BD Live usage increases, as more features are added
PHYSICAL: Consumers connect 4 million discs for online updates monthly
By Susanne Ault -- Video Business, 9/4/2009
SEPT. 4 | PHYSICAL: BD Live usage is climbing, according to authoring firm Deluxe Digital Studios.
In the nine months since the first BD Live titles debuted, people have connected 25 million such discs to the Web, according to Deluxe research. That figure should double by the end of the year. On average, consumers are connecting 4 million BD Live discs for online updates each month.
Deluxe, which has developed more than 700 BD Live-enabled discs, is pleased with the technology’s progress.
“BD Live is a very viable technology,” said Peter Staddon, executive VP at Deluxe. “And we’re seeing an enormous interest in downloading content.”
One of the most popular BD Live features is downloadable trailers, which Deluxe expects studios will continue to enhance through the next several months. Although standard-definition DVDs have long featured trailers, many were already shown in theaters by the time discs streeted. Trailers available on Blu-ray’s BD Live hype upcoming theatricals and are refreshed regularly.
The likely next chapter in trailer downloads is the rollout of exclusive versions only available through BD Live titles, according to Deluxe.
“People will take this further in the coming year, where you might see a theatrical trailer first at Comic-Con, and then there’ll be an exclusive trailer just for BD Live,” said Staddon. “That is in the strong realm of possibility.”
He suspects exclusive director’s cut versions of trailers also could be made available for BD Live.
Another upcoming evolution is the continued integration of existing, popular social networking services. The idea is to make BD Live a natural extension of what consumers already spend their time doing.
“We want BD Live to help keep track of all the content you are interested in, and the creative challenge is to develop it as an expanded part of your regular entertainment and not just have it bolted on,” said Staddon. “You don’t want people to feel they are being marketed to. They should feel like BD Live is part of their enhanced overall experience.”
Staddon believes studios are hoping to incorporate Facebook, Twitter, MySpace and iPhone applications into BD Live interactivity.
Warner Home Video has already committed to enabling its forthcoming new releases with Facebook features, which it started with July 21 release Watchmen. Universal Studios Home Entertainment bowed an iPhone app tied to the July 28 Blu-ray release of Fast & Furious, with which people used their mobile touch screens to control film content on their TVs.
Avatars also are being considered for BD Live, so users could create a unique character that would appear each time they plug in for BD Live content.
With registration procedures differing from studio to studio, BD Live developers also are working on simplifying the process for consumers.
