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To: DiViT who wrote (26531)	12/11/1997 8:14:00 PM
From: John Rieman	Respond to of 50808

Universal's opposition to the Kirch plan is about money. The Mouse has the same problem. FREE THE D-BOXES IN GERMANY...................................... ijumpstart.com Disney/RTL Clash Shows More Tight-Fisted Germany for 1998 <Picture><Picture><Picture> A little more than one year after the Hollywood studios made a fortune selling their programme rights into the German market, the same studios still are negotiating with the same German companies. The difference is that the German companies seem to have found fiscal responsibility. The latest to feel the wrath of the more tight-fisted German media companies is Disney, which has been having a row with RTL over a proposed price hike - said to be about three times higher than the original contract. RTL's hard-line stance - it has threatened to drop all Disney programmes from its schedule - underscores the difference in attitude among channel operators in Germany [from last summer]. That was when Kirch and Bertelsmann were driving up programme prices by competing with each other for exclusive Hollywood deals. Now that the two adversaries have joined forces, programme prices look set to return to a more normal schedule. A week before the Disney/RTL row, another Hollywood studio - Universal - grew so frustrated by the changed climate in Germany that it threatened to complain to the European Comm-ission about the anti-competitive nature of the Kirch/Bertelsmann/Telekom alliance (EMB&F, Nov. 17). Thus far, Universal's EC threat has not been carried out, and the Hollywood studio still is negotiating with various German platforms. Universal still wants to get some sort of carriage for its 13th Street action/adventure channel. But that goal may not be achievable in the near-term as both Kirch and Telekom's bouquets are filled to capacity. RTL's hard-line stance could be seen as a signal to other studios - such as Universal and Warner Bros., which both have output deals with RTL - that the days of easy money in Germany are ending. While RTL has a Pounds 193 million budget for acquisitions, it also is increasing the money it spends on local productions. The broadcaster's local production budget is said to be in the Pounds 390 million range. Despite the bluster of CLT-Ufa, the station is not keen to lose its contract with Disney. A possible outcome to the negotiations could see Disney gaining control of Super RTL - a station which it partially owns in a 50-50 split with RTL shareholder CLT-Ufa. The Hollywood studio then would turn the station into a German Disney Channel - a goal which it has chased for quite some time, but one which it has been unsuccessful in getting on a platform. Since its 1995 launch, Super RTL has made some promising gains; however, it remains a small player in RTL's stable of channel launches. It reaches only 61 per cent of the country and has an audience share below 1.5 per cent. However, the station's ratings have been rising, having doubled its overall share last year. In fact, it has became the third most watched station in its daytime target group - children - in its first year, according to statistics from Peaktime. Last year, two Disney programmes ("Disney's Wunderbare vom Donaustrand" and "The Lonely Puma") were among the five most watched shows on Super RTL.

To: DiViT who wrote (26531)	12/11/1997 8:46:00 PM
From: John Rieman	Respond to of 50808

15 million DVD-ROMs, year end 1998, has Hollywood drooling...................................... ijumpstart.com Hollywood Backs DVD-ROM <Picture><Picture><Picture> Will consumers watch movies on their PCs, and can the coalition of Hollywood, Microsoft and Intel tame the complexities of the computer experience soon enough to appeal to a mass market? Those were two of the hot-button issues at the "Hollywood Addresses the PC" session at the recent DVD Developer Conference attended by our sister publication DVD Report. The two-day event was sponsored by the Software Publishers Association and Intel. Hollywood is buzzing about the revenue potential for DVD content on the PC. According to Microsoft's internal forecasts, about 15 million PCs with DVD-ROMs will be installed by the end of 1998, versus about 2 million DVD-Video players. And research consultant Infotech is forecasting about 80 million PCs with DVD-ROM drives by 2001, compared to 20 million DVD-Video players. Hollywood studios such as Warner Bros. already have invested tens of millions of dollars in DVD. It is becoming clear that how ever long it takes and how ever many product iterations/refinements, these companies are convinced they can make R&D investments eventually pay off. Warner Bros. has partnered with InterActual Technologies to design a couple of products (music and movies) that are based on the same business foundation that Hollywood has used for years - the entertainment value chain. The idea is to provide studios a consistent environment they can control and engage consumers and make money every step of the way. InterActual has developed a product for Warner Bros. based on a TV metaphor (i.e. various "channels" and a control panel device on the left-hand side of the PC screen). The product includes a "Hollywood sampler" with 19 movies, and there is also a music sampler designed to take advantage of linking to various Warner Bros. sites. The products allow users to sample movie trailers or music CDs, buy products via a free-phone number, or connect to a Web site for events or more specific information. Transactions can also be made on Warner Bros.' sites. The music product will contain about 11 different albums worth of material. InterActual created software that enables those various functions to take place from the DVD-ROM, and it is trying to position its product solution as a standard way for Hollywood to address the issue of software drivers on the PC. Elsewhere, the U.S. DVD-ROM title revenues are predicted to reach more than $2.3 billion by 2001 from $187.5 million in 1998, according to Interactive Entertainment 1998: Sizing the Market for Games and Recreation, a market research report published by the U.S.-based Cowles/Simba Information. DVD-ROM software revenues will represent approximately 20 per cent of the total U.S. interactive entertainment market of $11.6 billion, according to the report.

