Sony Tv

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Film and television service provider Ascent Media Group and Sony Pictures Entertainment on Monday said they reached an agreement on a plan to put Sony films and TV programs into digital form.

The deal, which includes Hewlett-Packard Co. , marks a major undertaking by one of Hollywood's leading studios to convert from old analog style delivery of programs to newer, digital files, according to officials from the companies.

For Sony Pictures, a unit of Japanese electronics maker Sony Corp. , the move is expected to help lower distribution costs as it can avoid shipping numerous tapes or film canisters around the world, and instead can electronically deliver programs in digital files, said Jeff Hargleroad, senior vice president of worldwide product fulfillment for Sony.

Digitizing content also helps in editing when different versions of a film, for instance, are required for different formats, such as public broadcast TV or pay-per-view cable TV where more adult-oriented material is more acceptable.

Hargleroad said new forms of digital content delivery, such as film promotions sent to cell phones, required digitization.

"We can take that one master (film or TV show) and create different versions very rapidly," he said.

For Ascent, a division of Liberty Media Corp. that is set to be spun off into a publicly traded company, the agreement helps validate its plans to expand into the arena for converting, managing and distributing digital content for film and TV show creators.

"One of the fundamental goals in trying to bring Ascent together was to address the opportunities and challenges of digital environment," Ascent Chief Executive Officer Ken Williams said.

Financial details of the agreement were undisclosed, and the officials declined to comment.

Ascent will use technology from Hewlett-Packard, which it calls its Digital Management Platform, or DMP.

For HP, the deal marks a significant step in making inroads into Hollywood's studios as filmmakers undergo the transition from analog to digital entertainment, HP officials said.

Copyright © 2005 Ziff Davis Media Inc. All Rights Reserved. Originally appearing in PC Magazine.

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