Il estime par ailleurs que le Blu-ray reçoit bien trop d'attention de la part des professionnels du milieu qui devraient encore, selon lui, considérer les beaux jours du DVD qui reste une valeur sûr et qu'il ne faudrait pas enterrer trop vite.
On peut ressentir toute l'appréhension qu'il a à voir Sony prendre le dessus sur la production de Blu-ray au niveau mondial - Sony qui est à la fois distributeur de contenu, fabricant de lecteurs et PS et presseur. Il voit peu de place laissée aux petits indépendants qui ne peuvent pas rivaliser avec cette machine de guerre qui semble vouloir laisser des ouvertures (pour développer le format) mais pas trop pour conserver la main-mise !
Notamment concernant les jeux pour PS2 et PS3.
On sent également toute la nostalgie après la disparition du HD DVD, qui pour beaucoup de professionnels indépendant à l'époque (dont moi) était le chemin le plus sensé à suivre pour se lancer dans la haute-définition.
Extraits concernant le Blu-ray (en anglais) :
Source : http://www.dvd-intelligence.com/display ... rticle=727How do you see the development of Blu-ray in the context of the DVD market?
I deeply regret that the industry focuses all its energy on the promotion of Blu-ray and not on the optical disc itself. The DVD is a fantastic product, let’s not get rid of it for the benefit of Blu-ray. Blu-ray should be promoted as an extension of the DVD. We ought to promote the optical disc, which includes several family members such as the audio CD, CD software, games, standard- and high-definition discs.
We should also promote video itself, and 80% of the video is on optical disc – the DVD. By putting all the emphasis on Blu-ray we give the impression that DVD is finished. The DVD+BD combo is an interesting concept that could help maintain the dominance of the optical disc support.
You have expressed concerns about the way Blu-ray emerged
Obviously, it would have been easier to proceed with HD DVD, the logical extension to DVD, and easier and cheaper to produce. Like others we set up HD DVD manufacturing capabilities and, indeed, produced some 400,000 discs for StudioCanal.
Unfortunately, a few Hollywood majors put their weight behind Blu-ray, which tipped the balance in favour of the Sony format. It’s a lot more complicated and expensive to produce BD discs. Sadly, it makes Blu-ray much less accessible to independent publishers, which constitute the majority of our clients.
Will Blu-ray ever replace DVD?
I don’t think Blu-ray will ever replace DVD. I reckon it will take 30% to 40% of the optical disc market. I hope I am wrong because it would mean that Sony has taken the entire market. Today, there are 100 DVD manufacturers in Europe, but only 7-8 BD replicators. If we want to ensure a greater market penetration of Blu-ray we need to create the conditions for more independent BD replicators coming onto the market.
What does Sony’s dominance of the market mean?
On the global scale, Sony will operate 150 BD lines. All the others are Lilliputians. Investment into BD is very heavy. Sony is a replicator, player manufacturer, studio owner, and patent holder. Access to Sony’s BD manufacturing tools is difficult if not impossible and prohibitive. While giving the impression of overture by boosting a large roster of supporting companies, Sony essentially is proprietor of the format, especially when it comes to servicing the PlayStation.
In fact, what I find objectionable is not so much Sony’s sustained effort to promote an unparalleled level of high-definition quality for home entertainment. It is that they do not allow our clients involved in CD-ROM and DVD games to let us or other independents replicate their games for PS2 and PS3. This restricts small independent games publishers’ access to the PS consoles.
How much of a problem is AACS licensing to independents?
AACS has essentially been designed for the Hollywood majors that insisted on its compulsory use. Because it is such an expensive system, it keeps some independents out of the BD market. Efforts have yet to be made on the licensing and royalties front, still very onerous. All together these account for nearly 30% of the total cost of producing a disc.
Make no mistake. To protect content and fighting piracy are critical. I am glad to see that the HADOPI laws on the illegal downloading of copyrighted material off the Internet has been voted by the French National Assembly. It ought to have an impact on the behaviour of some categories of customers who do not wish to be caught in the net. These may prefer buying a DVD, now quite cheap, rather than face a fine.
How about BD-Live as a unique selling proposition?
I am doubtful as to the importance of BD-Live for the success of BD. It is an important addition, a bridge between physical media and the virtual world of Internet. However, I repeat, one should focus on the optical disc.
What about holographic disc and 3D-TV?
MPO owns patents on a 100GB disc, developed with Thomson. That’s a storage media. Do we need more than 50GB to distribute a high-definition quality video? I do not think so. As for 3D, let’s first digest the launch of Blu-ray and let’s not confuse the consumer with multiple visions. We are going through an economic crisis, after all, which, combined with technical complexity, makes the growth of BD currently very challenging.