In a move that’s truly going to test the potential of Blu-ray, Disney has announced a slew of BD releases with next-gen interactivity.
The features that will be included in the Mouse House latest batch of Blu-rays include live, onscreen chat functions for titles like Lost and High School Musical. Quite why you would want to chat to someone while watching a movie is beyond us but we’re the people who glare at those who rustle their popcorn loudly.
Next-gen home entertainment
Disney is ramping up its efforts to sell more Blu-ray Discs as it quite obviously wants the format to overtake DVD as the 'disc of choice' for consumers.
The new features take advantage of Profile 2.0 or BD-Live. This technology is still quite sparse, with only a handful of players – including the Panasonic DMP-BD50 and the PlayStation 3 – able to actually play this content.
The first Profile 2.0 release from Disney was announced Monday and it is the 50th anniversary release of Sleeping Beauty. The disc will be released 7 October and includes the already mentioned chat function.
Speaking about the announcement, division president Bob Chape, said: “The idea of my little girl being able to experience the movie and chat in real time with her grandparents across the country is very exciting to me.
"We are introducing this important feature on Sleeping Beauty, but imagine the possibilities of extending this to other titles such as High School Musical or, eventually, ABC's hit show Lost.
Can you imagine the level of excitement that will be created with the tweens or the rabid fan base of Lost?"
Well, we can hardly contain our excitement, as speaking to Gran while ogling Lost’s Evangeline Lilly is certainly top of our priorities.
More and more features
Other BD-Live features the studio is set to include are: video messaging through Disney’s Movie Mail, exclusive web-based content including interviews with stars and directors, and the chance to download ringtones, avatars and wallpapers through your BD player.
For those not quite ready to dive into HD-infested waters, Sleeping Beauty will come with a plain-old DVD version included.
