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Porn Industry Trials Burnable DVDs 250

Posted by Zonk from the advancing-technology-for-us-all dept.
nukular writes "The LA Times has an article discussing porn giant Vivid following the likes of King Kong in allowing users to download and burn movies to DVD. Unlike in the Hollywood plan, these DVDs will be viewable on other DVD players." From the article: "Despite their obvious differences, adult and mainstream entertainment companies face similar pressures in the Internet age. Both are grappling with how to deliver content securely and reliably to devices in a variety of ways, whether it's prepackaged on DVD for TVs or sent wirelessly to cellphones. Both also want to capitalize on digital delivery methods but can't afford to undercut their retail partners: big-box stores such as Wal-Mart Stores Inc. for the major studios and mom-and-pop video shops for the porn producers. They also fear online piracy, which the music industry partly blames for its lackluster sales."
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Porn Industry Trials Burnable DVDs More

Porn Industry Trials Burnable DVDs

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  • Wait..... (Score:5, Funny)

    by Mayhem178 ( 920970 ) on Thursday April 20, 2006 @09:13AM (#15164551)
    * stops burning porn DVDs long enough to read /. *

    Hey, wait...we're allowed to do this now? Sweet!

    * resumes burning porn DVDs *

  • Slashdot is too sinner-centric... (Score:5, Funny)

    by marcello_dl ( 667940 ) on Thursday April 20, 2006 @09:14AM (#15164564) Homepage Journal
    In Catholic Italy, pr0n burns YOU! :)
    • Dude, don't knock Italian porn! It's the ONLY country in the world where a member of parliament was also a hardcore actress. Yes, at the same time!

      C'mon, imagine YOUR region's federal legislator as a porn star. Imagine it ... if you DARE.
  • Verbing nouns weirds language.

  • Common Sense (Score:5, Insightful)

    by Tx ( 96709 ) on Thursday April 20, 2006 @09:16AM (#15164577) Journal
    If you're going to charge a comparable price for the downloadable movie, it can't be an inferior product to the purchased disc, or it just won't fly. Hence needs to be watchable on a regular DVD player like a purchased DVD. Still seems a bit steep compared to some, erm, other sources of pr0n though.
    • Marketing is going to be an interesting challenge. "Now your penis won't be the only thing burning ..."
    • and witha burned DVD they can not guarentee that at all.

      burned DVD's if properly authored will have a 90% sucess rate playing on set top DVD players. but certianly not 100% and it drops further if you use a DVD+R as those are less compatable than a DVD-R disc. And god help you if you try a dual layer. I have yet to get one of those to play in ANY dvd player.
      • "...it drops further if you use a DVD+R as those are less compatable than a DVD-R disc. And god help you if you try a dual layer. I have yet to get one of those to play in ANY dvd player."

        Actually, I've found the opposite to be true...I couldn't get hardly any of my DVD-R's to play, but, all DVD+R's did. And I've yet to have a dual layer (which is +R) to fail to play on any commercial dvd player I've tried it on....maybe you need a new burner or burning software?

        I pretty much just use dvdbackup to

    • Ordinarily, I'd agree with you. But not for pr0n. But I would bet that being able to get it in the privacy of your home, nearly instantly is worth a lot of money to some people. Sure there's free pr0n around, but I imagine the pay-content is going to be higher quality.

      -Esme

  • why i need a bigger tv
    • Its probably not your TV that needs to be bigger. Read your spam for instructions. I'm sure someone in there has some 'helpful' suggestions on how you can solve this issue.

  • Phone Porn!?! (Score:5, Funny)

    by RingDev ( 879105 ) on Thursday April 20, 2006 @09:20AM (#15164609) Homepage Journal
    "Both are grappling with how to deliver content securely and reliably to devices in a variety of ways, whether it's prepackaged on DVD for TVs or sent wirelessly to cellphones"

    Wow, that would explain my co-workers extended bathroom breaks with his new Verizon 3g phone.

