Insane in the brain

Looking at the rotund, benign-faced Japanese man in a dark suit across the boardroom table, one would think him to be a typical salaryman or perhaps a friendly uncle with the manner of an undertaker. When Koji Hase speaks, however, one realizes that behind the black-rimmed glasses dance the eyes of a visionary, perhaps a madman.

This noted pioneer and world leader in the development and implementation of optical media has helped shape the way people live their lives or at least see it through cathode screens. He is the driving force behind the Digital Versatile Disc format and is sometimes referred to as the father of DVD. In other words, the man is the Charlie Parker of home entertainment technology.

When he joined Toshiba 32 years ago, Hase was tasked with the miniaturization of hi-fi systems into the compact components in the market (which is amusing when one thinks of how the measuring stick used to be how big things could get). Returning to Tokyo after a nine-year posting in the UK, he became a proponent of optical media technologies and the convergence of consumer electronics with computers, communication, and entertainment.

Koji Hase recalls the fateful meeting with the president of Warner Home Video, Warren Lieberfarb, at Hollywood in 1992 that sparked the creation of DVD. After 13 hours of discussions and four bottles of Mondavi red, Hase offered Leiberfarb a CD-sized optical disc with high-quality digital picture and sound, large-capacity, and encryption coding to block illegal copying.

Returning to Tokyo, the response Hase met was laughter, but in the end, he had the last laugh.

Seeking assistance from Philips, which had invented the CD-ROM format in 1983, Hase worked with the firm until they realized that such collaboration presented a conflict of interest. When Philips joined forces with Sony, a longtime partner in development, they introduced the Multimedia Compact Disc or MMCD format in 1994. Within four months, Toshiba formed an alliance with Hitachi, JVC, Matsushita, Mitsubishi, and Thompson, and they introduced their own Super Density or SD format. An all-out format war had begun.

When both sides realized that there would be no market if such a war continued, a forum for DVD was convened in 1995. No other than Hase was chosen as its chairman. The following year, DVD went on sale in Japan; the next, it debuted in the US. Despite its naysayers, it became a hit.

In 1999, Koji Hase and Warren Leiberfarb received an Emmy Award for their work on DVD technology. Recently, Hase was a finalist for the prestigious UK World Technology Award.

This year, Koji Hase joined Warner Home Video in the newly created position of senior vice president, Asia Pacific. Now, he is responsible for all Warner Home Video operations in China, Japan, Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, Indonesia, Vietnam, India, and the Philippines.

Before rushing to Tokyo International Airport, headed for Burbank and then Hong Kong, Koji Hase takes time to answer some questions.

Young STAR: Given that there were many negative comments about DVD, how did it feel to be right about its becoming a success?

Koji Hase: I believed that I could win this war as long as Hollywood — initiated by Mr. Warren Lieberfarb — was going to be with my camp.

Has anyone ever told you that you were possibly mad or out of your mind because of your belief in DVD?

Yes, particularly because I went through the migration of 1.5MB Floppy disk to 800MB CD-ROM disks to 5GB DVDs. This was insane.

How did you handle this?

I believed in movie files, which are astronomically heavy, compared to text files.

For how long do you project the format will dominate the market?

Twenty to 30 years.

What up-and-coming technologies will complement and augment DVD?

It will be very large capacity semiconductor memory. It is not technology as such but please do not lose sight of the growing demand for sell-through consumers. After all, DVD are here to recreate theaters at home.

New DVD technologies will be more content-rich titles that will include interactive services. Recordable DVD is becoming a big wave in Japan in particular, and we are seeing the beginning of an end to VHS.

Several years out, there may be interesting market for even higher density DVDs, in compliance with digital broadcasting. Some say that they are blue laser DVDs, but we shall look for compatibility and cheapness of media above all.

What are the perks of being someone in your position?

A lot of airline mileage but not time to use it.

Given your success, what more is there for you to accomplish?

Warner Home Video is my next challenge. This is new to me and exciting.

On the lighter side, do you feel guilty towards many consumers who, like myself, already have an extensive laser disc collection?

Me, too. I have tons of VHS tapes with precious recording; LDs of novelty value. I keep a few dozens of Beta tapes and a machine. Oh, by the way, I have just a small memory-toke black vinyl long playing records as well.

Given that you have made your mark in home entertainment, how much TV do you allow your children to watch everyday?

Any number of hours as long as they do what they must do everyday.

What is the first thought that comes into mind at the start of the day?

Why did I wake up in the morning?

What is the last, before you sleep?

Why did I wake up in the morning?

Given that you are now the Senior Vice President for Warner Home Video, Asia Pacific, what treats do you have in store for youthful consumers in the Philippines?

I think the special interest series such as National Geographic and BBC series are fantastic. I wish I had seen some of those when I was young!!!

I would say to youthful consumers:

1) Be aware that piracy is illegal. You must stay away from them. It is a crime.

2) Watch the best movies for your own sake. They will enrich your life.

In your opinion, what are the 10 best DVDs in the market?

I cannot answer immediately, but of the recent ones, I was deeply touched by two movies: one is The Majestic and Hearts in Atlantis.

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Notes from Underground: Watching Debate with Mare and Pare on Channel 7 must be one of the most depressing things you can do this yuletide season. Just when you think the I.Q. levels of our politicians can’t get any lower, something manages to remind you how bleak the future is in the hands of these people. Last week, the issue was whether or not to allow Erap to be detained in his own home. On the panel for Erap’s house arrest were two representatives from Congress: the old guard (Rep. Butz Aquino) and the so-called "new blood" (Rep. Maite Defensor). Basically the idea these two were selling was that the timing was already right and, of course, being the Christmas season...yadda, yadda, yadda. Defensor even had the temerity to suggest that because Erap was a former President that he be allowed this special privilege.

This column is not alone at wondering how she could say such hogwash with a straight face. The fact that he was president only makes his alleged crime all the more serious as we’re talking of not one individual but a whole nation being the victim. The congresswoman’s statement just goes to show how low her standards are for public officials. Of course, Rep. Aquino fared no better. Aside from a badly drawn analogy to cockfighting, the Congressman insults every prisoner in Bilibid by suggesting that being imprisoned in one’s home is being imprisoned anywhere. This column wonders if he’s been hanging around jails recently?

Apparently there are others in the House of Representatives who have passed a resolution supporting the move for house arrest. This column doesn’t believe in the death penalty but is seriously reconsidering.

What this country needs are not young or seasoned politicians but rather new ones who have the basic requirement for any job: common sense and a conscience.

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Again, this column is inviting all who have high standards in their choice of music to check out Gweilo’s along C. Palanca St. in Makati. Bands like The Blue Rats, The Pinup Girls and Razorback play on weekends. But even with no band the music still generally kicks ass.

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