DAVE'S STUDIO DAY '98 by Peter M. Bracke

Hosted by Dave's Video - The Laser Place (in Studio City, California), Studio Day is a chance for consumers and industry types alike to meet representatives from laserdisc and DVD supporting studios and manufacturers and talk about all things video. This year was the 11th Annual staging of Studio Day, and representatives from Artisan, Buena Vista, Columbia TriStar, DreamWorks, Image Entertainment, MGM, Pioneer, Sony, THX, Trimark and Warner were all in attendance. Although in years previous there have been different setups utilized for the four-hour event, i.e., a panel-type presentation followed by general commingling of the crowds, this time it was more of a free-for-all, and it was quite fun wandering around the event and playing spot-the-name tag. In all, I had a great time, got to meet many great people and new friends, and the staff of Dave's Video were uniformly terrific.

Although I was planning on taking pictures, after actually arriving there and sizing up the event, the overall feel of the day just didn't lend itself to picture taking, perhaps due to the loose atmosphere. So, below is a general report on event, including a breakdown of fun stuff learned for each studio. Unfortunately, scheduled attendees Universal and New Line were not able to make the event as planned, although DreamWorks was a last-minute addition. So, you win some, you lose some!

Fun On The Floor

For those unfamiliar with Dave's Video, it is a great place to shop for laserdisc, DVD and general electronics products, and is the longest-running disc specialty retailer in California. It is also known to many as the "shop to the stars," with many a legendary celebrity and industry figure stopping by to pick up the latest title or piece of hot equipment. It has a nice, wide floor plan, so it was easy to walk around, gather business cards and talk shop.

Some exciting going-ons included many upcoming discs being shown off and lots of giveaways by the studios to attendees. It was very cool getting the chance to see such hotly-anticipated titles as the Tomorrow Never Dies Special Edition, DreamWork's Small Soldiers Collectors Edition, and Warner's beautiful new My Fair Lady remaster, amongst others (but more on those later). And although I didn't enter the giveaways, there were some great discs won, and a lot of happy attendees went home with their hands full.

In addition to the following studio breakdowns of information below, there is also section on some typical DVD hot topics that were discussed, such as the future of laserdisc, DVD production issues, 16x9, price points and, of course, Titanic (namely, no one knows!). And as usual, there were certainly plenty of opinions and barstool predictions to spare, but we won't go into that. In all, it was a great day, and although there were no major announcements (this wasn't that kind of event), I learned a tremendous amount. Below is an informal recap of the day, and what the various studios and such are up to. Hope you enjoy reading about it as much as I enjoyed attending it!

Artisan

Our friends at Artisan were represented by a couple of very nice reps from their DVD department, who were quite personable and friendly, and gave away some of their fine discs to some lucky attendees. Of course, I'll just get the first question out of the way, as many are excited about the possibility of a T2 Special Edition appearing sometime in 1999. So, what is up with the progress of DVD-18's (double-sided, dual-layer discs)? Word was that it is coming along, and a successful test disc or two have been spotted. Artisan, as you may know, was the first distributor ever to put out a DVD-9 (RSDL) disc, and have been really excited about pushing the technology further with DVD-18 (which would be required to fit the entire T2 Special Edition onto a single DVD). There is hope for a late spring 1999 date for consumer-ready DVD-18's to start appearing, so that is a good sign.

I also got a chance to talk with Artisan about some upcoming titles, in particular many of the great titles they currently possess DVD distribution rights to, but that previously appeared as special-edition laserdiscs only. Artisan is excited about putting some of these great titles out, like the Director's Cuts of StarGate, Basic Instinct, Bob Roberts, Glengarry Glen Ross and others, as well as many of their new Republic acquisitions, namely the Twin Peaks TV episodes as well as Lonesome Dove. Artisan just licensed about 100 titles to Pioneer, who were the actual producers of those great laserdisc special editions, and both companies are planning an aggressive slate for 1999. Although nothing has a release date, look for some serious DVD from Artisan in 1999.

Buena Vista

One of the more interesting and surprising conversations I had was with the very nice folks from Buena Vista. Now, of course, BV has drawn fire from many in the DVD community over the features and pricing of their titles. The biggest concern, of course, is 16x9 enhancement, and I did learn some interesting things about this issue. Buena Vista are becoming more and more aware of the consumer interest and the value of 16x9 in terms of quality and appeal to the market. As with any major corporation, with their many internal offices and departments, deciding on features and pricing and such is no easy task. But I think this event was a very good way to help get Buena Vista a message about what consumers like ourselves want. Although no definitive statement on 16x9 was made, the Buena Vista folks were very open that they will indeed be discussing 16x9 very seriously, and are quite aware of our feelings.

