Disney to develop original titles in HD for release on Blu-ray

July 18, 2006

Walt Disney co.'s Buena Vista Home Entertainment, which backs the Blu-ray format is expected to announce nine of its first Blu-ray titles. The first round of titles due for release on September 19th includes the Walt Disney titles "Dinosaur" and "Eight Below" and the Miramax Films titles "Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back" and "The Great Raid". A second round of titles is scheduled for October 17th includes the Walt Disney titles "Glory Road", "Haunted Mansion" and "Gone in Sixty Seconds", Touchstone Pictures' title "Dark Water" and Dimension Films' title "The Brothers Grimm". Most of these titles are expectet to retail for $34.99.

Four of the Walt Disney titles (excluding "Gone in Sixty Seconds") and the Touchstone Pictures' title will feature an exclusive series of original short films shot in high definition, the first for any studio to do so. Like many of the Blu-ray titles released by other studios, these titles will feature advanced menus, which can be navigated while the movie is playing. Other features such as interactive web based features are still in development.

Disney's Buena Vista Home Entertainment unit is expected to announce Monday its first nine titles in the next-generation Blu-ray Disc format, coming in two waves, beginning September 19. Five of them -- Walt Disney Pictures' "Dinosaur," "Eight Below," "Glory Road" and "Haunted Mansion," along with Touchstone Pictures' "Gone in Sixty Seconds" -- will come with the exclusive shorts, which the studio says will be "inspired" by the respective films.

"Dinosaur" and "Eight Below" are slated for September 19 release, along with Miramax Films' "Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back" and "The Great Raid."

The second wave of titles, due October 17, includes "Glory Road, "Haunted Mansion" and "Gone in Sixty Seconds," as well as Touchstone's "Dark Water" and Dimension Films' "The Brothers Grimm."

Most Buena Vista Blu-ray titles will list for $34.99.

The full press release can be read here.

As Sony already has titles exclusively available on Blu-ray and Disney expects to launch its first titles on Blu-ray only over the coming months, this will likely start making some consumers think twice of going for HD DVD, particularly if it is not clear at this time whether or not Sony and Disney will later join the HD DVD camp. On the other hand, if some of the studios stick to one format and refuse to take on the other format, the end result may be like what is happening between the Super Audio CD and DVD-Audio formats, where the legacy CD format just carries on.

Source: Mickey News