neff@Shasta.STANFORD.EDU (Randy Neff) (04/25/88)
I recently received a slick, glossy advertisement from the ACM mailing list for Visualization: State of the Art, Issue 30 of the SIGGRAPH Video Review. Now the SIGGRAPH video review is a very useful, if somewhat overpriced service that collects computer graphic demonstrations and commercials into video tape anthologies and sells them. The normal member price is 50 dollars for two hours (VHS) or 50 dollars one hour (3/4 U-matic). Now this price is basically steep, considering the input material is all contributed, and Hollywood can sell big budget movies for twenty dollars or so and everyone gets his cut of the price. At 50 dollars, someone is pocketing some nice profits. Now, however, Issue 30, at 160 minutes, has a member/non member cost of 295 dollars (VHS) and 395 dollars (3/4 U-matic). Now what do you get for this huge pile of bucks? A bunch of excellent aninmation (Red's Dream, Luxo Jr.), a bunch of experts, and, and, and ADVERTISING FROM FORTY EIGHT COMPANIES!! And a printed transcript with PRODUCT SPECIFICATIONS, names, contacts, and addresses. Just think, for two hundred and ninty five dollars, you can buy a catalog of advertising from a bunch of very large companies (HP, DEC, GE, Apple, AT&T, Sun). One would think that with this level of corporate support, they could give the tape away, free, to potential customers. Randall Neff @ sierra.stanford.edu (embarassed to be a member of SIGGRAPH)