It is easy to forget that Buena Vista are a content-only company, and unlike Warner, Columbia or Universal do not have close ties with parent companies that have a heavy stake in DVD hardware. They've solely been in the business of supplying entertainment for years, and to put it in a gentle way, it is sometimes hard for such companies to get a grip on new technologies as fast as others who have more internal support for complex technical matters such as 16x9. But, after talking with BV at length, I think there is a real possibility for some positive change and a new understanding in this area. There seems to be a push to educate themselves internally on what DVD can do. Although I would love to report some definitive change in BV policies, I think progress is being made, and we will all just have to keep at it. (Don't stop sending in those reader service cards, and I'll certainly do as much as I can to get the word out.)

I also asked about another favorite topic, when some Disney animation might start showing up on DVD. No big surprise here...quite simply, we probably won't see too much of it on DVD until the installed base of players grows larger, perhaps 1,500,000 (Christmas 1999 is a possibility). There is no big, giant corporate plot against it, as well as that they want to get as many theatrical titles out there, and get their production output up to speed. Also, many have asked about special editions of already-released titles, and although I did have the chance to see some of Buena Vista's upcoming titles for the next few months (which I have been sworn to keep secret for a bit), all I can say is that the push right now is more for getting more new titles out there. Also, there are more Miramax and Dimension Collector's Series titles coming, although some may disappointed (or delighted) that the current schedule is geared more towards getting some stuff already released on laserdisc to the DVD market (though no reissues of previous movie-only titles as of now), before any more recent titles (such as H20, 54, etc.) are released. Look for about 1 collector's Series title a month, which means that it will take a while for many of the titles we've all been waiting for to make their way to store shelves.

Also, many have lamented that Buena Vista's current DVD commitment for DVD has only been about 4 titles a month. However, the first four months of 1999 have 5 titles scheduled per month, with the eventual BV goal being up to 8 titles a month as the market grows. In all, I found there to be some very encouraging signs going on at Buena Vista that they are making a real effort to listen to consumers more, including utilizing their own research as well as web sites like this and The Digital Bits in gauging consumer feedback. Although overall the Buena Vista commitment is not as strong as a Columbia or Warner, I gathered a sincere belief in the format (at least from most at BV), so I think things will improve.

Columbia

One of the greatest pleasures I had at Studio Day was talking with the folks at Columbia and Sony, who are true DVD and film fans, and all-around nice people. As expected, Columbia and Sony reiterated a strong commitment to DVD, and were quite forthcoming with new titles. So, might as well get to the good stuff.

Columbia is really going forward with special edition content, and are really trying to get the talent interested. Big names like Dustin Hoffman, Barbara Streisand, Terry Gilliam, Barry Levinson, Warren Beatty and Bill Murray have all been involved to various degrees. The long awaited Ghostbusters is hoped to be finished in February, so May is a potential release date (the usual lead time after delivery of materials is about three months). A director's cut of The Natural is being worked on, with the help of a very interested Barry Levinson. Look for delayed titles such as Sense & Sensibility and the El Mariarchi/Desperado special edition with even more extras (hint: Emma Thompson does DVD and Robert Rodriguez takes you to film school). Columbia will also be delving more into their back catalog, so look for long-promised and awaited titles like On The Waterfront, The Fisher King, The Way We Were and From Here To Eternity to likely surface later in 1999. Pink Floyd The Wall is also being planned (with some very cool potential extras that I can't spoil for you), along with other such long-awaited titles such Monty Python & The Holy Grail, Hard Eight and others (see The Digital Bits for some more info on these). Even titles I asked about personally (like Tootsie) are being discussed. Columbia are really, really into DVD!

