HBO On Demand Offering "True Blood" Episode with Blu-ray Interactive Features
Premium programmer, HBO, announced Monday that, starting May 4th and continuing throughout the month, its HBO On Demand service will offer the first episode of the first season of the Alan Ball-created vampire-themed drama series, "True Blood," complete with interactive enhancements from the new Blu-ray disc edition of the series. According to the company, viewers of the on-demand episode will be able to access four kinds of "original, interactive picture-in-picture, pop-up features":
--"Lafayette," in which the eponymous character will reveal "everything from secrets about Tara's crush on Jason to the history of the Stackhouse family."
--"Vampire History," in which HBO says viewers can learn more about how their favorite vampire characters from the show were "made."
--"Hints and FYI's," which HBO says will allow viewers to "unravel the mysteries surrounding the entire series through helpful hints and FYI pop-ups."
--"Animated Maps," which will allow viewers to explore various locations in Bon Temps, the show's fictional setting.
HBO On Demand's release of the enhanced episode of "True Blood" is designed to promote the May 19th release of the show's first season on Blu-ray disc. According to the company, "True Blood-The Complete First Season Blu-ray DVD" will offer all 12 episodes of the show's first season in 1080p HD video and DTS-HD master audio, and, in addition to the interactive features listed above, will offer various bonus materials, including a mock-documentary chronicling the integration of vampires into society; "Tru Blood" mock-beverage commercials that market synthetic blood to "out of coffin" vampires; and PSA's for "vampire rights."
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Comments
While sharing content between
While sharing content between Blu-ray Disc and Tru2way is one of the big benefits of both platforms being based on the same Java platform, I see no mention here of tru2way, so my guess is that HBO has re-authored the content for a linear VoD experience, i.e. you can choose to watch the basic video or the track with pop-up and graphics superimposed.