Source: AVN Media Network
By: Company Press Release
(CHATSWORTH, CA) — Just as it did with the VCR, DVD and the Internet, triple-X film producers are leading the way in HDTV, the emerging high-resolution digital television format that will one day be the broadcast industry standard. Already, according to AVN, the adult industry information authority, sexually explicit films produced in HDTV are being made available over the Internet.
In its November issue cover story, AVN says about half a dozen adult studios are creating technological innovations using HDTV that provide a stunning picture quality comparable to a film, and more are on the way.
“The movement has clearly defined pros and cons,” AVN reporter Dan Miller writes, “But perhaps the most compelling argument for tackling HDTV now is that eventually every porn consumer will be viewing it in some form.”
Miller writes that Surfer Pictures International, a relatively new adult company distributed by Hustler Video, made two historic breakthroughs last September by sending out “The world’s first adult Internet download in high definition and also found a way to edit HD at 24 frames per second, the same frame rate as film.”
Within the next few years, says Surfer Pictures head Mitch King, “most people will get their porn from the Internet because the bandwidth will be available. Each year the bandwidth cost goes down more people will be able to get it. The more people get bandwidth, you’ll be able to download a whole movie, rather than renting or buying a DVD.”
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has mandated that all stations be capable of broadcasting HDTV by 2006, which means consumers have to either buy a set-top box to convert digital signals to analog signals or purchase a whole new TV set. Already networks including CBS, ABC, PBS and NBC are providing some of their programs in HDTV, but doing so requires expensive new cameras and production equipment in addition to post-production tools such as editing software.
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The expense is something not lost on adult companies that have not made the transition. “It’s not cost effective yet,” King said. “The tape alone is 100 dollars each – so everything about HD is very expensive now. And we know right now that we’re just burning through cash. But we’re doing it because we want to be the first. But we’re looking at where we are going to be when we have all these 100 movies in the vault. Then, hopefully, the return will come.” King said his firm has shot all his titles in HD, starting earlier this year with Club Tropixxx 1 & 2 and Hawaii Heat.
AVN says that Ultimate Pictures, which is distributed by Adam & Eve, has shot high-end porn for 12 years and became the first to capture an adult feature in HD in September 2001, with Whispering Hearts. Ultimate has since completed 30 features using the format, including Taste of a Woman, Virgin Canvas, Enchantment, One Night with Duchess, the Vault and most recently Rawhide. Ultimate says its features have superior picture quality whether or not a consumer watches on a HD set.
David Schlesinger, vice president of licensing for Vivid Entertainment Group, one of the best-known adult studios, told AVN that Vivid has gauged the market demand for HD porn and decided to wait. “It really hasn’t penetrated yet,” Schlesinger said. “We have our finger on the pulse. But we’re going to hold off until enough of the adult viewing public has caught up with the technology.” He added that Vivid likely would experiment with it first in the form of a menu option on a DVD.
Award-winning XXX director Michael Raven, now exclusively with Wicked Pictures, says of HDTV: “I think the pros far outweigh the cons. The picture quality is just so far superior to anything you can get with standard definition.”
About AVN:
The AVN Media Network is the leading independent authority in adult entertainment, covering the industry ‘in Print, in Person and Online.’ The network includes the monthly magazines AVN and AVN Online, the leading adult industry trade shows Adult Entertainment Expo and Internext, the consumer show Erotica LA, and online content through the AVN.com news and information portal, along with cutting edge industry e-newsletters. AVN also hosts the annual AVN Awards ceremony every January in Las Vegas. For more information visit AVN.com. Or write PR@AVN.com. The company is based in Chatsworth, California.
Contact:
Patti Rogers
AVN press Office
212-338-0050
