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Inception Blu-ray review
The combination of Christopher Nolan and Warner Bros. added up to success in ratings and sales in 2008 with The Dark Knight, and now both return just in time for the holiday season with Inception. Already a hit in theaters, viewers have been waiting to get the disc home hoping the dreams still feel just as real. To that end, Warner's released a three disc set with 90 minutes of extras, so does it measure up to our (admittedly lofty) expectations? Check out the rest of our review after the break and find out. (Note: While we try to avoid spoilers, there are a few key ones, if you haven't seen the movie and want to remain untainted, please check the review card page for our rating only.)%Gallery-109355%
BluFocus gets BDA official stamp as the first U.S. movie player testing center
The unglamorous but so-necessary job of making sure all those Blu-ray discs and players work nicely together has long been the aim of BluFocus, which has most recently become the first and only BDA approved site in the U.S. for Movie Player Verification. While certification and compatibility testing is usually the kind of thing we only consider when something doesn't work, it's always good to know this on someone's mind. Any recent Blu-ray compatibility complaints? Let the folks at BluFocus know on their website.
Videociety VOD service uses Blu-ray players with BD-Live
German production house Enteractive is readying its Blu-ray Java disc powered service Videociety that turns any BD-Live enabled Blu-ray player into an Internet delivered VOD box. Still unknown is what resolution movies will be offered in and which ones, although h.264 compression (with Dolby Digital 2.0 or 5.1 soundtracks) is confirmed, and the company has access to 400 films from sister companies Splendid Film, Polyband and WVG Media and negotiations with other major and independent studios are ongoing. Just like Netflix's Watch Instantly, movies are queued from a PC or iPhone, then streamed to the Blu-ray player once the disc is inserted. Anyone else hoping that if this works well it gets picked up outside of Germany after the official launch at IFA in September?[Via Blu-ray.com]
Testronic Labs tests 1,000th Blu-ray Disc for quality assurance
It's a pretty big day for Testronic Labs, as this day marks the tenth year that it has been testing optical media quality and bucking The Man and his brother (dubbed The Economy) to stay afloat. More important than that (to us, anyway) is this little tidbit: today also saw the 1,000th Blu-ray Disc tested for quality assurance in its facilities. For those unaware, this outfit works with movie studios to ensure the interactive content you receive is as bug free as humanly possible, and we'll admit, we've heard a lot less crying from Blu-ray Disc buyers of late compared to early on. Kudos, Testronic Labs -- we'll raise our glasses to a thousand more.
NAD's $1,500 T 587 Profile 2.0 Blu-ray deck shipping in December
During a period where Blu-ray deck manufacturers are begrudgingly lowering prices in order to increase BD adoption, NAD's sticking to its high-end roots and pricing its own Profile 2.0 player accordingly. The T 587, which was briefly spotted at CEDIA 2008, got all official on us today, as we learned that it'll come loaded with HDMI 1.3, Ethernet, composite / component outs, coaxial / optical digital audio ports, an external IR input, front-panel USB socket and internal decoding of the latest lossless audio codecs from Dolby and DTS. It'll also offer 1080p24 playback, specially developed silicon rubber feet (you know, for vibration isolation), a swank upscaler for sprucing up your DVDs and native support for BD-Live / BD-Java applications. Too bad it's being priced entirely too high at $1,499, but those with reputations to uphold can get one installed next month.[Image courtesy of HomeTheaterMag]
BluFocus beefs up Blu-ray control labs with BD-J / THX certification
At the front end of this year, we heard that BluFocus was getting a facility going to help studios pumping out Blu-ray Discs to the adoring public make sure no terrible backlashes occurred. Now, the quality assurance specialists are offering up two more critical certifications: THX and BD-Java. What does this mean for you? Hopefully nothing that you can tell, but it's not like we're complaining about one more layer of scrutiny before a flick hits the open market.
Sonic Solutions delivers BD-J tools for the creative set
If you've been left disappointed by the BD-J interactive features on Blu-ray discs, you're not alone -- all of that Java power is great, but the production tools leave it in the hands of programmers rather than artists. Sonic Solutions has introduced two applications to help keep the creative side of the house a little closer to the final product: BD Fusion is based on Clickstream's Multimedia Fusion game development environment and BD-J Converter converts Flash animations into Java code for use in BD-J projects. Now we'd be the first to say that rich BD-J features are pretty far down on our own wishlist for Blu-ray, but lowering the barrier to producing BD-J features that are actually interesting (even for kids) can't hurt, right?
