Hi Def to Cause Porn Shakeout? Part I
Tuesday, August 15th, 2006Hi Def to Cause Porn Shakeout?
Porn producers are usually tech pioneers, but industry is shying away from HD.
August 14, 2006
They aggressively pushed the VHS videocassette, led the change to DVDs, and were among the first to make money off the Internet.
No one could say that the adult film industry has shied away from new technology.
Nor should they have. Each new technology made it easier for porn companies to make and distribute films, first through home video and then via the Internet.
As a result, hundreds of sex film companies have popped up over the last decade, driving an estimated $4.3 billion in sales in the United States last year and making household names out of starlets like Asia Carrera and Jenna Jameson.
Adult filmmakers are once again grappling with the latest technology—high-definition DVDs. But HD video is so confusing and expensive to most sex film producers that some industry insiders suggest the technology could actually prompt a much-needed shakeout in an industry that has for decades only known robust growth.
“There will be fewer companies, fewer small budget films, and less of the riffraff operators,” predicted Peter Warren, associate editor of Adult Video News, the industry’s leading trade publication.
Format Wars
Much of the confusion has centered on the looming format war between Sony’s Blu-ray standard and Toshiba’s HD-DVD technology. The two companies have been unable to agree on a common standard and are independently forging ahead in hopes they will emerge victorious in the marketplace.
That has forced many consumer electronics makers, computer companies, and Hollywood studios to pick sides, a scenario eerily reminiscent of the battle between VHS and Betamax. Some studios, like Paramount Pictures and Warner Bros., have opted to hedge their bets and back both formats.
The porn industry is just as confused about which format will win. Adult filmmakers would like to exploit the extra-storage available on Blu-ray discs, but they are wary about the price of Blu-ray DVD players and the high cost of Blu-ray discs.
The industry has been unwilling to push one format over the other, leaving most producers with little choice other than to adopt a “wait and see” attitude.
“Confusion is pervasive in the adult film industry,” said Tom Funk, a former IT consultant turned porn film maker. “They don’t necessarily understand the technology, and then there’s the format war.”
