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    HD Biz Grabs Its Console At E3 Confab

    By SHOOT StaffUpdated:No Comments1221 Views

    By Carolyn Giardina

    LOS ANGELES --

    The 12th Annual Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3), the major computer and video game trade show that recently brought more than 60,00 industry professionals to the Los Angeles Convention Center, emerged as an important battleground in the competition for the next generation of DVD technology.

    “We are entering an era where games and other forms of entertainment technology will fuse together even more tightly, and where the full potential of online and mobile will come more sharply in focus,” said Doug Lowestein, president of the Entertainment Software Association, which owns and operates E3.

    In the home entertainment market, there are currently two incompatible new DVD formats vying to be the next generation of DVD technology offering high definition capabilities: Blu-Ray Disc, supported by manufacturers including Sony, Panasonic and Apple; and HD DVD, supported by technology companies including Toshiba, NEC, Sanyo and Microsoft. Players for both formats are rolling out this year in the home entertainment market, and major studios are preparing to release titles for these new formats. But only one is likely to emerge as the high definition successor to the popular DVD format, and many believe the competition for that title will result in a fight not unlike the one that occurred roughly 20 years ago between Betamax and VHS.

    This time around, many industry pundits believe an important round in the competition will be played in the video game arena, with new video game platforms that have incorporated these technologies and offer HD graphics.

    These two prime new consoles were a focus of the E3 exhibition: Sony’s PlayStation 3 (PS3) and Microsoft’s Xbox 360. At E3, Sony Computer Entertainment America (SCEA) previewed its PS3, which is capable of playing back content from Blu-Ray Discs at a bit rate of multiplex 48Mbps, the maximum bit rate defined in Blu-Ray standards. Equipped with basic input/output ports, PS3 also supports a broad range of displays from conventional NTSC/PAL standard TVs to the latest HD (1080i/1080p) flat panel displays–meaning that the players would be used to show content on HD capable sets. In fact, during E3, Sony showed HD trailers of soon-to-be-released titles including Sony Pictures’ The Da Vinci Code and Click playing on a high definition television in 1080p off a PS3. PS3 is scheduled to launch worldwide on Nov. 17.

    Meanwhile, Microsoft announced that an HD DVD player would be available as an accessory to its now shipping Xbox 360 this holiday season, enabling consumers to view movies in high definition through the Xbox 360 system. Microsoft also reported that Xbox 360 would support more than 160 games by the end of the year.

    Indeed with the profound influence of gaming on the entertainment market at large, it’s understandable why the launch of these new game consoles is viewed by many experts as pivotal in the HD battle. How large is the influence of the games sector? According to ESA’s Lowestein, research suggests that the gaming industry has an $18 billion annual impact on the U.S. economy.

    Category:News



    Does “Hundreds of Beavers” Reflect A New Path Forward In Cinema?

    Monday, November 25, 2024

    Hard as it may be to believe, changing the future of cinema was not on Mike Cheslik's mind when he was making "Hundreds of Beavers." Cheslik was in the Northwoods of Wisconsin with a crew of four, sometimes six, standing in snow and making his friend, Ryland Tews, fall down funny.

    "When we were shooting, I kept thinking: It would be so stupid if this got mythologized," says Cheslik.

    And yet, "Hundreds of Beavers" has accrued the stuff of, if not quite myth, then certainly lo-fi legend. Cheslik's film, made for just $150,000 and self-distributed in theaters, has managed to gnaw its way into a movie culture largely dominated by big-budget sequels.

    "Hundreds of Beavers" is a wordless black-and-white bonanza of slapstick antics about a stranded 19th century applejack salesman (Tews) at war with a bevy of beavers, all of whom are played by actors in mascot costumes.

    No one would call "Hundreds of Beavers" expensive looking, but it's far more inventive than much of what Hollywood produces. With some 1,500 effects shots Cheslik slaved over on his home computer, he crafted something like the human version of Donald Duck's snowball fight, and a low-budget heir to the waning tradition of Buster Keaton and "Naked Gun."

    At a time when independent filmmaking is more challenged than ever, "Hundreds of Beavers" has, maybe, suggested a new path forward, albeit a particularly beaver-festooned path.

    After no major distributor stepped forward, the filmmakers opted to launch the movie themselves, beginning with carnivalesque roadshow screenings. Since opening in January, "Hundreds of Beavers" has played in at least one theater every week of the year, though never more than 33 at once. (Blockbusters typically play in around 4,000 locations.)... Read More

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