Visual Concepts Inc.

They say history repeats itself.  Well, in more ways than one I’ve found that technology does the same.  Many of you have seen the commercials for HD-DVD’s and Blu-ray DVD’s.  To keep it short, Toshiba (HD-DVD) and Sony (Blu-ray) both developed technologies that allowed HD playback in your home.  And here is where history repeats itself with the last few years all too reminiscent of Sony’s Betamax format vs. JVC’s VHS format (circa. 1975 – yes it was that long ago…and no I wasn’t born yet).  These types of things are nothing new to our industry where there is no standard standard and there are so many format options it really makes your head spin.  Just like VHS, Blu-ray is the same…but different.

About 4 weeks ago a Fortune 100 company came to us and asked if we have the ability to author Blu-ray DVD’s.  The answer is yes, Visual Concepts can author Blu-ray discs and has been diligent in keeping up with technology and HD trends to make sure we offer our clients top-level service.  In this case, the company was editing a video internally.  After it passed all internal approvals they needed Visual Concepts to author a Blu-ray DVD for playback on a large HD video wall at a tradeshow in England.  Together we determined they would deliver the content via a data disc and we would author a looping Blu-ray DVD.

But wait, it’s not that simple…remember I said Blu-ray is the same…but different?

Blu-ray technology is still very young…the same as DVD +R and DVD –R once was.  Remember when DVD technology was so new some DVD players would play certain kinds of discs, or only certain brands of discs, and others would not?  Too keep this short, Blu-ray is the same.  I can’t explain it all here it’s much too long and much too boring.  In short, Blu-ray technology is experiencing many of the same playback compatibility issues that were experienced with regular DVD’s.

So what are your options?

There are two solutions available to our clients:  recording vs. replication.  Recording means burning media to a disc using BD-R discs (think DVD-R).  This option is much faster and much more affordable.  However, playback compatibility is a very real problem and you will end up with discs that will not play reliably in the field.  This is a scary proposition when you think about end-user frustrations, corporate image, and etc.  Replication starts with a glass master.  Your discs are then replicated by “stamping” your data into molten plastic as they are molded.  This is how all of your home movies are created.  All replication houses will also embed special licensing code into your DVD signifying that it is original copyrighted content and it will be protected from being duplicated illegally.  This option is more expensive than recording, but you are guaranteed playback in all Blu-ray DVD players.  You are also paying for all of benefits of piracy protection…unfortunately this is never a huge concern in Corporate Communications where further duplication and distribution is almost always a plus.

In this case they needed 1 disc that would play 1 time at 1 event.  The solution was simple because their scenario took place in a very controlled environment.  Visual Concepts recorded a Blu-ray DVD for them and recommended a specific Samsung Blu-ray player that was compatible with the BD-R disc.  Our client then requested this exact player from their tradeshow vendor and this project was completed quickly and inexpensively.  In their case replication would have been a waste of time and money.

Oh, and as for the HD-DVD vs. Blu-ray DVD format war, Toshiba called it quits on HD-DVD in February of 2008.  Now I know what player to buy for my house and the company knows which technology to invest in!

Blu-ray DVD’s – The same…but different.

Rob Blanchard