Disney Adds Blu-Ray Extras

Now that Blu-Ray has won the high-def war, Disney is going all out in promoting the medium with cutting edge extra to take advantage of the Profile 2 (or BD-Live) capability of Blu-Ray.

During a presentation Monday night to officially unveil Disney's first BD Live title -- an elaborate 50th anniversary edition release of "Sleeping Beauty" -- division president Bob Chapek promised to add BD Live elements, which allow movie viewers to tap into the Web for a wealth of interactive options, to all upcoming Disney-branded releases beginning in the fourth quarter. To further hasten the transition to Blu-ray Disc, Disney is including a standard DVD with "Sleeping Beauty" to make it easy for consumers to understand the difference between the two formats.

Chapek said the interactive extras on "Sleeping Beauty," from a menu backdrop that mirrors weather conditions in the viewer's home town to onscreen chat rooms and video messaging, are merely "our jumping off point of what's to come."

I tell ya, considering that this was the company that was hesitant to throw its full support behind DVD when it was first introduced, and actually joined in the DIVX camp during its early stage, Disney has come a long way.

Zz.