La Blu-ray Girl
January 19, 2007 11:07 AM   Subscribe

Sony says no to porn on Blu-ray Disc
posted by XMLicious (63 comments total)


 
I just found a book from the future that has Blu-ray on the same page as 8-Tracks and Betamax.
posted by Astro Zombie at 11:10 AM on January 19, 2007 [5 favorites]


Seems like an odd attitude for a Japanese company to take... doesn't it? Isn't Japanese culture alot less prudish than the U.S.?

I didn't know about the porn connection with Betamax, that was interesting to read about.
posted by XMLicious at 11:11 AM on January 19, 2007


It's Betamax all over again.
posted by Terminal Verbosity at 11:12 AM on January 19, 2007 [1 favorite]


Goodnight, Blueray. We hardly even knew you.
posted by porpoise at 11:12 AM on January 19, 2007 [1 favorite]


D'oh!
posted by Terminal Verbosity at 11:12 AM on January 19, 2007


Considering most men will happily jerk off to a grainy thumbnail of a shadow that vaguely resembles a breast, I don't think this is going to hurt the porn industry much.
posted by fleetmouse at 11:13 AM on January 19, 2007


So let's see here:

Fox, Sony, MGM, Disney, and Lionsgate are all Blu-ray only.

Universal and presumable most porn companies are HD-DVD only.

All other major studios are supporting both formats.

Porn is readily accessible on the internet now, which it wasn't during the VHS/Betamax war.

Boy, this sure seems real cut and dry to me.
posted by Remy at 11:14 AM on January 19, 2007




I'm really glad to hear this, because I was getting tired of waiting for the format battle to end. Now that Sony has conceded, which HD-DVD player should I buy?
posted by Faint of Butt at 11:15 AM on January 19, 2007 [1 favorite]


Oh, also, there's some Japanese releases planned (link is NSFW). And since the US and Japan are in the same region this time around...well...someone else can craft a double entendre about the "releases".
posted by Remy at 11:19 AM on January 19, 2007


Do we really need hi-def porn? Is there stuff that we're not seeing that we want to see? I think the answer is no.
posted by Mister_A at 11:19 AM on January 19, 2007


In outdoor scenes, there is always an insect buzzing around. I suspect that it is exactly the same insect in every single porn film ever made, and I need Hi-Def to prove it.
posted by Astro Zombie at 11:21 AM on January 19, 2007 [5 favorites]


Sony's not taking steps to prevent porn from being released on BluRay; they're just not allowing their production house to press any blue movie on Blu Ray (har har).

I imagine if Sony has a DVD pressing plant that it does not accept orders unless they are below a rating and are certified by the MPAA or local equivalent.
posted by mkb at 11:26 AM on January 19, 2007


Somebody told me that porn actors aren't acting; that they are actually having sex. Maybe if I could see it in high-definition I could find out for sure.
posted by Methylviolet at 11:26 AM on January 19, 2007 [1 favorite]


It is probably a beetle from the genus enema.
posted by Mister_A at 11:30 AM on January 19, 2007


yeah, honestly, i find a lot of modern porn to be more of a close up anatomy lesson than anyhting else, and i don't think improving the resolution is really going to add anyhting....excepting maybe for large pore fetishists that have been neglected somehow
posted by das_2099 at 11:36 AM on January 19, 2007 [1 favorite]


Kay: Now I have to buy Forrest Hump The White Album again.
posted by Terminal Verbosity at 11:38 AM on January 19, 2007


In outdoor scenes, there is always an insect buzzing around. I suspect that it is exactly the same insect in every single porn film ever made...

Oh, you mean Chester the Molesterfly?
posted by pardonyou? at 11:40 AM on January 19, 2007 [2 favorites]


"excepting maybe for large pore fetishists that have been neglected somehow"

Hi-def pore n.
posted by It's Raining Florence Henderson at 11:40 AM on January 19, 2007


"Do we really need hi-def porn?"

