Rich Fiscus
24 Jan 2008 0:53
According to Video Business, Sony Pictures Home Entertainment has entered into an agreement with Hewlett-Packard (HP) to provide DVDs using their Manufacturing On Demand (MOD) technology. Like the technology being developed to allow DVDs to be sold through kiosks, MOD allows a DVD to be prepared only after a consumer orders it. Unlike that technology, however, the disc is actually a stamped, making it more or less identical to a mass produced studio release. In a kiosk the disc is burned using special software and hardware capable of including DVD-Video's standard CSS encryption.
Although there are several small studios which already have deals with HP for MOD manufacturing, but Sony is the first major player to get involved. A company representative indicated that this may create the opportunity to sell titles that aren't expected to sell well enough to warrant a general release, but which may be economically viable through MOD.
Sony senior VP of strategic development Jason Spivak said “Our hope is that retailers will embrace the service as both an economical form of distribution and a complement to what they keep in their physical inventory."