Any word about ODEMAX from NAB 2013?

[mark haflich]

The Sony server price is official to the extent that Sony put the price in its press release. note that it could increase just like the fact that Red increased the price of the coming Redray to $1750 for new orders. goes to show you that when red announces for orders or preorder one should do it if one has any interest in the product given that one can always cancel before shipment and given that ,many months will elapse before shipment of most new products. Re Odemax, my guess is that its a very small company with the computer guy at the show being its main employee and the other members gainfully employed elsewhere until their err ocean liner docks Their programmer might also not be full time either and they may not have the capital to have someone answer the phone or respond to emails. A big mistake if they want their product to go to consumers. as far as I am, concerned, the damage already done is irreparable. I will wait for a competitor.

 

[Elsie N]

The Sony server price is official to the extent that Sony put the price in its press release. note that it could increase just like the fact that Red increased the price of the coming Redray to $1750 for new orders. goes to show you that when red announces for orders or preorder one should do it if one has any interest in the product given that one can always cancel before shipment and given that ,many months will elapse before shipment of most new products. Re Odemax, my guess is that its a very small company with the computer guy at the show being its main employee and the other members gainfully employed elsewhere until their err ocean liner docks Their programmer might also not be full time either and they may not have the capital to have someone answer the phone or respond to emails. A big mistake if they want their product to go to consumers. as far as I am, concerned, the damage already done is irreparable. I will wait for a competitor.

Mark, sorry to hear you are going with SONY. That means you will not likely ever be a customer of one of my movies (unless you go to an ODEMAX accredited theater) since I fully expect any and all my content will likely be shown via the ODEMAX model. But you probably wouldn't have enjoyed one of my movies anyway since they will most likely appeal to consumers who can see beneath the veneer out into the beyond. Your disparaging of ODEMAX tells me you don't have that capability.

G'luck.

 

[mark haflich]

Come on. You are overtly trying to be nice. Say what you feel. My credo is to boldly go where others have not gone before. I am an idea for a screen play based around that credo. What camera are you going to use to shoot your film (I realize of course it will be digital, is it appropriate to still call it a film, I would think so)? if you choose to hold back in a public forum, please feel free to email me at markhaflich@yahoo.com. BTW The Masters looks spectacular projected by my 4K Sony 1000ES on my Stewart Snomatt 100 screen.

 

[Elsie N]

Come on. You are overtly trying to be nice. Say what you feel. My credo is to boldly go where others have not gone before. I am an idea for a screen play based around that credo. What camera are you going to use to shoot your film (I realize of course it will be digital, is it appropriate to still call it a film, I would think so)? if you choose to hold back in a public forum, please feel free to email me at markhaflich@yahoo.com. BTW The Masters looks spectacular projected by my 4K Sony 1000ES on my Stewart Snomatt 100 screen.

Looks pretty good on my 48" 240Hz TCL screen as well, but I'm more concerned with how my content will look on a Red Projector.

Jason G'Day is playing quite well.

 

[mark haflich]

Hypothetical concern? The Red projector has been put on the back burner.

 

[Les Dittert]

There is concern that the Sony player will not authenticate with the 'old' 1000es projector.
Mark, did you find any info on that ? Nobody at the Sony booth NAB knew anything about the consumer projector or player.

( the player queries the display device over ethernet for serial number, and also to find out the region, perhaps from the IP address of it's link )

Come on. You are overtly trying to be nice. Say what you feel. My credo is to boldly go where others have not gone before. I am an idea for a screen play based around that credo. What camera are you going to use to shoot your film (I realize of course it will be digital, is it appropriate to still call it a film, I would think so)? if you choose to hold back in a public forum, please feel free to email me at markhaflich@yahoo.com. BTW The Masters looks spectacular projected by my 4K Sony 1000ES on my Stewart Snomatt 100 screen.

 

[Elsie N]

Hypothetical concern? The Red projector has been put on the back burner.

That's o.k. I don't need one yet anyway.

 

[Marc Wielage]

Mark, sorry to hear you are going with SONY. That means you will not likely ever be a customer of one of my movies (unless you go to an ODEMAX accredited theater) since I fully expect any and all my content will likely be shown via the ODEMAX model.