Unfortunately, there are a few dark spots. There have been some extras planned for some current titles that did not come to pass due to scheduling conflicts (it happens). Also, Criterion has licensed some Columbia titles and made great SE laserdiscs, but are quite reluctant to license the supplements, and some of the talent are reluctant to redo materials (commentaries, etc.) for new DVDS when they have already been done once. So (and I'm sure you can guess), some Criterion laserdisc titles may show up sans extras as Columbia DVDs. Also, there have been many title postponements (such as Fright Night), but these are due simply to production and replication problems, and most of these discs are done, it is just a matter of being able to manufacture and ship them out in enough quantities to meet all the pre orders. Also, although Columbia owns the majority of titles in their catalog, they do license a few titles and therefore don't usually have control over the source elements they are given on those titles. This is why some titles are not in optimum shape, like the Les Miserables In Concert disc which is presented in 4:3 even though it was shot 16x9 (the 4:3 master was all they were given). In addition, some titles have some heavy snafus in regards to licensing and music rights, amongst other things (Heavy Metal and Willow come to mind). Alas, Lawrence Of Arabia is not in the planning stages, as it has legitimately been released quite a few times in various formats, and time is needed to make the DVD release very special. And lastly, Close Encounters is just awaiting Mr. Spielberg's approval, when there are more players on the market (think 3Q and 4Q 1999). So it is coming.

But, Columbia is one of the few studios that, personally, delivers 95% of the time, and I certainly don't worry about their strong commitment to DVD. They intend on continuing using Hi-Def downconverted 16x9 transfers and adding supplements, are indeed discussing price reductions, and supporting day & date with VHS. Look for current flicks like I Still Know What You Did Last Summer, Vampires, Apt Pupil and others on DVD in 1999, most with extras (I don't want to spill the beans too soon, 'cause then if they don't come true, it would just be a setup for disappointment!).

DreamWorks

One of the most pleasant surprises over the last few months has been the tremendous (and some would say unexpected) level of commitment from DreamWorks for DVD. I won't bother rehashing the events of the past year and a half, suffice to say that DreamWorks showed off their upcoming DVD of Small Soldiers, and it looked great. The widescreen 16x9 image was top-notch, and the disc is loaded with extras. The menus were very clever and cute, with some nifty animations, wipes and segueways. A very cool disc...DreamWorks looks to be providing premier stuff. (A note on Small Soldiers: due to space limitations in fitting the feature and the extras, there will be no P&S version provided, and the film will be on a double-sided disc, with the feature on one side and the extras on the other).

Of course, the big title everyone asks about from DreamWorks is Saving Private Ryan. Don't look for any video release for this title until after the Oscars at least, but DreamWorks is very serious about DVD and would love to sell you a SE of Ryan. But, when your boss is Steven Spielberg, it may take some cajoling. But, when that DVD comes, it should rock (trust me). Also, the Antz Collector's Series is shaping up to be an very good disc, and may include some animation footage never seen before. It's going to be another top-drawer title. The DreamWorks reps were sincerely nice people, and really big DVD fans. In all, I'm very excited about DreamWorks, I think they were worth the wait.

Image Entertainment

I had a nice time meeting with the nice people at Image Entertainment, who are quite invigorated with the success of their DVD titles, and are really committed to the format. As with most "independents" who operate with purely licensed titles, it is difficult for them to comment on titles they are trying secure licensing for. Look for more extensive slates of really varied and exciting titles from them in 1999.

I did ask about their use of the snapper case, and was told that they are aware of the general preference for the Amaray Keepcase-type packaging, but there are a number of issues regarding cost and current contracts that precludes any changes at this time. But, they did seem to indicate that a change to the keepcase was pretty likely, but probably not anytime in the next six months.

Lastly, Image has, after seeing the quality of their 16x9 remasters (such as They Live and the incredible Dances With Wolves), become even more excited about anamorphic, so they will try to utilize the enhancement when they can. Also, some have commented on the quality of some of Image's licensed titles (especially from Universal), but it is very important to note that the licensee (Image) does not usually have control over the source elements. They have even rejected some titles due to very poor source elements, and are very committed to the best quality they can get. So, again, look for some great, varied and well-priced releases from Image in 1999.

MGM

Unfortunately, I was quite busy schmoozing and such, and one of the direct production representatives from MGM left a bit early so I missed my chance to ask about some specific titles. However, I had a very nice talk with a DVD tech rep. She was very gracious, and offered a bit of information on the recent Polygram buyout of MGM. I inquired that Polygram released a huge slate of 1999 titles, which I found a bit dubious. Yes, MGM does own these now, so, as she said with a sigh (I can relate), MGM has to go through and look over all these titles and see if the source elements and the discs Polygram were going to release meet MGM's standard of quality. The Polygram library does include many high-prized titles like The Graduate, Misery, Escape From New York and The Princess Bride. Because all the Polygram titles in production have to be reevaluated, don't expect to see much in the first few months of 1999. But, I think this is good news, as Polygram was planning on releasing many featureless and P&S disasters of certain titles. Now, there is a good chance we may see some better presentations on some of these titles. Also, some have asked about the Orion titles that MGM owns as well, but Image currently handles all distribution duties until their licensing contract expires...MGM has no direct control for a few more years.

