I’m a juror this year for the Monte-Carlo Television Festival, which is a really cool annual international TV festival held in Monaco, that brings together an international gathering of TV bigwigs to romp in Monte-Carlo by day and party by night — oh, and yes, to also get some business done and hand out a few awards. This year it’s taking place in June, and I’m currently hip-deep in watching comedies and dramas from around the world.
I was a juror two years ago (they are severely mistaken about my television experience and credentials, if you ask me) and at that time, when the shows arrived, they were in a giant box, because most of them were on videotape. This year, the box was smaller because every one of them was delivered on DVD.
Now, some countries submitted elaborate packages, with slick glossy press packets and very nicely art-directed DVDs and covers. Others didn’t. Some of them are literally DVDs somebody made in their computer, with a hand-written label, or maybe even just a Sharpie title. The jury is composed of five TV professionals chosen from around the world, so imagine the problems something like this presents for a small company trying to win an award: they have five DVD territories to deal with, and have to post five versions of their show. And of course, things don’t always go right. One show that I received from Russia, posted a C:13:00 error (whatever that is!) when I tried to play it. A Chinese comedy told me that I had the wrong DVD territory machine to play that DVD… and I’m sure there will be more problems in and amongst the 14 comedies and 22 dramas I’m charged with judging… Never had that problem with good old VHS.
So I guess, the real question I’m posing here, is what is the need for DVD territories? In a world where I can now watch Joost or 59 other types of television programming on my computer, why have this territory restriction at all on DVDs? Isn’t it about time that we dump this needless 90’s restriction and just all get along? What do you think?
By the way, my show, Curb Your Enthusiasm, is up for a comedy award, so there’s at least one show I won’t need to watch!
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awards, Curb Your Enthusiasm, DVD, DVD regions, festival, Monte Carlo
One of my favorite bits from Seinfeld was when George and Jerry were pitching their idea about “nothing” to NBC, and George explained that people would watch it because it’s on t.v. (To which the network exec, played by Bob Balaban, responds with pitch perfect timing – “Not yet.”) My wife and I can’t get enough of Curb. If you just aimed a camera at Larry David and ran it 24/7 (Truman Show style), I would probably stay tuned and glued – just because it’s there, and because I find LD’s humor so over the top entertaining…
Now to respond to your post… The need for standardization across platforms is paramount to the success of everything. One language. One set of laws. One universal platform upon which everyone can play on a level field. No Microsoft vs. Apple vs. Unix. No more of that “Speak French or get out” vacation heartburn. None of the measured hinerances to DVD pirating across national boundries which is probably at the heart of the decision to create the five DVD divisions. Without them, of course, Sony would be denied the opportunity to to force your team (and every international purveyor of DVD media) to buy five different DVD players…
Ayn Rand and her beloved Captialism won. Hence this kind of planned obsolescence, inconvenience, highway robbery, “where there is confusion there is profit”, George W., gouging nonsense is part of the overall package. Somewhere, there is a angry white man trying to figure out how to make you buy six DVD players.
We’re stuck with it for the moment, at least until some MIT kid comes up with a way to submit and view all those video entrees via the web (with the same high definition and quality as DVD). By my calculations, that ought to happen sometime next week.
Thanks for your enthusiasm for Curb! Much appreciated…!
And the ridiculousness of multiple regions is nuts. It’s kind of like what we’re seeing right now with the HD-DVD vs BlueRay – and some companies are bringing out players that play both.