Despite the hype behind BD-Live, Internet connectivity remains one of the most overlooked - and underutilized - features on Blu-ray. Sony Pictures Home Entertainment is hoping to get people to experience what this service can offer, and the studio is making moves to combat any neglect seen in its BD-Live programming. Sony began including movieIQ on many of its releases in September, and this feature alerts viewers when detailed scene-specific information is available such as the name of an actor, what song is playing, or what landmark provides the setting for a scene. The feature uses BD-Live along with a database powered by Gracenote. The results are dynamic. Since movieIQ is Web-based, the results are updated as new information becomes available such as a new movie an actor appears in.
Now Sony is ready to push the service even further by adding custom programs to several of its movie releases. SPHE created a Recipe Collector to provide recipes throughout the film Julie & Julia with its movieIQ. Viewers may select any of 17 recipes that are cooked through the course of the film; a PDF with the recipe is then sent via email to the viewer. Movie facts such as "what is mayonnaise?" are interspersed in the movieIQ interface.
Sony Pictures Home Entertainment Senior Vice President of worldwide marketing Tracey Garvin calls this type of service a quick hit, where users can get in and out and quickly get back to enjoying the movie.
The holiday release of It Might Get Loud, a rock documentary with musical artists including Jimmy Page, U2's The Edge, and Jack White will have a similar service to Julie & Julia. Viewers can bookmark the songs as the documentary plays, then go back later to find a playlist and additional information about each song.
In addition to the BD-Live features, future Sony Pictures titles on Blu-ray will be more interactive. Viewers of Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs will get to participate in a virtual food fight. Sony has created a "splat mode" that targets where to hurl food at the screen. Flying objects can include meatballs, cream and cherry pies, and eggs. But no rotten tomatoes. Certainly not. Interactive maps will be included in the special features of District 9 showing where the action transpires and a video editor lets users remix and even post their own trailers of The Year One.
BD-Live has been a way for studios to add content to Blu-ray releases even after their release. The focus has been on trailers, live chats and events, but to date the feature has fallen short of delivering compelling content. Sony hopes that movieIQ and these other interactive features will be the feature's killer apps. We shall see.