Although my conversation was unfortunately brief, I will be following up on many title questions to make up for my pithy reporting job here...

New Line

Alas, New Line, who was scheduled to attend, did not show at the event. I'll attempt to follow up with them next week.

Paramount and Twentieth Century Fox

Although Paramount and Fox were not in attendance at the event, I did promise I would publish some of my findings on Paramount and their approach towards 16x9 in this report today. After talking with 8 people in various capacities at Paramount and in DVD authoring, it is very clear that there is no big conspiracy against it. It really is just that it costs money and takes time to retelecine for 16x9. Although technically it is possible to take an existing transfer and digitally squeeze it for 16x9, the results are not very good quality wise, and you really have to go back to the source and retelecine for 16x9.

Although Paramount Pres of Home Video, Eric Doctorow, originally promised that "no one would be disappointed" with Paramount's initial DVD offerings, and that seemed to be the case initially, the tide seems to have soon turned as their subsequent batches of titles have been almost entirely 16x9-free. The more I spoke with various parties, the more I realized that the time, money and incentive required for Paramount to do all their titles in 16x9 just isn't there. Columbia, for example, takes the time to archive their titles on hi-def, and make 16x9 downconversions from that. But, Columbia is owned by Sony, who obviously have a stake in DTV and hi-def (not to mention DVD). Most other studios, like Paramount and Fox, don't.

Also, Paramount just doesn't think the installed base of players is that high (i.e, they feel that perhaps maybe 500,000 or less have actually sold to consumers), and out of those, how many even have 16x9? Of course, some of you (myself included) immediately bristle at such statements. But, again, unlike Warner and Columbia, Paramount isn't really tied to any hardware manufacturer heavyweights, and is in the content-supply business. And, like some at other content-supply only studios have said (get ready to cringe), they can always just rerelease and resell the titles on 16x9 in the future as there are more 16x9-equipped households.

So, I wish I could give a more exciting answer and satisfy conspiracy buffs. But, it is just a relatively simple case of Paramount (and Fox, too) not feeling the potential sales and benefit (one person I spoke to at Paramount said "the 4:3 transfers look great!") of 16x9 is worth the time and money. We just have to not buy products that we feel are overpriced and undervalued, and use any means we can (surveys, email, letter writing) to let them know how we feel.

Pioneer

Another pleasure of the day was getting the chance to meet with the nice people at Pioneer. They practically owned the laserdisc market, and are very committed to DVD. As stated in the above Artisan section, Pioneer recently licensed 100 titles from Artisan, including the upcoming Rambling Rose SE and many others. Pioneer has also released some terrific SE laserdiscs, including Liar Liar, Basic Instinct, Stargate, etc. Pioneer is very interested in releasing these on DVD...it just takes time and, well, money. Pioneer had always done laser, obviously, but has just licensed the titles and really started to get into DVD software releases. Expect some good stuff from them in 1999, and look for some firm dates to start surfacing for these and many more titles soon.

Oh, I did also ask about The Frighteners DVD, and the laserdisc will indeed have a four-hour (!) documentary! There is talk about the market value of doing a DVD and the disc-space issues. But, hey, if you can do it on laser, why not on DVD? Unfortunately, there wasn't a better answer than this that I could get...we'll just have to wait and hope.

Also, Pioneer is one of the few companies actively supporting music video titles on DVD, having released about 25 so far, and another truckload of Karoake titles. They have every intention of continuing (thankfully), so if anything, at least we'll have Pioneer, Image and Sony Music putting out high-quality music video on DVD.

THX

I had a few minutes to chat with the very nice THX rep, and tried to get in as many questions as I could (not many, unfortunately!). First, many have asked about THX and 5.1 "trailers" being conspicuously absent from DVDs (unlike laserdiscs). The THX logo is mandatory on THX-certified titles (at least those that were the complete authoring process is overseen by THX, not just the transfer). However, 5.1 is the domain of Dolby Digital and has nothing directly to do with THX (it is certainly not up to them). The originating studio of the title is the one who decides what trailers go on what discs...