You might want to consider the vast number of people around the world who could potentially watch (and pay for) your movie via Amazon, iTunes, Netflix, DVD, cable, and lots of other grungy, low-res formats... formats that have made filmmakers a lot of money over the years. In many cases, the home video and download market makes ten times as much money as theatrical exhibition, especially for small indie films that might only be seen in a hundred theaters (at best).

 

[Elsie N]

You might want to consider the vast number of people around the world who could potentially watch (and pay for) your movie via Amazon, iTunes, Netflix, DVD, cable, and lots of other grungy, low-res formats... formats that have made filmmakers a lot of money over the years. In many cases, the home video and download market makes ten times as much money as theatrical exhibition, especially for small indie films that might only be seen in a hundred theaters (at best).

ODEMAX will allow me the shortcut to distribution. The less time I have to worry about that is the more time I can spend shooting. If my movies are any good, the audience will find them. '-)

 

[Peter Proniewicz-Brooks]

You might want to consider the vast number of people around the world who could potentially watch (and pay for) your movie via Amazon, iTunes, Netflix, DVD, cable, and lots of other grungy, low-res formats... formats that have made filmmakers a lot of money over the years. In many cases, the home video and download market makes ten times as much money as theatrical exhibition, especially for small indie films that might only be seen in a hundred theaters (at best).

Good thing odemax isn't just for theatrical distribution then isn't it.....

I agree that ignoring other avenues is mistake but for many of those market the barrier for entry seems a lot steeper than ODEMAX.

Personally while I'm currently doing corporate stuff to earn the bills, I'm looking at doing some shorts to be distributed through a number of routes. ODEMAX is one, Vimeo's paid on demand service is another possibility etc.

 

[Chase M. Wrenn]

You might want to consider the vast number of people around the world who could potentially watch (and pay for) your movie via Amazon, iTunes, Netflix, DVD, cable, and lots of other grungy, low-res formats... formats that have made filmmakers a lot of money over the years. In many cases, the home video and download market makes ten times as much money as theatrical exhibition, especially for small indie films that might only be seen in a hundred theaters (at best).

Good thing odemax isn't just for theatrical distribution then isn't it.....

I agree that ignoring other avenues is mistake but for many of those market the barrier for entry seems a lot steeper than ODEMAX.

Personally while I'm currently doing corporate stuff to earn the bills, I'm looking at doing some shorts to be distributed through a number of routes. ODEMAX is one, Vimeo's paid on demand service is another possibility etc.

If you ever have a need to distribute to some of those platforms, let me know! That's what my company does...though I agree, ODEMAX seems like a great path for quick and simple distribution to a dedicated channel on a platform...Vimeo isn't horrible, but you have to be a PRO member on top it all, which is about $200 a year, which may be a problem for people who don't usually go with that option and some content may never make that amount back.

There was a guy at the booth whose name I didn't happen to catch, who said he had a short or two on Sony's new 4K distribution service...he did not seem at all too happy with that arrangement, and was stoked to see ODEMAX on display...just saying...

 

[Marc Wielage]

Well, my point is, no filmmaker should put all their eggs in one basket. Saying "I refuse to use any other distribution services because they're not as good as Odemax" ignores the great unwashed out there who want to watch movies for a buck-ninety-nine (or so) on their iPads and iPhones. It's a big business, too big to ignore.

I'm not sure how many individual filmmakers will be able to make a deal with a 4K distribution service provider, especially if it's just a pipeline. To me, the really difficult sales job is getting an experienced distributor to advertise, promote, and get your film to dozens of different countries, networks, cable services, and download services. It's not about one distribution method.

 

[Elsie N]

I don't know if ODEMAX will find some way to tap into a small screen market, but even if they do I won't utilize that service. Haven't made the movie I have in mind yet, but I'm pretty sure what I envision won't translate well on a handheld device. And the reason I am so excited about ODEMAX as a content delivery vehicle is because it means our movies no longer have a "use by" date. A friend of mine related how his step daughter heard the song "Hotel California" by the Eagles when she was young and thought it was a new song. At the time it was about 15 years after the song's release.

