Disney Goes EULA Crazy On Sleeping Beauty Blu-ray
We couldn’t wait to check out Sleeping Beauty, it being the first Blu-ray release from Disney’s animation vault. Our excitement turned to annoyance when we were greeted with a BD-Live update Read more
Blu-Con 1.0 Announced and Dated
You might be wondering, what the hell is Blu-Con!?!?! Blu-Con is a day long event held by the BDA to talk about, and promote Blu-ray.
6x BD-Rs Go On Sale In America
Imation is bringing 6x BD-R’s to America Read more
We Just Want Our Bookmarks Back, Blu-ray
O.k., we know full well that “bookmarking” wasn’t the hottest feature on HD DVD, but we’ll be honest, it was one of our most favorite, and underrated features on the ill-fated format. Read more
First Blu-ray Test Center Opens in China
Engadget reports that the first Blu-ray disc testing facility has just opened up in China, Read more
The Future Of Interactivity: Part Deux
Although it feels like just yesterday when we were all giddy about Imagion’s Dynamic HD features, our search for a Blu-ray equivalent may have just come to end. Enter Biddle, an extremely exciting tech offering from the Korean based company, Dreamer, that aims to change the way we use our Blu-ray players forever.
Having accumulated over one million users in their native land, Dreamer has successfully proven that their tech is both viable and — perhaps more importantly — desirable.
What’s it do, you ask? Well, to be perfectly honest, a whole hell of lot. For starters, users can connect to the Biddle servers to retrieve alternative audio/commentary/subtitle tracks, additional bonus material, partake in interactive casual gaming, connect to social networking services, or make secure purchases of merchandise (film related or otherwise). Read more
Netblender CEO John Harrington Answers A Few Questions About BD Touch
Netblender’s forthcoming “BD Touch” application brings BD Live integration to the iPhone, and that brought a few questions to mind. Netblender’s CEO John Harrington answers the questions we had regarding this new technology.
Tyler: What are the limits of the BD Touch framework? Can it write directly to the iPhone hardware? Like how the WiFi Music store works?
John: The limits of the framework are only based on the limits of the Apple iPhone SDK. One such limit is the lack of bluetooth functionality.
Tyler: Will BD Touch authored discs be ready for the launch of Apple’s iPhone App Store?
BD Live is the Flavour of the Day
At both the Sony booth and the BDA booth at CES today we were shown BD Live presentations and demonstrations on real ‘live’ systems.
Firstly, and possibly the best news for many, it was very clear that the primary BD Live device currently is the Playstation 3. The firmware development for BD Live has been underway for some time and all of the demonstrations today were presented using PS3 platforms. There was no official word on when it will be available, but it was described as ‘almost ready’. And we hope it will at least be in time for Saw IV on January 22nd.
How Seamless is Your Branching?
There is a lot of talk about Seamless Branching, particularly the upcoming Warner title Return to House on Haunted Hill. Multiple sources are stating that this title will have seamless branching on Blu-ray Disc but not on HD DVD. This is not the first time - the Nine Inch Nails title Beside You in Time was also featured seamless branching only on the Blu-ray Disc. This though perhaps is the first title from a major studio that illustrates the discrepancy between the formats. Amir Majidimehr from Microsoft has described branching as “not as “cool” since it has been done before” though he also indicated that it might show up on some future titles. It seems that the Blu-ray studios think it is pretty cool, with Sony Pictures using seamless branching on big titles like Spiderman 2 and Close Encounters of the Third Kind.
The question that comes to mind is this: If Seamless Branching is in the specification for both formats, why is only Blu-ray Disc making use of this feature? It will certainly be interesting to see how the HD DVD camp responds…
Amazon.com and Microsoft Team Up to Help Indie Filmmakers Jump Into HD DVD
From the press release: Using Amazon’s CustomFlix, which is a disc-on-demand service, this venture will lower the barrier to entry for independent filmmakers to produce and distribute movies in the HD DVD format. The project will provide free authoring and setup services for up to 1,000 selected indie titles. In addition, the Sundance Channel will be reviewing the high-definition features for potential broadcast on the network as well as making its own HD original eco-series, “Big Ideas for a Small Planet,” available for purchase through Amazon’s HD DVD program.
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