Many have also asked about those very cool THX WOW! discs. Unfortunately, although a full hi-def, 5.1, 16x9 master has been made, the original WOW! discs were only offered as a part of a promotion, i.e., buy buying a certain product, you were given the disc. Contracts with the actors and talent absolutely prevent THX from selling a DVD version of the WOW! disc to consumers for profit. This is direct from THX, so although DVDs may be produced (and even included with possible future promotions), the chance of actually being able to buy them is pretty slim.

Also, I did try to ask a hard question about the charges some have leveled at THX in regards to how they license their quality assurance logo. Some have stated that the THX mark really has no significance in that we now see it on VHS and Laserdiscs that many feel are sub par, and even on DVDs with P&S versions of 70mm films (take a guess). I was told that the THX logo means that the THX version is simply the best presentation of the title in whatever format the logo is placed on. THX does not make decisions in regards to features or format, they just insure that there is a quality control standard throughout the presentation. I'm sure some of you will be able to debate these decisions, but that is the word from the THX folks.

And, no (sigh), there was nothing new at all on Star Wars!

Trimark

I had a great time talking with the rep from Trimark, who was a very personable guy and very funny, too. (His positive and self-depreciating sense of humor was a most welcome change of pace, I must admit.) Although considered a small "indie" outfit, Trimark has some very cool DVD plans, and have done some great stuff (like putting out Dead Alive in 16x9 and the terrific Eve's Bayou SE). The friendly rep was quite forthcoming on some of their cool DVD plans, so here goes:

Trimark does own the right to Natural Born Killers, and is planning some very good stuff if they can get Oliver Stone to sign off on it. In any event, it will definitely have the same stuff as the special edition laserdisc, but hopefully more. However, putting it together will take time, so I wouldn't look for it until spring or summer 1999 at the earliest. Also, look for a cool SE for Trimark's current theatrical release Cube, as well as a potential special edition DVD of the controversial art house wonder Happiness. Also, some have asked about The Doom Generation, and they are looking into doing a remaster (which may in turn get the talent interested in doing some extras). Also, some have commented on the full frame Trimark releases, but as with many indie companies, they don't always have the rights to make a decision on the transfer elements...they just have to go with what they have and can afford! But, Trimark has really put out great stuff, so I hope they can put out all the above titles in the way they want.

Universal

Alas, Universal, who was scheduled to attend, did not show at the event. I'll attempt to follow up with them next week sometime.

Warner

Unfortunately, Warner elected to send representatives that were more geared towards sales than those that were involved in true DVD production. So, although it was nice to see demonstrations of the beautiful new remasters of My Fair Lady and Mister Roberts, there wasn't much of substance that I was able to glean from the conversations. There were mentions of lots of exciting titles on the way, including many previously-mentioned titles on this and other sites (Kubrick, classics, day & date stuff, Excalibur still MIA, etc.), and the news that Warner has no current plans to change from the snapper case. I also asked a bit about reaction to their $14.99 budget line, and the response was that it was good, but the general tone seemed to indicate that it also wasn't great (certainly not at the same level as the sales of their more full-featured $19.95 and $24.95 titles).

However, in one disturbing bit of news, I commented about the new Shawshank Redemption date, and was met with a quizzical look. I mentioned the Laserviews date of March 30, 1999, and was told "not to believe rumors on web sites" (I never thought of Laserviews as a rumor site), and that Shawshank was more likely to be seen in November 1999! But, again, I didn't have the opportunity to converse with "real" reps from the DVD department, so here we go again on this title...

General Tech Talk

Some general topics of discussion included such issues as 16x9, hi-def, "pan and scan on the fly," subtitles, the shelf life of laserdisc and just what kinds of varied programming the current market penetration of DVD can support (i.e., TV, miniseries and music video). So, I'll just tackle these one at a time:

First, it was very clear that all the reps there realized the interest in 16x9, and just watching some of them take in all the 16x9 and DTVs on display at Dave's seem to indicate they were really seeing the results of what 16x9 can do, some perhaps even for the first time! The biggest factor, it seems, with 16x9 is that some studios just don't feel enough people have 16x9 sets to make it worth the expensive (and, believe me, retelecining a title for 16x9 can be very expensive!). But, I believe as they see it in action, as they have, and realize how important it is to us, the DVD consumers, their commitment will grow (call me an optimist). Of course, some already support it wholeheartedly.

