Rich Fiscus
3 Oct 2007 5:54
Universal hopes their release of Evan Almighty on HD DVD will impress consumers with its interactive web features. So far, it's the most ambitious use of HD DVD's interactive web features. While the first, 300, offered the viewer ringtones and computer wallpaper, Evan Almighty takes you to a much larger selection of merchandise, much of it intended to tie into the movie's environmental theme.
“With the release of Evan Almighty on HD DVD, we’re introducing U-Shop, a new level of Web-enabled experiences only HD DVD can provide,” said Craig Kornblau, president of Universal Studios Home Entertainment and Universal Pictures Digital Platforms. “The guaranteed features on every HD DVD players allow us to explore the world beyond what’s possible on a physical disc and redefine the home movie experience.”
Once at U-shop, viewers have the chance to buy products like a composter or solar powered radio in addition to movie memorabilia like t-shirts. While web functionality was originally envisioned to be something a viewer could take advantage of while watching the movie, such as buying an item featured in a scene, studios have been wary of implementing that for fear actors would feel they were being used to advertise - something that's not included in their contracts.
"Our next challenge is to take this to the creative people," said Ken Graffeo, executive vice president of Universal Studios Home Entertainment. "If they get agreements from the actors at the planning stage, it could be a different thing."
Eventually the idea is certainly to give studios additional revenue streams related to a disc, an admirable idea, but one which should logically be accompanied by lower prices that we may or may not eventually see. For now though, Universal is hoping to simply show consumers what they can do with it. “This isn’t e-commerce from a revenue standpoint, but it’s about the technology and showing how far we can go,” said Graffeo, Universal executive VP of marketing and co-president of the North American HD DVD Promotional Group.
Evan Almighty's release on DVD and HD DVD is scheduled for October 9.
Sources:
Video Business
Associated Press