JUNE 17 | LOS ANGELES—Authoring and replication company executives admitted to several Blu-ray Disc growing pains, including weathering through new BD Live technology and rising consumer demand, at Tuesday’s Entertainment Supply Chain Academy conference here.
Although 2008’s introduction of Web-enabled Blu-ray set-tops and BD Live software is advancing the format, the added complexity of the interactivity is slowing disc production. Disc authors not only have to worry about releasing BD Live elements that are compatible for players now but that the Web-based content will work on future players with their anticipated firmware updates.
Sonic Solutions senior VP/general manager Rolf Hartley wants to avoid getting into the same situations DVD-ROM caused in the past, where the address of Internet content would move around many times after the title was released. In working to avoid that confusion, Hartley suspects BD Live might not launch within titles en masse until next year.
“We’re still redirecting [DVD-ROM features] on titles that were released 10 years ago,” Hartley explained to VB. “The 2.0 players will still be needing firmware upgrades. Implementing BD-Java [the format’s interactivity programming language] and BD Live will take regular adjustments. To think that we’ll get it right in the first go-around would be conceited. All of this should shake out in 2009.”
Also, manufacturing participants noted that although Blu-ray replication output has improved, the industry is not yet optimally churning out Blu-ray discs. And adding new replication production lines can be pricey, costing $3.5 million to $4 million each.
Cinram International CEO David Rubenstein said he’s pleased the company has doubled Blu-ray output on its lines in the past year. Sony DADC projects are upping output on each of its lines by 15% hopefully time for fourth quarter and the studios’ largest 2008 releases on Blu-ray.
However, fourth quarter “will be snug,” Sony DADC Americas president Michael Frey said. “But we will have the capacity to be out there for everybody.”
Rubenstein added, “We’re all seeing to it that the demand is met.” [Source from Videobusiness.com]
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