As executive vice president of digital strategy for the Motion Picture Association of America and its international counterpart, the Motion Picture Association, Scott Dinsdale helps represent and guide the interests of the entertainment industry in the digital age. We interviewed him after he participated in a DRM panel at the iHollywood conference, where he presented his articulate vision for the future of the digital marketplace.

Gregston: In the MPAA's view, what is the current landscape for entertainment in the digital age?

Dinsdale: We see two related areas of interest: stemming the tide of rampant digital piracy, while stimulating the development of a vibrant digital marketplace.

A considerable amount of our attention is focused on the issue of digital piracy. We are, in effect, in an interim marketplace, with analog on the way out and digital on the way in. One of the unfortunate consequences of this transitional time is the use of digital technology as a tool for mass piracy, and we will be very diligent in clamping down on piracy wherever and whenever we can.

That said, the best defense is a good offense. Even in the face of the current piracy, we see the promise of a fully digital marketplace, and we are working hard to make that a reality. There are many reasons for this, but three come immediately to mind.

First is the flexibility that the digital marketplace will offer both the audience and the industry. Where theaters are now bound by reels, a digital future promises to allow exhibitors to be more responsive to the interests and changing preferences of their audience. Options in home entertainment will explode. For example, if a person watched a video-on-demand (VOD) movie and liked it, in the digital marketplace he or she could be provided with an offer to buy or download the DVD, maybe with a portion of their VOD purchase applied as a discount. While you could potentially do so in the analog world with coupons or whatnot, it is messy for the consumer and more expensive for the distributor. So on every level, the digital market will result in greater flexibility and ease for both distributors and audiences.

Next is quality, and by quality I don't mean just improving the image. Today, a DVD is a higher quality proposition than a VHS tape, not just because the quality of the image is better, but also because of all the extras that are included in the package. Both offline and online digital media offer the potential for much richer entertainment experiences than their analog counterparts.

Third is the velocity of marketing and distributing entertainment products. Marketing in the entertainment industry has always been based on word of mouth. Regardless of how much is spent in advertising, if people don't tell other people about a movie, it won't do well. For the seller, how to generate effective word of mouth has always been the $64,000 question, since it depends on so many factors. A person sees a movie, likes it, and then maybe tells somebody, or they don't. There are lots of steps between a person liking something and the next person actually seeing the movie. In the digital marketplace, a person can see the movie, then send a clip or a trailer as well as the message to their favorite hundred friends. The friends will get that message and decide what to do with it, right there and then, greatly reducing the number of steps between the first person liking and the second person buying.

These are just a few of the compelling reasons that indicate the kind of dramatic growth potential for the industry that exists with the emergence of a legitimate digital marketplace. There are many companies, inside and outside of the entertainment sector, working diligently to help make this a reality.

With so many different technologies proposed to facilitate a digital marketplace, do you see a likely standard emerging?

It depends on what area of the market you are looking at. In the area of digital cinema you will likely see standards playing a very strong and upfront role. The consumer arena is more muddied. However, as in any digital market, you will see standards emerge over time. We are hopeful that proprietary solutions will find ways to interoperate seamlessly and that they will be complemented by open-standards solutions as well, contributing to the competitiveness of the market for in-home products and services.

How long do you think it will take to realize a digital marketplace for motion pictures?

Broadband will be built out to significant numbers soon, and the time frames for the specification, engineering, and subsequent manufacture suggests to me that we have between three and six years to go.

In the panel discussion you participated in, Tom Ohanian stated that a large fraction of the pirated entertainment content "leaked" from the production process. Is this accurate? And are there industry recommendations to producers and those working on their productions to stop these leaks?

This has always existed. In the analog world it wasn't as big an issue, because copies weren't easy to make and distribute. Now it is much easier to make them, and it is more likely that the first copy is of a higher quality. That said, my understanding of the issue is that by far the greatest concern and volume is in telecines and camcorders. Nonetheless, the need to make the studio secure is an important issue and one that I know our members work at diligently.

In what other areas of technology is the MPAA currently active?

In addition to anti-piracy and the technology needed in that domain, the majority of our group is focused on consumer-oriented digital distribution technologies. This requires us to cover a wide spectrum of technology, ranging from cryptography to next-generation video chips to asset and information management. Historically, we also have been very active in digital cinema; however, the recent efforts by the studios have appropriately given them the lead rein in that area.

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