Adult dvd rental on line

LAS VEGAS -- The first VSDA convention, held in conjunction with the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, produced mixed results for organizers who hoped synergy between the two shows would boost sagging attendance. While traffic on the VSDA show floor was light throughout its three-day run Jan. 7 to 9 at the Venetian Hotel/Sands Expo Center, the aisles at the show's AVN Adult Expo down the hall were jampacked. Attendance was fueled by the sale of hundreds of day passes for the AVN show floor, which were made available to CES registrants for $15.

"[CES] certainly had a positive impact on the AVN show," said Carrie Dieterich, vp of marketing and communications for VSDA.

Official attendance figures will not be available until late January, but heavy turnout at the AVN Expo may have turned the trick for show organizers. The last VSDA convention in July 2000 attracted 11,000 people.

As expected, the runaway success of DVD was the main focus of speeches and seminars throughout the show. At a pre-show reception on Jan. 6, the DVD Entertainment Group announced that the installed base of DVD players recently topped 14 million, and projected that player sales will hit 13 million in 2001.

In his keynote address at the show's opening business session, Amazon.com founder and chairman Jeff Bezos predicted DVD would drive video sales for the on-line retailer by turning "non-collectors into collectors." He cited that a recent study shows DVD buyers spend up to four times as much on videos as their VHS counterparts.

VSDA president Bo Andersen made a case for the convention's move to January in the traditional CES time slot in his state of the industry speech, citing the ongoing convergence of consumer electronics and video software in technologies such as streaming video.

"When this and a hundred other promised products are delivered, I see the software--perhaps on tiny memory strips--being rented at video stores," said Andersen. "So convergence and its possibilities are one of the reasons the VSDA convention is in Las Vegas this weekend."

The show didn't produce much in the way of breaking news, but it did provide a forum for one of the industry's most controversial proposals: rental-priced DVD. Blockbuster Video circulated a study at the convention that suggested studios are losing millions of dollars by releasing DVD titles straight to sell-through instead of giving them a rental window.

As usual, studio executives showed little enthusiasm for adopting the two-tiered price structure they have used for years on VHS. The main fear is that a switch to rental pricing would alienate mass merchants who have driven the DVD market, including Best Buy, Wal-Mart and Kmart.

Some small retailers also spoke out against rental-priced DVD during a seminar on the subject, suggesting it would result in revenue-sharing programs that would put them at a competitive disadvantage with larger retailers.

Though celebrities on the show floor were few and far between, VSDA drew some major talent at its opening session. Actor Kevin Bacon was on hand to receive the VSDA's Video Man of the Year award and Oscar-winning actress Ellen Burstyn appeared to accept a Lifetime Achievement Award.

The 2002 VSDA convention will return to Las Vegas next January with a slight change in strategy. It is slated for Jan. 11 to 13, while the CES is scheduled for Jan. 8 to 11. Show organizers hope the one-day overlap will provide the convention with carryover from CES, but also help it avoid the high hotel rates and crowding produced by the show.