See, I toldja: that's no zit, it's a WART. And it's LEAKING.
posted by davy at 11:41 AM on January 19, 2007


Gary - har har, great link, doubleplusgood for HD-DVD, not only is Sony *ahem* stiffing the porn industry, but that's forcing the BDA industry association to say "No, wait! We love porn, really!"
posted by XMLicious at 11:45 AM on January 19, 2007


The worst part about HD porn is the splash factor. I understand that Peter North HD DVDs will come with a rain slicker.
posted by The Straightener at 11:46 AM on January 19, 2007


with the extra storage, i'm hoping that they take advantage of the multiple angle trick a bit more. i'm all about the pneumatic shot, but i want to watch the /whole movie/ from that angle. that'd be funny.
posted by mrballistic at 11:49 AM on January 19, 2007


"there is always an insect buzzing around."
Oh god, that reminds me of the most disgusting porn I saw - not because of the act being performed, but because a couple of flies kept landing there and I was appaled that it survived the editing process.
posted by 2sheets at 11:55 AM on January 19, 2007


BWA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA...

Ye Gawds, Sony is just stupidly stupid.

Oh wait, it was refuted. Eh...
posted by zoogleplex at 11:59 AM on January 19, 2007


How did anyone manage to masturbate without this new technology?
posted by horsewithnoname at 12:02 PM on January 19, 2007


large pore fetishists

This reminds me of when the first wave of gigantic flat screen TVs (60+ inches) came out in the late 90s. I lived in NYC and had this friend who was a total Howard Beach goomba. He would tell anyone who would listen to him,

"You godda see porn ondis ting. I swayuh da Jesus you can see every last pimple on da goils ass, you don't miss nuttin."

He had a tiny one bedroom and I swear the TV took up one entire wall. The furthest you could sit from it was like three feet. From that distance everything was a total blur but he swore it was the greatest thing ever.
posted by The Straightener at 12:04 PM on January 19, 2007


"Do we really need hi-def porn?"

no, those of us who are still nostalgic of that 1980s American porn, back when most women in porn looked actually human, we do not really need HD I guess.

and the sheer horror of gonzo, of plastic surgery gone awry and the silly blandness of what passes for high-end, Vivid-style porn of today does not really need HD either -- HD lameness is still, I guess, lame.
posted by matteo at 12:04 PM on January 19, 2007


RTFA. This was also "news" a few weeks ago. Sony is just not allowing its plants to be used. Anyone can make Blu-Rays that wants to, though, including porno people.
posted by yesno at 12:09 PM on January 19, 2007


a beetle from the genus enema.

Sexo -------> Macho!
posted by CynicalKnight at 12:10 PM on January 19, 2007


Yeah, Sony is off of my Christmas list!
posted by MapGuy at 12:22 PM on January 19, 2007


Terminal Verbosity: "Kay: Now I have to buy Forrest Hump The White Album again."

Best bukakke movie evah!
posted by PeterMcDermott at 12:28 PM on January 19, 2007


I still cannot wait to repurchase my entire porn dvd collection.
posted by Dr-Baa at 12:29 PM on January 19, 2007


That's not an insect — It's Jeff Goldblum!
posted by drezdn at 12:35 PM on January 19, 2007


An informal survey at CES showed that porn was already saying yes to HD DVD, or at least Bangbros was saying yes.
"...HD DVD is easier to produce,
cheaper to produce and there are more HD DVD players in homes than there
are Blu-ray players, for example in the Xbox 360."
posted by phirleh at 12:50 PM on January 19, 2007


Even Sony themselves had problems with the blu-ray format with PS3 production, so I'm not especially confident (not that I'm in a hurry to move beyond DVD yet, anyway).

But w/r/t porn, on the face of it one can dismiss the silliness of it all, but companies dismiss the business end at their peril. Porn was a huge force in the rise of home video, and without it the Internet and home computer industry would be but a baby. Even if you think you know how much people really like to wank, you will find yourself shocked over and over at how much people are wiling to spend and go through for it.
posted by troybob at 1:16 PM on January 19, 2007


As soon as this rumor came out Sony said that they were allowing "all" forms of video content. Not naming the porn industry specifically but they are going to have pron.
posted by TravisJeffery at 1:17 PM on January 19, 2007


Considering most men will happily jerk off to a grainy thumbnail of a shadow that vaguely resembles a breast, I don't think this is going to hurt the porn industry much.

