When Disney releases 'Sleeping Beauty' this fall on Blu-ray, the studio is pulling out every trick in the book to ensure it lives up to its Platinum Series designation. To commemorate the release of the first animated classic in high definition, Disney will utilize both BD-Java and BD-Live functionality to provide the ultimate Blu-ray experience.
Viewers will be able to chat with friends, over Disney's protected network, using their laptop or PDA while watching the film. They'll be able to insert customized video messages into the film, and then send those messages to friends via a "Movie Mail" feature. Additionally, viewers can get a group of friends together and play an online trivia game while watching the film, no matter where they are located.
Once they are done playing with all the interactive features, viewers can check out new trailers or download free ringtones and wallpaper using the "reward points" they earned for checking out the above mentioned features.
Bob Chapek, president of Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment commented, "[Sleeping Beauty] will revolutionize the way people will interact with and view movies in the home. We pulled out all the stops in launching this technology."
This was always a must buy for me. Not sure that I'll use the Disney Network myself, but I'm very excited Disney is putting in the effort for their releases.
"get a customized version of the famed castle that serves as a backdrop for the menu. The sky will reflect weather conditions in the viewer's hometown."
I know some will say I only have to look out of the window, but I love this, and wish I could put this as a background theme on the PS3
Disney is really proving themselves on this one. First they gives us some of the greatest transfers Blu-
ray has seen to date, and now they're going all out on all the extra features Blu-ray can provide! Day
one buy for me please!
The features are cool and all but why didn't they give some other releases the same treatment? Sleeping Beauty? I love the classics too but geez, I'd much rather see it on The Incredibles or Finding Nemo.
Disney pushes the *something misspelled* Sleeping Beauty NOOO!!! oh wait -- the release isn't pushed at all, it's just that people can now mess with it online.
Well good riddance, as long as the old guys like me get the perfect audio and video, and the meaningful extras that this film so richly deserves.
Ideally, I'd like to get rid of my R2 SE once this film is released -- which looks great on my 46" Bravia, and has tons of good extras. You guys don't know how high my expectations are for this Blu-ray, so hats off to Mr. Chapek and company for every little bit that helps it connect to today's audiences.
I wont use any of that...NONE. But hats off to Disney for including it for all those folks who want it. And hats off to Disney for allways making first rate effort in all things Blu. The Mouse was a huge factor in my choosing Blu while the war was still being fought.
Sounds great but the online thing I'm not so sure of. First off I should make sure everyone I know is getting this movie on Bluray, then what, Schedule a night when we will all watch the movie at our different locations so we can play trivia online.
Seriously, I love technology but some of it is just ridiculous.
Disney is still the king! This is great to hear. I'm excited to see how well it all works. This could be a huge push for the other studios to follow suit...
I love Disney films, and will most likely purchase this. But I am not kicking myself for not having a compatible player. These features are cute, I suppose. But if I want to talk to my friends on my laptop while watching Sleeping Beauty I will just log on to PalTalk.
While those extras are not really my thing (my thing is the best video and audio transfer), I will definately check them out and try them, and think it's great that Disney is showing the public that blu-ray not only has the ultimate picture and sound but this will show many new things that DVD cannot do and we can't stress the importance of that for mainstream adoption. DVD did things VHS could not do now it is time to show what next generation capabilities are. Excellent work continues to come from Disney's blu-ray line.
Wow - Disney + PS3 is why I backed blu, and this is just the start of some classic animated films. I was impressed with Paprika (granted newer anime) but it has given me hope to what Disney can achieve with classic animation
I've already pre-ordered it through Amazon. This is a no-brainer for me, and while I have no use for the 'live' features, I'm really curious to see how it plays out when done by the company that's always pushed the blu ray envelope so far.
I personally have no interest in these BD-Live features, and I don't really see the appeal of them. It seems like they will be more of a novelty that many people will check out just for the sake of trying them out, but in the long run only a very, very small group will ever really utilize them on a regular basis.
I don't see the point in chatting with others about the movie while watching it. I mean, I talk (both online and the old fashion traditional way) with friends of mine about movies all of the time without actually watching them.
Plus, how does that work anyway? I mean, is everyone connected for a chat or whatever synced up so that their movies start up at the same time? Or if someone is watching the movie while using these features, and someone else comes on 30 minutes later, what happens then? Does the person who just logged on get pushed 30 minutes into the movie? Does the movie start over? Or are these two people independently watching the movie (and therefore aren't synced up), which one would think would really throw off a chat that is meant to occur while watching the film?
Plus, the really kink in the whole thing is that you have to be watching the movie while online while other people are doing the same. With Blu-Ray currently being rather niche (for now), and with it being likely that only a very small % of Blu-Ray owners actually using these features regularly, and then only a certain % of those regular BD-Live feature users actually having the same movie, it just seems like the odds of even finding people to chat with are slim (and, even when you do find someone, you have to hope it's not just some random idiot who can't carry on an intelligent conversation).
It really doesn't effect me one way or the other if these features are included or not. I don't plan to use them, I just want the movie to work. My only concern is if including these features drives up the costs of the discs, as frank_t pointed out. If that's the case, it's really going to suck for everyone who wants to buy this movie (or any other that includes these features) having to pay extra money for something that many of them aren't even going to use.
Definitely will buy this BD. I'm just not sold on all this other extra stuff! Believe me, I'm a big Blu-ray fan. I want to watch movies at their highest possible quality. I don't think BD-Live will play a major role in Blu-rays' mass adoption. I'm not saying that it isn't good...it's kinda like "icing on the cake". I just know that when I set down to watch a movie, I just want to watch a movie. I don't have time for much more.
Very impressive, Disney is the consummate innovator. I guess we shouldn't be surprised anymore when Disney goes way beyond their competitors. They've definitely established themselves on the cutting edge HD media.
The funny part is that I probably won't use any of these features, Disney knows that, but they put them in anyway for the 1% of customers who will try it. That's innovation just for the sake of innovation. Way to go, Disney!
As you can tell I am a big Disney Fan.So this is awesome news.The features will be great, can't wait to see the new trailers for up and coming movies,I'v been waiting for good news!!!!