    -Rick
    • It seems rather strange that you track when your coworker is going to the bathroom, what bodily possessions he happens to have on him at the time, and how long he spends in the bathroom.

      Are you sure that "my co-worker" is not a euphamism for "myself"???

  • Cinemanow is Vivids Distributor (Score:5, Informative)

    by microbrewer ( 774971 ) on Thursday April 20, 2006 @09:22AM (#15164627) Homepage
    Cinemanow owns and operates All Adult Entertainment the distributor of Vivid's Videos so Hollywood is already onto this and owns the technology to distribute burnable movies .They are using porn as their sacrificial lamb to see if the content ends up on Usenet or P2P networks in the next 3 months .

    Cinemanow is a subsidiary of Sony Entertainment .

    • This makes sense (Score:3, Interesting)

      by British ( 51765 )
      Considering the average pr0n title costs a lot less to make than say, King Kong, there is not so much financial risk(er, losses) involved.

      So instead of the pr0n industry helping sway one side of widespread video adoption, it will now walk into the office like it's an expert to do some research.
    • What I'm curious about is the fact that almost all porn DVDs are region free (and they advertise it on the boxes)... they know that it's a plus. Why can't the Holywood mainstream figure this out?
    • A hell of a lot of porn is better paced, and better plotted than Jackson's King Kong, too.

    • They already know that the content will end up on Usenet and P2P almost imediately, just like their main-stream "non-burnable" content does. Because one person with the know-how/equiptment to get around the DRM and upload it is all it takes. They can't do much about that, and they know it.
      Making it "non-burnable" annoys some people, but defeats the large number of people who would give or lend all their buddies a copy, but don't have the ability to burn them. This is not as big an issue with porn

  • since when... (Score:4, Funny)

    by mangus_angus ( 873781 ) on Thursday April 20, 2006 @09:22AM (#15164630)
    Could you download porn on the internet?!! I've just been taping my neighbors at night....

  • Huh? (Score:4, Funny)

    by Goldmund ( 247522 ) on Thursday April 20, 2006 @09:23AM (#15164640)
    *scratches head*

    People pay for pr0n?

    I had no idea. Suckers.

  • Technology marches on (Score:4, Insightful)

    by Billosaur ( 927319 ) * <wgrother@optonline. n e t> on Thursday April 20, 2006 @09:24AM (#15164642) Journal
    A top producer of hard-core porn will start selling downloadable movies that customers can burn to DVD and watch on their TVs, illustrating how Southern California's multibillion-dollar adult entertainment industry may again set the technological pace for Hollywood.

    Heck, adult entertainment has been behind a lot or major breakthroughs in technology:

    • The VCR - porn at home
    • Chat rooms - talk to others about and trade porn
    • The Web - find any porn you want, anytime
    • DVDs - high quality porn

    I suspect this will continue on into the arena of full 3-D sensoround technology, whenever that become available.
    • People can laugh all they want but already a number of the more profitable companies making adult movies are seriously looking at making movies in HD-DVD or Blu-Ray high-definition disc formats. The resaon is simple: high-definition video cameras are rapidly dropping in price. Already, you can get prosumer 1080i resolution HDTV camcorders for under US$5,000, and even the type of very high-end 1080p cameras that were used on movies like Star Wars Episodes II and III are dropping to around US$100,000 for a on
      • "...lready a number of the more profitable companies making adult movies are seriously looking at making movies in HD-DVD or Blu-Ray high-definition disc formats."

        I dunno if I want my pr0n in HD. I mean, who wants to see ass pimples with that much clarity?

        And also, one year I was in Vegas during Adult-dex....and saw some of those pr0n starts up close...man, some of those faces, even with lots of makeup caked on, were not pretty up close...I've seen less craters on the moon that on some of those la

    • You forgot a few that go back a little further....

      * Photographs
      * Silent pictures
      * Early animations
      * Talking pictures (ie: movies with sound)
      * The VCR - porn at home
      * Chat rooms - talk to others about and trade porn
      * The Web - find any porn you want, anytime
      * DVDs - high quality porn


      There. That's a little bit better list.

