New HD DVD Developments Unveiled at the HD DVD Promotional Group's CES Press Event

HD DVD networking features made possible by the collaboration of Intel(R), Microsoft Corp., Deluxe Digital Studios, Universal(R) and Corel's subsidiary, InterVideo(R), has been demonstrated at CES.

The new HD DVD technologies will deliver networking capabilities that are not available today on existing HD DVD discs. They will provide a special "download center" on the screen that will enable content owners, such as film studios and other entertainment providers to communicate directly with viewers via a networking protocol. This will enable users to download and unlock new content from an online server. It will also allow viewers to share collections of clips called "my scenes" with other viewers who own the same movie. Content owners will benefit from being able to quickly and seamlessly upsell additional timely content and other accessories to consumers.

The demonstration of new HD DVD features was done on an Intel(R) Core(TM) 2 Duo based PC with content authored by Deluxe and provided by Universal. This specially authored title includes additional information on navigation and the location of the Deluxe server with the bonus content. Corel's subsidiary, InterVideo, provided an enhanced version of WinDVD(R) - the world's first PC HD DVD software - with support for the new networking capabilities and interactive menu system.

Does this mean we'll be seeing more titles with networking features soon? It will be interesting to see what gets introduced...

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Previously in 2005, the HD DVD Promotion Group has announced that a triple-layer HD DVD-ROM disc of 45GB has been developed. Now it seems that capacity has been increased to 51GB, with each layer now capable of storing 17GB of 0s and 1s. Will there be playback issues with existing players? - will be the first question that comes to early adopters' minds.

Pesonally, as much as this increase in capacity is welcomed (assuming that incompatibilities is a non-issue and the new disc gets approved for inclusion into the HD DVD spec), it is not always a necessity to truly experience a movie in full high definition.