And until RealPlayer releases a significant upgrade, us men remain happy but skeptical.
posted by hal9k at 1:27 PM on January 19, 2007


Why the fuck are we having another format war? Why are we even having new formats, beyond the hard disk and the internet? Jesus wept.
posted by bonaldi at 1:29 PM on January 19, 2007


troybob: Even if you think you know how much people really like to wank, you will find yourself shocked over and over at how much people are wiling to spend and go through for it.

The new Mencken: No one ever went broke underestimating the intelligence onanism of the American people
posted by Gamblor at 1:30 PM on January 19, 2007 [1 favorite]


More and more, I'm wondering if Sony hasn't been infiltrated by saboteurs. Quick, name one good decision from the last five years or so on their part.

You've got the laptop battery mess. The PSP is a disaster. The Wii clobbered the PS3 at launch. And now they're shutting out the world's second most reliable audience (after Trekkies) out of their shiny new format.

Someone's killing Sony from within!
posted by EatTheWeek at 1:37 PM on January 19, 2007


I dont see what the big fuss is all about. Not only is porn availble freely on the internet, sometimes at higher resolution than NTSC tv, its largely a cultural issue. Japan is notorious for their porn restrictions. You cannot buy regular porn there. All the interesting parts are blurred out. Sony, for all its faults, is a japanese company and doesnt want to produce these discs. Others can but Sony's own pressing houses wont.

Secondly, Xbox360s are not HDDVD players. You will need a separate add on for that. Its something like 200 dollars. Im not even sure if its out yet. The xbox itself is 300, so you'll be dropping 500 dollars to watch an hddvd with an xbox. Not exactly how the ps2 bundled dvd players.

Lastly, Sony has done a pretty good job getting some big names aboard its bluray format. When apple said they were going to use it, I thought the format war was over. I still think it is.
posted by damn dirty ape at 1:42 PM on January 19, 2007



MetaFilter: Sexo -------> Macho!
posted by Mister_A at 1:46 PM on January 19, 2007


Why the fuck are we having another format war? Why are we even having new formats, beyond the hard disk and the internet? Jesus wept.

Aside from legal issues, the bandwidth of high speed internet just isn't there yet. 50GB is a lot of stuff, even for bittorrent.
posted by Gary at 1:51 PM on January 19, 2007


Blue-balls-ray filter.

If I can't watch my fish squishing fetish pron then what's the point of the technology?
posted by fenriq at 2:10 PM on January 19, 2007


I have but one comment:

www.pornotube.com
posted by dbiedny at 2:12 PM on January 19, 2007


Maybe you should learn to make links dbledny, before you grace us with your low-def butt (one comment).
posted by lalochezia at 2:26 PM on January 19, 2007


50 GB! Is that a shit load of porn or a fuck load?
posted by ob at 2:38 PM on January 19, 2007


Ok, as someone who spoke at CES about blue ray vs. HD DVD...

1) As noted above - Vivid got a replicator to agree to a Blue-Ray Porn DVD. So, I guess porn will be available on boht.
2) Both are just as easy (or hard) to produce. "Interactive" content (programming) is a bit more flexible with Blue Ray.
3) Blue Ray cost more to retool existing replication - It's easier to adjust existing replication for HD DVD
4) There are Blue Ray burners available for users now, not HD DVD.
5) Relatively speaking - they're identical (codec quality necessary to produce 2 hours of content.

Now, what you really want to know: WHAT PLAYER SHOULD I BUY?

Answer: Neither.

Look, both are about equal in quality, and all the studios (sans universal) are out for both. Blue ray is technically better (Better programming ability and larger size (and larger prototype sized) disks.

But here's what you'll buy:

PS3 (blue ray) or XBox 360 (HD DVD).

Why? Simple. The players are around $600; so are the video game consoles.

Would you refuse a free High Def DVD player?
posted by filmgeek at 2:39 PM on January 19, 2007


PS3 (blue ray) or XBox 360 (HD DVD).

Again, the PS3 comes with a bluray player. The Xbox 360 does not come with an HDDVD player. Its a 199.99 add on. Thats a far cry from 'bundled.'
posted by damn dirty ape at 3:08 PM on January 19, 2007


Right now Blu-Ray players are over $600. HD-DVD players are $400.
PS3 with BlueRay is $600. It's not a bundle, it's the standard configuration.
Xbox 360 with HDDVD option is $500 ($600 with the HDD), so it isn't technically "free". Whether or not you would call it "bundled" isn't really the point.

