High-Definition Porn on the Rise Pat I
High-Definition Porn On The Rise
Smarthouse Team - Thursday, 23 March 2006
The porn industry is leading the way in adopting High-Definition recording, having already released two record-selling skin flicks.
There are many reasons why high-definition video will be a universal success. For a start, everyone is clamouring for it. Electronics manufacturers are churning out affordable HD-Ready TV sets, Hollywood can re-sell its back catalogue (again) in a new format, broadcasters can charge extra for HD channels and slowing DVD sales will be replaced by soaring HD DVD/Blu-ray sales. Good news all round then. But it’s all for nothing if consumers don’t buy into it, too.
As far as content is concerned, porn gives sport a run for it’s money as one of the most desirable categories of HD programming. So it should come as no surprise that the first movies to be filmed, edited and released in high-definition are skin flicks.
With hindsight, it’s impossible to ignore the effect the adult entertainment industry has on emerging technologies. When Sony launched its Betamax VCR in 1975 it ignored the adult sector entirely and uptake was slow, as even early adopters (generally young men) stayed away.
It wasn’t until JVC launched VHS, and the adult industry embraced the format, that the home market exploded. The VCR turned out to be Japan’s biggest single export, Deep Throat became the most profitable film ever and Betamax eventually limped into obscurity. Fittingly, Deep Throat was also released recently on a HD format for the Xbox 360.
Cable TV providers quickly realised that people wanted to watch adult films in the privacy of their homes, and when satellite broadcasters came along, they made sure there was plenty of pay-per-view porn on the menu. More recently, DirecTV has begun showing adult movies in HDTV to American audiences. HDNet and INHD are set to follow suit.
While Hollywood considers the risks of copy protection and hardware manufacturers squabble over formats, the adult industry has already begun moving over to HD production. Digital Playground is leading the way in this field and has recently launched its second high-definition release, Pirates. Since their first adult HD feature, Island Fever 3, Digital Playground now shoots all of its films on Sony’s HDC-950 1080/60i cameras to futureproof its catalogue.
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