Living Steam Railroad Hi-Def Blu-Ray Video Project Goes Native Sooner Than Expected
CONTACT TRAIN ARTS for Blu-Ray
Version of Living Steam -- 877 323-8002 or
video@livingsteam.com
DVD AS SEEN IN
TRAINS MAGAZINE: Living Steam: Virginia and Truckee Railroad DVD for $19.95
2/24/08 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Living Steam Producer Jim Lohse 775 229-1818 email: video@livingsteam.com www.livingsteam.com LIVING STEAM RAILROAD VIDEO PROJECT GOING NATIVE SOONER THAN EXPECTED Living Steam Virginia and Truckee Video To Be Available in Blu-Ray March 15, 2008 As a small producer of niche videos, Jim Lohse knew he was getting ahead of himself in buying a Hi-Def videocamera last year. It's one thing to film in High Definition but it's quite another thing to edit in HD - that took many upgrades to his computer, a new suite of Adobe software and expanding to over 2 Terabytes of hard disk space. After spending $3000 on High-Def upgrades, Lohse still couldn't produce a Blu-Ray disc of his Living Steam railroad video in High-Definition. He was still stuck on DVD and standard definition format. That all changed last week. Like many small video producers, Lohse's Train Arts is nearly ready to begin burning Blu-Ray DVDs. The Virginia and Truckee Railway is going hi-def! Lohse took the plunge and purchased a Blu-Ray burner. He waited until after the prices came down following the announcement that Toshiba backed out of the HD-DVD business. This settled the hi-def format war that reminded old timers of the BETAMAX vs. VHS battle. While many make the claim that Blu-Ray equipment will get more expensive due to the lack of competition, Jim Lohse of Train Arts predicts the opposite. "Many small video producers like myself were sitting on the sidelines, unable to make the committment to manufacturing hi-def discs that might become obsolete if we made the wrong bet. Heck, you couldn't even find an affordable HD-DVD burner unless you were a major studio. Now, for under $400 I was able to get my hands on a Blu-Ray burner that will work with my PC's Adobe editing and authoring products." Adobe Software Systems makes the software used by Train Arts. Adobe Premiere and Encore are designed to work with Blu-Ray, so Living Steam producer Lohse was already betting on Blu-Ray. He says, "It just seemed like Blu-Ray had more heavyweights behind it, although Microsoft's supporting HD-DVD always made the choice a little dicey. Microsoft's HD video editor, Windows Movie Maker, was too limited for my needs, so last year I had to go with Adobe. I'm glad the bet has paid off, and we can all move forward." Small producers of Blu-Ray discs still face a few hurdles. The cost of a blank disc is still around $15 versus around 30 cents for a printable DVD. "I have to build that price into the cost of my video. I will be dropping my standard DVD price a couple bucks to under $20. I should be pricing my Blu-Ray DVD around $30, so the consumer only has to cover $10 of the increased production costs." Moreover, inkjet printable Blu-Ray discs are not yet available under $25 per blank, so Train Arts will temporarily have to forgo printing a label on a Blu-Ray DVD with an inkjet printer. "I really like the look of the inkjet hub-printable DVDs I've been using to sell my standard-def product, and I look forward to the day when inkjet printable Blu-Ray discs are available for just a buck or two. I just can't see adding another $10 to the product price just for a pretty label." Joking about the future, Lohse continues, "I really look forward to the day when my PC doesn't crash a few times a day. Video editing products are rich in features but not totally stable. It reminds me of the joke about if Microsoft made cars. You'd be driving down the freeway one day, your engine would cut out and you'd pull over. After restarting your engine you'd drive away -- and you'd think this was normal! Having Blu-Ray available is great, but computers have a long way to go!" Jim Lohse started Train Arts two years ago and is a veteran of the computer industry, having worked with computers since 1980. For more information about small studio video editing, please email video@livingsteam.com or call 775 229-1818. |