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Disney reveals four blockbusters coming to Blu-ray in 2008
While it was only a matter of time before Walt Disney brought one of its famed animated classics to BD, today the company has finally revealed what that first title will be: Sleeping Beauty. The disc will include a "virtual castle and multi-player activities," both of which utilize BD-Live technology, and if that wasn't enough, the studio also announced that it would be bringing Finding Nemo and The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe to Blu-ray next year. Finally, National Treasure will be the outfit's "first BD-Live" title to hit the market when it lands next summer, sandwiched between Narnia in the spring and Finding Nemo / Sleeping Beauty in the fall.[Via MovieWeb]
Blu-ray backers launch promotional website
A website that should likely be dubbed "Hollywood in Blu-ray" rather than "Hollywood in Hi-Def" has recently emerged, and while it claims to be a more reputable site than those "other promotional portals," we aren't buying it. The site -- which is purportedly backed by Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment, Sony Pictures Home Entertainment, and 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment -- includes the latest happenings in the BD universe as well as plenty of fluff to get you drooling over its silky smooth image quality. Notably, the site tends to address the desires of both early adopters and those just now taking interest in the format, and the running list of upcoming Blu-ray titles is indeed a nice extra. So go on, tag the read link to see what it's all about, but don't say we didn't warn you when you're overcome with Blu.[Via VideoBusiness]
Blu-ray / HD DVD stalemate boosting interest in combo player?
Nothing like a little false hope to brighten your Saturday, right? Of course, we hope the current stalemate in the Blu-ray / HD DVD war actually yields a combo player, but after the on-again / off-again (and again) love affair with the idea, we're not holding our collective breath. Nevertheless, it seems that the current state actually doesn't have one format trouncing the other as many believed would happen after a few months unfolded. Essentially, consumers are "generally indifferent" to the two, and considering there's just seven more HD DVD titles currently available than BD titles, it doesn't look like one or the other will win on sheer studio popularity. While we've seen the Blu-ray-equipped PS3 outsell Microsoft's HD DVD drive 5 to 1, there isn't much substance in such a statistic, but apparently Taiwan-based manufacturers are rethinking their previous denials of unleashing a player that handles both discs. DigiTimes has it that Samsung is "planning to offer dual-format recorders that can record and play back BD and HD DVD movies," while Hitachi (a devout member of the BDA), is also "considering production of dual-format devices." They also went so far as to point out the obvious when noting that a "dual-format device would be more expensive than a single-format unit" -- but hey, it's likely cheaper than buying one of each, eh?
