Universal commits to web-enabled features on HD DVD's

Universal commits to web-enabled features on HD DVD’s

Although the Home Media Expo has been relatively quiet this year in terms of high definition news, there is one big announcement coming from Universal Studios Home Entertainment. Universal has once again affirmed their dedication for exclusive HD DVD format support and is pledging to provide web-enabled features on all HD DVD’s that they release in the future, starting with Heroes Season 1 on HD DVD.

Heroes is an NBC/Universal award winning TV show that is slated for an exclusive HD DVD release on August 28th. Universal claims that owners of the Heroes HD DVD set will be immersed in the official Heroes website with exclusive web-enabled features.

Heroes“We are targeting the MySpace generation,” said Ken Graffeo, Universal executive VP of marketing and head of high-definition. “We are developing that same community. With Heroes, producer Tim Kring is very involved in letting HD DVD users exclusively participate in the Heroes community.”

Blu-ray players “don’t have the consistency in their machines to be able to handle this,” Graffeo added.


The HD DVD camp is playing all their cards

With Blu-ray title sales outpacing HD DVD, the HD DVD camp is doing everything that they can to promote advantages in their format, no matter how big or small. Network connectivity is built into the HD DVD player specification, so every HD DVD player comes equipped with an ethernet port, allowing owners to easily connect to the internet. Network connectivity is not mandated for Blu-ray Disc players, which leaves many Blu-ray standalones lacking any type of internet capabilities.

But is this just a gimmick or will web-enabled features really add to the home video experience and enhance the replay and ownership value of HD DVD titles? No one knows for sure until these web-enabled HD DVD titles are actually released, but the ability to interact online certainly opens up a world of possibilities to HD DVD content publishers. What do you think? Will web-enabled features help HD DVD in this format war? Source: VideoBusiness.

About Wes Novack

Wes is a Technologist working in the software industry, with extensive experience building and managing highly available applications, services, and systems in the public cloud. He has extensive experience with online publishing and building internet communities. Wes enjoys hanging with his family, getting outdoors, skateboarding, hiking, pickelball, tennis, the vegan lifestyle, and a good cup of tea. You can find him on X (formerly Twitter) @WesleyTech.

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2 Comments on “Universal commits to web-enabled features on HD DVD's”

  1. I’m not sure the “MySpace generation” cares enough about high-quality content considering they’re also the “Napster generation” and the “YouTube generation,” both notorious for bad quality. However, they are the future, so you have to attract them to quality if quality products are going to be more than niche.

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