Posted Mon Jun 23, 2008 at 06:00 AM PDT by Peter Bracke
Warner is preparing to launch its first BD-Live-enabled Blu-ray titles in time for the Winter holidays, the company revealed at a press event held this past Friday.
During the keynote address at the Entertainment Supply Chain Academy conference, president of Warner Bros. Technical Operations Darcy Antonellis confirmed that the studio's first Blu-ray titles to feature web-enabled interactivity are being readied for release as soon as the end of 2008.
Among the cutting-edge BD-Live interactivite features planned for the as-yet-unnamed titles include real-time viewing, a search engine, library access, and a "recommendation tool" for other titles complete with e-mail reminders.
More standard features also planned include real-time and downloadable content such as picture-in-picture, deleted scenes and trailers, as well as ringtones and wallpapers.
Predicting quicker adoption of web-enabled content versus DVD-ROM features on standard DVD, Antonellis cited videogame adoption and the success of personal networking websites as key to mass consumer acceptance.
"I think it [BD-Live] has the ability to compete [with MySpace and YouTube] for a user's time because you are taking them online and you're able to create a community that we have never been able to do before," she said. 'That's huge for us."
Although the studio declined to confirm any specific titles slated to receive the BD-Live treatment, Antonellis pointed to the upcoming 'The Dark Knight' as a likely candidate, hinting that an online chat activity for the release is being considered.
"These are exclusive opportunities that can be offered through this small community that is created with these [Profile 2.0] players," Antonellis said. "We are no longer limited by finite capacity on the disc."
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