Neil Young's Archives Blu-ray collection gets November 3rd release date
Neil Young's Archives project, which will see his entire music collection from 1963 to 1972 spread out over a 10-disc Blu-ray / DVD box set, finally has a release date. After being announced at the JavaOne Conference this May, we've now learned that the set will hit shelves on November 3rd. Interestingly, a price is still eluding us, but we'd just go ahead and assume that 10 Blu-ray Discs won't be exactly cheap. Something to tide you over is waiting just past the break.
Dreamer's Biddle makes Blu-ray players a way around your cable company?
While most are just dipping their toe into the BD-Live pond so far, Dreamer is thinking bigger. With its middleware Biddle software (based on the same DVB-GEM spec as OCAP, and also available to cable operators) included on a Blu-ray disc, the company claims its ready to deliver an "interactive TV service" consisting of VOD, web browsing, e-mail, social networking access or nearly anything else you can imagine. The upshot is that any internet-connected PS3 (or any other BD-Live capable hardware on the way). By downloading only what's necessary at the moment, the client overcomes the Blu-ray program size restriction and delivers what customers have already come to expect from leading Korean IPTV and cable companies using the software in their STBs. The first titles with the software included are planned with KD Media this month in Korea, but the company is still showing its software off to domestic providers, with an eye towards hopping on expected $299 Blu-ray players (not yet) and into American homes. [Via Multichannel News]
Neil Young's entire music archive to be released on Blu-ray
Sun Microsystems's pledge to aid the widespread development of interactive content on Blu-ray wasn't the only thing going down today at the JavaOne Conference in San Francisco. Rather surprisingly, famed musician Neil Young announced plans to "release his entire music archive on Blu-ray discs that can be updated over the internet." Reportedly, the first installment of Young's archive will cover 1963 to 1972 and will be released as a ten-disc set this fall on Reprise / Warner Bros. Records, and subsequent archives will be released chronologically and "include some previously unreleased songs, videos, handwritten manuscripts and other memorabilia." Stressing Blu-ray interactivity, it was also noted that fans could download more songs, photos and tour information via their internet-connected decks. Needless to say, we're pretty stoked about the whole ordeal, and can only hope that more artists follow suit in serving up their work via Blu-ray.[Thanks, JDS]
Sun Microsystems announces support for BDLive.com, aims to promote development of interactivity
Today at the JavaOne Conference in San Francisco, Sun Microsystems professed its love for BDLive.com and the availability of the BDLive.com developers disc. Put simply, Sun -- a proud member of the Blu-ray Disc Association Board of Directors -- has teamed up with Related Content Database Inc. in order to create said website and offer devs, BD content owners and consumer electronics manufacturers "advanced network services focused on improving the overall BD Live user experience." Essentially, the web portal weds Sun's network.com infrastructure and RCDb's recently announced BD Live Platform to "enable the quick creation of device-appropriate features that provide a user-friendly DVD-like experience." If you're eager to know more, click on past the break.
RCDb's BD Live Platform: one more option for creating interactive content
Just in case the studios didn't have enough development tools to kick out BD-Live discs, Related Content Database (RCDb) is making sure at least one other viable option is available. The firm's BD Live Platform, which is already being used by Panasonic Hollywood Laboratory and 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment, promises to "save studios time and money in crafting advanced bonus features." Of course, the obvious result from this would be more BD-Live-enabled flicks hitting the shelves, but only time will tell if that will in fact be the case. Nevertheless, this software enables devs to "use a set of simplified encoding instructions to craft various interactive extras," which is obviously much easier than coding each project from scratch. Still, if the first few titles are any indication, we'd say a bit of effort should be allocated to improving user experiences before worrying over quantity.[Via Video Business]
PS3 firmware v2.30 walkthrough: DTS-HD MA support / new PS Store included
Oh sweet mercy, what have we here? A sneak peek (on video) of the looming PlayStation Store revamp and a confirmation of DTS-HD Master Audio output in the next PS3 firmware update, that's what. Over on the PlayStation Blog, we're casually walked through the impending v2.30 update, and just as we had heard, Blu-ray fans can shout in unison as the inclusion of their favorite audio codec (as well as DTS-HD High Resolution Audio) is just days away. Word on the street has v2.30 headed down the pipes on April 15th, and if you're eager to catch a glimpse of some more stills from the made-over PS Store, head on over to Joystiq. Read - PlayStation 3 firmware v2.30 walkthrough video Read - Revamped PlayStation Store images Read - DTS' own confirmation of the good news (Thanks, sTeViO!)
