Sonic Solutions CEO Dave Habiger believes his big gamble on fire.
Sonic (steak), thanks to the popular CD-and DVD-burning software, Roxio Creator, which dominates its market. Habiger, but believes that the work of a small spark of the flame, compared to what he sees great future for the company: to provide software for the electronic transmission of digital film equipment sales and rent movies via the on-line service, Roxio CinemaNow.
"We have spent the past four years, and most of the money for this new," he says. "I finally came to a decision."
Sonic is also a professional tool to produce Hollywood DVD and Blu-ray discs. As the company prepared for the transition to DVD and Blu-ray, it arrived at the conclusion of the business world as we know it to rent and sell DVD - I think Netflix, Blockbuster, angular Video Store - Ready to exit. Habiger's view, the time has finally come for movies delivered over the Internet can be destroyed equipment such as televisions, mobile phones and ultra-portable computers known as netbooks.
"The idea that right now, there are some plastic balls ... which has been supplied to plants in Taiwan, and they are melted and pressed flat, and the film will play it, and this disc will be sent back to the United States ... That the model does not make sense anymore "he says.
For decades, Hollywood has salivated in the concept of saving on production and distribution costs goes directly to consumers, video on demand (VOD), but it is a slow process. Originally, the idea was that cable and satellite systems to build a reliable system to compete with any movie library.
While many of the players are more video-on-demand to work today, most of them do not come close to providing an on-line stores, such as Netflix, Amazon and Apple, which is pushed into selling their goals demand set-top boxes that plug into TV consumers.
"Connected" on Blu-ray players
Sonic plays on both sides of the field. It cooperates with the Taiwanese electronics giant Samsung's new type of "connected" on Blu-ray player. You can watch high-definition Blu-ray movie discs, but if you connect to the Internet, you can also see the Internet-delivered movies CinemaNow Roxio (at $ 3.99 pop) or Netflix. You can use YouTube videos as well.
Samsung introduced two models in May competitor Samsung has two, and more are expected by the end of the year, and the television can receive preloaded Internet channels, such as CinemaNow - or Blockbuster online channel, which leads to CinemaNow.
"Come home, consumers are difficult to find consumer electronics (hardware) that has nothing to do," says Habiger.
Sonic is also difficult for Hollywood to sell its software CineVision, which prepares the movie online store. Many studies now Sonic to offer the "digital copy" is a movie DVD and Blu-ray versions. (When you buy a disc, you get the digital version is actually stored on CinemaNow site.)
The company has invested 250 million U.S. dollars over the last three years - mainly on the sale of Roxio software - to prepare for change. CinemaNow in November, it purchased $ 3 million.
Sonic has lost 4.3 million U.S. dollars income of 120 million U.S. dollars in 2008. Latest quarter, broke even, Habiger said. He lost only $ 80,000 income of 25 million U.S. dollars.
The large increase in the coming
Analyst Carl Howe, the Yankee Group is the transition from living room to the "very early now, but he sees tremendous growth. There is 3 million related to the Blu-ray players LG and Samsung from their homes in the U.S. by the end of the year, he says, will rise 8 million next year.
Web TV access a broader market. There are 6 million U.S. dollars in place by the end of the year, growing 11.7 million in 2010 and 50 million in 2013, Yankee projects.
But to make dreams come true Sonic, Netflix, Amazon and other circumstances, the two major obstacles must be overcome: the network speed and technology issues. Consumers need a fast home network for streaming movies, and even faster connections to see them high-def. I have the settings should be simple, not today.
The new living room, Habiger said, the TV with a built-in Wi-Fi today, the biggest potential market.
All in all, a new delivery method is much more work than the Creator, Roxio's flagship software, which has been submitted to over 350 million copies of the latest, he says, and about 60% of Sonic's income.
Creator of the new version was released last week provides tools Copy DVD and video files more quickly and create a DVD collection of many articles. Habiger said Roxio continues to grow, "More and more video products all the time and is filed under.
But if he can get 1% of the annual 50 billion U.S. dollars DVD sales and rental companies online movie sales, "We are moving from 100 million to a billion dollars business."
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