NEW YORK, Aug. 25╤Open the mail. There╒s the catalog. Now, what╒s the perfect vacation spot? Here╒s an island, a beach. Hear the breakers, the gulls.
With the new Kodak Photo CD Catalog disc, people can see╨╨and hear╨╨catalogs on their television sets. The Kodak Photo CD Catalog format allows easy distribution of on-disc catalogs containing thousands of pictures╤of vacation destinations, works of art, retail products, and so on. The pictures can be formatted into catalog pages on the screen, complete with text, graphics, a table of contents, and chapters╤even sound.
People who play the discs in home Photo CD players connected to their TV can see on-screen menus that will lead them through the catalog at the touch of a button on their infrared remote control. Those who run Kodak Photo CD Catalog discs on a desktop computer can use on-disc Kodak Browser software to locate images with simple key word searches.
With the Kodak Photo CD Catalog format, as many as 6,000 video-resolution images can be stored on a disc for soft display on TV and computer monitors. These images are of lower resolution than those stored on either standard Kodak Photo CD Master or Kodak Pro Photo CD Master discs. So they can╒t be used to make photo-quality prints, but their quality is ideal for video display.
Commercial catalogs are only one type of application. ╥This format promises to be the most efficient and convenient way ever devised to give people access to large numbers of images,╙ said David P. Biehn, Kodak vice president and general manager, Professional Imaging. ╥It╒s opening up some exciting possibilities.╙
He noted that Westlight, a stock agency in Los Angeles, is planning to release a Kodak Photo CD Catalog disc this fall containing images they have available for use. Westlight will also be working with Kodak on the development of the Kodak Picture Exchange.
╥We╒ve also had preliminary discussions with art museums, direct marketers, and sports card publishers about future projects,╙ Biehn said.
About the Photo CD Catalog
The Kodak Photo CD Catalog format extends Kodak╒s Photo CD system. Like Kodak Photo CD Master images, Photo CD Catalog images can be viewed on TV (using a Photo CD or CD-I player) or input to a desktop computer (using a Photo CD-compatible CD-ROM XA drive).
Using a Kodak Photo CD Catalog disc in a home Photo CD player is easy. The disc, which has unique trade dress to distinguish it from other Photo CD discs, is inserted into the player as usual.
A menu screen greets the viewer and offers several different branches that can be followed. On a clothing catalog disc, there might be ╥Men╒s,╙ ╥Women╒s,╙ and ╥Children╒s╙ sections. From there, additional menus help guide the viewer to ╥Men╒s Sweaters╙ or ╥Children╒s Shoes.╙
All the normal Photo CD player functions are available with a Kodak Photo CD Catalog disc, including zoom and pan. Sound, if any, is played as each image appears on the screen.
Each picture on the disc has a unique number that can be seen by panning to the right side of the image. This feature would also be important for art directors wanting to order a specific image from a stock agency╒s disc, for example.
Using Kodak Photo CD Catalog on a Computer
Running a Kodak Photo CD Catalog disc on a desktop computer is similar to using a disc on a home player, except that the computer user has more options. In addition to being able to browse images and follow on-screen menus, the user can take advantage of the Kodak Browser software resident on the disc to conduct key word searches.
For example, the key words ╥Men,╙ ╥Sweaters,╙ and ╥Blue╙ might automatically return images of blue men╒s sweaters on the clothing catalog disc in the earlier example. Searches of this type eliminate the need to thumb through page after page of traditional catalogs searching for the right item. This feature will make image library or museum item catalog searches dramatically more efficient.
Like the person viewing catalog images on a home player, the computer user can zoom, pan, and listen to sound associated with each image.
╥The Kodak Photo CD Catalog disc brings image access to a much wider group of people,╙ Biehn explained. ╥For the cost of a home Photo CD player or a compatible CD-ROM XA drive, an art director at an ad agency can automatically search from among hundreds or thousands of images to find the right one. And that╒s just one example. It╒s an incredible capability.╙
Organizations that want to create a Kodak Photo CD Catalog disc need a graphics-capable desktop computer and Kodak Photo CD Catalog authoring software. With the help of the software, they will be able to select images from among their existing Kodak Photo CD Master discs, then add graphics, text, and sound to create a program script. This script is used to create the finished discs.
Small quantities of finished Kodak Photo CD Catalog discs can be produced by a photofinisher or on a user╒s own compact disc writer. Compact disc mastering houses can produce larger quantities of discs intended for mass distribution.
L.L. Bean, Chris McCormick, vice president, advertising and direct marketing:
"L.L. Bean is proud of its reputation of providing superior customer service, and is constantly looking for new and innovative ways to enhance its leadership position in the catalog industry. The Kodak Photo CD Catalog disc format should provide a new, efficient catalog delivery system to home shoppers around the world. We plan to work with Kodak to fully explore the system's application in customer communications, and other aspects of our operations as well."
"Westlight, one of the most recognized and respected names in the stock photography industry, has been preparing for the anticipated growth and changes in the industry. At Westlight, we believe that digital technology and multimedia applications will provide an enormous demand for still images, stimulating tremendous growth for our industry. We wholeheartedly support the imaging vision that Kodak has announced today.
"Westlight is excited about the opportunity to work with Kodak on the expansion and validation of this vision in the areas of image storage, access, and exchange. We intend to publish our image catalog utilizing the Kodak Photo CD format. In addition, we will work with Kodak to test an early version of the Kodak Picture Exchange with Westlight images."
Consumers interested in more information may call the Kodak Information Center at 1-800-242-2424, ext. 77.