To: DiViT who wrote (26531)	12/11/1997 9:05:00 PM
From: John Rieman	Respond to of 50808

JVC 1/2 inch tape. Digital-S for proconsumer(I was taught this term by Chromac) uses.................................. ijumpstart.com New JVC Chief: No Conflict Between Digital-S, DVCPRO <Picture><Picture><Picture> JVC Professional Products Co. has a new president, Masaharu Mannen, who, judging by has background, is equally adept at high-tech development and engineering concepts and successful sales and market techniques. Mannen is a longtime JVC figure, having joined the company in 1970 as a color TV designer and moving up the company ladder in a series of postings around the world concentrating on new product development and developing new sales channels. Mannen, 51, is replacing outgoing president Masaki Yoshida, who is being promoted to general manager of Victor Company's Tokyo-based International Professional Sales and Marketing Division, at a time when U.S. broadcasters are paying increasing attention to technologies like JVC's Digital-S as they prepare for digital broadcasting. Hoping to gain some insight into the man who will guide JVC through this crucial period, VTN posed a series of questions to Mannen earlier this month. Since Mannen does not speak English very well, the questions were emailed the JVC Pro's Elmwood Park, NJ, office where executives translated them to Japanese, and then translated the responses to English. Here then, is our "interview" with Masaharu Mannen: VTN: JVC has tied much of its future to the success of the Digital-S format. What markets (broadcast, post production, corporate) offer the greatest potential for Digital-S? Do you see the format as a competitor to DVCPRO, Beta SX or DVCAM? Mannen: Digital-S was designed as a general purpose format suitable for a very wide range of applications in markets ranging from corporate and educational up to the highest levels of broadcast and post production. As such, we could be considered a competitor to any of the digital formats. However, since most of the market is still using analog, we really are targeting the users of the most popular analog formats, S-VHS, 3/4-inch and Beta SP. Our message to these users is that we offer the highest quality and the easiest, most practical upgrade. VTN: What future developments can we expect to see from the Digital-S line? Mannen: We will expand the format to include full four-audio channel capability on the higher end machines. Our existing two-channel machines will play back and record tapes from the new high-end decks, with full quality. This gives facilities the ability to mix decks to achieve an unprecedented combination of quality, utility and economy. We are planning expansions to our acquisition line-up. And, of course, we'll have models to meet the varying requirements of DTV. VTN: Will we see any reason to add functionality or in any way pitch Digital-S as an alternative to the D formats (D-1, D-2, D-3, etc.)? Mannen: Since Digital-S is 4:2:2 component digital, we have the same bandwidth as D1, and with our perceptually lossless compression, we can compete nicely with the high-end formats. VTN: Do you think a lower bandwidth version of Digital-S is in order? Mannen: The 4:1:1 DV formats have less chroma bandwidth, which can cause problems in chroma keying, multi-generation, cascading with other compression systems and when converting to a 4:2:0 system used in DTV or DVD. Now that we have a lower priced (under $10,000) 4:2:2 line-up, we can address the price issue without making the 4:1:1 compromise. VTN: Can we expect to see an entirely new brand of digital tape from JVC? If so, when? Mannen: Our DS series tape is very high quality metal particle tape with lengths up to 104 minutes. Soon, we will have another length of 124 minutes. I might add that these cassettes are applicable to both field recoders (camcorders, dockables) as well as studio decks. VTN: What other product types will JVC aggressively market in 1998? Desktop production? New cameras? Perhaps some video server technology? Mannen: It's too early to spill the beans about all of our new NAB introductions. (I did, however, mention the four-channel audio machines.) We will be making a formal announcement on our real-time non-linear editing system, the MW-S1000. This full-featured 4:2:2 NLE system will integrate very nicely with our Digital-S format. It brings us much closer to offering a total solution for video production and post production. VTN: Panasonic has aggressively pursued a partnering program and an open system philosophy for its DVC products. Can we expect the same from JVC? If so, what kind of third-party technology will most benefit? Servers? Asset management software? Automation systems? Mannen: Our Digital-S product line is designed to integrate with the widest range of digital components. We have worked with numerous manufacturers to make sure of this. The Digital-S 50 Mbps compression system, developed by JVC, is being adopted by other manufacturers. Unfortunately, we haven't gotten this word out to the public yet. VTN: What is your opinion of the potential for high-definition television in the United States? Do you think there will be a vibrant market for HDTV production equipment, and will JVC aggressively pursue this market? Mannen: JVC has been an early leader in HDTV in the U.S. Our KH-100 (on sale for about 2 years now) was the first affordable 1080-line camera. And we have numerous HDTV recorders (W-VHS) and monitors in use throughout the country. One of the reasons we chose 1/2-inch tape for Digital-S is that it is better suited for expansion into more data-intensive extensions of the format, such as HDTV. It's anybody's guess when, how and if HDTV will become a widespread distribution format. We want to be ready with production equipment when it does. We also believe that one of the keys to HDTV success is in providing a truly engaging presentation device. Small, conventional CRTs don't provide that. JVC has made a huge investment in projection technology with its development of the D-ILA (Direct Drive - Image Light Amplifier) device, based on ILA technology from Hughes-JVC. The D-ILA device makes it possible to offer a theater-quality high definition projector, similar to the Hughes-JVC ILA types, but in a small, 28-pound unit that sets up in minutes. We introduced our first D-ILA projector at Comdex and will begin shipping the unit next year. (JVC, 201/794-3900)