Nearly 60% of the available iDVD titles were created using ZOOtech’s DVD-EXTRA technology
Stores legitimize iDVD for Christmas
ZOOtech-inspired new-product category nets dedicated shelf space for first time
November 24, 2005 - Amidst the hustle and bustle of the Christmas rush, shoppers may notice something different about the shelves of HMV, Virgin, W H Smith or Borders this year: for the first time ever, interactive DVD is being awarded dedicated shelf space. The number of iDVD titles has increased by 800% from last year, forcing shops to officially recognise the new product category.
“Every label seems to be jumping on the interactive DVD bandwagon this year after the recent successes of titles over the last couple of years,” said Borders’ DVD and video buyer Ross Morgan. “To be honest, I can't blame them, as they are ideal for gifting and also for the festive family get-togethers.”
Sheffield-based software company ZOOtech has pioneered the development, with nearly 60% of the iDVD titles available this Christmas created by developers using ZOOtech’s DVD-EXTRA technology. DVD-EXTRA allows DVD content to be made fully interactive, giving users an experience more akin to CD-ROM or interactive TV than conventional DVD.
ZOOtech paved the way for interactive DVD when its DVD-EXTRA software was used by sister company ZOO Digital Publishing to produce Who Wants To Be A Millionaire? in 2002. Three versions later and the game remains both the benchmark for the industry, and the most successful iDVD title to date. This year’s edition allows players to select adult or junior questions and is packed with over 1,500 new questions and more than 400 images.
“I think it’s fair to say ZOOtech owns the interactive DVD market,” says ZOOtech MD Jonathan Beardsworth. “DVD-EXTRA was used to create the first interactive DVD and is now responsible for the majority of titles in this growing sector. If you buy a title with the DVD-EXTRA logo on it then you’ll be guaranteed a truly interactive DVD experience this Christmas.”
This year more developers than ever before have turned to the software in a bid to gain competitive advantage over their rivals. Early indications suggest the following iDVD titles will dominate the UK market this Christmas: Wallace and Gromit: Curse of the Were Rabbit Interactive DVD Game, Test the Nation, Beat the Intro 2 and Gary Lineker’s Football Challenge. All of these were created using DVD-EXTRA.
“ZOOtech has been the driving force behind the growth in the iDVD market,” says Conrad Withey of The Rights Company, whose John Thompson Poker game was created using DVD-EXTRA. “We couldn’t have added the level of complexity we got on John Thompson Poker with traditional authoring. DVD-EXTRA has allowed us to create the random feel of a poker game on DVD. I think in three or four years time you won’t be able to release a DVD without some form of interactivity and ZOOtech has paved the way for that.”
“DVD-EXTRA is crucial to the interactive DVD market,” says Tim Payne of 2Entertain, which has four titles out this Christmas manufactured using DVD-EXTRA. “It not only enables authoring houses to achieve interactivity, it’s the sheer volume of data it allows you to put on a disc that is important. Without it, it would take an impractical amount of time to physically input data onto a disc.”
Jonathan Beardsworth concludes, “ZOOtech’s continued commitment to delivering cutting-edge interactive DVD technology, coupled with content owners’ desire to exploit this exciting new area will result in the iDVD market extending beyond the traditional gifting periods — ultimately benefiting retailers and consumers.”
About DVD-EXTRA
Using conventional DVD authoring systems to create interactive DVD-Video content is enormously complex, laborious and costly. DVD-EXTRA STUDIO offers a solution to this. It reduces development costs by automating the most complex, labour intensive and error-prone elements of the design and production phases thus enabling rich interactive content to be delivered comparatively cheaply and efficiently.
DVD-EXTRA is not a new format for DVDs, it does not require any new disc pressing technology and it does not require any amendment of existing standards and specifications. It complies entirely with the DVD-Video specification and DVD-EXTRA content will play on any normal consumer DVD player conforming to that standard.
About ZOOtech
ZOOtech Ltd. is a wholly owned subsidiary of Sheffield-based ZOO Digital Group plc. ZOOtech pioneered DVD-EXTRA technology to enable CD-ROM style interactivity in the DVD-Video format.
Today, DVD-EXTRA developers worldwide are shaping the future of interactivity by pushing the boundaries of DVD functionality. Non-traditional DVD-Video markets such as advertising, gaming, music, education, and corporate training have begun harnessing the power of DVD-EXTRA to exploit DVD as an interactive communication medium. Universal Pictures, Ascent Media, Comchoice, OUAT Entertainment, and Freestyle New Media Group are among the companies who have already delivered engaging DVD-EXTRA products.
For more information, visit ZOOtech's web site at http://www.zoo-tech.com
