Sony plans 50GB Blu-ray releases
First titles unlikely to use BD-Java; studios approach interactivity slowly
By Susanne Ault -- Video Business, 8/25/2006
AUG. 25 | Sony Pictures Home Entertainment will release at least two Blu-ray Disc titles on higher-capacity 50GB discs this year, worldwide president Ben Feingold said last week.
Declining to specify titles or the kinds of extra features the 50GB will carry, Feingold said, “All of the fun stuff is going to come, but we need to get everyone comfortable [with the format]. A lot of it will be spectacular.”
Sony has been taking its knocks from retailers and reviewers for a lack of advanced bonus features and perceived quality problems on the studio’s first Blu-ray titles—all of which have only 25GB of data capacity.
Sony Pictures executive VP of advanced technology Don Eklund said discs released this year will start to include some original value-added features. But they likely will not use the BD-Java interactive technology, which is integral to such extras as content updates over the Internet, until January.
Some early HD DVD titles, in contrast, do have interactive capabilities, such as picture-in-picture features that let viewers watch the film and bonus material simultaneously.
With the Blu-ray titles in the market so far, “we’ve been conservative … focusing on pictures and sound more than anything else,” Eklund said. “There is just one player in the market. And when we make a disc, we generally check it on every player for compatibility issues. Absent that ability to do that, we’ve been reluctant to add in other features.”
“I would expect you might see something this year [in regard to Blu-ray interactivity], but I wouldn’t guarantee it,” said Steve Nickerson, senior VP of marketing management for Warner Home Video, which supports both the Blu-ray and HD DVD formats. “The industry needs to gain experience in the new formats.”
At this month’s DisplaySearch HDTV conference, many retailers said they could discern little distinction between Blu-ray titles and standard-definition DVDs. Samsung has acknowledged operational problems with early player units, but retailers also faulted Blu-ray software (VB, 8-21).
Sony executives gave some explanations for why some titles might look better than others on Blu-ray.
“RV happens to be a very recent title,” Eklund said, referring to the Robin Williams comedy release on standard DVD and Blu-ray this month. “The quality of the film masters is variable. It’s going to depend how the film was shot, with some having more film grain and some having a sharper image.”
Typically, footage shot in high-def will transition easier to a high-def format than from straight film stock.
At the DisplaySearch event, retailers said a Samsung demo disc performed better in the Samsung Blu-ray player than many available Blu-ray films. Nickerson contends this is an apples to oranges comparison.
“When you take a high-def camera and shoot nature scenes, that is different than a title that was made ‘X’ years ago,” he said.
Filmmakers also have been making creative decisions that may not please every consumer, explained Sony’s Feingold.
“[Color] might look oversaturated, but ultimately, we allow the filmmaker significant latitude in that process,” Feingold said. “In the end, it’s their creative work.”
Additionally, some Blu-ray titles have been mastered on display monitors differently from ones consumers use for TV viewing.
“We’re going to be doing some work in the fall with filmmakers and post-production, looking at how authoring works in what consumer monitors are like today,” Feingold said, noting the influence of quickly evolving flat-panel and plasma TVs.
On the whole, Blu-ray title reviews appear to be improving. Sony partly credits its work reaching out to media critics to ensure they fully understand how best to view the format.
