Tag: Blu-ray »

September 16th isn't very far away, but for Star Wars fans awaiting the release of the entire SW saga on Blu Ray, the wait is excruciating. To ease the pain, albeit slightly, 20th Century Fox has released a small amount of the discs' bonus features as an iPad app. Star Wars Blu Ray Extras Early Access is exactly what its name states - a quick look at some of the vast extras that are included on the upcoming Blu Ray collection of the Star Wars films.

Bonus materials included in the app are minimal, but that's the best way to whet the appetite for more, isn't it? The introductory menu system for maneuvering between the different films is slick, and it's fun to play around with some of the ship models and other extras included. Credit to 20th Century Fox for finding a new way to promote and generate interest in a release.

The content won't keep fans occupied for long, but it's fun and it's free - and maybe, just maybe it will be enough to keep the excitement building until September 16th.

Universal Studios Home Entertainment have today announced their plans to offer next generation user interactivity on a selection of their upcoming Blu-ray titles. Arriving this coming holiday season, the studio will be focusing on bringing a variety of special features targeted for (and which will integrate exclusively with) both the Apple iPhone, and iPod touch. So, I bet you're wondering what titles can be expect this functionality on? There are five new and upcoming titles, all on Blu-ray, which we'll see include these special interactive experiences. These include: Bruno, Funny People, 9, American Pie Presents: The Book of Love, Public Enemies, and Inglourious Basterds.

Split up into two main sectors, this new announcement sees Universal as an entertainment studio shift focus into the iPhone space, and equally importantly at the same time, jump on the ever-changing, ever-evolving social networking band-wagon.

The first of Universal's announcements is pocket BLU. Described as 'Groundbreaking,' this free application will connect through Wi-Fi to any network capable Blu-ray player, and will extend the Blu-ray experience in an variety of new and exciting ways.

Feature extensions to your Blu-ray experience will include the following:

An Advanced Remote Control. Not only is Universal Studios set on extending your visual Blu-ray experience, it seems they also want to enhance the the way you interact with it. Pocket BLU™ will see the introduction of a sleek, elegant new way to operate your Blu-ray™ player. You'll be able to navigate through menus, playback and BD-Live™ functions with ease, straight from your iPhone or iPod touch.