Last time we explored some digital music history - what has technologically brought us to the point where high school kids are being sued (and pursued) by the record industry. Before we look at the many issues surrounding “sharing” music, let’s take that same historical look at movies. We’ll find the two mediums have a lot in common.

Think about it - today’s college kids have never known a world without video rentals and Home Box Office (HBO). Yes, there was a day when you saw a movie in the theater, then waited a year to see it on TV in all its commercial-riddled splendor. Remember when The Wizard of Oz was only shown once a year, and what a big event that was? I do. I used to hide behind the sofa every time the Wicked Witch of the West appeared for the first time. But I digress…

Then, about twenty-five years ago, along came the video cassette recorder (VCR). Seeing the writing on the wall in 1978, Universal Studios filed suit against Sony, maker of the Betamax VCR (admit it – some of you had them). Universal claimed that the VCR could be used to illegally pirate movies transmitted over the airwaves. The Supreme Court ruled against Universal, holding that the primary use of the Betamax was “time-shifting” – enabling the consumer to view programming at a later time than it was originally broadcast. Realizing there was money to be made, movie studios began selling movies on video cassette (yes, I bought Close Encounters for something like $75). The video rental store followed closely thereafter. As the less expensive (and lower quality) VHS format recorders took over the market, consumers began “time-shifting” everything in sight. Some VCRs even had two recording decks built into them, making tape-to-tape transfers even easier than connecting two VCRs with cables. It was a feeding frenzy. Ironically, “time-shifting” was much harder to do than just copying a movie someone else had purchased or rented – you actually had to be able to program the VCR’s clock and automatic recording features, which rivaled nuclear fission in their complexity. Flashing “12:00”, anyone?

When video swapping got out of hand, profit-wise, the studios introduced copy-protected VHS movies, which flopped royally. The “Pandora’s Box” was open, and the top was not going back on.

Then came cable television. Subscription services like HBO delivered movies 24-7, and the various cable services paid the “big bucks” to be the first to air the most recent blockbuster, much as the broadcast networks had before them. Those intrepid few who mastered their VCR’s timer could now record movies at all hours of the day.

However, like their musical counterparts, video tapes lose image and sound quality over time, and quality degrades quickly on generational copies. Taking a cue from the audio CD, the movie studios decided to “digitize” movies and record them on disks. Problem was, there were not efficient video compression algorithms available then like there are today. A digital disk the size of a phonograph record, with data recorded on both sides, was required to hold the enormous amount of relatively uncompressed video/audio data. The resulting LaserDiscs and VideoDiscs offered superior picture and audio quality, but they weren’t recordable.

Soon, more powerful compression algorithms, like MPEG-2, became available. Discs were engineered to hold more data, and the Digital Video Disc (DVD) was born. Again, like CDs, the information on DVDs could be copied onto a computer, but most computers still had small hard drives. But not for long.

Next time: more history, and what in the world is a “Broadcast Flag”?

© 2004 Peter F. Zimowski