      And the point, in case people miss it, is that porn has been on the leading edge of EVERY new media delivery mechanism.

  • One handed (Score:2, Funny)

    by Anonymous Coward
    One handed dvd burning must be supported, a kind of single sign on portal to subscribe/pay/burn/play so your god hand is not used to get the keys messy etc..

  • mom-and-pop ? (Score:4, Funny)

    by drgonzo59 ( 747139 ) on Thursday April 20, 2006 @09:25AM (#15164652)
    mom-and-pop video shops for the porn producers? Now that's what I call a family-oriented business -- run by families, for families.

    God Bless America!

  • old saying (Score:3, Insightful)

    by trybywrench ( 584843 ) on Thursday April 20, 2006 @09:28AM (#15164676)
    What's that old saying.. "no tech. can be considered a success until it's adopted by the porn industry".

    If anyone can figure this out it's them.

  • This may be a hit! (Score:3, Insightful)

    by betasaur ( 12453 ) on Thursday April 20, 2006 @09:30AM (#15164691)
    In our town, the local Applebees overlooks the local Castle Superstore. My wife and I enjoy watching the customers enter and exit the store while we eat dinner on Friday nights. Maybe those that don't go there just because of this will find this a viable alternative to potentially being seen renting or buying their porn at a retail location?
    • Because this is America, buying porn is "bad". lol, this country is funny as hell and doesn't even realize how much we look like complete self-interested idiots to the rest of the world.

      Go America... no porn, no nudity... but rip a guys head off while making a joke is perfectly fine family entertainment.

  • Much like blockbuster movies (Score:3, Funny)

    by Anonymous Coward on Thursday April 20, 2006 @09:32AM (#15164708)
    The Adult Movie industry is suffering from the same problems as Hollywood, and yet again they're blaming it on piracy. The plot lines are boring. I've seen the one with the pizza delivery guy who gets his tip deposited directly. Or the gas station attendent who fills up everyone who pulls up.

    It's not piracy that causes your old model of doing things to tank. Doing enormous budget special effects without a plot isn't what helps porn sell. Most consumers look for good acting with a believable plot. Modern porn movies have all been awesome 3-d eye shots and such.

    And don't get me started on the theatre. Last time I was in the theatre the guy behind me kept moaning and the floor was all sticky. I'm not even sure what they put in my popcorn.

    The sooner that the Adult Movie Industry realizes that quality plots are what makes a movie sell, the better off they'll be. Nobody is interested in the same old tit shot anymore.

  • High tech porn (Score:5, Insightful)

    by Pedrito ( 94783 ) on Thursday April 20, 2006 @09:37AM (#15164743)
    I have to say, if any industry is going to master digital delivery of movies first, it's going to be the porn industry. They have simply been on top of the technology game and they've made a killing at it. Whereas the RIAA and MPAA are out suing their customers, the porn industry in the past 15 years has seen incredible growth, largely due to the internet.

    If the RIAA and MPAA are smart, they'll keep an eye on how the porn industry operates. But seeing as they've shown no signs of being smart, I doubt that will happen.

  • Vivid is the Microsoft of porn. (Score:5, Insightful)

    by Anonymous Coward on Thursday April 20, 2006 @09:37AM (#15164747)
    It's great that someone's doing this-- too bad it's Vivid, and not a company whose movies are actually worth burning to a DVD.

    Yes, Vivid girls are gorgeous. The problem is, the Vivid's movies are terrible anymore. They have about as much replay value as Pitfall on the Atari 2600. Vivid relies on star power to move the product, and they don't worry about the video being awful.

    They burned me so many times in the late 90's, that I no longer purchase their stuff no matter how much I like a given star. And they are still maintaining the low level of quality that drove me away-- I've downloaded quite a few of their recent movies via BT, and spent about 5 minutes skipping through each in search of a scene with some perceptible passion and/or heat-- there's just none to be found. They've all gotten promptly dropped into the Recycle Bin.
    • They've all gotten promptly dropped into the Recycle Bin.

