50G Blu-ray movies hitting the shelves

The first Blu-ray movie releases were single layer 25 gigabyte discs, but the next wave of releases is utilizing the 50G dual layer capacity. As the releasing method picks up in quality, so are the released titles. The first dual layer Blu-ray movies include Click, Kingdom of Heaven, The Descent, Unforgiven, and Black Hawk Down.

On Tuesday at the Media-Tech conference in Long Beach, Calif., Paramount Home Entertainment marketing vp Chris Saito said Oliver Stone’s “World Trade Center” also will get the 50GB treatment, though he did not specify a release date.

Since Blu-ray’s launch in June, studios have found that the standard single-layer, 25GB disc isn’t big enough to hold all the additional special features and interactive experiences format backers had been promising.

“We discovered that once you optimize the picture and the sound, on a lot of movies that just eats up most of the room,” 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment executive vp marketing Peter Staddon said. “In order to give the full Blu-ray experience, you need the extra 25GB, particularly on any long movie.”

Source: GameDaily BIZ