HTF Attendees Report: Universal Studios 10/20/08

Re: HTF Attendees Report: Universal Studios 10/20/08

On behalf of everyone at HighDefDiscNews, we'd like to thank Universal for their informative and interesting presentation this morning. The easy highlight was their demonstration of the 'My Chat' feature that will be included on 'The Incredible Hulk', a title which they also demoed.

The actual park was absolutely amazing though. An easy (and quick) highlight for me was The Mummy rollarcoaster. I think both Adam and Maurice can attest to this huh fellas? A special thanks to Adam for getting us into the park!

All and all a really solid and fun day.

Re: HTF Attendees Report: Universal Studios 10/20/08

I'll second what Brendan wrote on the "My Chat" demo at Universal. This looks like a very interesting feature and I'll also second another comment made at the meeting that this is the type of feature that would definitely be of interest on older catalog & classic releases. Only drawback to our meeting was that there was not enough time for Q&A on topics other than "My Chat" & other BD features. I certainly would have asked about future catalog/classic releases such as the Maria Montez Technicolor fantasies and the Audie Murphy westerns.

The Universal Theme Park was a marvelous extra bonus for the opening day's activities. Sam, Frank & Phoebe, Joe & Sarah and myself had a day at the park filled with fun and excitement. The Simpsons & The Mummy rides were especially thrilling. We finished the day with a fine meal at Panda Inn at Citywalk.

Re: HTF Attendees Report: Universal Studios 10/20/08

Yes, a major thank you to Universal for the great demonstration of the BD-Live features on the upcoming Hulk disc, to Adam for the free passes to the park, and of course to HTF for making this all possible.

I have to say that after the demo I have a new appreciation for what Universal is trying to do with regards to their interactivity on their BD-Live titles. I may not be the target demographic, but after they explained it I can totally see my girlfriend's younger brother and his friends (in their early/mid twenties) potentially being interested in them.

Re: HTF Attendees Report: Universal Studios 10/20/08

Thanks to Universal for providing breakfast, an interesting demo of the capabilities of Blu-ray (using The Incredible Hulk), and a wonderful day at their theme park.

There was more than a touch of excitement as we drove in through Gate 3. My wife Sarah and I are big Spielberg fans and we'd been kidding with each other that "maybe Steve will walk by" :-)

In any event the demo of The Incredible Hulk was ear-opening - I can only imagine hearing this in DTS-HD MA in my HT. The My Chat feature was quite cool, and though I'm not really a user of BD Live at this time (due more to a lack of time than anything else), I can see the future potential (some of which were raised in the Q&A).

Finally, it was a special bonus to be let loose in the theme park. Being a weekday in October, the crowds were low, and the weather was perfect (mid 70s). The Simpsons attraction is a spectacular motion simulator ride that provides non-stop kinetic energy. Waterworld was particularly fun because a group sitting at the front of the middle section of seats were continually doused with buckets and sprays of water. And the tram tour is an eye-opener for some of the sets.

Couple that with touring with a great group of people (Andrew, Sam, Frank and Phoebe) and all in all, Sarah and I had a fantastic first day.

Looking forward to tomorrow!

Joe

Re: HTF Attendees Report: Universal Studios 10/20/08

I was at Guest Services in the park this afternoon and a family of four came in to complain that they were completely doused with water. I did not hear any more details but after hearing Joe's anecdote, I infer that they were immersed in the Waterworld 4-D experience. I will have to catch that one next time.
Kudos to Universal for the demo of the Incredible Hulk Blu-ray, the opportunity to shop in the employee store, and the day spent in Universal Studios Hollywood and all of its attractions. I cannot wait to see the Incredible Hulk in high def!

Re: HTF Attendees Report: Universal Studios 10/20/08

Universal Studios graciously treated our large group to breakfast, and kicked off the BD demo with trailers from upcoming Universal BD releases, such as "Wanted", and "Hellboy 2: The Golden Army". The main course was exploring a wealth of features from upcoming release of "The Incredible Hulk" Blu-ray disc this Tuesday. The BD demo included exploring U-Control featurettes which promises to provide a revealing look in the behind-the-screnes creative process of the film with distinctive streams of content (such as storyboards, CGI animation sequences, live-action filmed sequences minus the CGI, a comic book adaptation that follows the film's plot and in step with the audio).

