P2 more Paul Revere than Revolution

[Mike Gannon]

The HVX is revolutionary in many ways. In 2007, we will be able to digitally acquire content in all 18 ATSC formats (not sure if exactly true, but true enough to make the point) with a single camera - something no other camera, regardless of price or chip size, is capable of doing. You could say that by freeing us from tape, Panasonic has freed us from formats. I only question why they even bothered including a tape mechanism for DV25, at our expense, given that the DVX already does that job in spades.

The significance of this advance looking forward overwhelmingly dwarfs cost of storage concerns looking backward. We are just now entering the third wave of the technology boom. Like the computer revolution and the internet revolution preceding it, just what exactly the next big thing is won’t be known until after it occurs, but my money (and that of Bill Gates, Steve Jobs, Michael Dell, Mark Cuban, Rupert Murdoch, Verizon, SBC, Comcast, Time Warner, Echostar and everyone downstream) is on the ability to do with video what we have already done with text, still images, audio and voice.

Make it on demand and interactive.

This requirement means the demand for digital SD and HD video content will substantially increase, if not explode, in the North America and around the globe as advancements in compression technologies like AVC/H.264 and WM9/VC-1 deliver a 200-300% increase in efficiency over IP networks that will in and of themselves provide up to five times the speed currently enjoyed by today’s recipients of the best broadband solution. Combine that with the rapid downward cost of storage and processing speed and you’ve got everything from TV to music to voice to email delivered to Ipods, cell phones, computer displays and home theaters by anyone and everyone with a PC and a service provider. At long last, the promise of convergence is convergent upon us.

I do however say Paul Revere rather than Revolution because the HVX, and the P2 concept behind it, are simply players on the stage of future digital content provision. And that’s the way we have too look at our expectant if we are going to realize a sustainable ROI, or just plain make some money or create some art with the damn thing. In other words, and boiling it down to, say, my current MPEG-2 feed from DTV, I'm talking about BIG$$.

Forget transferring to film, there will be a million IPTV networks worldwide that will be more than happy to “screen” your “film” in all of its glorious 1080 24p proportion. ZIP+4 targeting for Video on Demand and spot cable will create advertising opportunities from the largest conglomerates to the local bike shop. Expect to hear a lot about “free on demand” and “advertainment.” Still upset you didn’t cash in/out on the internet boom and snag that ranch in Santa Barbara in cash? You ain’t seen nothin’ yet.

Panasonic understands this. They share a Vision. And they stand to fill empty oil tankers full of US Dollars in reward. As to whether you our I can snag a few crumbs off that plate is, as always, not up to our equipment, but our abilities as writers, cinematographers, directors, producers, and closers. And yes, the HVX200 along with solid state digital recording will help quite a bit.