News

Buena Vista Home Entertainment Announces Line-Up of Blu-ray Disc Titles (26/1/2006)

First titles to include Kill Bill: Vol. 1, Dinosaur, Hero and others

Buena Vista Home Entertainment (BVHE) president Bob Chapek today announced that BVHE will begin releasing titles beginning summer of 2006 on the Blu-ray Disc format in conjunction with the hardware manufacturer's release of Blu-ray Disc products. Titles will include Quentin Tarantino's Kill Bill: Vol. 1; award-winning Hero; Dark Water starring Jennifer Connelly; Ladder 49 starring John Travolta and Joaquin Phoenix; The Brothers Grimm starring Matt Damon and Heath Ledger; The Great Raid starring Benjamin Bratt; Armageddon directed by Michael Bay and produced by Jerry Bruckheimer; Kevin Smith's Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back; Walt Disney Pictures' Dinosaur; and the documentary Everest narrated by Liam Neeson. These ten titles mark the first wave of an ongoing release strategy from BVHE which will support the Blu-ray format.

Commenting on the announcement, Chapek stated, "The Blu-ray Disc represents a major technological advance in our industry, and just as DVD revolutionized home entertainment, the Blu-ray Disc promises to be the next step in our ability to satiate the consumer's appetite for entertainment by providing the ultimate user experience. The possibilities are endless and we've just begun to bridge the future of digital entertainment."

Blu-ray Disc is the next generation home entertainment medium featuring storage capacity 5 times greater than current DVDs, a picture compressed and authored in full high-definition 1080p resolution (1920 x 1080) and lossless audio (bit-for-bit directly from the sound stage) allowing for the first time a pristine digital audio and video home entertainment experience equal or superior to theatrical feature presentations. In addition to film, the Blu-ray Disc will also support music, gaming and other digital entertainment.

At launch, BVHE's Blu-ray titles will feature seamless, high resolution overlay pop-up menus which will allow for a first-time-ever continuous movie play experience; dynamic and unparalleled, high-definition picture; up to 7.1 channels of surround sound; new layering coating technology which provides a scratch resistance surface; and new sleek packaging. Other Disney Blu-ray feature technologies being developed include unparalleled interactive features; simultaneous on-screen chapter selection; and compelling online content, including web connectivity, which will allow users to connect to live events hosted by the studio and more.

Chapek added, "We are in an era where the consumer has growing control over the delivery of their entertainment choices. Blu-ray Disc represents a significant change in the digital landscape and how the consumer not only views but interacts with their choices."

www.bvhe.com