When I was first introduced to Bob Chapek, during the infancy of DVD, he made a bold prediction that the fledgling format would reign essentially unchallenged for ten years. A decade on and the Blu-ray/HD DVD format war was raging to determine a successor. The man knows what he's talking about, and when he speaks, people listen. No wonder he's currently the Chairman (and for five years served as President) of the Digital Entertainment Group, the industry association of movie studios, music labels and CE hardware manufacturers who help to guide entertainment and technology into the future.
The president of Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment, Chapek is responsible for the marketing, sales and distribution of Disney, Touchstone, Miramax, Dimension and ABC TV properties. The hands-on type, he is actively involved in developing Disney's consistently cutting-edge DVD and Blu-ray content and bonus features. He's also taken that initiative to become involved in the development of new technologies such as BD-Live, Bonus View and electronic sell-through distribution of WDSHE titles.
Staring down a fourth quarter headlined by the much-publicized release of the animated classic Sleeping Beauty, but also including other heavy-hitters like The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian and Season Four of Lost on Blu-ray and DVD, Chapek graciously gave us a few of his very valuable minutes to share his perspectives, his passions, and his latest predictions.
Big Picture Big Sound: Bob, you were one the very first people to see the potential of DVD, when much of the industry was very skittish about a new format. What specifically made it clear to you that Blu-ray was now going to be the next step?
Bob Chapek: I think because of the benefits that Blu-ray was going to give the industry and the consumers. I realized (after) making the move from VHS to DVD; given the different form factor, given the fact that it was now non-linear, you know, given the slick look of it; that the challenge now moving from DVD to Blu-ray was going to be a much higher hurdle, because now to get the full benefit of it you need the 1080p screen, you need the HDMI cable, you need to replace your hardware deck, obviously, with a Blu-ray player, and then all the software. So in order to fully realize those benefits, we had to make a dramatic statement in terms of what Blu-ray was going to offer the consumer versus their already pretty good DVD. So really Blu-ray was a no-compromise format. And ultimately, I think that's what the consumer deserves: not a half step, but a full revolutionary step towards the new marketplace, to warrant all those expenditures. Because the consumer doesn't mind paying for things if they're truly going to be around for at least a decade and give them a substantially different entertainment experience from what they've got with their current format. Hence our support of Blu-ray early on, and consumers voted with their dollars and the industry saw what was happening and now we're united.
BPBS: So for now, DVD and Blu-ray is a peaceful co-existence, but it's evolving from one to the other?
BC: It's evolving from one to the other as consumers make the move now with no qualms over Blu-ray. Blu-ray sales have picked up dramatically since a year ago, and I think that's just the tip of the iceberg relative to what's going to happen this fourth quarter. Because now the retailers have their stores set with not two formats but one format, and that just started happening this summer. And then on top of it, content is now starting to be made widely available. And player prices are coming down and now there's actually enough players to be had, set-top and gaming systems. So all the stars are aligning to make this fourth quarter be the breakout quarter for Blu-ray with a larger, mass audience.
BPBS: With what you've shown us on Sleeping Beauty, Disney is really running with the standards and specification of Blu-ray, specifically BD-Live, in a new direction. Why that title and why now?
BC: Well in general, we always thought BD-Live was one of those features and benefits that was going to distinguish Blu-ray versus current DVD. And, by the way, to maintain our relevance versus all the other things that consumers have in terms of entertainment--interactive entertainment--options, we had to do this. Or else we're just going to become some static home entertainment device that wouldn't keep up with the times. Now, why Sleeping Beauty, well, as you know, there is nothing more precious to us in terms of content than our Disney Classic animated movies, what we call our "Platinum" animated titles. And it's our signal to the world that we are, if you will, "all in." We're betting all in on a format when we take a Platinum Disney animated title and put it on a format. So that title, because that's our signal to the market that we believe. And now because we believe that the state of BD-Live technology is evolved to the point where consumers will not be disappointed when they connect with their BD-Live disc. And it gave us enough time to make it a profoundly different experience, in essence, interactivity and connectivity on steroids.
BPBS: Can you comment on the picture quality? The demo that you gave to the press, the image was close to perfection.
BC: Yes, it's amazing, you know, for a movie that's 50 years old, it's just incredible. What we're able to do with technology in terms of going backwards, and what I mean by that, technology going backwards, is getting it to the point that, when the animators looked through the lens of the multi-plane camera, that's what they saw. And, including aspect ratio, because obviously it's the first time that the full aspect ratio of the film can be seen by consumers anywhere. And then we found the original audio tracks in Germany, they have never been heard. So it's lossless audio with a great picture, and when you sit back and look at it, it really is the best of the old plus the best of the new. And it will make a fantastic reference disc and it's something that we're very, very proud of and, as you know, we want to put our best foot forward when it comes to Platinum discs.
BPBS: And, that being the case, I would guess that any Disney Classics would have to undergo extensive restoration to reach your Blu-ray standards?
