Disney promotes 3D at consumer show

PHYSICAL: Studio showed A Christmas Carol on Blu-ray with Panasonic components

By Susanne Ault -- Video Business, 9/14/2009

SEPT. 14 | PHYSICAL: Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment anticipates releasing its first theatrical-styled 3D Blu-ray Disc releases as early as fourth quarter 2010.

The studio was making its pitch about the benefits of advanced 3D in the home during Disney's inaugural fan conference, D23, which rolled out Sept. 10-13 in Anaheim, Calif. D23-goers were able to enter a screening room to watch 3D clips of Disney movies, such as upcoming theatrical A Christmas Carol, on Blu-ray via a 3D-enabled Panasonic TV and Blu-ray player.

To date, the public has mostly only been able to enjoy such high-quality, stereoscopic 3D in theaters. Many can't view such technology at home, due to the fact that few own 3D-enabled TVs, which are in limited supply at stores. Plus, there are no stereoscopic 3D DVD or Blu-ray players currently available at retail.

However, Disney wants to prime people for 3D at home's expected 2010 launch, when brand name manufacturers Panasonic, Sony, among others will be selling their first stereoscopic 3D TVs and Blu-ray players. The studio hopes to support this hardware launch with its first 3D Blu-ray titles. Some of Disney's possible 3D candidates for 2010 are upcoming spring 3D theatricals Toy Story 3 and Alice in Wonderland, which should street on Blu-ray by the end of that year.

"We'd love to have our 3D products out as soon as possible, as soon as the holidays 2010," said Gordon Ho, Disney's executive VP of content, marketing and business development, at D23. "I think 3D is positioned very well in the theatrical marketplace. And that is creating demand to see it in the home."

Today, studios have to downgrade their 3D theatricals for home viewing, involving cardboard glasses, which blur colors, because of the lack of the right technology. Disney is among studios excluding a 3D viewing option on such major films as Up due to the fact that they don't want to support inferior products to the originals.

"People are coming [out of the demo] saying they want to try 3D in the home," added Ho. "They didn't think that it could look this good in the home. Once people can see this, we know that there is a market for it."

There is a question of whether people will be motivated to purchase new 3D high-definition TV sets and Blu-ray players, when many have only recently upgraded to the high-def world. But Ho believes that consumers are starting to get interested in purchasing multiple high-def products for their households.

"More and more people are looking to get another HDTV," said Ho. "Many have their first TV and are looking for their second. Many of those [for sale] will be 3D-enabled. We are optimistic [about this market.]"

Conceivably, 3D also could be engineered for standard-definition discs. But most manufacturers are committing to building 3D into Blu-ray players, in support of offering the best overall experience possible. Disney is steering its advanced 3D titles to Blu-ray as well.

The Blu-ray Disc Assn. expects to complete universal 3D specifications for disc creation at the end of 2009, paving the way for 2010 titles. One major issue has been figuring out how to deal with encoding relatively large capacity 3D video within the maximum 50GB space on Blu-ray discs.

The 3D video shown during the Disney D23 demo was encoded using a new version of the AVC codec, dubbed AVC Multi-View Codec, or AVC-MVC.

Disney also utilized D23 to encourage people to adopt the Blu-ray format. People could watch side-by-side comparisons of DVD and Blu-ray and could enter to win a new Blu-ray player.

The studio is readying a new Web site to further push Blu-ray, www.Disneyupgrade2Blu.com, which is designed to make the public's transition to high-def as easily as possible. The studio will be advertising the site within trailers that precede its major fourth-quarter titles. Also, the site will be promoted through standard DVD inserts, featuring coupons for Blu-ray title purchases.