Putting the squeeze on the big screen to put it online.

CARLSBAD - Brian Douglass considers himself a new media evangelist. He's taking his digital gospel to the marketplace in the form of Digital Outpost.

In just a couple of years, the youthful Carlsbad company has put its mark on the video compression world.

Digital Outpost, which prides itself on creating video for the digital age, has scooped up a bunch of projects, from feature films, to commercials to CD-ROM games to surf videos to rock concerts to corporate videos.

Digital Outpost has about $3 million worth of high-tech goodies stashed in its second-floor office.

"This is the sizzle that sells the company," Douglass, Digital Outpost's president, said as he walked into a room full of equipment. "But how we make our business is by delivering the video."

And, we're not just talking some boring video here. Digital Outpost's offerings include 3-D animation, digital video, Internet video, CD-ROM, QuickTime, DVD and MPEG, the international compression format for video delivery on PCs.

But wait, there's more. The firm can also shoot video on its digital beta cam and even do the script writing if necessary.

Douglass displayed the power of Digital Outpost's multimedia wizardry and gadgetry. On a laptop, he displayed a video that lacked the usual jerkiness of most PC videos. The picture was crystal clear and smooth, just like television.

Exactly, Douglass said.

"People believe the presentation more when it looks like television rather than a computer video," he said.

That's something companies must understand if they're going to stay on top of the market, Douglass said.

"People are so used to promoting their products one way. We're enabling people to add video to their laptop presentations, Web pages and interactive presentations.

"We found that people who embrace this new way of thinking have an edge on their competition."

Digital Outpost certainly has an edge on its competitors. Those are the words of Greg White, president of the San Diego Software Industry Council.

White predicts Digital Outpost will be a key contributor of bringing quality high-resolution video technologies to the marketplace.

"Digital Outpost is a little further out on the leading edge than some of the other players," said White, one of the founders of San Diego's Triteal Corp. "If they can successfully capitalize on that, they'll open a whole new market for video services. For example, you can't watch 'Gone with the Wind' on the Web. With the technologies (Digital Outpost) is engineering, that could be a possibility."

While Digital Outpost may seem very technical, its office is eclectic and artsy-craftsy. The walls are painted like bricks to give it a warm, brownstone feel.

The office is full of quirky trinkets, like a pair of jeans and boots that are used as a plant holder. Posters of past projects adorn the walls - the Rolling Stones "Voodoo Lounge" concert tour, the movies "Forrest Gump" and "Titanic," and NCAA basketball.

Most of these projects were done by Digital Outpost's predecessor, GTE Interactive Media Studios.

When GTE had its first round of layoffs 2 1/2 years ago, its video compression department was the first to go. Instead of standing in the unemployment line, the nine employees in that department, including Douglass, purchased GTE's video compression equipment. So, in 1996, Digital Outpost was born.

While the folks at Digital Outpost knew they were on to something big, it would be a while before everybody else would really catch on to the technology.

"We were technical entrepreneurs at a time when this (technology) was unproven," Douglass said. "Now the market is starting to emerge. It's gratifying."

One of Digital Outpost's biggest customers is Telnor, a Mexican phone company. Realizing the opportunities in the Mexican market, Digital Outpost opened a Tijuana office, Digital Contact, in April. The Mexican subsidiary sells new media technology delivery to business and government entities south of the border.

"We're going into a marketplace that has zero competition for what we do," Douglass said. "By working with the Mexican phone companies, we can use their pipeline, or bandwidth, for things like content acquisitions and content delivery."

While some believe Mexico is far behind in the global technology race, Douglass begs to differ.

"They're a lot farther along than most people know. It's a fairly wired country."

Digital Outpost's other clients include Walt Disney Co., Federal Express Corp., Marriott International Inc., Qualcomm, Inc., Hewlett-Packard Co. and the San Diego Padres.

Digital Outpost has also tried its hand as a defense contractor.

This spring, the firm won a contract from the U.S. Army Recruiting Command in Fort Knox, Ky., to help the Army improve its recruitment materials. In doing so, Digital Outpost is compressing the Army's multimedia materials into files small enough to fit onto DVD-ROMS.

Earlier this year, Digital Outpost went up against every major compression firm (there at least 20 of them) in the nation to do the video compression for the DVD-ROM release of The Journeyman 3: Legacy of Time, developed by Presto Studios in San Diego. The game's publisher is Red Orb Entertainment, a division of the highly acclaimed Broderbund Software, Inc.

Another Digital Outpost compression project is Video on Demand.

The technology allows television viewers to order movies over a cable TV box and have full control over it.

"It's like a virtual video store," Douglass said.

The project is kind of hush-hush right now because it's still in the testing stages. Video on Demand is being tested in four U.S. cities.

The possibilities for video compression are limitless, Douglass said. He pointed to Digital Outpost's planned digital Surround Sound studio.

"We want customers to be able to say, 'We want (the sound of) breaking glass in this corner and a screeching car in the other corner."

Douglass describes himself and his staff as creative, new media engineers.

"It's a new breed of service," he said.

When Douglass first joined GTE Interactive in 1995, his title was multimedia engineer.

"I had never heard of that title," he said. "Now I hear it all the time."

The advancement of multimedia technology has created another job title that was maybe foreign a few years back - compressionist. "We need compressionists," Douglass said. "They're very hard to find."

Digital Outpost plans to hire at least two video compressionists plus a customer service coordinator within the next month, boosting the company's number of employees from 10 to 13.

Its revenues also show Digital Outpost's growth. During the first year (1996), the company's revenues were $1.2 million. Douglass said that figure will double this year.

The company has almost outgrown its 5,000-square-foot North County office. Douglass said Digital Outpost's work space will double or triple in the next two years. He said the company will stay in San Diego County, but he doesn't know exactly where.

Wherever the company moves, the office will most likely be as cozy as the current one.

"We're here a lot of hours so we have to be comfortable," Douglass said as he sat on a couch in the online digital compositing suite. "We have a futon in the other room."

Just how many hours a week do Douglass and his staff usually work?

"About 65 to 75," he said.

"But that's because we're a young company and we're all hands-on."

While he works a ton, Douglass said he is happy with his job.

"I could be making a lot of money elsewhere working for somebody else but I've chosen to stay here," he said. "If I wasn't doing this, I would be owning another business. It's so much more rewarding (to own your own business)."

Dane Wygal, Digital Outpost's director of post-production, also seems to enjoy his job.

"It's a fun job," he said, twirling around in his studio chair.

Douglass said working hard now will mean more success in the future.

When he looks into his digital crystal ball, this is what he sees:

"We expect this industry to really take off. Our direction is automating the compression industry, to drive the price down but maintain profit margins and quality."

As for Digital Outpost, the firm will continue to stay on top of the technology wave, he said.

"It's a very, very promising future for us and I like the fact that we're privately held," Douglass said, a grin creeping over his face. "Sometimes companies that are venture capital-based can move fast. We can move whichever way the technology wind blows."

Digital Outpost

President: Brian Douglass Employees: 10 Revenues: $2.4 million projected for 1998 Headquarters: 2385 Camino Vida Roble, Carlsbad Business: Digital compression