Wither Blu-ray? Porn Industry Backs HD DVD

If you thought all the Blu-ray and HD DVD action was at the Consumer Electronics Show, then obviously you didn't visit the show-next-door, the Adult Entertainment Expo, sponsored by Adult Video News.

There, where at least three production houses touted HD DVD, was not a Blu-ray logo in sight.

I have already reported that Digital Playground, one of the most highly regarded producer of adult videos, recently shifted loyalties from Blu-ray to HD DVD. I was unable to interview founder Joone at the AEE, but I did have the opportunity to speak with another HD DVD pundit, Tom Funk, principal of HighDefXXX.

Funk launched his company in 2003 expressly to take advantage of his techy background. "I got into porn specifically to do HD," he says. Indeed, talking to Funk is like speaking with any of the videophile geeks in our industry, with talk of frame rates and megapixels and optimal lighting conditions.

Funk speculates that Digital Playground simply could not find a facility that would replicate porn on Blu-ray discs. "Most replication services are either owned by Sony or have ties to Disney," he says. Neither organization, it seems, wants to tarnish its family-friendly reputation by cranking out dirty movies.

In the end, though, he says it boils down to cost. Blu-ray movies are considerably more expensive to produce in part because Blu-ray production requires brand new equipment, while HD DVD discs can be produced by simply upgrading existing DVD replication gear.

Will the porn industry's adoption of HD DVD send Blu-ray the way of Betamax? After all, many blame the demise of Betamax on Sony's reluctance to allow porn titles.

Funk says that, despite the porn industry's influence on technology adoption ($4.3 billion of adult videos were bought or rented in 2005), its selection of HD DVD isn't likely to kill Blu-ray. "I don't know if it'll put Blu-ray out of business," he says. "It's not like Betamax and VHS. It's more like DVD-R versus DVD+R, where pretty much any player could play any format."

Indeed, LG has announced a dual Blu-ray/HD DVD player, and other manufacturers will likely follow suit.

Still, if I were Toshiba, the key HD DVD technology developer, I would be pretty darn happy. During CES, Toshiba announced the $599 HD-A20 HD DVD player.

HD Porn to Stimulate HD DVD Sales?

Here's another question: Now that HD DVD titles are starting to roll out of the adult entertainment industry, will millions of porn aficionados rush out and buy HD DVD players?

Only a couple of HD DVD titles are now shipping from Digital Playground and Wicked Pictures, but those two houses, along with HighDefXXX and others, have dozens of HD titles in the hopper.

"Yes, it's going to be a boost to HD," says Funk, but he stops short of suggesting the titles will spawn a mass uptick in HD DVD sales. Most decent TVs and DVD players already do a nice job of upconverting traditional DVD video, he notes. Furthermore, many of the so-called high-def DVDs from the porn industry are barely that. "Most of the people who say they're shooting in HD are using [inadequate] $3,000 cameras," Funk says. After all of the processing, the video ends up looking like "crap."

For his part, Funk uses an $80,000 Varicam camera from Panasonic, but he's salivating over the forthcoming RED One from RED Digital Cinema. Versus the 2.1 megapixels of traditional HD camcorders, the RED One delivers 12 megapixels at up to 60fps.

Porn in HD? The Actors Speak

Funk admits that, with HD, "I do take care to find better-looking actors." But there are tricks that any good filmmaker can employ to enhance the actors' appearance. "You can take special care in lighting, use a slower frame rate, maybe stylize the shot," he says.

How do the actors themselves feel about being filmed in HD? I asked a few of them during AEE:

"We were the very first company to bring out a title in HD. Some people maybe have some concerns, but I'm extremely comfortable in HD. ... It actually makes the actors look more human. I don't mind seeing a wrinkle or two." -- Jessica Drake, Wicked Pictures

"It's kind of an unforgiving medium. If you have a blemish, it kind of jumps right out at you. ... The final product is so sharp and vivid. It's crystal clear." -- Randy Spears, Wicked Pictures

"You have to be a little more self conscious. You see every little flaw. ... I think it makes women more comfortable because they can see that nobody's perfect. ... We don't necessarily wear more makeup, but we make sure to drink lots of water to keep skin clear." -- Jesse Jane, Digital Playground

"I'm not really self-conscious because I'm so focused on my lines." -- Kaylani Lei, Wicked Pictures