People will get a PS3 instead of a stand alone player for the same price. People can certainly by an HD-DVD player for $400, but for $100 more they get an Xbox 360 with the HD-DVD player.

So in the end, it doesn't matter which format you choose, both will be relevant, just as much as no one bats an eye at -R and +R for CD and DVD media.
posted by linux at 3:20 PM on January 19, 2007


Both are just as easy (or hard) to produce.

Not exactly sure what context you're using "to produce," but as someone who has recently done the masters for both HD DVD and blu-ray releases, I have to disagree*. Blu-ray is considerably more troublesome to master at this stage, however it will likely become easier once the studios get their heads out their asses and delivery specs are standardized. Which will happen if/when blu-ray finally beats out HD DVD. (and should solidify my retirement with remastering of back-catalogues)

Of course, if you're talking about the actual production of the discs, I know absolutely nothing about it and must default.


*I realize how unwise it is to disagree with filmgeek on matters such as this.
posted by dogwalker at 3:23 PM on January 19, 2007


OMG no porn on Blue-Ray? Disaster!!! God knows you can't find porn anywhere else these days.

Seriously though...this isn't at all like Betamax vs VHS at all. Does anyone really want high def porn at all? Sounds like a minute niche market to me.
posted by GavinR at 3:48 PM on January 19, 2007


I honestly don't see these being a big deal at all, really. I mean there was a huge step up from VHS to DVD in terms of convenience, but a blue-ray disk is no more convenient then a DVD. The image quality is better, but the average person doesn't care about that as much tech nerds and audiophiles.
posted by delmoi at 3:49 PM on January 19, 2007


Does anyone really want high def porn at all?

Frankly, that's the kind of thing you want in standard def. The last thing I want to see is some porn star's harry moles and peach fuzz.
posted by delmoi at 3:50 PM on January 19, 2007


Hi-def...are you kidding? Right now there's some guy out there spending all his time refining the artistry of hi-def matrix-style money shots that will sell bigger than girlsgonewild, and he's going to make a fortune. I hate that guy.
posted by troybob at 3:59 PM on January 19, 2007


I agree delmoi. I don't see porn movie past the DVD medium in any big way at all. The last thing I need in my life is 1080i footage of some pock marked meth addict's ass.
posted by GavinR at 4:01 PM on January 19, 2007


(Oh yeah, and I kinda think that the fascination with porn, for those thus ensnared, has a lot to do with the accumulation of a quantity of new experiences, maybe kinda an offshoot of the male drive to reproduce as much as possible, so yeah, i think any new visual technology is going to have a heavy porn start-up involved.

Hera help us when virtual interactive sex hits, because face-to-face culture as we know it is going to collapse.)
posted by troybob at 4:03 PM on January 19, 2007


"People can certainly by an HD-DVD player for $400, but for $100 more they get an Xbox 360 with the HD-DVD player."

I won a 360 at our company holiday party this year, so I know which way I'm going... $200 for HD-DVD, woot! :)

Then again, I have OnDemand via my cable, and I'm not a big movie renter or buyer anyway, so I may not get anything. There's not a lot of HD content for OnDemand yet, but there will be.

I think the timing of this format war at the same time as cable companies and various online delivery methods are ramping up should make things very interesting; perhaps in areas of the country with widespread high-speed Internet, the physical media adoption will lag well behind the vast hinterlands that are still in dial-up hell.
posted by zoogleplex at 5:14 PM on January 19, 2007


Somebody told me that porn actors aren't acting; that they are actually having sex. Maybe if I could see it in high-definition I could find out for sure.

Only if they release Shortbus on Blu-ray!
posted by mykescipark at 8:15 PM on January 19, 2007


Porn was a huge force in the rise of home video, and without it the Internet and home computer industry would be but a baby.

I know that this is true, but can anyone point me to article(s) that back this up? I'm curious to see actual correlations/ statistics.
posted by exlotuseater at 8:47 PM on January 19, 2007


ob - 50 GB! Is that a shit load of porn or a fuck load

Depends if it's high def or standard def.

50 gigs is nothing.
posted by porpoise at 10:26 PM on January 19, 2007


Actually, it depends if it's scat porn or regular porn.
posted by kcds at 5:02 AM on January 20, 2007


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