Universal Studios announced today that they would be releasing the first iPhone app to control Blu-ray features in upcoming Blu-ray releases starting with the two-disc Special Edition release of Fast & Furious on July 28.
iPhone and iPod Touch owners will be able to control certain features over their local Wi-Fi network and in the instance of Fast & Furious, they’ll be able to control and navigate the Virtual Car Garage. Said feature will entail control of “360-degree views of the movie’s supercharged street-racers and instantly punch up exclusive technical specs for the film’s high-tech cars.” Universal has not stated whether or not this will be the only feature enabled on the iPhone app.
Upcoming Universal Blu-ray releases will allow users to download bonus content directly to their iPhone or iPod Touch for on-the-go amusement. Other features will include access to additional info on the film, the cast and the ability to update your Twitter or Facebook account with news that you’re watching *insert upcoming Universal Blu-ray title* without having to leave the couch.
“By harnessing Blu-ray technology and combining it with Apple’s highly acclaimed iPod touch and iPhone, we continue to raise the bar in delivering an array of unprecedented, user-friendly home entertainment experiences,” said Craig Kornblau, President of Universal Studios Home Entertainment and Universal Pictures Digital Platforms. “Bridging these platforms further broadens the scope of the digital landscape by paving the way for innovative new applications and interactive content enhancements that continue to uniquely engage consumers.”
That iPhone is HUGE!
Haha. I know. I noticed that too. Maybe it’s the tablet!
lol yeah it does look way too big…who woulda thought Universal couldn’t make a more realistic display :) just kidding, this looks interesting to say the least.
I was going to say! It would be great to have a iphone that size though, call it iPhone (H) – Huge!
Maybe they just have REALLY tiny hands :)
Could just be that the hands holding the iphone are extra small…just like the use of smaller furnitures in new demo homes make the house look bigger than it is.
Ha ha ha! What a waste of time. Forget all the extras and focus on improving the core experience.
I went and saw Moon last weekend for $3 in a movie theater. It costs $5 to rent a Blu-Ray disk.
Whatever. GE still does not allow iPhone for internal use, so pardon my bitterness when I call out hypocrisy.
Why would you sit there changing paint colors on a lifeless BluRay model when you could be playing any of a dozen racing games on Xbox?
Static, boring content can’t be improved much by a cooler remote control. Maybe if the movie disc could launch seamlessly into a downloaded console game (if the console is your disc player), then use the iPhone as a game controller.
Umm just how is the iphone going to control a Blu Ray player? This is obviously only going to work on one or two players.
Stupid gimmick. Just like the iphone I guess.
They should have launched it on phones that have infrared ports then at least it would work on all players. Just like a remote control.
Niceeeeeeee!
Now this seems that after some time hand-held devices will replace desktop, laptop or netbooks for web-works. Though gaming wont be affected, but will have more options in terms of screen-size…!!!!
For more insight into iPhone features, read 10 cool things about iPhone 3gs
Can’t wait for a Blu Ray add-on for the 360. That better than this iPhone add-on. Love the iPhone but still am not impressed with my BD player and its wack features that HD DVD had already delivered two years back.