PCFriendly's standardized interface borrows the universally familiar visual metaphor of a TV and remote control.

Two years ago, when DVD-Video was first launched, the emphasis in title production was on the basics: good video and audio quality, attractive menus, and reliable performance on all set-top players. As the format has matured, however, titles have become more sophisticated, and the inclusion of extra programming above and beyond the actual feature presentation has become commonplace.

Some types of "added value" material--commentary tracks or behind-the-scenes documentaries, for instance--are delivered as part of a title's DVD-Video zone, and thus become an integral part of the end-user experience, accessible through the same menu structure as the main feature. But today's titles are often hybrid discs that make use of the DVD-ROM zone for content intended for playback in a computer-hosted DVD-ROM drive. To access this ROM material, the user must leave behind the graphical environment created for the DVD-Video title, and instead navigate DVD-ROM's mundane world of files, folders, and dialog boxes.

To Todd Collart, president and CEO of InterActual Technologies in Mountain View, California, this contrast between the typical user's experience of DVD-Video and DVD-ROM creates an unnecessary divide between the content in each portion of the title. "We don't think the average consumer should have to understand the differences between DVD-Video and DVD-ROM," Collart says. "Users should simply be thinking of DVD as something that takes advantage of the best features of whatever platform it plays on."

To facilitate a synthesis of Video and ROM content, InterActual has developed PCFriendly, which Collart describes as "a complete content management system for enhancing DVD-Video products for the PC marketplace." In the same way that a browser serves as a framework for content delivery and navigation over the Internet, PCFriendly offers a portal for access to DVD content from a DVD-ROM drive (Windows--only until the Mac version--to be offered as a free download to existing PCFriendly customers--debuts in late 1999). "With PCFriendly," Collart says, "users can view assets on the disc, additional assets that can be copied over to their hard drives, or assets that are online on the title publisher's Web site. So PCFriendly is a media browser whose capabilities are defined by the content creator. The goal is to take the incompatibility-riddled landscape of DVD on the PC, and turn it into a real consumer platform."

SET-TOP PC: HOW IT WORKS

In addition to providing this graphical interface, Collart says PCFriendly "manages video playback, Internet connectivity, and version control for both assets and software." DirectShow may eventually minimize video playback problems for PC DVD, but for now this is one of PCFriendly's most important tasks. "Currently one of the biggest obstacles to creating hybrid titles," Collart says, "is that there is no one single mechanism for playing back DVD-Video on the computer. There is a whole variety of different APIs. Microsoft is trying to fix this with DirectShow, but it takes time for companies with their own fully tested proprietary solutions--Creative Labs, Toshiba, or C-Cube, for instance--to migrate over. The number of DirectShow-compatible decoders will increase, but right now DirectShow is only used on about five percent of the machines. In the meantime, PCFriendly is the only way that title developers can talk to most of these proprietary DVD Navigators. It supports a broad variety of proprietary approaches, and it also talks to DirectShow."

PCFriendly does not attack video playback problems by substituting its own DVD Navigator, but rather by linking users to the latest versions of the software their systems need. "Each of the decoder manufacturers we support has given us a way of detecting their Navigator," Collart explains. "We search the playback system for the currently installed DVD solution, then we check the version to be sure it is the minimum required. Based on what we detect, we know what we have to do to play video on that system. If there is a problem, a dialog box will come up briefly explaining the problem and offering a solution. For instance, if you have an outdated driver, the software will take you online to a location on our site from which you can link directly to a download location on the decoder vendor's site and get an updated driver."

Collart says the point of this approach is to "provide a direct path to make it easy for consumers to fix their own problems online." But he adds that if the online attempt doesn't solve everything, "the customers are welcome to give a call to our technical support line," (currently North America only). The technical support services are a required part of the arrangement InterActual makes with the DVD publishers that use PCFriendly. "It's imperative to the success of DVD that consumers have a good experience with it," Collart says. "That's why we believe so strongly in offering support for the titles, and why support services are included in our licensing fee." The fact that studios can put out titles without worrying about tech-support headaches for PC owners no doubt adds to PCFriendly's appeal.

In addition to their role in technical support, PCFriendly's Web connectivity features are intended to make it easy to integrate media-rich DVD content with updatable Web content. "Now you can have dynamic information which changes over time," Collart says, "which makes the title more of a sell-through product than a rental product, so the studios ultimately make more money. It also keeps your consumers coming back to your Web site, so you can market to them directly. Every one of our studios has some sort of catalog online where you can get more information about their movies and buy related paraphernalia. We very strongly promote the benefits of ecommerce tied into the movies. We can even host the Web content if the customer is not in a position to host their own."

Collart points to an upcoming promotional event for MGM's recently released Ronin DVD (starring Robert DeNiro) as an example of PCFriendly's Web features in action. The studio set up a Webcast with the director, John Frankenheimer, leading what MGM calls "a behind-the-scenes tour of the making of Ronin, highlighted by set photos, scenes from the film, and 'b-roll' footage showing how many of the stunts were accomplished." Registration for participation in the event is online, and you must have the Ronin DVD in your DVD-ROM drive. But just as the DVD is used as a key to unlock Web content, Web content will be used to unlock hidden material on the DVD. "During the Webcast," Collart explains, "the audio streaming from the Web will include embedded NetShow events that will initiate playback of special sections of the DVD-Video that correspond with Frankenheimer's presentation."

NOT MAC-FRIENDLY YET ... BUT STAY TUNED

InterActual currently offers the studios that use PCFriendly a free development tool for their multimedia designers. "The tool is a sample of a finished product," Collart says, "while at the same time it's the developer kit, a template that you can plug your own content into. The channels are all sample channels that contain the instructions on how to replace the content with your own material. It walks you through the process, and gives you authoring tips based on what you're trying to do." The company is also readying what Collart calls "a deployment tool," currently in beta, which is scheduled for release at the end of March. Targeted at DVD authoring houses, it compiles the ROM zone contents into the form they need to be in for installation on the end-user's machine, and puts them into a file structure image that can be added to the DLT replication master by a DVD authoring tool.

"Our goal is to make it a simple process for a content owner to start moving into this area of connected DVDs," Collart says. "We are beginning to see people really blurring the line between Video and ROM to create a superior entertainment experience. The challenge is to uniquely combine the Video and ROM assets together in a way that creates a bigger experience than either one delivers standing alone."

InterActual Technologies, Inc.
2017 Landings Drive, Mountain View, CA 94043; 800/500-6042, 650/943-1440; Fax 650/943-1430; http://www.interactual.com/

Philip De Lancie (pdel@compuserve.com) is a freelance writer covering media production and distribution technology based in Berkeley, California.

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