Home Theater Forum Treated to Blu-ray Demos

23 Oct, 2008 By: Chris Tribbey

Every major studio opened its doors to members of Home Theater Forum (HTF) Oct. 19-24, showing off BD Live features, answering questions and touting upcoming releases. When members weren’t getting insights on the latest Blu-ray Discs, they were enjoying tours or attending tapings of “Real Time with Bill Maher” and “Jimmy Kimmel Live.”

“All the studios embraced our visit, and we got to see a lot of BD Live materials,” HTF founder Ron Epstein said. “For many of the attendees it’s a fantasy come true for everybody who has never been to a studio.”

Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment demoed the “Living Menu” for Sleeping Beauty, and touted the upcoming BD Live features for Tinker Bell and Wall-E. The studio previewed the gaming feature “Axiom Arcade” from Wall-E, as well as a “Circle Vision” option for the Blu-ray of The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian, which offers new ways to view the movie, including a 360-degree, behind-the-scenes option. More than a dozen BD Live features will be available, Disney told the HTF, and the studio will offer streaming and downloadable content as well.

At Universal Studios Home Entertainment members explored the Blu-ray bonus features The Incredible Hulk, including a BD Live online chat feature and a U-Control behind-the-scenes option.

At Sony Pictures Home Entertainment, Forum members got the first glimpse at new BD Live special features for Step Brothers, the first look at Sony’s first interactive picture-in-picture Blu-ray Disc and the first North American viewing of Resident Evil: Degeneration.

Forum members got a look at a hot-off-the-presses BD Live feature, which takes video clips of Step Brothers stars Will Farrell and John C. Reilly dancing on a boat with two women, flashing money and drinking champagne, and allows BD Live users to mix the clips to a rap song called “Boats ‘N Hoes.” Finished videos can then be uploaded to the BD Live network and ranked by other BD Live users.

After breakfast and a tour at Paramount Studios, HTF members were greeted by actor Ben Stiller before a screening of the director’s cut of Tropic Thunder. Afterwards, instead of a simple Q & A with HTF members, Meagan Burrows, president of domestic home entertainment for Paramount Pictures, and other Paramount studio brass, answered questions about Blu-ray Disc over lunch. HTF members asked about chatting with BD Live, digital copies and audio tracks for Blu-ray.

The Home Theater Forum group was slated to visit Fox, Panasonic Hollywood Labs and Warner Bros. later in the week.

It wasn’t just the studios that welcomed the Forum:

At the Microsoft Zune Lounge in Los Angeles, group members got a demo of the Windows Media Center, which moves content throughout a home, and also controls room lighting and security alarms. Group members also were treated to a touchscreen table called “The Surface,” which recognizes hand gestures.

At Pioneer, Forum members got an audio and video demo that featured six flat-panel TVs, a Pioneer HT receiver and a Blu-ray player. Pioneer pitted its Kuro plasma against brands from three other companies in a side-by-side comparison, and previewed the first few minutes from the upcoming Blu-ray picture of The Dark Knight.

Home Theater Forum’s Patrick Sun and Justin Sluss contributed to this report.