Online video distribution will not replace Blu-ray
There is also a huge debate about the opportunity of online video distribution and a trend that could eliminate Blu-ray before it can surpass the DVD. Joone believes that there is no reason to believe that the Blu-ray disc will die anytime soon.
While he said that the adoption of Blu-ray is somewhat slower than he initially expected, he noted that Blu-ray sales are increasing steadily. The DVD is still outselling Blu-ray media by at least 2:1, but Joone said that big-budget titles “do very well” on Blu-ray, while mainstream titles cannot convince people to shell out the extra money for a Blu-ray disc. The DVD is still important, but “it’s still pretty expensive to playback Blu-ray media and not a lot of PCs come with Blu-ray drives,” Joone said.
DP found that a customer who downloads movies is a very different customer than someone who buys physical media. The company has been offering digital downloads for about five years and is now selling about half of its content online and half on “finished” media. Online distribution is especially used by people who want immediate access to content, those who do not want the discs mailed to them because of privacy reasons and those who simply can’t get the media because of legal restrictions in their country.
But you can’t share downloads, which is why Joone believes optical media are here to stay and why digital and physical media are complementary for now. “It’s just like a book. You can give it to a friend. You can’t do that with a digital version.”
Personal space: The iPhone
There is an interesting implication of the iPhone. Apple likes to see the iPhone “clean”. But DP in fact sees quite some demand for its content on the iPhone – and the iPad. “There is an instant gratification involved when you download content to the iPhone. We were surprised how loyal iPhone and especially iPad owners are. 70% of our customers are returning customers. They spend a lot of money,” Joone said.
Some may argue how much gratification is possible on a 3.5” screen. But Joone argues that the reason why people like to watch adult content on a phone has to do with personal space. “First there was the TV. Then there was the PC, which is now shared by the entire family and it’s not personal anymore. The phone is very personal to us, which is why our content works on this platform.”
3D: Not yet
When HD was the hot topic, some of us were wondering whether there are things you really don’t want to see in HD. That question may come back for 3D. However, it may be a bit early to ask that question now.
Joone said that DP has been playing with 3D content – there has been “R&D” and some scenes were shot in 3D. “It looks cool,” he said. “But we watched it on a $5000 TV and were wearing $100 glasses.” He compared the experience with a move from “stereo sound to Dolby 5.1” and said that 3D “enhances voyeurism.”
However, he wonders whether there is really a market at this time: “People just bought HDTVs. Will they buy now a 3D TV? No. 3D will see a slow adoption. We will support it, but we are at least 2 to 3 years away from mass adoption,” Joone believes.
And then there is the question whether people will want to wear glasses while they are watching TV. “In 5 years, we will be able to watch 3D without the need of $100-a-pair glasses. And 3D TVs will cost less than $1000. When that happens, 3D will be a mass experience.”
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