What I'm saying is, there is no longer the need for a big ad blitz for an Indie movie unless the movie is somehow only relevant to the period in which it is released. And we can choose to release it like that on ODEMAX if we see that as the best way to go. But otherwise, we can let our audience build by word-of-mouth or through any free buzz the movie might create. In the business world ODEMAX will be king. But in the movie download world, we will be dependent on the Red Ray Player and 4k TV sets for a time. As that number grows, so will an audience grow who want the best looking 4k download for their home delivery. Theatrical downloads could become more prevalent earlier because the flexibility and profit structure should allow them to justify spending the money to become an ODEMAX compliant theater.

Just sayin' that those who make content suitable for small screen viewing should embrace various methods of distribution. But for those of us making content for the big screens without having access to conventional ways of distribution, ODEMAX and Red Player are the cat's Fredericks of Hollywood pajamas.

 

[mark haflich]

There is concern that the Sony player will not authenticate with the 'old' 1000es projector.
Mark, did you find any info on that ? Nobody at the Sony booth NAB knew anything about the consumer projector or player.

( the player queries the display device over ethernet for serial number, and also to find out the region, perhaps from the IP address of it's link )

A prototype of the new server has been circulating around and certain people I know have seen it deliver content to a 1000ES. A server is a pretty simple device and from what I know the server's design has been completed. The things that are preventing an early release is the software, all the specifics of distribution etc. I think we will see it at Cedia the end of September and Sony by then will be taking orders. Once again, I think the first batch will be bundled with new panels in an attempt to stimulate sales.

 

[Stephen Gentle]

Ted mentions in passing that RED RAY is "shipping within the next couple of weeks" apparantly: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ExMl8KPCQXc

Hmmm...

 

[mark haflich]

I think shortly we will see exactly what Ted meant by that statement. The linked interview is one of the best Ted has given and is thankfully devoid of any self promotion as to how Red dominates the movie camera industry.

 

[Elsie N]

...n and is thankfully devoid of any self promotion as to how Red dominates the movie camera industry.

I'm afraid we (the customers) are guilty for that... we keep telling them they make the best damn cameras in the world! '-)

 

[mark haflich]

That's great. Let others say it. Ted makes a point of promotion and frankly like you find my posts it gets tiresome. As I understand it different digital movie cameras have strengths and weaknesses. I am sure many fine movies will be made using Red cameras and many fine using others. Ted like me says the same things over and over to any reporter who will listen and we have to weed through zillions of words to garner a hint about the Redray and the projector and to track how the info changes. The projector has been put on the back burner. The Redray will ship in the nest couple of weeks. Fair to say a couple of weeks from the end of NAB should mean by May 1. A couple is 2 and a few is 3. I'll interpret a couple to be a few and I will bet it doesn't start shipping by May 1st. Does shipping to beta testers constitute shipping? To me, shipping means a beta tested product.

 

[Les Dittert]

Other than ODEMAX , what mechanism is there to self distribute a UHD short film as a pay per view somehow limited/locked in some fashion ?
Obviously a system playable on a home PC will have it's rights management defeated the soonest.
ODEMAX DRM is more secure, but will only slow them down. Watermarking to each subscriber feed would be desirable.

I would be happy with something as safe as bluray personally . Just a slight roadblock to someone . The shear bulk of the media is helpful to discourage as well.

 

[Bruce Allen]

Other than ODEMAX , what mechanism is there to self distribute a UHD short film as a pay per view somehow limited/locked in some fashion ?
Obviously a system playable on a home PC will have it's rights management defeated the soonest.
ODEMAX DRM is more secure, but will only slow them down. Watermarking to each subscriber feed would be desirable.

I would be happy with something as safe as bluray personally . Just a slight roadblock to someone . The shear bulk of the media is helpful to discourage as well.

Well... there are a ton of providers doing HTML5 delivery - and DRM inside HTML5 is slated to be added. Netflix will switch to HTML5 when the DRM gets sorted out.

Then you have Vimeo (presumably they will add the locking options you desire and UHD when consumers actually have 4K screens), etc.

Or make you movie as an app on the Android store or Apple store. Or Google Play / iTunes / Amazon / etc.

Or make your own site. It won't be that hard.

When many consumers have 4K screens, I truly believe there will be many, many options, offering whatever limitations you want. Serving up video over the web is not particularly difficult to do. 4K is just higher resolution and requires very little change in actual code. Just change over to H.265.

Bruce Allen
www.boacinema.com