The new generation of Blu-ray players gives consumers more opportunity to enjoy the BD experience by uploading and downloading content through the Internet. Audiences are increasingly familiar with this concept and they are beginning to enjoy the wealth of possibilities for Internet-connected devices, especially with camera capability. NICK BROWN, CEO of Crossplatform Ltd, introduces an exciting new technology, capable of adding even more life to a BD-Live title – Augmented Reality.
Increasingly, there is also an appetite for more video and 3D experiences, either from user-generated content (UGC) or exclusive professionally-produced ‘snackable’ content across platforms, generating huge opportunities for both marketing and content distribution.
Augmented Reality (AR) was originally used by defence organisations to create simulated environments. Now AR is being used to entertain consumers using facial and image recognition that drives video and 3D animation. As processing power increases and software becomes more affordable, interesting applications are being revealed to the consumer for the first time.
In recent years, consumers have been exposed to ever-increasing quality through formats designed to provide an incredible in-theatre experience (big sound, true colour and depth). They have seen SD give way to Dolby 5.1 surround sound, and are now enjoying the benefits of HD, with a dawning realisation that pretty soon 3D will yet again change their experience of home entertainment.
Combine this expectation with the increasing use of broadband connections, and the way is clear for BD-Live. This is a great opportunity for studios to leverage the full combination of HDTV, broadband, casual gaming and social web trends to transform the domestic viewing experience. BD-Live adds a new dimension — online connectivity — to the high-definition video experience, turning a disc with a movie into a doorway to a virtually limitless, interactive world of content, commerce and community.
New sales figures released by the British Video Association using data from the Official Charts Company reveal healthy year on year growth for the home entertainment market based on data for the first quarter of 2010. New release titles performed especially well in the first quarter of the year, with volumes up 10.3% on the same period last year, with a 31% increase in March.
It seems like a simple idea – a hyperlink from your DVD menu sends customers through to your site allowing them to view updated or bonus content, post comments on you blog or shop for products. Unfortunately DVD doesn’t work like that.
At the same time, Hollywood also experimented with the concept of Web enabled DVDs, using InterActual’s PC Friendly Software. A number high profile titles were produced over the years, including the early Harry Potter chapters and The Matrix. Features included script viewers, storyboard comparisons, Image Galleries and QucktimeVR viewers.
Did you know you can legally license music for as little as £5?
Television viewers could soon be enjoying their favourite programmes or feature films in ’stereoscopic 3D’, thanks to ground-breaking work being undertaken at the UN agency, the International Telecommunication Union (ITU).
