Bonus View Exposed: Resident Evil: Extinction

Today, Blu-ray.com received a screener copy of 'Resident Evil: Extinction', and knowing that our viewers would want to see what Blu-ray Profile v1.1 (aka Bonus View) is all about, we have put together a few images to show you exactly what to expect early next year. Needless to say, the feature is beautiful and worked flawlessly and provides a unique experience for those looking for a bit more about their favorite movies. With a recently updated PS3, and a digital camera, the disc booted up quickly and without issue. Selecting special features, we then selected "Under the Umbrella" and turned the feature on. We started the film, and below is what we saw: The menu system; selected images showing different positions of the picture-in-picture content; the menu system on a non-Profile v1.1 Player. As you can see, the picture-in-picture (PIP) content rotates around the screen, but it is not random. Content shown in the upper-right hand corner is used to show storyboard comparisons. If it appears in the lower-right hand corner, video commentary from the director or others who worked on the film will be seen. Content shown in the lower-left hand corner is behind-the-scenes footage, showing how a scene was set-up or even how they did the blue-screen shots. Despite what some people have warned about, a non-Bonus View player will not explode upon reading a Bonus View disc. As you can see from the last picture, the disc has accurately detected that my Panasonic DMP-BD10 is not a v1.1 player, and has not given me the option to watch the PIP content. No other content is affected; the player simply works like it should. And of course, the film looks and sounds amazing. 'Resident Evil:Extinction' will be on store shelves January 1st.
Source: Blu-ray.com | Permalink	Relevant for:

transcension  » Dec 18, 2007
I can't wait to get this and check out the PIP.

clyon  » Dec 18, 2007
Looks like a bug on the screen, oh it PIP, turning off. Anyway, I can't wait to get this movie.

ClaytonMG  » Dec 18, 2007
Awesome... nothing is left on the screen to burn in (you hear that WB? DON'T leave your little IME logo on the screen in the same spot for the entire movie, that goes for you too Universal!)

statikcat  » Dec 18, 2007
Very cool. Hopefully not all the PiP stuff is of that guy.. can't wait!

frank_t  » Dec 18, 2007
claytonmg - am i to unerstand that with IME you have a logo always on the screen? i'd not buy a movie if that were the case.

LynxFX  » Dec 18, 2007
Great, can't wait to try it out. However, I thought all PiP content was still supposed to be playabled on 1.0 players, just as standalone content, not as PiP. Looks like that isn't the case? Also, can you zoom the PiP to fullscreen, or essentially swap them with the film?

Balian  » Dec 18, 2007
Who cares ...PiP is overrated. The only good thing about it is HD DVD fan boys have one less talking point.

sonicbox  » Dec 18, 2007
LynxFX, no... that was never the case. The author could choose to include some of the IME/PIP content in different form on the disc, but it generally would be out of context in most cases... so why bother? IME/PIP is supposed to be fairly interacticve to the film. If not, it might as well be a lame featurette produced separately.

Seretur  » Dec 18, 2007

I guess the veterans of this format war, like the good knight Balian above, have fought so many hard battles against the HD DVD folk and their snotty attitude that they eventually convinced themselves that PiP is as moot a point as any of the other pro-HD DVD points. It's not. It IS an asset to anyone wishing to know about the moviemaking process, as long as it's done right (as it, apparently, is on the "Resident Evil: Extinction" disc). If it's just featurettes playing over the film, of course it's a nuisance. But as a display of the entire process, it has a potential to be more informative than even the audio commentaries -- which are the best film school one can get. Of course, the vast majority of home video users just don't watch any extras. But for those of us who like filmmaking as much as films, PiP is a true bonus view -- and I'm glad that Blu-ray seems to have done it right, even if we had to wait for it a bit. Thanks for this update, Josh!

dialog_gvf  » Dec 18, 2007
Excellent work as always Josh!

jurassic_pork  » Dec 18, 2007
I think this is a cool feature that folks could learn to love. I can't wait to get this movie

richard lichtenfelt  » Dec 18, 2007
I'll never use it, but at least it should shut up some of the hd dvd zealots who love to claim that interactive features are more important than technical capabilities, player build quality, and movie selection.

LynxFX  » Dec 18, 2007

Sonicbox, that's not what some of the insiders on this site have said. PiP content was supposed to be available as invidual extras for non 1.1 players. It won't be a big deal once 1.1 standalone players are the standard but that probably won't be for a year. Sure some could be out of context but most won't be. Most of the stuff is just behind the scenes stuff being played at the same time as the feature. Stuff that normally filled up the extras on DVD's being played by themselves.

ClaytonMG  » Dec 18, 2007

On HD DVD, there is always (at least on the discs I've tested with the PIP content) a little logo on the screen. With WB, it's their IME logo in the upper left hand corner of the screen. With Universal, it's a little globe in the bottom right. With Universal, stuff branches out from the little globe though which lets you select certain features to watch. Either way, I had a rear projection CRT when I used to use HD DVD, and I was never able to watch a full PIP disc (not that I had a real urge to, although Charlie and the Chocolate Factory was pretty cool) due to burn-in. But it was only when using the PIP features.

Y3k Bug  » Dec 18, 2007
Great preview. I won't use it, but it's better to have it and not need it than the other way around. Btw...Second to last paragraph "seen" should be "scene".

tru blu  » Dec 18, 2007
I'll never use it but agree with the above that it's better to be availble than not. Also Warner using IME it helps. Cheers May the Blu be with you...

toocheezy  » Dec 18, 2007
I will probably never use it but it is always a good feature to have. Now the HD-DVD fanboys have one less topic to talk about. But good job Sony for the PiP update!! I cant wait to get this box-set. Keep the update coming.

TheTenth  » Dec 18, 2007
I'll try it once and surely forget it 5 minutes after

miokti  » Dec 18, 2007
meh... PiP is a novelty, but I'd take it just to shut DUDs up. Anyway... i'll pick up this movie, watch it without the PiP so as no not miss an inch of the movie... then maybe watch the PiP the second time around.

Guinness7  » Dec 18, 2007
Not that I see myself using that a lot it is pretty neat feature.

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