好莱坞搭上云计算快车

    华纳兄弟（Warner Brothers）最近发行了哈利波特系列电影大结局的DVD版及蓝光版，购买了这套电影的消费者都有惊喜，因为包装盒内附送了一份这部电影的UltraViolet（紫外线）格式的数字版本。虽然UltraViolet这个名词很陌生，但它代表着好莱坞迈入云端的第一步，也就是电影媒体将储存在远程服务器上，能通过多种设备访问。如今，这个概念已经炒得沸沸扬扬。

    UltraViolet的理念非常简单：这种格式允许用户购买电影版权，并将其存放在“数字储物柜”中，而用户可利用种类繁多的互联网服务访问电影。UltraViolet的支持者表示，这将为用户带来极大便利，他们可以通过手机、平板电脑、普通电脑等五花八门的设备观看到视频，而且，美国和英国已有75万个家庭建立了UltraViolet账号。

    这项技术与与电影公司利益攸关：DVD销售额在2004年曾达到创纪录的150.5亿美元，不过随着用户转向Netflix等流媒体服务以及“万恶”的非法下载，DVD业务现在已经一蹶不振。那些已宣布将发行UltraViolet格式电影的公司【福克斯（Fox）预计将在晚些时候宣布，迪士尼（Disney）则仍持观望态度】认为，UltraViolet将有助于提振电影销量，原因在于消费者们能借此构建自己的远程电影博物馆。UltraViolet格式的制定者为数字娱乐内容生态系统集团（Digital Entertainment Content Ecosystem），公司总裁米奇•辛格称：“我们明白，观众都有收藏电影的爱好。”

    数字娱乐内容生态系统集团认为UltraViolet格式将解决电影界和消费者所苦恼的兼容性及盗版问题。该集团通过和高新技术公司Neustar合作，开发出了一种运作起来非常接近娱乐业ATM的新型系统，用户登陆时，这套系统会查询中央数据库，确认用户能观看哪些电影，这和ATM机检查持卡人能取多少钱非常相似。

    当然，UltraViolet技术并非没有挑战。申请数字储物柜需要一点时间。用户必须首先创建一个UltraViolet账号，随后还要登陆到Flixster网站上，这样才能在线观看电影。Flixster是一家隶属于华纳兄弟的电影网站，后者和《财富》（Fortune）一样，也是时代华纳（Time Warner）的下属公司。（其它支持UltraViolet电影播放的网站将在今年晚些时候陆续上线。）

    而UltraViolet最大的竞争对手要数苹果（Apple）等科技公司。后者的iTunes生态系统对电影业可谓虎视眈眈。不过，另一科技巨头亚马逊（Amazon）宣布，已和一家未透露姓名的电影公司达成协议，即将开售UltraViolet版本的电影。

    虽然面临诸多难题，但电影业的高管们仍然看好UltraViolet。他们将首次实现在多种媒体上按需为观众提供视频，而且该方案又可完胜盗版业。真可谓好莱坞版的完美大结局。

    本文作者罗伯特•莱文著有《盗版搭便车：数字寄生虫吞噬文化产业及文化产业的反击之道》（Free Ride: How Digital Parasites Are Destroying the Culture Business and How the Culture Business Can Fight Back）一书。

    译者：项航

    Consumers who recently purchased Warner Brothers' final Harry Potter film on DVD or Blu-ray found a surprise in the package: a digital copy of the movie in the new UltraViolet format. Although the name is not yet familiar, UltraViolet represents Hollywood's first step into the cloud -- the much-hyped idea that media will be stored on remote servers and accessed by various devices.

    The idea behind UltraViolet is simple: The format allows buyers to own rights to films, which they can store in a "digital locker" and access via various Internet services. It's potentially a huge convenience for consumers, who now have a dizzying number of devices (phones, tablets, computers) on which they can watch video content, and indeed, some 750,000 households in the U.S. and Britain have set up UltraViolet accounts, its backers say.

    For the studios the stakes are high: DVD sales, which peaked at $15.5 billion in 2004, have stalled as consumers have turned to streaming services such as Netflix (NFLX) or, worse, illegal downloads. The studios that have announced releases in the UltraViolet format (Fox is expected to announce soon; Disney (DIS) remains a holdout) believe UltraViolet will help goose home video sales by enabling consumers to build a remotely stored library of movies. "We know consumers like collecting movies," says Mitch Singer, president of the Digital Entertainment Content Ecosystem, the consortium that controls UltraViolet.

    The consortium believes the UltraViolet format addresses industry and consumer concerns around compatibility and piracy. Working with tech company Neustar (NSR) the group developed a system that operates more like an entertainment ATM. When users sign in, it queries a central database to see what movies they have rights to watch -- much as an ATM checks how much money cardholders can withdraw.

    The format isn't without its challenges. Setting up a digital locker takes time. Customers must first create an UltraViolet account; then, to watch movies online, they sign in to Flixster, a movie site operated by Warner Bros., which like Fortune, is a unit of Time Warner (TWX). (Other UltraViolet movie-viewing sites will debut this year.)

    But the biggest hurdle could be competition from technology companies such as Apple (AAPL), which has its own iTunes ecosystem for movies. Amazon (AMZN), on the other hand, has signed a deal with one studio, which it didn't name, to sell UltraViolet films.

    Despite the challenges, studio executives are bullish on the format. For the first time they're able to offer on-demand video on multiple screens, and may even outfox pirates. Talk about a Hollywood ending.

    Robert Levine is author of Free Ride: How Digital Parasites Are Destroying the Culture Business and How the Culture Business Can Fight Back.