Disney to Push BD-Live on All Future Blu-ray Releases

At a press event Monday, Disney unveiled ambitious plans to bring BD-Live to all its future Blu-ray titles, beginning with the October debut of 'Sleeping Beauty.'

During a media kick-off held in Hollywood, California, for the studio's first Platinum Edition Blu-ray release, Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment previewed the extensive BD-Live features on 'Sleeping Beauty,' and outlined an initiative to make web-based interactivity a cornerstone of its high-def strategy.

"We are making our entrance grand," said studio president Bob Chapek. "Every subsequent Disney title will have BD Live. [This may] push the studios to reach new heights that have never been before imagined."

The studio's BD-Live plans encompass all future Walt Disney and Pixar theatrical and catalog titles, including the likely fourth-quarter blu-ray release of Pixar's 'Wall•E.'

Disney-distributed titles from such content partners as ABC, Touchstone, and Miramax would not be included, though they may also feature BD-Live.

Disney also says it is planning an extensive multimedia marketing program to promote the benefits of BD-Live to the studio's core family demographic, designed to educate families about the value of the technology.

"You will see BD Live demos across the country," added Chapek. "We will talk about [BD Live] benefits. This is not just technology for technology's sake."