk of the computer, users cannot make copies. Better than that, access can be monitored by using a system of codes which can then be used to restrict the number of viewings.”

Every project demands its own playback technology

A major Canadian film distributor has adopted a marketing protocol whereby the company has interested buyers evaluate the potential of its products at the very moment they hit the stores in DVD or Blu-ray format. Until now, DVD had been the only viewing platform used for that purpose. But for that particular aspect of its marketing and distribution activities, the company recently decided to change its viewing-format protocol, approaching La Boîte numérique with a very precise new mandate aimed at providing DVD-equivalent quality and much faster production and distribution methods — not to mention super-secure anti-piracy technology.

La Boîte numérique also worked for more than a month on a video-on-demand project. An Internet site was built with a back-end devised to facilitate compression and load the film directly onto a server. It is then packaged in a DRM (Digital Right Management) capsule the most fail-safe available anywhere at this time. The DRM also installs a transparent code within the computer of the end-user, which can be traced, and, therefore, monitored.

Potential buyers can then view films in real time. They can also upload the video onto the hard disk of their computer, but thanks to DRM technology, it can be viewed ONLY on that computer to which it’s been uploaded.

With problems of piracy eliminated and productivity increased, the Internet has finally arrived as a viable vehicle for such specific purposes. But even if the Internet can look forward to better days ahead, some products will continue to be delivered via DVD or even CD format. So it’s simply a matter of applying the support system best suited for any given project. All that’s needed is a thorough review of our client’s specific needs.

La Boîte numérique is delighted to look such future technologies directly in the eye and to meet such up-coming challenges as they’ll inevitably present themselves. Access to information is destined to play a central role in the lives of the 21st Century nomads we’ve all become. We look forward to unveiling our new project at MIPCOM this coming October.