3D: the Future of Entertainment?

On June 11, Walt Disney is revolutionizing television entertainment with the latest rendition of its popular ESPN brand: ESPN 3D, a channel totally dedicated to broadcasting 3D programs. To kick off its launch, ESPN 3D will broadcast 25 games of the World Cup, the world’s most popular sporting event.¹ In addition to soccer, sports fans will also be able to marvel at screen-popping slam dunks or bat-crunching homeruns that appear to be taking place right in their living rooms.

Carried by DirecTV, ESPN 3D is one of the world’s first channels wholly dedicated to 3D programming and is a sure sign that 3D technology is here to stay. Once thought of as a fad, 3D entertainment has been evolving for nearly 200 years.²

It’s been around longer than you think
The original concept behind the creation of three-dimensional images, stereoscopy, was invented in 1838. The technique was sporadically implemented in low-budget films as cinemas gained popularity in the early 20th century. However, the 1950s ushered in the movie industry’s first 3D era, with House of Wax and It Came from Outer Space showing off stereoscopy’s groundbreaking potential. Even some popular films, including Hondo and Dial M for Murder, were released in the new, exciting format. However, 3D sales constantly lagged behind 2D and still left a lot to be desired in the eyes of studio execs.

It wasn’t until the late 1970s that the film industry got another healthy dose of 3D. Movies, mostly sequels such as Jaws 3D and Friday the 13th Part III, used state-of-the-art technology to make moviegoers feel as though the action was popping off the screen. The invention of IMAX increased the popularity of 3D movies, especially in the late 90s. However, shooting costs limited the number of 3D productions being released to normal cinemas, that is, until recently.  

The turn of the millennium gave way to a new golden age of 3D technology. Advancements in computer imaging slashed 3D production costs and allowed movie makers to create the most realistic 3D experience to date. In 2010, some movies that didn’t plan on having a 3D release, such as Clash of the Titans, were given “3D makeovers” in an attempt to catch onto the success of other recent 3D releases.³

Midwest Tape Presents a Free Webinar on Customized Standing Order Plans

On Wednesday, June 2nd, Inside Sales Representative Lisa Smith will lead a free webinar on Utilizing Midwest Tape’s Customized Standing Order Plans. The webinar runs in the afternoon from 1:30 to 2:30 EST, and you can register for the webinar by following this link.

Click the “read more” link below to view a brief description of this webinar.

Midwest Tape Congratulates Hometown Idol Crystal Bowersox

American Idol has crowned the winner of their season nine competition. Lee DeWyze, a Chicago musician and former paint salesman, nabbed the top spot, while Northwest Ohio-native and Toledo School for the Arts graduate Crystal Bowersox came in a close second. Holland, Ohio-based Midwest Tape has been cheering for Bowersox since the competition’s beginning, and we applaud her for an amazing Idol season.

Crystal impressively rocked the Idol stage throughout the season, boasting such memorable performances as Janis Joplin’s “Me and Bobby McGee,” Paul McCartney’s “Maybe I’m Amazed,” and the Patty Griffin tune “Up to the Mountain.”

Born in small-town Elliston, Ohio, Crystal later attended school at Oak Harbor High School and later at the Toledo School for the Arts. After high school, Crystal struggled as a musician along the streets and subways of Chicago and then took up singing gospel at her church; (read more of Bowersox’s bio).

After auditioning for Idol, Crystal headed to Hollywood where she sped past the show’s other competitors, proving her originality and artistry through ace song selections and excellent guitar playing. During her Idol-sponsored hometown visit, Crystal drew in upwards of 10,000 fans for her downtown parade and concert and over 13,000 for her singing of the national anthem at Fifth-Third Field, home of the Toledo Mud Hens (Fox Toledo: Northwest Ohio embraces Bowersox).

Here at Midwest Tape, we’re very excited to see a talented musician from Northwest Ohio succeeding in such a bright spotlight. We’d like to congratulate her on a job well done. We know that there are great things in store for this talented musician. Make sure you stay tuned for upcoming albums from both Crystal and Idol champ Lee DeWyze.

What are your thoughts on the Idol season? What do you think patron demand will be like for any upcoming Idol albums?

SmartBrowse: A Closer Look

Recently, Midwest Tape posted a blog about the basics of SmartBrowsing. Here, we present a more in-depth look at the advanced search engine, detailing a variety of ways to organize your results for a quick and efficient find.

First, entering fewer keywords will return more titles, so for optimal results enter as few keywords as possible. For example, try “Fresh Prince” instead of “Fresh Prince of Bel-Air.”

Once a user enters keywords, SmartBrowse categorizes the results in an expandable list that divides products by titles exactly matching or containing the search word, categories, series, collections, publisher names, people, and numbers. The list of expandable subcategories makes it easy to find exactly what you are looking for and ignore what you’re not. Additionally, selecting the expand/collapse (+/–) box will expand or collapse your search results so that you see only  the results you want.

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Also, if there are more than 100 listings for a category you can opt to only view the top 100 bestselling titles or the 100 most recent titles. By doing this, you are able to quickly find the newest and most popular titles.

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After making your selection, you can arrange information alphabetically or numerically in ascending or descending order by clicking on the column names. For example, clicking on price will sort the titles by the least expensive to the most expensive. Clicking again will reorganize the information so that the most expensive products list first. Similarly, this action works for stock number, title media, misc, genre, release date, sales rank, and price.

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Another way to manage your SmartBrowse search is to further narrow your results. By clicking on the filter criteria box, you are able to restrict your findings by release date, format, and ratings.

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To continue perusing through the subcategories in the search summary list, simply select the Return to Original Search button. It is essential to select this button because clicking the browser’s back button will return you to the Midwest Tape homepage, thus closing your current results.

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Want to learn more about SmartBrowsing? Watch our tutorial.
Have you used SmartBrowse? How has it aided your acquisitions experience?

Midwest Tape Presents a Free Webinar on Workflow Solutions

On Wednesday, May 26th, Inside Sales Representative Elaine Schlagheck will lead a free webinar on Midwest Tape’s Workflow Solutions. The webinar runs in the afternoon from 2 to 3 EST, and you can register for the webinar by following this link.

Below is a brief description of this webinar:

Workflow Solutions        May 26, 2010        2:00–3:00 EST
Is your staff juggling multiple responsibilities? Are you looking to get your audiovisual material on the shelves more rapidly? Do you have a special project or opening branch underway? Join us and learn how Midwest Tape can help streamline these processes. Our Workflow Solutions team, comprised of our Processing, Cataloging and Opening Day Collections Departments, will work with and guide your staff towards the most cost-effective, efficient way for keeping up with increasing patron demand.