DVD News

Blu-Ray 2.0 Interactive DVDs

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The first interactive Blu-Ray DVDs are on there way. On April 8, 2008, Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story and The 6th Day, will be Sony’s first Blu-Ray DVD Live (BD-Live) titles to be introduced to the high-definition DVD market. BD-Live titles will be able to connect to the internet for more bonus materials and features, including: live virtual events, wallpaper downloads, gaming ringtones and p2p interactions. I find this curious. Why not just include this material and functionality on the DVD’s initial release? Why force people to go to a website for these items and programs?

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Also on April 8, the BD-Live rollout will coincide “‘with the launch of a new software update for Sony’s PlayStation 3 that makes the game console the first Blu-ray player with Internet connectivity, an ability known as ‘Profile 2.0.’” This is good news for PS3 owners who it seems will be on the cutting edge of Blu-Ray technology. Stand-alone Blu-Ray owners and future owners will not be left behind. “‘Ultimately, all Blu-ray players will be Profile 2.0. When the format launched in June 2006, Blu-ray players were of the basic Profile 1.0 kind, meaning they could offer neither picture-in-picture nor Internet connectivity, something the doomed HD DVD rival format offered from Day 1.’” Isn’t it humorous that one of the major reasons why movies studios picked Blu-Ray over HD was because of its higher level of copy-right protection but now that protection has been cracked and Blu-Ray rips are all over the internet, ready to be downloaded and burned onto blank double-layer DVDs.

Most people don’t realize though that to fully benefit for a Blu-Ray player, any Blu-Ray player, you need an HDTV with some nice SD video processing circuitry on the inside. Plus, do you really want to watch a regular television signal on your HDTV.? Hell no, so now you have to order HDTV programming from one of the cable providers. By getting a next generation DVD player, you will eventually be upgrading 75-90% of your home theater equipment.

Source: Reuters

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Rollo Tomasi

Rollo Tomasi is a Connecticut-based film critic, TV show critic, news, and editorial writer. He will have a MFA in Creative Writing from Columbia University in 2025. Rollo has written over 700 film, TV show, short film, Blu-ray, and 4K-Ultra reviews. His reviews are published in IMDb's External Reviews and in Google News. Previously you could find his work at Empire Movies, Blogcritics, and AltFilmGuide. Now you can find his work at FilmBook.
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