The first Internet-enabled disc — a Japanese animated feature titled "Freedom" — was released Tuesday. Users whose HD DVD players are connected to a broadband Internet line can download a high-definition trailer for another movie, change menu styles and download additional subtitles.
When the HD DVD version of Warner Bros. hit movie "300" is released in July, users will be able to re-edit the movie and upload their edit to a server hosted by Warner Bros. The edited versions will be accessible to other users, who can download and watch the movie in its new form.
"300" also will be released on Blu-ray, but because not all Blu-ray players can connect to the Internet it will not have the re-editing feature and other extras like a strategy game.
"Blood Diamond," set for July 3 HD DVD release from Warner Bros., will allow watchers to participate in online polls after watching. The movie already is available on Blu-ray.
The Sony-backed Blu-ray format is strongly backed by Hollywood, with Disney, 20th Century Fox and Sony Pictures releasing material on Blu-ray discs but not HD DVD. Universal releases high-definition movies exclusively on HD DVD, the only major studio that does. Warner Bros. and Paramount release movies in both formats.
Toshiba reportedly had a 70 percent market share in hi-def players in April and May. The remaining 30 percent market share of Blu-ray players does not include Sony PlayStation3 units, which have a built-in Blu-ray player. Toshiba's market share has reportedly been due to discount pricing: its cheapest player, the HD-A2, has been selling for $299 after an "instant rebate," which is now a permanent part of the price.
Toshiba has sold more than 150,000 players in the U.S., 50,000 of which were sold after the rebate was established. Sony has responded with a $100 price cut on the BDP-S300 Blu-ray player it launched in early June, bringing the MSRP down to $499.