Live from the Blu-ray interactivity demo

Here we are back at the Sony booth for more coverage, but this time it's Blu-ray's latest interactive features on display. Known by a few names, BD Live hopes to match HD DVD HDi feature for feature, and then some. At this point we're still waiting to get in, but it shouldn't be long now.

11:28am - We're finally in, but waiting for the show to start, seems to be a lot of buzz.
11:31AM - An HD video clip is playing on a gigantic screen featuring many Sony products, the PQ and AQ are stellar -- especially considering the size of the screen.


11:35am - Host Leonard Maltin takes the stage. Starts talking up Blu-ray, says he likes it despite not understanding how it works. Goes down home media memory lane; VHS, Laserdisc, etc. Says "Your eyes adjust to whatever it gets." The evidence is building that Blu-ray will be the next format. It's not only about PQ and AQ, but interactive content.

11:40am - Introducing Dean Devlin, the producer of big titles like Independence Day and Godzilla. Clips from his movies fill the big screen. Started shooting digital about five years ago and says he doesn't have to work hard to make digital look as good as film anymore, it's the other way around. And now its digital from start to finish, from the cameras to the Blu-ray Discs.

Leonard talks about the challenges of enjoying a movie at the theater, and now they feel like you can finally get all the benefits of the theater at home. Dean talks about his home setup and all the Sony equipment.

11:47AM - Dean talks about the new possibilities with the capacity of Blu-ray, and that they take it into consideration when making movies. Now they're just going on and on about how directors like to muck with movies long after the theatrical release.

11:51 - Leonard says fanboys can go over every detail in a movie.

11:52 - VP of ad Don Eckland takes the stage and joins the panel. Says that 2008 will take it to a new level because of the network connection and will make it a more powerful device. They will be able to send ringtones from disc straight to a cell phone. Portable copy means a copy of a movie for the PS3 will be included on a Blu-ray disc and possibly games too. They are sending a Godzilla ring tone to a "shills" mobile phone -- Leonard knows all the lingo. Now they are copying to a PS3, but Don seems to have forgotten the password.


They are welcoming everyone on Sprint or Verizon to come get a Godzilla ringtone afterwards.


11:57 - Now we're all watching the clip on a PSP. And now for a demo of the interactive Men In Black trivia game. Players can be anywhere, using a network. They can also create chat applications -- where have we heard that before? Both of the volunteers for the demo received a signed copy of the Patriot.


12:04pm - Danny Kaye, VP of Fox takes the stage. They're trying to merge BD-J with social networking and other online interactivity. Says that they also own MySpace and it could be really big with BD Live. Can store interactivity and retrieve it again, or create custom trailers for friends. Now we are going to insert ourselves into Alien Vs Predator.


So after we get a photo we are going to choose our role and skills, so we can interact with others throughout the film, in a role playing game.


Now we're watching the demo of Alien Vs. Predator Vs. You -- looks cool, but wonder how much fun it'll be with a remote. "The future is blu, the future is BD Live." The whole idea is to extend the movie experience from two hours, to 10 more more hours of fun.


12:12pm - Ron Schwartz from Lionsgate takes the stage. We're going to be invited into a interactive commentary of SAW 4. Now everyone can engage in the conversation. Now we are watching Molog, or movie log, that allows us to interact.


Demo isn't going so great, they can seem connect - big surprise.


Leonard starts talking up SAW 4 to help pass the time. Now we can finally see what the box looks like, but we're not sure how they can enter data so fast with that remote, the comments are just flying.


This is a commercial ready disc, will be available in two weeks.

12:19PM - Don comes back on the stage to wrap things up with a surprise. Now they are downloading a HD video, featuring Will Smith.


You can download new trailers or other new features for the disc. Will looks good in HD and talks up his new movies, as well as Men In Black on Blu-ray.


12:25PM - That's it folks, demos are available afterwards.