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Disney pulling out all the stops for Sleeping Beauty
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DVD Profiler Desktop and Mobile RegistrantStar ContributorNewEnglander
Registered: 11/13/2003
Registered: March 13, 2007
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Blu-ray interactivity enlivens 'Sleeping Beauty' 
By Thomas K. Arnold, Special for USA TODAY

Disney wants to awaken sales of the Blu-ray Disc format, and the studio knows it'll take more than a kiss to get the job done. In October, Disney will release its first animated classic on the high-definition video format, Sleeping Beauty, with high-tech viewing options not possible with DVD.

Using a new technology known as BD Live — which connects to the Internet — viewers will pop in the disc and get a customized version of the famed castle that serves as a backdrop for the menu. The sky will reflect weather conditions in the viewer's hometown.

Once viewers begin watching, they'll be able to chat with friends right on the movie screen, using a laptop, BlackBerry or other PDA, through Disney's protected network. They'll be able to insert customized video messages anywhere in the movie and send them to friends or family members via a "movie mail" feature.

They'll be able to play trivia games with fellow viewers across the country. And when they're done, they can get a constant supply of new trailers, plus trade in "reward" points, collected by using many of these features, for ringtones and wallpaper.

Sleeping Beauty "will revolutionize the way people will interact with and view movies in the home," says Bob Chapek, president of Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment. "We pulled out all the stops in launching this technology."

The Blu-ray format could use a wake-up call. Despite competing format HD-DVD giving up the field in early February, sales of BD players fell 40% from January to February, and recouped only 2% of that loss in March, according to a report from market tracking firm The NPD Group. (Figures do not include sales of Sony's PS3 game system, which also plays BD video discs and is on the upswing.)

But there's a hitch: Current Blu-ray owners — except for those with PS3s — won't be able to access Sleeping Beauty's online features. BD Live is part of a revised Blu-ray Profile 2.0, which will start to appear on machines from Sony and Panasonic this summer. Players already bought can't be upgraded.

"I hate that; it sounds like planned obsolescence," says Farrell Rigney, 50, a contractor in Carlsbad, Calif., who bought a Blu-ray Disc player the day after Thanksgiving. "They plan it so you have to buy another one, just like with cellphones."

The studios insist they aren't trying to make life difficult for consumers, just trying to keep packaged media alive. DVD sales are slipping, and the studios hope Blu-ray will rekindle consumer interest enough to continue buying discs instead of downloading movies.

At this point, Blu-ray accounts for about 5% of overall disc sales, according to Nielsen VideoScan. To really start the ball rolling, studios believe it'll take not just a clearer picture but a completely different and interactive experience.

That's the chief reason Disney is pushing the envelope with Sleeping Beauty, much as the studio pushed people to DVD in late 2001 with an innovative special edition of Snow White, which became the first disc to sell 1 million units in a single day.

Disney isn't the only studio working with BD Live technology, although others' early efforts aren't as elaborate. Lionsgate's Blu-ray War and Saw IV, released in January, offer chat features.

Sony released two BD Live features in April, The Sixth Day and Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story, with downloadable extra content. And 20th Century Fox's Alien vs. Predator lets viewers superimpose themselves into a game and play against others over the Internet.

"Blu-ray Disc alone is a significantly different viewing experience, with seamless menus and other technological advances that make DVD seem almost clunky," says Sony Pictures' Lexine Wong. "But with BD Live, it's a whole other world. BD Live allows packaged media to live forever."

The online additions could give Blu-ray a lift, says Russ Crupnick of The NPD Group. "BD Live promises to move potential buyers off the sidelines," he says. "We are in an increasingly interactive environment, with online gaming, social networking and virtual communities like Second Life ingraining themselves into pop culture. Taking that experience into the living room is a natural next step."
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DVD Profiler Unlimited RegistrantMark Harrison
I like IMDB
Registered: March 13, 2007
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That sounds really neat and all, but I already own a copy of Sleeping Beauty.

I'll save my money for something I don't already own.  I have double-dipped on a few, but Sleeping Beauty certainly won't be among that select list of must-have's.
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DVD Profiler Unlimited Registrantgoodguy
Sita Sings the Blues
Registered: March 14, 2007
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Quoting NewEnglander:
Quote:
Using a new technology known as BD Live — which connects to the Internet — viewers will pop in the disc and get a customized version of the famed castle that serves as a backdrop for the menu. The sky will reflect weather conditions in the viewer's hometown.

Well, that's certainly helpful if you live in the basement, but not so much if your apartment has Windows Live. 
Matthias
DVD Profiler Unlimited RegistrantStar Contributormdnitoil
Registered: March 14, 2007
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Does anybody really want to send email and video clips while they're in the middle of watching a movie?  The technology sounds neat and all, but when I'm watching a movie, I'm watching a movie.  I must be missing something.
DVD Profiler Desktop and Mobile RegistrantAgrare
Registered: May 22, 2007
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Quoting mdnitoil:
Quote:
Does anybody really want to send email and video clips while they're in the middle of watching a movie?  The technology sounds neat and all, but when I'm watching a movie, I'm watching a movie.  I must be missing something.