Hi-Def and DTV was another issue not discussed much. All involved (reps, customers and myself) feel that DTV is definitely going to take awhile to make mass inroads, much longer than DVD has taken. I'd love a DTV myself, but the technology is still changing a bit, and it is so damn expensive. But, the general increase in enthusiasm in 16x9 seems to hint at a solid future for DTV in the overall DVD picture.

Another interesting capability of DVD is for "pan and scan on the fly." All DVD players have the ability to read codes embedded in the digital bitstream that can instruct it to pan and scan across a 16x9 anamorphic transfer, thereby eliminating the need to have a separate P&S and widescreen version on the disc. Although this is an exciting possibility, the disparity in the functionality in different makes and models of players to do this throws much caution towards the idea of utilizing it. Also, there is some concern that the P&S motion would be very jerky, and for the most part current suppliers seem content with offering two separate versions instead.

I also asked a bit about foreign language tracks and subtitles, and all the studios are still doing it on a regular basis. Although Spanish language tracks in particular seem to get short thrift, no one mentioned the had decided to eliminate foreign tracks and subtitles entirely. But, there was definite talk about the validity and appeal of such tracks. They can be expensive to produce, and I tried to reiterate that many consumers do care, and if Region 1 is to include Canada and large segments of the US and other territories that speak Spanish, it was a bit, well, rude to eliminate them. But, some felt that it was perhaps up to the Canadian arms of their respective companies to handle French tracks, or up to Region 4 releases in Mexico (which is not a part of Region 1) to handle Spanish tracks. This is an issue that seems to be on the verge of some reappraisal, so it could become a serious issue in 1999.

I also asked just a bit about laserdisc, and all the studios replied that as long as there are laserdisc players out there, they will license their titles out for the format (the majority of studios license their titles to Image for laser) or do them themselves. However, there was definite talk about the decline of laser, and the number of laser titles you will see released will certainly decline while the number of DVD titles released increases. So, don't count the laserdisc out yet, but DVD is certainly the direction the studios are going.

Another big issue is price. Although Columbia is considering (as with Godzilla) reducing some of their prices on select titles, and Warner of course already has, Buena Vista seemed happy with their current price points (they still feel it is more of a laserdisc market, from what I could gather). Again, the main offender Fox was not in attendance, and neither were Paramount or Universal. So, alas, the price issue was a difficult one to investigate...wish I had more to offer on this one.

I unfortunately didn't get to ask much about DTS, but there really wasn't much talk about it. No one seemed to pay it much mind as a serious factor to the success of DVD (of course, had Universal or DTS actually been there, it may have been different). Most feel that the increase in sound quality versus cost and reduction in storage capability make DTS a dubious feature. Also, there have been charges that DTS do alter the sonics a bit (i.e., pumping up the surrounds and the bass) to give a presentatioon that may be more powerful but ultimately less true to the source material. But, in any event, this is all conjecture, but stil, the reality was that DTS didn't seem to factor in much in the conversations at Studio Day (at least the ones I heard).

Lastly, I asked about a very important topic to me, which is when we will see more TV, miniseries and music videos out on DVD. Unfortunately, the music arms of Sony and Warner were not in attendance, but the general word on TV and miniseries titles is pretty much what we have heard. Namely, that the market is only a year-and-a-half old, and the focus right now is on getting theatrical and day & date titles out there. South Park from Warner, for example, was partially a test case in this area to gauge interest. We will see more TV titles, mostly from Indies for now, but Universal especially (who was not present) has some TV titles in the works, and Warner is interested and has even began the process for some of their animated TV titles (Batman Animated was looked into, but there were some problems with getting it together that I am apparently not allowed to be told, but eventually it will surface). So, unfortunately, we just have to be patient, they will come. But look for mostly theatrical titles, at least in the first half of 1999.

Last Thoughts

I'm sure I've forgotten many details and titles in this report. I got wads of info, so please feel free to email me with any questions and such about this overview. Also, I will be updating the site with some of the title information here and other bits I gleaned but cannot yet reveal. Check the site for all the updates!

So, in all, a great day for me, and I would just like to say thanks to Dave's Video for staging this event, their great staff including Linda, Hobie and Keith, Bill Hunt of The Digital Bits (check out his report for more info...we tried to form a tag team to get as much juicy stuff as we could!), and of course all the studio representatives who took the time to come down and chat with the masses.

And, most of all, thanks to all of you who read this. Hope you enjoyed it.

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