LAS VEGAS — One of the biggest challenges that studios are facing today is the challenge of margin—whereas once consumers were purchasing movies on DVD and Blue Ray, today there is a trend towards renting and streaming content. We spoke with Rovi’s VP of Entertainment, Gerald Hensley, at CES in Las Vegas to learn more about this issue and how Rovi’s UltraViolet initiative is working to provide a solution.
Hensley tells Beet.TV correspondent Ashley Swartz that, "What we’re seeing is a shift away from customers owning their content towards customers renting it." As a result, "The margins for the studio are not so attractive."
UltraViolet gives consumers the motivation for owning over renting by providing a digital version of movies and other content, which is available in the cloud "through any device at any time." Hensley explains that when a consumer purchases a movie through UltraViolet, "a token for that movie is placed into your locker and you can access it wherever you want—it’s your movie in the cloud."
Hensley also talks about one of the biggest challenges when it comes to streaming content—the fact that your bandwidth may not be stable, resulting in pauses for buffering. Rovi addresses this issue with their DivX Plus Streaming (DPS) technology, providing a fluid streaming experience on any device.
In the video interview, Hensley also touches on content discovery, and how Rovi is addressing discovery through search and recommendation.
Editor's Note: This video was produced as part of a series of videos sponsored Rovi
