AfterDawn: News

New Shrek HD DVD to include never-before-seen features

Dreamworks Animation has announced the specs for the upcoming "Shrek the Third" HD DVD and it includes a few never-before-seen features including "branching PIP commentary" and the "most comprehensive web-enabled content yet."

The "Animator's Reel" will present a completely alternate version of the movie in storyboard form and will also utilize HDi technology to "offer a contextual seamless branch" to lost scenes and other content."



The new movie should also have the broadest web-enabled content seen to date for HD DVD. Dreamworks says a few of the extras available will be a "full-length subtitle trivia track, a movie guide with files on characters and talent in the film, plus an interactive coloring book feature that allows you to digitally paint your favorite scenes."

Another innovative feature is that the disc will allow users to customize their own menus based on their favorite "Shrek" characters and the menu the user selects will become the default, even after is ejected.

The title is set to be released on November 13th.

Source:
HD Digest

Written by: Andre Yoskowitz @ 30 Sep 2007 18:23

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• 9 comments

• 905drager

  Some of these options seem a little like fluff IMO. But others like the in-disc character and talent info (which saves me from having to go on IMDB) and the customizable default menu system are very cool ideas.

  30.9.2007 19:39 #1

• nobrainer

  to be honest i just want to watch the film and for it not to suck. all the extras are pointless imo and never get used, nt to studios drop the gimmicks and lower the price, as i'm sure that a 15gig hd film and 5gig uncompressed audio cost less than when bundled with a load of shit!

  30.9.2007 23:31 #2

• Krmnnghia

  ^^Yah I seriously know nobody that watched all that extra content. Throw it in if the demand is high but that is all.

  1.10.2007 03:01 #3

• ematrix

  The bottom line is that HD movies aren't innovating at all, they're just giving you a X.1 version of the same stuff that SD movies have been offering for the past 10 years, HD movies is to SD movies like Windows Vista is to Windows XP.
  
  While consumers appreciate extra content such as behind the scenes doccumentaries, deleted scenes and trailers, they preffer to access them independently from the movie. When will they realize that most consumers don't care for trivia, text and audio commentaries, most of the time they are boring and distracting, and viewers much rather enjoy the movie without such content.
  
  Even more, web-enabled content interests no one, first you depend of a internet connection to access it, and in a few years such content will be inavailible, as happened with previous web-enabled content availible with some standart DVDs played on a PC, nobody cared then and certanly nobody does now, therefore web-enabled content will be a failure again.

  1.10.2007 04:03 #4

• hughjars

  I love the way some people who have not seen the 'advanced extras' high def can offer can't wait to rubbish them
  (and try to insist on describing them, as if they are the same as DVD offers now).
  They are not and they have (particularly with net connection) the possibility of opening up some very interesting avenues as they develop.
  
  Those 'advanced extras', lets remember, are supposed to be a prime reason for how come Blu-ray 'needs' that 50gb of space
  (despite the majority of Blu-ray releases being on single layer 25gb discs)
  and a reason (according to the Blu-ray fanclub)
  as to why HD DVD's present limit of 30gb is not supposed to be sufficient.
  
  BTW I see Samsung have cancelled their 'high end' BDP2400 player and they have postponed the release of the BDP500 (their dual format some say 'profile 1.1' machine......although according to 1 German trade magazine it's not, it's just 'profile 1.0').
  No date is given for the BDP5000 coming to market.
  http://www.highdefdigest.com/news/show/D...mat_Player/1020
  
  So that's it.
  With the Denon 'profile 1.1' player delayed until late spring/summer 2008 and the Samsungs cancelled or delayed there's no chance of a 'profile 1.1' player until late next year.
  I guess we'll just be hearing a lot more about how cr@p those extras are.......until Blu-ray can match them that is (at which point they'll undoubtedly become 'awesome!')

  1.10.2007 06:31 #5

• 24Lover

  No one care about extras never have never will just give us the movie in HD.
  
  Originally posted by hughjars: No date is given for the BDP5000 coming to market.The dual format BD-UP5000 player is now expected to hit store shelves sometime in December.If you read down toward the bottom thats when it is expected to come out.But im pretty sure no cares about these high ass dual format players they are over priced.

  1.10.2007 08:46 #6

• rstoddard

  Good God! They're trying VERY hard to make this garbage popular. Whenever I see a "deleted" scene, it's usually quite evident as to why it was "deleted" in the first place. As for director comments: BORING! I'm with those who just want to see the movie. It's quite obvious that movie makers are trying to go beyond making movies: to make something so complicated that you can't possibly make a back-up copy for yourself. Well, some high school kid will figure out how to do it. But, I still say, who needs it?

  1.10.2007 14:03 #7

• ematrix

  I have seen such 'advanced extras' high def offers and they are not that big deal compared to what DVD offers now, if you take a closer look, you'll notice that such functions are nothing more than a shiny raping for the same things standart DVDs have been including for the past ten years.
  
  SD DVD has been offering trivia text and audio commentaries, as well as seamlessly branched modes and access to featurettes and deleted scenes while playing the movie, high def offers you the same, indeed in a nicer presentation but still offers the same.
  
  I can't remember how many times i have bored to dispair after playing a movie for 5 minutes, with insipient trivia text or audio commentaries, now high def offers PIP commentaries so you can know the face of whom is waisting your time... a potencial risk for directors if the movie actually sucks LOL.
  
  "Web-enabled content" interests no one, specially if in a year will be inavailible, as happened with content that standart DVDs offered it for a while with no success, it didn't work then and will not work now.
  
  The fact is that most consumers just want to view their movies without distractions, and will continue to avoid using such features, but will apreciate insightfull doccumentaries, deleted scenes and trailers to access separatelly, to view if they are in the mood to do so.

  2.10.2007 17:20 #8

• borhan9

  I want to get blu-ray however i need to save up for a ps3 to be able to afford the cheapest one on the market atm.

  2.10.2007 19:02 #9