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The Hollywood Reporter

"New angle on Hancock DVD"

By Chris Marlowe - November 20, 2002

LAS VEGAS -- Jazz legend Herbie Hancock will debut a new technology on his upcoming concert DVD.

"Future 2 Future Live" will be the first release to use MX Multiangle, a patent-pending innovation from DVD producer and technology development company MX Entertainment.

The basic concept behind the technology is to maximize the DVD format's potential for alternate angles. MX Multiangle provides a picture-in-picture preview of available alternate content, allowing consumers to select their preference without interrupting the main program.

In Hancock's case, this means his DVD includes 30 minutes of MX Multiangle video sequences, including split-screen close-ups of his hands and communication among band members. "Future 2 Future Live" is a full-length documentary of Hancock's March 12 performance at the Knitting Factory in Hollywood.

"MX Entertainment helped realize my creative vision for 'Future 2 Future Live' in a whole new way," Hancock said. "These new DVD special features have never been seen before and enabled us to include incredible performance highlights from the show."

MX Entertainment co-founder and president Zane Vella said the technology is a major advance over previous similar attempts to use DVD's multiangle capabilities. Most have put the alternative content on the menu, and consumers can view it by using the angle button on the remote control.

"Press the angle button? People don't even know they have one," Vella said. "And when you press it, the manufacturer of the hardware is who chose what the user experience is going to be."

With MX Multiangle, the alternative content is visible in an onscreen preview and is selected with the arrow and enter buttons.

"The technology is there, but we value what the director does," Vella said. "The main thing is to watch the concert video. Our concept going in to these channels was that the others would be about really featuring the musicianship and making that experience more intimate."

The additional technology also makes the DVD virtually impossible to pirate, he added.

Sony Music Entertainment's Legacy Recordings is scheduled to release the DVD on Tuesday. "MX Multiangle is one of the best new special features for DVDs, opening up new opportunities for the music industry and pushing the medium in a whole new direction," Sony Music vp business development Leslie Cohen said.

MX Entertainment is a privately funded company that collaborates directly with artists or licenses its technology to major labels and other businesses.

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