How Avatar's Advanced Technology Will Rule CES
One of the biggest challenges for consumers today is the rate of change in device technology and consumer electronics improvements. It’s hard to know what to invest in for your home electronics, because you have to guess which technology will “win." Home entertainment is frankly getting more and more complicated for the average consumer. There was the video cassette recorder war over Betamax and VHS, the DVD battle between BluRay and HD, and the ongoing digital media format challenge between Flash, Windows Media, Real, MP3 and Quick Time.
This year’s battle for dominance is still being fought on the digital media front, with Netflix, Blockbuster, Amazon already appearing in homes on cable boxes, DVRs and Tivos, competing for entertainment dollars with mobile broadband. Don't be fooled that consumers don’t want to pay for content. James Cameron’s 3D blockbuster, Avatar, has earned more than $350 million domestically in its first 17 days. Over New Year's weekend, Avatar grossed an estimated $68.3 million from 3,461 runs at the domestic B.O. — the best number ever for a film in its third weekend. Even adjusted for higher ticket costs, that is a solid revenue number.
One of the reasons for the film’s success is the maturity of 3D technology, which has evolved beyond the two-toned paper glasses. The innovations created to enable Cameron’s vision on movie theater screens raised the bar for the 3D experience consumers can expect, and that will have a ripple effect at this year’s CES. In past years, size was the news but television manufacturers are moving beyond gigantic flat screens to create the third dimension in your home.
Digital media piracy has created a running undercurrent of risk for media services, and consumer electronics manufacturers who wish to support access to downloadable content. Avatar offers another point of proof for fearful entertainment industry executives attending the show. James Cameron predicted that the film’s 3D technology would make pirated digital downloads less desirable, but the film has been downloaded almost one million times illegally within seven days of its release — a record — according to figures seen by The Times Online.
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