High-def sides boast interactivity features

HDTV DISPLAYSEARCH: Full-profile Blu-ray players coming; HD DVD has more on Web

By Susanne Ault -- Video Business, 10/11/2007 5:29:00 PM

OCT. 12 | UNIVERSAL CITY, Calif.—LG Electronics will launch one of the first Blu-ray Disc players boasting picture-in-picture functionality this month.

LG’s second-generation dual-format model will handle HD DVD advanced interactivity, as well as comply with ‘full profile specifications’ for Blu-ray players, reported the company’s product development director Tim Alessi at the HDTV DisplaySearch Conference here on Thursday.

As mandated by the Blu-ray Disc Assn., all Blu-ray hardware streeting after Oct. 31 must be full profile, carrying certain enhancements not required of earlier players. This broadened spec includes picture-in-picture and greater memory capacity.

Sony’s PlayStation 3 is expected to offer a firmware upgrade to fit this spec, but no availability date has been set.

To date, only HD DVD players can playback picture-in-picture, which has played a big part in such HD DVD titles as Warner Home Video’s 300.

Additionally, Pioneer Electronics will unveil its first full-profile player during January’s Consumer Electronics Show, said Pioneer senior manager of product planning and marketing Chris Walker at the conference.

Walker said Korean firm Daewoo and Japan-based Denon also will soon bow full-profile Blu-ray players.

However, HD DVD backers still own the market on Web functionality for now. No manufacturer has announced the rollout of BD Live players, which would be capable of such Web connectivity.

In fact, HD DVD will offer its most advanced Web features yet with the launch this year of remote networked control. With this feature, users can be linked up for private presentations, in which a group leader can direct the sessions from a HD DVD remote control. Fans can then participate through a variety of options, including HD DVD players, and such remote devices as their mobile phones and PCs.

Microsoft HD DVD evangelist Kevin Collins said studios envision a filmmaker treating fans who’ve bought his or her HD DVD to exclusive discussions and video presentations.

Collins declined to name the HD DVD title set to first include remote networked control, but he said it will street by the end of the year.

“This takes networking to a new level, and it has never been done on a title,” said Collins.