digicode UltraViolet solution wins PEVE ‘Dragon’s Den’
April 18, 2013
By Colin Mann
A proposed solution to help drive the retail take-up of UltraViolet-enabled content emerged victorious in a Dragon’s Den-style entertainment innovation session that closed PEVE Entertainment 2013 in London.
Rudi Martinez, Head of Concept Design at London-based packaging solutions specialist AGI-Shorewood Group, pitching the digicode idea to a panel of three senior executives at event organiser IHS, suggested that there was a need for unified communication from participants in the Digital Entertainment Content Ecosystem (DECE) – the consortium of major Hollywood studios, consumer electronics manufacturers and retailers, network hardware vendors, systems integrators and Digital Rights Management (DRM) vendors backing the UltraViolet digital locker system.
“It offers a way of introducing digital content in retail,” he said, unveiling a sample pack that would feature an UltraViolet-enabled title’s artwork, synopsis and technical information, but would contain a tear-off or similar code to enable the addition of that title to a user’s locker. “It bridges that gap between digital and physical,” he suggested.
The digicode pitch won the popular vote among conference delegates, beating a digital cinema initiative from Golant Media Ventures and a GameStick device from Playjam, although two of the three ‘Dragons’ backed the cinema concept, with one opting for digicode.