Special Coverage: Blu-ray

Interactivity

One of the most touted features of Blu-ray is its enhanced interactivity. For example, the menu system is faster and more seamless than that of DVD. Pressing the menu button brings up the main menu, and selecting one of the menu items pops up a submenu, all while the movie continues to play. In Blu-ray parlance, this is known as the HDMV (High-Definition Movie) mode. More sophisticated interactive features are made possible by a technology called BD Java, which is based on Sun Microsystems' Java programming language.

Then there's integrated Internet access. The first Samsung player does not have an Ethernet port, so that function remains theoretical at this writing, and the principal companies have not said much about it other than it will exist, so it's difficult to say at this time what it might entail. What we do know is that Java is used extensively throughout the Internet, so it should be easy to implement online interactivity with Blu-ray.

The next-generation optical disc format war is now in full swing, with both contenders out in the marketplace trying to lure consumers to their side. Blu-ray got off to a later start than HD DVD, and its first step stumbled due to a problem in the Samsung player. Can Blu-ray recover from this fumble and ultimately prevail?

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