Blu-ray Disc Assn. promotes new Bonus View

By Susanne Ault -- Video Business, 10/30/2007

OCT. 30 | LOS ANGELES—The Blu-ray Disc Assn. has branded the new profile for Blu-ray hardware ‘Bonus View.’

After Oct. 31, all launched Blu-ray players must feature advanced functionality not required of earlier players. These enhancements, previously either termed Profile 1.1 or Full Profile, include greater memory and the ability to play picture-in-picture.

During Monday’s Blu-ray Festival here, Andy Parsons, senior VP of product planning at Pioneer and chair of the BDA Promotions Committee, confirmed the new name for the specifications.

Parsons also explained that the BDA is not going to object to some Blu-ray manufacturers, such as Samsung, which are not technically abiding by the Oct. 31 deadline for advanced features in players. Samsung’s dual-format model, bowing in late December, will include ‘Bonus View’ machinery but will still require a firmware upgrade to playback such advanced interactivity as picture-in-picture. That upgrade won’t be available to consumers until January.

“The key point is to get to the transition to Bonus View,” said Parsons to VB. “The player is compatible with all the hardware. We won’t quibble over something like [the firmware upgrade]. We don’t want to get bureaucratic. The most important thing is to deliver product that meets customer expectations.”

On Monday, 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment said it would bring out in January the industry’s first Blu-ray picture-in-picture title, sci-fi flick Sunshine.

The next evolution for Blu-ray players is BD Live, which is hardware that boasts Bonus View with the addition of Web connectivity. This profile remains an option for hardware manufacturers, but they are expected to soon start announcing such players.

Since launch, all HD DVD players have been able to play picture-in-picture, as well as handle Web interactivity, such as the e-commerce options within Universal Studios Home Entertainment’s HD DVD Evan Almighty.

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