Next came the BD-Live demo from "The Incredible Hulk" BD that focused on My Chat that allows for chatting with up to 5 of your online friends while the film is synced up and playing for all the My Chat participants for a communal film-watching experience, each friend would be required to purchase the BD to join in on the fun on a BD 2.0 capable player for online participation. For the demo, a PS3 with bluetooth keyboad was in play for the typing functionality.

Questions from the group ranged from a plea for menu-driven U-Control, porting over all the features from older DVD releases and HD DVD releases if at all possible onto the BD releases, and ambitious requests for more BD-Live innovations (like audio chatting during a synced up viewing of BD titles offering My Chat). Besides tentpole BD title releases that focused on a younger demographic who were familiar with online chatting during video game play, there was interest expressed by those yearing for older classic catalog BD titles, and the BD-Live features would be welcomed by them as well as these titles have withstood the test of time and re-ignite discussion of a high-definition exploration of such films, enticing fans to re-discover and see old favorites with more clarity and interactivity that is only available through the Blu-ray experience.

After the informative session on the merits of "The Incredible Hulk" Blu-ray disc, Universal was kind enough to provide our group with passes to the Universal Studios theme park for the remainder of the day on their lot. My group (Gregg, Heather, Rick, David, Micheal, and Jessica) had a good time exploring the various sections of the park, and with the good weather, and short wait times for the attractions, it made for a pleasant afternoon experience.

The Shrek 4D experience provided not only 3D cinematic laughs on-screen, but we were subjected to misting during crucial moments which I hope was simply good ol' H2O, and lots of seat motion. The Simpsons Krustyland virtual motion simulator ride was fun and vertigo-inducing, though the build-up to the ride was a bit long. There was lots to see as we walked around and were reminded of the long history of films that Universal has produced throughout the decades.

The 45-minute tram ride through the backlots of Universal Studios provided us with a slew of sets and lots for films and TV shows to see, and provided another fun retrospective of film/TV favorites, past and present. Our guide was delightful and enjoyed giving us the tour.

The bottom section of the park required at least 4 escalator segments to get down to the other attractions, such as "The Mummy" ride which is simply insane due to it being a roller coaster primarily in the dark, producing an odd sensory experience and lots of screaming by the riders. Gregg, Michael and I even splurged on the photo they took of us as our facial expressions at the end of the ride proved irresistible enough to not not purchase the photo. The Jurassic River Ride has some neat dinosaurs on display throughout the ride, and plenty of opportunities to get wet from the trip, as we front row riders got doused but good.

We managed to check out the Backdraft experience, and then the special effects (both visual and audio) show that featured fun audience participation, and at the end of the day, we finally concluded with the Terminator 2: Cyberdyne experience that had a good mix of 3D and live-action and lots of wind, and foggy mists effects.

Thanks to Universal Studios for taking in our group, sharing their efforts to produce engaging BD-Live content for a more interactive viewing and listening experience with their upcoming titles, and for the complimentary passes at their Universal Studios theme park which provided a lot of fun and amusment ride experiences.

Re: HTF Attendees Report: Universal Studios 10/20/08

BTW, I forgot to mention that the VP (Creative) of Universal who did the main presentation also mentioned the Bourne trilogy for Blu-ray next year. Not sure if this is big news or not (I believe there may have been rumours) but certainly a nice tidbit for fans of the films (like me).

Cheers,

Joe

Re: HTF Attendees Report: Universal Studios 10/20/08

A big thanks to Universal for their hospitality and generousity during yesterday's visit. I know my group had a great time on the Simpsons Ride, as well as Backdraft, Terminator 3-D, and the Special Effects show.

The demonstration by Universal Home Entertainment ealier in the day was highly informative, and also very encouraging with regards to Uni's efforts towards BD-Live, especially their dedication to lower bandwidth features for those customers who still only have 1.5 Mbps download speeds, like myself. I cannot wait to give their Live Chat feature a test drive on "The Incredible Hulk."

Re: HTF Attendees Report: Universal Studios 10/20/08

Let's also not forget that the presentation described an uncoming promotional contest based on the ability to create and share your own commentary tracks for an upcoming Blu-ray title. Uni will choose winners and then make those winning commentaries available to the general BR populace via their Universal HD website. And if I'm not mistaken, video can also become a part of that commentary if you have a webcam.