      Dude, that's how your parents find out! You've gotta Shift+Del.

    • Re:Vivid is the Microsoft of porn. (Score:5, Interesting)

      by JeremyALogan ( 622913 ) on Thursday April 20, 2006 @10:27AM (#15165155) Homepage
      I work at a porn shop and we have a huge wall of Vivid videos (literally a few hundred). You know what? No one ever rents them. They get rifeled through regurlarly, but no one want them. To back up what you were saying, we have shelf after shelf of "star" videos by them and the vast majority of them have never been rented... not even once. To quote the "Who is Paul Thomas and why don't we like him?" question from the RAME FAQ [rame.net]:
      Paul Thomas (also known informally as PT), a big star in 70's porno and the main director of 90's adult video powerhouse Vivid, has often been a target for derision in this group for his efforts. The accusation is that his films are pretentious and unexciting, and that more frequently than not he appears to forget he's shooting a porn flick and not some cheesy daytime soap.
      So yeah, I'm with you. I'd rather see some people with more talent an clout do this first.

  • Umm... (Score:4, Insightful)

    by GmAz ( 916505 ) on Thursday April 20, 2006 @09:42AM (#15164785) Journal
    They also fear online piracy, which the music industry partly blames for its lackluster sales."

    Perhaps that what the music industry calls music is just crap that no one wants to buy. My car radio doesn't turn on much anymore because everything I hear sounds the same and isn't that good. When it comes to Rap/Hiphop stations, its all about screwing a bunch of different girls, cheating on your significant other or just about sex in general. The rock stations talk about something sappy, their crappy youth years or something off the wall and has no meaning, just a fun song. Country...ya, don't get me started there. I get angry just hearing country from a distance. And yes, I really do mean angry. Jazz, not my cup of tea, but I can listen to it. My wife likes jazz and I guess you can say I've grown tolerable of it. Classic rock is just getting repetitive. I mean, its classic and all, but I am sure there is a lot of other music from those bands that hasn't been ground into us from those bands. Come on people, play some different songs.

    I am sure piracy has a bit to do with the lackluster music purchases, but not as much as they let on. I for one know exactly how to go out and download music illegally. Do I? No. I am too lazy. I hate getting a song that doesn't work, or is mis-titled or is hard to find. I just listen to the radio, you know, that free music that is broadcast for everyone to hear.

    As for porn. Just watch TV, you get enough softcore porn out of it. Or go to Google Images and search for boobs or naked or something generic and you will get enough pictures to satisfy the normal person. If you are not normal, then I am sure you know plenty of free porn sites.

  • So according to TFA they're going to sell downloadable content that can be burnt to a regular DVD and hence played in a regular DVD player... but the resulting disc and content is going to be copy-protected?

    I call bullshit.
    • I would expect that what you would get as your download would be an ISO image of the DVD, which would be burned straight to the DVD, thereby incorporating all of the standard DVD copy protection mechanisms (i.e., find yourself a DeCSS implementation).
      • Part of what makes DeCSS a copy protection scheme is that you can't do bit-for-bit copies of CSS encoded discs. You can't write CSS information to DVD-R media; it doesn't support it, even on the so-called "Authoring" grade media.

  • Nobody interested in what the copy protection is? (Score:4, Interesting)

    by Overzeetop ( 214511 ) on Thursday April 20, 2006 @10:00AM (#15164932) Journal
    Sure, lots of pr0n jokes, but not a single elaboration on the copy protection mechanism? Excuse my ignorance, but isn't the key area of DVDs unwritable either on typical DVDR media? So what form of copy protection is going to be used that will a) be burnable by a PC and b) be readable by a generic DVD player?
    • Your ignorance is forgiven. Copy protection on DVD's is optional (if desired, a decryption key is embedded into a non-writable portion of the disc, and then the video is encrypted with that key. if desired though, video can be burned encrypted). X-rated DVD's don't have copy protection. Literally. You can do a direct duplicate and it plays fine.

