E-offices

E-offices - For any office, the multifunction device (MFD) is a virtual genie. It prints, faxes, scans, copies and does much more. Apart from being efficient, it makes for less clutter The HP PSC 2410 is one such device. It is an all-in-one printer-fax-scanner and colour printer. It can copy and fax without a PC and gives vibrant photos with life-like colour. There has been a virtual revolution where PCs are concerned. Other essential office equipment are lightweight and sleek LCD Projectors with auto set-up which saves time on alignment and focus and has security features like the use of a password. With different CD-media available for burning, camcorders just can't stay back in this run-away technology lane. Smart phones always try and give something different from their counterparts. These digital gizmos have a digital camera, MMS, video, and Bluetooth capability as well as a WAP 2.0 browser to check your mail. Also in international level we can see the impact of digital revolution.

The reason why digital medium is becoming a popular mode of entertainment is that its cost-effectiveness allows one to make unconventional and out-of-the-box films, said Mr. Dibaker Banerjee, director of acclaimed films 'Khosla ka Ghosla' and 'Oye Lucky, Lucky Oye', at a seminar on digital revolution in India conducted at the Digital Movement, digital entertainment festival, held at Symbiosis Institute of Media & Communication today. Mr. Banerjee also pointed out that “Since the budget is miniscule, the filmmaker has his freedom to experiment without pressure from the producers”. The mobility factor coupled with the high resolution available on digital cameras is a great incentive for filmmakers. "You store the video in hard drives that can be strapped on your back and the cameras are so handy that it allows great leverage in setting shots and also, they are sensitive enough to be used in natural lighting conditions", said Mr. Kunal Roy Kapur, director of the digital film 'The President is Coming'. He recounted the aesthetic brilliance of the recently released 'Slumdog Millionaire' of which sixty percent had been shot on digital mode. The pace of the digital revolution has accelerated with New Media such as the Internet, mobile phone technology and devices such as I-pods. Mr. Rajjat Barjatya, the Managing Director of Rajshri Media, who was responsible for the simultaneous online release of Vivaah on the company's website along with the theatrical release, pointed out the possibilities of content creation, distribution and consumption on the Internet platform. "Besides the obvious lower costs, our audience spends more time on the Net and the mobile phone and hence we increase our reach through the digital medium", he said. Also, the on-demand viewing model in the Internet portals allows content and advertising to be more personalized, he added. The consensus for taking forward the digital revolution is that the digital medium deserves the same respect as a 35mm film and should not be used carelessly just because it is possible and cost-effective. Video and computer games now account for the greatest revenues worldwide, followed thereafter by television, sound recordings (phonograms), books and magazines, and then film. (Bernstein, 1990).³

The day is not far when sitting on a comfortable couch in your drawing room, you will see Keanu Reaves somersault through the air in The Matrix the same moment audiences in the US view it for the first time on their big screens. Nobody disagrees that digital cinema is to enter Bollywood in a big way, least of all the film distributors. Fun Republic, the entertainment company of the Essel group, is to add 1,000 digital screens to its existing bouquet of 90 digital and 50 analogue screens under Fun Cinemas in the next five years, Mr. Atul Goel, Chief Executive Officer, said. Cinemax will launch digital screens in the next two years, said Mr. Devang Sampat, Vice-President, Marketing and Cinemax. The company is in talks with producers for mutually sharing the cost of digital movies.

“For a digital platform in cinema, producers need to make more films digitally,” he remarked. Adlabs, an Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group initiative, is working on a new model for its digital cinema chain that will be ready by December. Currently, the company operates 20 to 25 digital screens in Maharashtra while it operates 600 screens under its digital arm — United Film Organizers (UFO) Movies. An investment of Rs 15 lakh is required to set up a single digital screen, according to Mr. Manmohan Shetty of Adlabs. The cost per seat in a theatre is Rs 60,000 and hence the cost to set up a digital screen will not vary substantially from setting up an analogue projection system, he explained. Mr. Sudhir Mishra, who has directed films such as Hazaaron Khwaishay Aisi, said that the digital camera ‘Red’ is already available in the US. “The digital revolution is going to come to Bollywood as well and when it does, a person will be able to receive the film via satellite the same day of its release in theatres worldwide, assuming that he can afford it,” he said. This will also open up the market in B and C towns by saving on the print cost, which is Rs 60,000 plus. Mr. Mishra says the lack of proper infrastructure and low quality of digital technology in India today are restricting the production of such films. Apart from penetration in smaller markets, digital cinema is expected to bring economy in the production of films, said Mr. Sampat. “It will help cut costs by saving on the heavy printing expenditure.” Mr. Shetty feels that the digital revolution will help cut costs in a small budget film but not big budget ventures.