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Non-Tech : Todd-AO (todda) -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Wade who wrote (16)	3/25/1998 1:59:00 AM
From: flickerful	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 58

wade and all... a quick response to say i would be happy to share whatever i know of todda... having said that, i will return tomorrow with details; thanks wade, for your feedback. later, randy

To: Wade who wrote (16)	3/26/1998 7:54:00 PM
From: flickerful	Respond to of 58

LaserPacific Opens Hollywood's First Full Service High-Definition Post Center Hollywood, CA - LaserPacific Media Corporation, in announcing the opening of their new multi-million dollar High-Definition Laboratory, has once again positioned itself at the forefront of the industry's emerging technology. "As the U.S. television networks begin digital broadcasts, LaserPacific is completely equipped lo help studios and producers make the highest quality, highest resolution master that can be created today," states LaserPacific President Emory Cohen. The High Definition Lab at LaserPacific provides a complete post production system approach to the creation of both High Definition masters and the Standard Definition masters that will continue to air as the transition to digital television is made over the next several years. "There are other High Definition telecine facilities currently available, but LaserPacific's HD Lab is the first complete facility that includes HD assembly, online. special effects and color correction specifically designed to the new digital broadcasting specs" said Cohen. 'What makes LaserPacific's HD Lab unique is that it allows for a seamless transition for producers who are already utilizing electronic post production services such as those offered by our Electronic Laboratory High-Definition Masters without any Changes in Production or Post Production LaserPacific's Electronic Laboratory, the recipient of an Emmy Award in 1989 for Outstanding Achievement in Engineering Development, originated the electronic post production techniques that are currently employed throughout the industry. Patterned after the original Electronic Laboratory concept, LaserPacific's new High-Definition Lab defines an efficient and straightforward method of creating shows for the new era of digital television, "Our goal has always been to make technology transparent to the creative process" asserts Leon Silverman, LeserPacific's Executive Vice President. "Our HD Lab allows producers to make both Standard and High-Definition television without any significant changes in methodology." "There simply is no impact on production," added Cohen, "as most of our customers have been routinely composing their 35mm or 16mm film in anticipation of the wider aspect ratio of digital television." "Some in the industry have been saying that the only practical way for television to be delivered in High-Definition is by physically cutting the original camera negative," stated Silverman. "While we can and will accommodate customers who wish to cut their negative for HD, most of our clients do not have the time or budget that allows for cutting the negative on a weekly basis. Our HD Lab gives producers the same freedom and options that they enjoy today by taking advantage of the electronic post production techniques that LaserPacific developed years ago." LaserPacific's High-Definition Laboratory provides for the transfer of dailies so that they can be viewed and edited using Standard Definition monitors and the same edit systems that are in current use. Once a show is locked creatively, a standard Edit Decision List is then used in the HD Assembly process to create a High-Definition edit master. That master will be electronically color timed in HD, and completed with full High Dermition cpticals and titles. High Definition Post Production Yields Superior Standard Definition Masters The Standard Definition network delivery elements are derived from this High-Definition Final Master, according to Cohen, "It has been our experience that the Standard Definition recordings that we create in this process exhibit superior image quality due to the significantly higher resolution of the HD original. The home video masters of "A" title features are beginning to use HD telecine originals for this same reason. By utilizing technology, such as the Philips Spirit DataCine and state of the art 'downconversion' techniques, we are able to create a master that is remarkably sharp and clean. Finishing a program today in High Definition not only creates an archival master with potentially higher future value, but It also produces a superior source for today's Standard Definition delivery. Costs and Consumer Adoption of High Definition The questions of HD production costs and the timing of its implementation have long been debated in the television industry. Silverman says, "for 15 years, the joke was that HD and Digital Television were 5 years away. But the fact is, digital broadcasts will begin this year and the industry must take this into account as new television shows are created and produced." Cohen asserts that costs associated with the creation of a High-Definition Master will not significantly increase the current costs of episodic television production. "We estimate that it will represent less than a one and a half percent (1.5%) increase in total production cost," he predicts. "When you think about the relatively low cost to create a digital High-Definition master that will serve as a distribution element long into the future, we believe High-Definition post-production makes sense even if the current network run is not in High-Definition." To those that say that consumer adoption of Digital and High-Definition will be slow and that there may not be many digital sets at first, both Cohen and Silverman agree that this is precisely the reason that it is important to begin to offer High-Definition capabilities now. "LeserPacific's role in this transition is to help create the master elements which will be of the greatest value over the economic life-of-the program," says Cohen. "Digital broadcasting begins in 1998. Digital sets will go on sale shortly. Even if the consumer transition turns out to be a long and gradual one, the ability to provide High-Definition programs may quickly become an important competitive element to creators as well as broadcasters. That's where we come in," Cohen states. Silverman adds that even though there was a transition period with color television. The impact on the production process was immediate. "When it was apparent that color television was the future, there were not many producers who continued to create shows in black and white. It just did not make sense. The same is true of High-Definition. That is why we feel it is important for us to offer producers an easy way to make this transition now."