POWER to the people - knowledge is - DVD - Technology Information

Emedia Professional, July, 2000 by Marla Misek

Even a year ago, few people outside of the seemingly inclusionary world of optical media development knew much about DVD. While title developers, hardware and software manufacturers, trade journalists, and the like have long suspected that this larger, faster, more interactive medium could revolutionize the delivery of digital content, the majority of the mainstream purchasing public hadn't even noticed that a new entertainment/ education technology was afoot.

Thanks, in large part, to video retail behemoths like Blockbuster Video and e-commerce success stories like buy.com, Amazon, and others, DVD has finally entered the consumer consciousness. No longer just a blip on John Doe's radar screen, DVD is finally emerging as a viable technology in today's consumer democracy of choices and more choices. At the same time, however, even those who know about DVD still don't fully understand its potential.

Thankfully, DVD's road to ubiquity is about to become a lot less tenuous. This month, a Las Vegas-based company known as Video Information Source/ Library DVD Source Inc. (hereafter referred to as VIS) will unveil a DVD documentary 18 months in the making. DVD--Disc of All Trades delivers roughly 90 minutes of non-technical educational video, printable ROM content, and Web links designed to introduce "laypeople" to DVD.

Disc of all Trades was produced by Michele Serra, president/owner of VIS and an accomplished video documentarist. According to Serra, the program's purpose is to inform a variety of audiences about DVD, its features and applications, and its effects on communication, information dissemination, and data storage. "Although DVD has been in the public eye for a few years, no one has created a full-length documentary for the average person," she says. "This program is for educators, trainers, librarians, video producers, students, and anyone interested in what DVD is and how it takes them beyond earlier media."

The disc itself offers four video segments, each with its own menus and chapter points. Titles on the disc include:

* DVD--Disc of All Trades, a 55-minute, non-technical introduction to DVD

* Recipe for DVD, a 20-minute DVD authoring tutorial

* DVD Replication, a five-minute show-and-tell about DVD replication and manufacturing

* DVD Association in the Spotlight, a 10-minute overview of the DVD Association describing its purposes, programs, and membership

Disc of All Trades will be released and distributed by VIS as both a DVD-5 disc (single-sided, single-layer), on VHS, and for educational broadcast (sans ROM content and Web links). Though VIS will be the primary distributor, the title also will be available through other suppliers. Unlike many educational titles, which have a "two-tier" pricing structure for private home use and educational screenings, Disc of All Trades is priced to include non-commercial public performance rights for instructional use. The DVD version sells for $24.95; the VHS version lists for $19.95.

Serra founded VIS in 1994 as a single-source video-ordering service for libraries, schools, and other institutions. Since then, VIS has helped media buyers build their audiovisual collections by working directly with educational producers and suppliers. But before 1998, the company hadn't really paid much attention to DVD. That all changed when Serra--whose background includes documentary production for public television--was invited to lead a workshop entitled "Acquisition and Maintenance of a Library Video Collection" at a regional library conference. In the workshop, attendees asked questions about DVD, but Serra had little more than a one-page fact sheet to offer. From this experience, the seed for Disc of All Trades was planted.

Serra began by researching the technology, using the Internet and popular resources like Jim Taylor's DVD Demystified and DVD FAQs. Also helpful were DVD-related Web sites managed by the DVD Forum, DVD Group, and Online Inc. A few months later, Serra began thinking that "someone ought to produce a documentary about DVD for libraries, schools, and educational television." Shortly thereafter, Serra met John Barrett, the producer of a Civil War video documentary, who encouraged her to work with him to produce other documentaries. She suggested creating a program about DVD, for DVD, and since then, Disc of All Trades has been her soup to nuts du jour.

Starting with DVD PRO University in February 1999 and ending five conferences later with NAB 2000, Serra and Barrett videotaped 30 hours' worth of interviews with more than 40 DVD "pros and pioneers," from more than 30 companies. Representatives from Pioneer New Media Technologies, Daikin U.S. Comtec Laboratories, Sonic Solutions, Spruce Technologies, Alpha DVD, AIX Media, and the DVD Association, as well as members of the press, shared unscripted responses to questions covering the technology itself, as well as its features, applications, and impact on communication and society. Says Serra, "I selected these participants because DVD industry professionals like Dana Parker, Jim Taylor, and Ralph LaBarge recommended that I interview them. Each person has an area of expertise and as I interviewed one, they'd recommend others who could offer a different perspective on the technology."