PS3 firmware engineers interviewed, DTS-HD MA support on the way
AV Watch scored an interview with some of the engineers behind the frequent PlayStation 3 updates -- most recently adding BD-Live in 2.20 -- and uncovered details on what's been going on under the hood so far, as well as what to expect in the future. 1080 deinterlacing and DTS-HD MA support are definitely in the works, although no date is given. A possible answer why it's not there yet, is the indication that the just implemented mosquito noise reduction on MPEG-4 AVC videos uses less processing power than the original version of BD player software, which used 100% of resources for DVD upconversion, but now only maxes out on PiP streams with BD-Java running. For best PQ, play your digital files from disc or USB stick instead of DLNA, since they are currently processed differently. Otherwise, we can expect future updates quarterly, and for those beyond the reach of the net, updates are also packed onto discs, like the Resident Evil flick with 2.10 firmware on it. Check out Beyond3D for more highlights and see if all your most burning questions have been answered.[Via PS3 Fanboy & Beyond3D, thanks Isaac]
NetBlender prepping Blu-ray disc to iPhone connection?
NetBlender is preparing to reveal new technology aimed squarely at connecting Blu-ray content to Apple's iPhone and iPod Touch, called BD Touch. Designed to "leverage network capabilities of Blu-ray players" Macworld UK surmises it could lead to possible use of those devices as a remote control for Blu-ray players, but given NetBlender's history of authoring tools we see the potential for an add-on that easily helps developers implement features like Digital Copy or BD-Live enabled ringtone purchases. Remote control -- or better yet Remote Play style -- apps could be interesting however, so we'll keep an eye out for the official announcement, expected April 10.
Sony readying Men in Black BD-Live release June 17
We've known Sony would bring Men in Black to Blu-ray for a while, but thanks to an ad in the latest Home Media Magazine, we now know the date is June 17. High Def Digest points out the ad mentions the long-awaiting BD-Live extra will include a trivia game, although hopefully it will be more interesting than War's disappointing Yakuza Fighter. Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones blasting aliens in 1080p sounds good to us, but throwing the latest tech on top doesn't hurt a bit.
"Father of Java" talks Blu-ray 2.0
The Blu-ray 2.0 spec (or BD Live) is just around the corner, and the "father of Java" thinks it won't disappoint. Sun Microsystems VP and fellow James Gosling calls it "mind-blowing" and we should see demonstrations of developers have achieved at the JavaOne conference in May. Top Tech News also quoted an analyst about the possibilities of the Blu 2.0 future, and what we could see this summer, from online chat with others watching the same movie, or the ability to offer downloads that re-edit a movie to block unwanted scenes. That all sounds nice, and we can't wait for the BD-J upgrades on our PS3's and new players from Panasonic and Sony, but we can't help wondering what it would have been like if someone launched online-capable HD players nearly two years ago. Yeah, that would've been sweet.
NetBlender adding Blu-ray support to DoStudio authoring software
NetBlender has made plans official for new versions of its DoStudio authoring software, adding support for Blu-ray and BD-J features including BD Live. DoStudio Authoring Edition is expected out after NAB 2008, allowing users to create professional Blu-ray discs from a graphical interface. Unfortunately picture-in-picture support won't be part of the hardware and software package until Q3, with BD Live support slated for early 2009. While major studios may be able to create BD-J enhanced discs on their own, the idea is that this package can allow other professionals to make full featured discs without having to learn scripting. Anyone looking for that kind of access can look forward to DoStudio Developer Edition in the fourth quarter, with full access to scripting, for even more advanced features. DoStudio MX users aren't left out either, with Blu-ray support on the way there as well. As for the simple home viewers, we just hope these tools get in the right hands sooner rather than later to create truly innovative high definition discs.
HD DVD's last hurrah: Terminator 2: Ultimate HD-Edition due March 20
HD DVD fans have at least one more high profile release to look forward to, as German distributor Kinowelt is prepared to release Terminator 2: Ultimate HD-Edition (region free of course) March 20th. Produced by HDi (and Blu-ray) pioneers Imagion AG this release includes the directors cut of the film, with DTS-HD 7.1 audio and more than four hours of bonus material in a high quality SteelBook case. Expect this to be the triumphant example of HD DVD's advanced features and capabilities that American Gangster so sadly wasn't. Check out a list of features after the break or our hands-on from CES to learn more about the disc's interactive and online capabilities, and maybe a peek at the future of BD Live.
sofatronic's Kaleidoscope software creates interactive applications for Blu-ray
Now that Blu-ray is the last format left standing, we're definitely hoping that it ups its own game in regard to interactive content. Thankfully, sofatronic is looking to make the development of interactive applications on Blu-ray Discs a good bit easier. Essentially, Kaleidoscope -- not to be confused with Kaleidescape -- enables users to work in a visual authoring environment and create "user interfaces and advanced interactive features without having to write Java code." Additionally, the program's framework "supports all available Blu-ray player models and automatically handles performance differences and compatibility issues," which sounds pretty impressive, we must say. Click on through for the full release. %Gallery-16694%
