Universal Studios Home Entertainment has introduced a host of enhanced iPhone and iPod touch-enabled features and social web-based offerings within its latest batch of Blu-ray releases.
The studio has announced the release of Blu-ray versions of Bruno, Funny People, 9, American Pie Presents: The Book of Love, Public Enemies, and Inglourious Basterds, these will ship by Christmas.
All the discs include the pocket BLU app, which offers iPhone and iPod users touch further enhancements to the Blu-ray experience, and social BLU, which offers Blu-ray users more ways to interact with their Facebook and Twitter networks through an Internet-connected Blu-ray player.
Craig Kornblau, President of Universal Studios Home Entertainment said, "By bridging Blu-ray's vast capabilities with the Internet, iPhone, iPod touch and some of the hugely popular social networking platforms, we are effectively taking the Blu-ray experience to the next level, offering consumers the opportunity to easily integrate their favorite films into those activities and devices that have become part of their everyday lifestyle."
pocket BLU uses the device's Wi-Fi connection to work seamlessly with a network-connected Blu-ray player and offers the following advanced features:
- Advanced Remote Control: A sleek, elegant new way to operate your Blu-ray player. Users can navigate through menus, playback and BD-Live functions with ease.
- Video Timeline: By turning the phone to landscape mode, users will bring up the video timeline, allowing them to instantly access any point in the movie.
- Mobile-To-Go: Users can unlock a selection of exclusive bonus content with their Blu-ray discs to save to their device or to stream from anywhere there's a Wi-Fi network, enabling them to enjoy exclusive content on the go, anytime, anywhere.
- Browse Titles: Users will have access to a complete list of pocket BLU-enabled titles available and coming to Blu-ray Hi-Def. Free previews and more.
- Pop-Up Keyboard: Enter data into a Blu-ray player with this easy and intuitive keyboard that will facilitate such Blu-ray(TM) features as chatting with friends and sending messages.
The pocket BLU app will be made available for free from the App Store on iPhone and iPod touch. It doesn't appear to be available at the App Store at this time, but our information suggests its pending - perhaps it's lost in Apple's Byzantine App Store approval process...
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Comments
Nice
Now how about a little Macintosh reciprocity, Apple.
I'd trade it all for a Digital Copy
The continuing development in the BR sector is exciting, but I don't understand this at all.
Unlock a selection of bonus content? I don't see myself scouting for a public wireless network so I can see outtakes or deleted scenes from American Pie Presents: Eugene Levy Getting his Rent Paid.
I would much rather have a Digital Copy, so I could put the film itself on my iPhone. You know, the content I paid money to see?
Color me skeptical, until I see a top notch implementation of said tech. I for one hope that it's Inglourious Basterds that does the convincing.
New Math
Six is the figure that quantifies a host of craziness? The number of films I watched from the list is zero. and the number of films I intend to rent or buy is also zero. I couldn't care less what "advanced features" Blue-Ray provides. These films neither interest nor inspire me at all. Universal et al, what else ya got?
Why? Apple doesn't even
Why? Apple doesn't even support Blu-ray. they don't support playback, they don't offer Blu-ray drives. they don't support Managed Copy.
brain-dead
I'm amazed to watch Apple bend these dinosaurs to their will (rightly so -- as opposed to Microsoft's last 15 yrs of mediocrity built on threats, bribes and destroying companies, i.e., latest example i4i Inc.).
You can see how movie execs like Kornblau are members of the flat-earth society...what knucklehead would pay the "bag of hurt" for Blu-Ray plastic to watch American Pie or Bruno? How stupid does he think customers are? OK, don't answer, but still. ;)
It's a total dead-end strategy.
Just as the music cartel extorted us to buy the same albums from 8-track, to cassette, to CD, and some to MP4/AAC because I couldn't import them from scratched old CDs, the video cartel is hoping that I re-purchase any movies I bought on VHS, then maybe laser disc, then DVD, now Blu-Ray...?
For double the price? Sure.
The joke has been the billions of dollars of profit the media mafia has always made has NOT been from creativity and good content, it's been from extortion for these new formats every few years. (And this is after they spend millions on lawyers trying to kill VHS, DVD recorders, Napster, MP3.com, Pirate Bay, Bit Torrent, etc...then they embrace it.)
Online, H.264, >720p, day-and-date rental window, any device, reasonable price. (And stop taking the studio jet to Maui.)
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