Blu-Ray

Consumers now know that Blu-ray is the undisputed winner of the high definition format war, but it's the newer functions within the new Blu-ray players that might attract more attention.

From now and into the summer, manufacturers like Sony, Panasonic, Samsung and others will be launching new Blu-ray players that will have Internet connectivity — otherwise known as BD-Live — so users can access extra content after buying a Blu-ray movie.

The additional content could include a range of options like extra special features, video games and other downloadable interactive add-ons. The idea, it would seem, is to add value to the Blu-ray discs by giving consumers something more to look forward to.

Extra Blu-ray Content Creates a Community?
An example of how this would work could be a video game embedded into the movie disc. It would be entirely possible for you to play that game against someone else in another location who has the same movie and game. This could even include chatting and instant messaging as well. Think of it in terms of how online gaming works with the PC and consoles.

Another possible scenario could include watching a movie and being able to find out the background on a certain actor or even a product depicted in the film. The latest Sex and the City movie is a good example. When that movie eventually hits shelves on Blu-ray, it's plausible that viewers would be able to find out exactly where they could buy certain items the actresses use or wear through an interactive element on-screen.

There's no official list of compatible discs at the moment, though you would be right in assuming it's a short list. The Blu-ray website always carries news on new movie releases, including BD Live compatibility. Whether or not most of the movies that come out after the spring are BD Live-enabled is hard to say because the movie studios control the rights and access to the bonus content. And they're not talking much about where they plan to go with it.

At the same time, the manufacturers are also not saying too much about the fact that the first generation of Blu-ray players won't be able to give you BD Live connectivity. The simple reason for that is because they don't have Ethernet ports in the back to connect to the Internet. And those that do were only meant to download firmware upgrades, not actual content.

But the wider reason is because Blu-ray players started off at the very basic 1.0 standard. As of November last year, manufacturers were required to put out players that fell into the 1.1 standard. This upgrade allows viewers to watch a move using picture-in-picture capabilities. The catch is that the functionality needs to be included on the Blu-ray discs themselves, and they currently represent a small fraction of the just under 600 titles released so far.

BD Live represents the 2.0 standard because of the Internet connection. The BD Live players are also required to have at least 1GB of hard drive space, presumably for the content you download.

Bringing in New Adopters
Now, if you're among the early adopters who went out and got one of those 1.0 Blu-ray players, you can expect it to keep working for you. True, you won't be able to access the newer functions in 1.1 and 2.0, but if you have no interest in those, then you likely won't care either way.

The interesting thing is that Sony's Playstation 3 is the only Blu-ray player that can be upgraded from the basic 1.0 standard to the current 2.0 BD Live one. And at a starting price of $400, it comes across as a better deal than the new standalone BD Live players with a ballpark price of $700.

Industry analysts have suggested that 2008 will be a big year for Blu-ray, with BD Live being a key driver. But that depends on a couple of things: one, a decent library of movie titles that incorporate those features, and two, hitting price points low enough to attract more people to go out and buy the new players.

There are already players that have memory card slots to play back home video, as well as embedded iPod docks for all your stereo needs. There will be more gimmicks and niche ideas when it comes to Blu-ray, so stay tuned.