I whole heartedly agree

-Agrare
DVD Profiler Unlimited RegistrantTom Smith
Registered: March 24, 2007
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Quoting mdnitoil:
Quote:
Does anybody really want to send email and video clips while they're in the middle of watching a movie?  The technology sounds neat and all, but when I'm watching a movie, I'm watching a movie.  I must be missing something.


Just like a real theatre, people can talk in the middle of the movie. 

First they had online content for DVDs (computer required), then HD DVD, now BD Live... It's all crap.
Tom.
DVD Profiler Unlimited RegistrantZoeper
Registered: 10/03/2003
Registered: March 13, 2007
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Quoting Mark Harrison:
Quote:
That sounds really neat and all, but I already own a copy of Sleeping Beauty.

I'll save my money for something I don't already own.  I have double-dipped on a few, but Sleeping Beauty certainly won't be among that select list of must-have's.


I sooo agree on that.
I double-dipped all Harry Potters and I am planning to do a few other good (IMHO) movies in my collection. Definatly all the Pixar's.

Disney should have released Jungle Book with all canon's roaring that is a disc that wasn't a big seller when it came to DVD in the first place, now we have to wait an additional 7 years or so?

I was wondering about something else since we are talking about Blu and Disney... Do you guys find that Disney discs take a long time to load compared with Fox and Warner titles? Probably something to do with the Java content and my Profile 1.0 player?

@Mdnitoil, I agree
Jean-Paul
 Last edited: by Zoeper
DVD Profiler Unlimited RegistrantBattling Butler
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"But there's a hitch: Current Blu-ray owners — except for those with PS3s — won't be able to access Sleeping Beauty's online features. BD Live is part of a revised Blu-ray Profile 2.0, which will start to appear on machines from Sony and Panasonic this summer. Players already bought can't be upgraded."

   
DVD Profiler Unlimited RegistrantMark Harrison
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Quoting mdnitoil:
Quote:
Does anybody really want to send email and video clips while they're in the middle of watching a movie?  The technology sounds neat and all, but when I'm watching a movie, I'm watching a movie.  I must be missing something.


I'm with you.  I've said it before (maybe even on this site), that it's hard enough to get my own family to be quiet during the movie.  Why on earth would I want others distracting me?

I think we're in the early stages of what can be done with the new power available on Blu-ray discs.  Just like with DVDs, I'm sure that over time the studios will weed out the stupid ideas and hopefully find some useful bonus features that are actually cool.  I think right now it's all about putting every cool, whiz-bang thing you can on the disc to make it stand out from the DVD on the shelf next to it.

Than again, I just turned 40 this year.  Maybe this is just the kind of thing all the uber-connected teenagers in today's society will love.
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DVD Profiler Desktop and Mobile RegistrantStar Contributorschultzy
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Quoting mdnitoil:
Quote:
Does anybody really want to send email and video clips while they're in the middle of watching a movie?  The technology sounds neat and all, but when I'm watching a movie, I'm watching a movie.  I must be missing something.


I hate it when people talk to much when I am watching a movie (at least one I am watching for the first time).  I would probably kill the first person that sent me a message that interrupted what I was watching.
Schultzy - http://www.michaelschultz.net
grenactics - The art of skillfully fraggin one’s opponent with the use of grenades or other compact explosive devices that are thrown by hand or projected.
DVD Profiler Desktop and Mobile RegistrantStar Contributorschultzy
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Pretty soon Blu-ray movies will have targeted advertisements.  I can see a billboard in a movie changing to reflect a business in the area or what new value meal McDonalds has this week.
Schultzy - http://www.michaelschultz.net
grenactics - The art of skillfully fraggin one’s opponent with the use of grenades or other compact explosive devices that are thrown by hand or projected.
DVD Profiler Unlimited Registrantnuoyaxin
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Registered: March 13, 2007
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Quoting schultzy:
Quote:
Pretty soon Blu-ray movies will have targeted advertisements.  I can see a billboard in a movie changing to reflect a business in the area or what new value meal McDonalds has this week.



Don't give them ideas....
Achim [諾亞信; Ya-Shin//Nuo], a German in Taiwan.
Registered: May 29, 2000 (at InterVocative)
DVD Profiler Unlimited RegistrantStar Contributorwhispering
On ne passe pas!
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I agree with all of you, and the better picture would be the only reason for my upgrade.

Though i have to admit, after watching a movie, going into a chatroom that has people that also just watched the same movie might spark up some good conversations. In reality it would probably be just another place for the "i thnk dis film sux" and "asl?" messages.
 Last edited: by whispering
DVD Profiler Unlimited RegistrantStar ContributorWinston Smith
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Registered: March 13, 2007
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Welcome to the world of Sony. In order to take full advantage of the BD Live features in Sleeping Beauty and however it evolves going forward..you must have a BD Live capable deck. Your old deck is not BD Live and is NOT upgradeable..time to pad Sony's wallet some more.

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Billy Video
DVD Profiler Desktop and Mobile RegistrantStar ContributorNewEnglander
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Last time....

Sony does not equal Blu-ray.
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DVD Profiler Unlimited RegistrantStar ContributorWinston Smith
Don't be discommodious
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It makes no difference, Sony controls the standard, which is why BD Live decks are only now beginning to be released, save for the PS3. You have much yet to learn about the electroniucs industry, my young padiwan.
There are more surprises to come from the keeper of the standard which will require...you guessed it new decks.

Skip
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Outta here

Billy Video
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