BD-Live falls short again with Iron Man

So far, BD-Live has been a pretty questionable feature overall, and last week's Iron Man mishap only makes matters worse. According to High-Def Digest, BD-Live servers were overwhelmed last week, making it impossible for many customers to access the extra content.

The fact that the BD-Live servers were overwhelmed only emphasizes the fact that most BD-Live features could easily be fit on the Blu-ray Disc, instead of having to download them from the Internet. For example, we loaded up Iron Man this morning on the LG BD300, which uses a standard USB memory stick to save the BD-Live content. Afterward, we checked out how much space the BD300 used on the USB stick--only 13.5 MB.

According to Blu-ray Statistics, there is over 2.5 GB of free space left on the Iron Man Blu-ray disc, which means the feature easily could have fit on the disc. Perhaps future BD-Live features will make sense, but as of now, BD-Live seems like it's a gimmick to sell more discs, while actually making it harder for people to access features.


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Epson adopts USB A/V for its new projectors

USB audio-visual interface is slowly gaining momentum in the home A/V industry as yet another vendor has adopted this technology for its multimedia projectors. The new Epson EB-S6, X6, W6, 1725 and 1735W all feature "plug and project" capability via a standard USB cable. This replaces a bulky VGA (D-Sub)-equivalent for easier installation and added mobility, making it ideal for road warriors and busy executives on-the-go.

For added convenience the EB-X6/S6/W6 is equipped with an automatic keystone correction to compensate vertical geometry distortion due to hasty setup and uneven support. These three models also come with a unique A/V Mute Sliding function. Activated by shutting the lens cover, it spins down the beamer's in-built fan, thus minimizing distraction both in terms of audible noise and visually.

The ultraportable EB-1725 and 1735W, on the other hand, have integrated Wi-Fi connectivity. In addition, there's the Quick Wireless Connection USB key which self-configures a computer within seconds for no-fuss setup. This, coupled with their wireless multi-projector support, enables up to four screens to be stitched horizontally using only a single computer sans the usual cable clutter.

The SVGA EB-S6, XGA EB-X6 and EB-1725, plus WXGA EB-W6 and EB-1735W are available now in Singapore for S$888 (US$643.52), S$1,088 (US$788.46), S$2,588 (US$1,875.50), S$1,388 (US$1,005.87) and S$2,980 (US$2,159.58), respectively.

Hollywood investing US$1 billion in digital theater projectors

A group of the biggest Hollywood studios said recently that they will invest more than US$1 billion to upgrade 20,000 US movie theaters to digital projector systems.

According to Reuters, Disney, Paramount Pictures, Twentieth Century Fox, Universal Pictures, and Lions Gate Entertainment have reached a pact with investors, including Blackstone Group and JPMorgan Chase. The work would begin in 2009 and could take as much as 3.5 years to complete.

For some time, the studios have wanted to embark on the upgrade project, Reuters wrote, but have been unable to nail down the financing. But now, with the money in place, work can begin with the goal of making it possible for the studios to send films digitally to theaters--which would be a sea change for studios, allowing them to cut costs immensely on prints and distribution--as well as to more easily present 3D films.

"Our initial goal is to convert existing theaters of our owners, AMC and Cinemark, and Regal, which operate a little over 14,000 screens in the US and Canada," Travis Reid, CEO of Digital Cinema Implementation Partners, told Reuters, adding that each screen upgrade costs around US$70,000.

Already, Hollywood and theaters around the US are in the middle of a major expansion of 3D screens and a major change in the technology being used for 3D films. In the spring of 2007, there were just 720 screens equipped to run 3D films, but that number has now jumped to 1,300, Reuters reported.

For the studios and the theaters alike, adding 3D screens is a boon because of ticket premiums of US$3 or more.

And that's why several studios are planning on rapidly increasing the number of films they release in 3D.

Via CNET Crave | Photo credit: NEC

Is BD-Live even necessary?

We've never been completely sold on BD-Live as a major selling point for Blu-ray. While special features on DVDs are certainly nice, the vast majority of people don't have the interest or time to watch more than the main movie. Blu-ray movies also have special feature sections, plus some movies have even more features available via BD-Live, which you can access with an Internet-connected Profile 2.0 player. While there are certainly plenty of cinephiles that want to watch every deleted scene and featurette available, we doubt it will be forcing many people to upgrade from DVD.

While it's easy to consider BD-Live a relatively unexciting extra feature of Blu-ray, we have started to see some potential downsides. For example, early this week High-Def Digest reported that the Transformers Blu-ray now has new BD-Live content available. Transformers on Blu-ray came out in September, so we doubt that the new short "Robot Ninjas" was created over the last month--more likely it was held onto to continue to generate interest in the movie.

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Wii finally has a storage solution: Load from the SD slot

Last month we reported that the Wii was about to get a storage solution and that it wasn't going to be a hard drive. Nintendo has finally released information on what this solution actually is, and the good news is that you won't need to buy any additional hardware--except for maybe an SD card.

At the fall press conference in Japan, the company announced that in the spring of 2009, Wii owners will have the ability to download, store, and play games directly off an SD card via the console's SD slot. While data can currently be stored on an SD card, you cannot access this content in-game.

But there's a catch: The Wii currently only supports SD cards with a maximum capacity of 2GB. Also, it'll be interesting to see how Nintendo handles the inevitable DRM that will need to be enforced to prevent the swapping and trading of games. Also, will Nintendo expand the amount of channels available on the Wii dashboard? Or will we see an "SD Channel?" What do you think?

Via CNET Crave | Photo credit: CNET Crave

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