Disney Gets In Sync With BD Live Technology

By Greg Tarr -- TWICE, 7/21/2008

NEW YORK — Walt Disney Home Entertainment is delivering on its promise to bring its classic animation titles to life through the use of interactive extras based on new BD Live technology being added to new generation Blu-ray Disc players.

Disney, which lauded the interactive capabilities of the Blu-ray Disc format when it first announced its support, said it will make the October release of "The 50th Anniversary Edition of Sleeping Beauty" its first animated classic in the Blu-ray format, and the first to add BD Live extras.

The technology will sync multiple BD Live-capable Blu-ray Disc players over the Internet to enable viewers to watch the movie together with friends in different locations and chat about the action using a laptop, PDA or cellphone, with comments appearing on the screen.

Also included is the ability to play trivia games against remotely connected viewers and record a video message that will pop up on the screen while the disc is being viewed by someone else on the same player.

BD Live capability is expected to be added to many of Disney's Blu-ray releases going forward, the studio said.