German authoring and production house Imagion pushed BD-Live’s technology and creative envelope in turning the release of Star Trek Season 1 boxset into a “mind-blowing” interactive event if we go by comments from Star Trek fans congregating at the FEDCON convention in Germany.

CBS Paramount released the Star Trek Season 1 Blu-ray boxset worldwide on 27 April, in time for FEDCON in Bonn – Europe’s biggest gathering of Star Trek aficionados, attracting 5,000. The disc, which implements Imagion’s dynamicHD BD-Live solution, not only ties users into the www.cbs-bdlive.com website, but also brings home interviews, behind-the-scenes looks and other highlights from the convention floor.

“For the first time we had production crews on site at FEDCON, filming behind-the-scenes footage, interviewing talents such as Nichelle Nichols (Captain Uhura) and much more, material which was then made available daily for direct download via BD-Live on the Star Trek disc,” Michael Becker, the company CEO, explains. “At the same time, we set up a big community and encouraged visitors at the convention and Star Trek fans to upload their images with impressions of the event. Videos and pictures were available through the disc.”

“It’s the first time ever that BD-Live was used for a near "realtime/live" broadcast of an exclusive event coverage. This combination of user-generated content and live content produced by the distributor was a big hit with everyone,” Becker boasts. “Maybe this live demonstration is proof that BD-Live can add tremendous value to a BD disc.”

Imagion has already supplied dynamicHD BD-Live capability to some 200 BD movie titles globally. In the following weeks, the company will activate progressive download/streaming and will also provide full-length movie downloads through BD-Live on many of these discs.

Story filed 08.05.09