And didn't they also indicate that director Guillermo del Toro would be doing a live MyChat conference to promote the release of Hellboy 2?

Although the presentation wasn't particularly splashy, it conveyed quite a bit of information.

Re: HTF Attendees Report: Universal Studios 10/20/08

I'm going to record the funniest commentary track for This Is Spinal Tap if that feature is enabled for that title.

Re: HTF Attendees Report: Universal Studios 10/20/08

Ditto on what everyone else has already said! I will provide Ron the pics from Universal today but I'm not sure when we'll be posting them. My group of course is featured in the park but I got all of ya in rapt attention at the excellent Hulk demo! We actually watched my review copy of The Hulk last night in the SVS theater and I can say for sure it is a 5/5 for Audio and video and while I havent gone through the extras yet just the sheer number of them indicates that they will get close to a 5 too. The film itself is a lot better than the Ang Lee story too, but I havent settled on a final score for that yet =)

MANY THANKS to universal for the free day pass to the park! I actually did the Simpsons ride 3 times and I have never ever ever had that many laughs from both the on screen antics as well as the AMAZING technology advances employed in this motion simulator. I was kinda sad when I got into it as I thought it was gonna be the same old thing as Star Tours and Back to the Future but MAN have they made a LOT of new dips, curves and bumps capable in these theaters! FIRST RATE.

Also, I had the best sandwich I've ever had in a theme park for lunch, no lie! The beef was top cut, juicy and well marinaded and no more expensive than a chicken sandwich! What a deal! =)

Re: HTF Attendees Report: Universal Studios 10/20/08

My friend and I already recorded our own commentary for Back to the Future months ago so whenever the Trilogy comes out on Blu-Ray, we'll be ready to go!

Re: HTF Attendees Report: Universal Studios 10/20/08

I too want to say thanks to Universal for their presentation to our group. It was very interesting. My first impression of "My Chat" was that I would probably not use it much. But then I thought about my daughter. She has a PS3 and it would be great to watch a movie with her and chat at the same time even though we are in two different countries.

Phoebe and I had a great time at the park with some great people, namely Sarah & Joe, Andy, and Sam. I agree with you Sam. The Simpson ride was the best ride in the park.

Once again, thank you Universal for a great day and for the gifts.

Re: HTF Attendees Report: Universal Studios 10/20/08

Thank you Universal. It was a great visit and chance to see what you folks are doing with BD live technology.
Everyone enjoyed the park as well.

Re: HTF Attendees Report: Universal Studios 10/20/08

My becoming violently ill while waiting to go on the theme park's studio tour notwithstanding, the session with Universal Home Entertainment was an interesting one. One of my earliest experiences with this forum was "live" interaction with like-minded people while watching the Academy Awards, so Universal's "MyChat" feature proved to be a compelling use of the BD-Live technology for virtual camaraderie while watching a feature film. From an instructional point of view, it could also prove useful as a teacher could remotely instruct and guide students through the classics of film, some of which I'm sure exist in Universal's catalog. It will be interesting to see how the "MyChat" feature takes off and evolves.

Though I didn't get a chance to go through the park, I appreciated the complimentary entry ticket. Visiting the park will definitely be on my agenda the next time I'm in town.

Re: HTF Attendees Report: Universal Studios 10/20/08

I found the Universal presentation to be very informative, but all-too-brief. I would have liked very much to see more upcoming titles, such as the advertised "Hellboy II" and "Wanted."

Everyone behind the scenes was incredibly nice, and listened intently to all of our suggestions and criticisms. It's imperative that studios treat their consumers, and supporters with respect, and Universal is evidently very dedicated to this goal.

If there is any room for improvement, I would level my criticisms directly at the duration/depth of the Q&A portion of the demonstration. While everything was handled remarkably well, I felt that it should have been longer and more in-depth, perhaps even more personal -- like Paramount's sit-down-dining Q&A with our group.

I feel like that is the BEST way to hear exactly what people are thinking, and feeling (not everyone feels compelled/comfortable to speak in front of a group, and raise a question). It's very effective -- and flattering for us -- to have such a personal interface with the premiere individuals behind the advancement of the format. Here's to hoping that this, or something similar, is featured next time.

Thanks again for your warm welcome, and the all-day-access to the park was the icing on the cake!