Usage of BD-Live Increases

According to research by disc authoring company Deluxe, 25 million BD-Live discs have been connected to the Internet so far, and that figure should double by the end of the year. On average, consumers are connecting 4 million BD Live discs for online updates each month.

Deluxe, which has developed more than 700 BD Live-enabled discs, is pleased with the technology's progress. “BD Live is a very viable technology,” said Peter Staddon, executive VP at Deluxe. “And we're seeing an enormous interest in downloading content.”

One of the most popular BD Live features is downloadable trailers. Using BD-Live, the trailers can promote upcoming theatrical movies and are refreshed regularly. The next step might involve rolling out BD-Live-exclusive versions of trailers.

Another upcoming development is the continued integration of existing, popular social networking services, such as Facebook, Twitter, MySpace and iPhone applications, to make BD-Live a natural extension of what consumers already spend their time doing. Avatars also are being considered for BD-Live.

BD-Live developers also are working on simplifying the process for consumers, who currently have to go through different registration procedures depending on the studio releasing the individual BD title.