Incredible Blu Ray Disc Features
The bidding war between Toshiba and Microsoft vs. Sony is finally over. You can officially breathe a sigh of relief and plan to purchase that new Sony Blue Ray player. The fact that 75% of all major motion picture companies have agreed to release new films only in the Blu Ray disc format may be enough to get many consumers buying PlayStation3s, which includes the Blu Ray technology for less than the cost of a stand alone BR Disc player. Just as DVDs and Dolby Digital Surround Sound were a whole new experience, so is the Blu Ray disc compared to HD-DVD.
Perhaps you’ve just purchased your first Blu Ray player and want some quintessential Blu Ray DVDs to jumpstart your collection and showcase all that BR has to offer. “Pirates of the Caribbean: Curse of the Black Peal” is a great high-definition BR disc to start off your collection.
The new DVD for Saw 4 in Blu Ray comes with a “Molog” feature, which is short for “Movie-Log” and allows viewers to write and share their comments in a blog. Upcoming BD-J features include: an “Alien Scavenger Hunt” game with Independence Day, a “Global Warming Trivia” quiz with The Day After Tomorrow, and a historical geographical map tracking the characters’ voyage with Master & Commander.
The future holds some exciting possibilities for the Blu Ray disc, analysts speculate. The storage space will enable users to bookmark internet pages, unlock bonus content on the publisher’s website, look up movie theater times, contribute to interactive movie blogs, and download audio or video extras.
New play modes are likely to be facilitated, such as: animated subtitles that fade in and out, or can be scrolled, trick play modes, angle alternates and video-in-video mode, like browsing cable TV menus. Browse buttons and graphics are said to be advanced and functionality more similar to a computer or DISH Network menu than a traditional DVD menu.
Are you one of the unfortunate ones who invested in HD DVDs last year? If so, then it might comfort you to know that Best Buy and Circuit City feel at least a little bad for misleading you into thinking HD DVD was “the next best thing.”
Who knew that all the major players would side with Blu Ray so early on in the high-definition format bidding war? In March, Best Buy announced that it would mail a $50 gift card to any customers who purchased an HD DVD machine before February 23rd. Following suit, Circuit City offered to accept returns of the discontinued Toshiba HD DVD player, in exchange for a store credit toward the Blu Ray disc gear or whatever else the customer would like to choose from the store.
Filed under: Computers & Technology