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Blu-TV brings interactive IPTV to disc players, starting with the BDP-83
Dreamer has finally found a partner in its Blu-ray powered IPTV fantasy now that Blu-TV has debuted on the OPPO BDP-83. As the company envisions it, once loaded, it turns your BD-Live capable Blu-ray player into a video and interactive content gateway anyone can develop apps for once the SDK is released. Already powering an IPTV service in Korea, we got a quick demo of the software running on a PS3 in Dreamer's CES booth and flipped through a quick selection of online marketplaces, simple games and video services. We're not sure how many manufacturers will warm to the idea of opening up players currently limited to their choice of streaming services, but if the apps start to flow, having this as an embedded option could be a differentiating feature as player prices dive.
Dreamer trying to draw Java developers to its BIDDLE API
So far, BD-Live seems like an answer to a question no one particularly cares about, but we're still holding out hope that the technology will be put to good use by someone. The devil's in the details (read - please make it pleasant to use), but putting Profile 2.0 into service as a streaming service like Videocity is promising sounds like a step in the right direction. Lest we forget Dreamer's efforts along the same lines, the company is showing off its Java-based BIDDLE API to developers in hopes of gaining some traction for "BluTube" type of applications. Yeah, we need another way of accessing YouTube about as much as we need more dust bunnies behind the TV, but we see way more potential on this front than, say, Yakuza Fighter redux. With wireless networking, more codecs and increased persistent storage showing up in Blu-ray decks, APIs like BIDDLE just might make the line between STBs and Blu-ray players really blurry -- and if it means we can eBay away some of those STBs, we're all for it.
Dreamer's BIDDLE could actually make BD-Live useful
Imagine this -- utilizing your Blu-ray player for playing back BDs, DVDs and practically anything else available via the internet. A marvelous idea, right? Dreamer has every intention of making that web-to-TV STB you've got totally obsolete with its BIDDLE thin-client, which will theoretically enable any internet-connected Profile 2.0 BD deck to tap into the limitless world of online content. Here at CES, the outfit has announced a partnership with Technicolor that sadly doesn't pinpoint any specific players, though the concept is more than intriguing. Essentially, it would add a whole new world of functionality to BD-Live-enabled Blu-ray players, which is just about exactly what the doctor ordered for the flagging format. Only time will tell if this stuff has a shot at catching on, but we certainly dig the sound of it. [Warning: PDF read link]
Dreamer, L2Digital team up to bring interactive TV, VOD to BD-Live Blu-ray players
While we haven't seen many truly inspired uses for BD-Live yet, we'll see if Dreamer's partnership with disc authoring house L2Digital can turn that around. L2Digital plans to use the Biddle platform to deliver video on-demand, social networking and "interactive TV" to any BD-Live enabled Blu-ray player. We're not sure if the company's envisioned end-run around your cable or satellite provider will be realized but we'll be happy to see someone try.
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]