BC: Oh, yeah, I mean, we already did extensive restoration on DVD, and we thought that would be forever. And now with Blu-ray, it's not. Because the critical nature of it becomes even higher. So we spend quite a bit of resources--money, time, effort--trying to restore these things, and I think Blu-ray on Sleeping Beauty is just the beginning of what we're going to be able to do, not only from a restoration standpoint but from an interactivity and connectivity standpoint with Disney BD-Live.
BPBS: A few other movie titles have been floated out there, albeit without hard dates, but clearly other major animated classics are being developed for Blu-ray now too?
BC: Yes. We actually announced I believe it was the next four to five titles. And again, the reason for that was we have no doubt what the future successor to DVD is going to be. It's going to be Blu-ray. There's a lot of ink given to digital technologies: Digital technologies are great. Someday there will be material, in terms of our business, but for the next decade we're quite convinced that the consumers will vote again with their dollars and they'll vote for Blu-ray. And Disney Blu-ray specifically. So we wanted to say, "You know what?" And on DVD, we announced our release schedule on Platinum to start off, and on Blu-ray, here you go. This is what we're doing.
BPBS: And it all starts with Sleeping Beauty.
Well it is a big deal and we're excited about it, and our product development teams will be using that technology to its fullest to really give a brand-new entertainment experience to people. So if you think you own Sleeping Beauty, you certainly don't own it like this.
BPBS: Looking at the other end of the home entertainment spectrum for a moment, The Nightmare Before Christmas was recently the first title with a "DisneyFile" Digital Copy.
BC: Yes.
BPBS: How does Digital Copy fit into your plans for the future?
BC: DisneyFile will become a part of our regular offerings on our discs. Its availability on DVD versus Blu-ray may ebb and flow over time, we're still trying to figure that out. I think it's a perfect example of the type of all-in feature benefits that Blu-ray owners expect. We've had great experience with it so far, and consumer receptivity has been extraordinary to it, even higher than we would have predicted. If you think about some of the downsides of downloading content, the speed and such, this really solves that. And piggybacking a digital file onto a physical disc may be the best thing that ever happened to digital content manipulation.
BPBS: Which sort of leads to my next question: The Blu-ray of Sleeping Beauty is going to come packed with a DVD copy of the movie, which--correct me if I'm wrong--has never been done by a studio before.
BC: Nope. That's a first.
BPBS: What was the thinking there?
BC: Well the rationale for that was that there is a lot of people who are anticipating getting a Blu-ray in fourth quarter, and we expect household penetration of Blu-ray players to jump dramatically, but they want the title now. So they've got the ability to play the DVD now, and then when Christmas Day rolls around and they open up that box and that Blu-ray player's there, they're all set. They've got both. And it gives people who also own a DVD and may not have a plan to buy a Blu-ray player, at least (not) immediately, the idea, "Well, I've got this disc: What is it this?" So it's a pretty nice trial vehicle for awareness to say, "Ah, there's something else out there." A pretty good marketing call to action as well.
BPBS: And of course it also shows such a great understanding of how people are actually using the technology, the products: I'd want to watch Sleeping Beauty on Blu-ray in the home theater, but eventually my wife and I are going to want to watch Lost in high-def, so now the girls can go upstairs to their room and watch Sleeping Beauty on DVD.
BC: Right, and it has that third benefit of doing that. I don't think that's a strategy that we would necessarily do long-term, because obviously it adds a lot of cost to the product, but I do think that it's a nice way to do a little marketing for Blu-ray and let people know that there's another disc out there, and that it's sort of future-proof for them. Because if they do decide within the next year or so to buy a Blu-ray player, they've already got this Disney Classic movie. And it's particularly important on Disney Classic movies because as you know, they do go away. And you hate for the moratorium to end, somebody buys a Blu-ray player and has to wait ten years to go back and get it.
BPBS: Any other scoop you can give us? Any other new titles, or a feature you're particularly excited about?
BC: I will say that as much I believe as we wowed the press and the industry with what will be coming out on BD-Live for Sleeping Beauty, we have only begun to scratch the surface of what's possible. It's going to open up a whole new world of entertainment that's going to make the family room relevant again and give home theater enthusiasts another reason to get excited about watching their movies. And I think long-term, it gives filmmakers a big opportunity because, think of this in the hands of some of the greatest filmmakers in the world and what they could potentially do from a story standpoint with this interactivity and connectivity, and we've got some really great things planned. So I'll just leave it at that.
BPBS: When you mentioned the "whole new world" of entertainment, was that a reference to Aladdin, maybe a hint as to what the next Platinum title is going to be?
BC: No, no, not hinting, that's just in my vernacular, so….
BPBS: That's just how everybody at Disney talks, in movie quotes.
BC: Yeah, you know what? It's true. Movie quotes left and right.
[With our deepest appreciation to Bob Chapek and Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment.]
