DISTRIBUTION TECHNOLOGY

The First cinemas

Before the introduction of the first cinema in 1896, most films were shown at public gatherings in small rooms/buildings or at festivals/carnivals.

Cinemas became the easiest and cheapest way to show film to the public in masses.

1934 – The first drive-in cinema opened in New Jersey. Moving images were produced on revolving drums and disks in the

1830s Camera Obscura – light is inverted through a hole or lens and is

projected onto a surface or screen, using this, it was possible to project a moving image, but it could not be recorded for later viewings.

In 1891 W.L.K Dickson created the first Kinetograph, which took a series of photographs on photographic emulsion coated onto a celluloid strip. This was then placed in the Kinetoscope, which allowed a single person at a time to view the motion picture through a small peephole. This was another development that led onto projectors.

VTR

The video tape recorder (VTR) was invented in 1956 by AMPEX Corporation, when it developed the AMPEX VRX-1000.

Before the VTR, TV programs were being televised live from studios on the east coast of the US and recorded using kinescope technology for archival purposes.

Viewers in other time zones had to view the broadcasts live too.

The VRX-1000 soon became a standard in TV, meaning shows no longer had to be televised live, and be delivered on tape to other parts of the country and could be watched later.

VHS

VHS is a consumer-level analog recording videotape-based cassette standard developed by Victor Company of Japan (JVC).

In the 1970s, video recording became a major contributor to the television industry.

several companies made an attempt to produce a television recording standard. Two of the formats, VHS and Betamax, received the most media exposure.

VHS eventually became most popular, and therefore succeed as the dominant home video format.

The subsequent DVD format gained popularity and replaced VHS as the preferred method of distribution after 2000.

VCD

The compact disc project was launched following a failure with its video disc technology in 1978.

The Video CD was finally created in 1993, another method to aid film watching at home.

The video disc was one of the first products to use laser technology that could read information from a disc without physical contact.

The CD’s were smaller however, their longevity depended solely on the handling of the Disc. If it got scratched, it would not work.

The VCD was not particularly successful due to these problems, and the films to be distributed by this method were limited to 70 minutes.

DVD

The digital video disk was created in 1995, as an improved development of the VCD.

It was produced by a number of companies such as Phillips, Sony and Panasonic.

Movie and Home entertainment distributors adopted this format to replace the VHS tape, because the DVD produced better quality sound and moving pictures, with a longer recording time and lifespan.

At the same time, movie studios decided to change their home entertainment release model to purchase instead of rent, and consequently, large numbers of DVDs were sold.

Blu-Ray Discs

The Blu-ray disc is the next development from DVDs, although both are produced alongside each other.

The development was officially released in 2006, although prototypes had been developed since 2000.

In the UK, the US, Australia and Japan, more than 9,300 titles have been released.

The Blu-ray discs take advantage of High Definition (HD) sound and moving imagery, much more advanced than the ageing DVD.

The Internet

Aside from the advanced technological development of DVD’s and Blu-ray, the product is dying and sales plummeting due to the increased access of films on the internet.

Due to illegal or free downloading, DVD sales have fallen to the lowest record of sales in 7 years.

In 2007, 7.3 millio0n DVD players were sold. This dropped to 5.7 million in 2009. Last year the market for DVD players was worth £610million, down from £720million in 2005.

By 2014 it is predicted to have shrunk to £475million due to people watching films online instead of buying a hard copy.

NETFLIX, LoveFilm. Netflix and LoveFilm are an American and UK based provider of ‘on-

demand’ Internet streaming of films. LoveFilm however, is an amazon.co.uk controlled service. In the UK, these films are watched online for a monthly fee, but in America, there is ‘DVD-by-post’ option, much like blockbuster. With the UK based amazon, LoveFilm DVDs are available for rent.

These services are ‘A subscription based digital distribution method’. In 2007, Netflix announced its billionth DVD delivery, and in 2011,

they announced 23.6 million subscribers in the United States and over 26 million worldwide.

By 2011, their total digital revenue reached $1.5 billion. However, in 2012 Netflix reported an 88% fall in third-quarter profits. There is a total of 27.1 million U.S. streaming customers, and 29.4 million total streaming customers.

In March 2013, Netflix had 33 million subscribers, which increased to 36.3 million subscribers in April 2013. From September 2013, Netflix reported global streaming subscribers at 40.4 Million.

In 2012, LoveFilm announced it had reached 2 million subscribers. It has over 70,000 titles, and over 4 million DVD, Blu-ray or Games rentals per month across five countries. LoveFilm has become the leading online DVD rental and streaming outlet in the UK and across Europe.