      It's the only industry that has basically called BS on the "piracy" problem. Yeah it'll happen, but it's gonna happen no matter what, and paying customers get

  • Why bother (Score:2, Interesting)

    by Straif ( 172656 )
    You can't download anything nowadays over a P2P network without getting a full DVD quality porn.

    Whether it's the latest Linux distro of your choice or Ice Age 2, you can almost guarentee that at least one of the results is just a misnamed full length porn.

    There essentially trying to come up with a plan to sell ice to eskimos.
    Definately an uphill battle.

    • You can't download anything nowadays over a P2P network without getting a full DVD quality porn.

      Whether it's the latest Linux distro of your choice or Ice Age 2, you can almost guarentee that at least one of the results is just a misnamed full length porn.

      There essentially trying to come up with a plan to sell ice to eskimos.
      Definately an uphill battle.

      Well imagine what it's like for those actuallying wanting porn... wanting for example "Dikes on Bikes - The Slippery Road" and end up getting *"Gay Canadian

  • Porn piracy is huge..... (Score:4, Insightful)

    by ShyGuy91284 ( 701108 ) on Thursday April 20, 2006 @10:12AM (#15165020)
    One may not think so, but on newsgroups, porn groups are among the most popular by far. The amount and variety of porn circulating on newsgroups is impressive to say the least, at least on commercial hosts you have to pay for (so all you youngins can't just use your ISP newsgroups most likely to get your porn fix). I can't even ponder how much it would have messed me up if I had access to this much porn as a kid....
    • I can't even ponder how much it would have messed me up if I had access to this much porn as a kid

      As a young person I can tell you it's not as much as you might think. I think I'm pretty normal as far a porn goes. Now if you'll excuse me I've got to get back to my Midget Trampoline Party 5 video.

    • I can't even ponder how much it would have messed me up if I had access to this much porn as a kid....

      Let's just say that your life is empty and you are hopelessly addicted to porn with no real contact with the opposite sex.

      Oh wait, thats not really different from the average slashdotter.

  • Copy Protection Methods (Score:3, Informative)

    by BoredWolf ( 965951 ) <jakew.white@gmail.com> on Thursday April 20, 2006 @10:17AM (#15165060) Journal
    The way current copy protection works on DVDs is actually quite simple. While the DVD is burning, bad sectors of data are written to the disc. Your computer attempts to read those bad sectors and freaks-out, thus preventing you from watching the DVD on your computer. Conventional DVD players just skip the bad sectors and continue reading from the disc. Burning the data to DVD would work exactly the same as it currently does, except you would actually be writing small bad sectors into the DVD, preventing you from copying that DVD. Therefore, the only protection needed would be some sort of DRM or encryption for the downloaded data so that users can only burn 1 DVD (using some sort of proprietary software, possibly), and can't send the download to others. Of course, you can/i? circumvent all of this by using transcode or analog video streaming... but most people aren't going to go through this trouble for their porn. The porn industry has been successful because they know people will pirate their products, but they aren't necessarily looking to collect the profit that is 'rightfully theirs', they're looking to make a certain amount or percentage of profit per video they film. If you make back even 10 times what you spent to film, what's the point of spending more money to squeeze another 5% profit out of the pirates?
  • Ha. I seriously thought they were trying to figure out a way to make disposable DVDs that you could burn to "hide the evidence" when I read that title.

  • Have any of the content industries tried trusting their customers?

    Downloading and burning a DVD is going to be too big of a pain for lots of people. For it to work in most DVD players, it's gotta be MPEG2 which means downloads of several gigs per title. They could cut that down a lot w/ an MPEG4 variant, but then the customer will have to transcode to MPEG2 which can take hours . . . so from their perspective, no time saved.

    Why not release the whole library for pay-per-minte streaming, and offer an op

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