Posted Thu Jun 21, 2007 at 12:32 PM PDT by
Sony Pictures Home Entertainment has confirmed final specs for the August Blu-ray release of 'Immortal Beloved,' which will see expanded Dolby TrueHD support and a new user-controlled subtitle feature.
Originally announced early last week for Blu-ray release on August 21, 'Immortal Beloved's initial spec package seemed typical for a catalog Sony release, including the usual 1080p transfer, uncompressed PCM audio and a vintage making-of featurette.
That was, until additional exclusive spec details for the title subsequently appeared over at Blu-ray.com, and Sony has now confirmed to us directly that 'Beloved' will indeed boast a couple of features never-before-included on a next-gen title released in the US.
In addition to a English Dolby TrueHD track, which Sony has already introduced on a couple of notable previous Blu-ray releases (including 'Stomp the Yard' and the blockbuster 'Ghost Rider'), 'Immortal Beloved' will also boast TrueHD tracks in both French and Spanish -- a first for a domestic Blu-ray or HD DVD release.
Even more innovative is a user-controlled subtitle feature, which allows the viewer to adjust the position of text based on display format. As has often been common with films like 'Immortal Beloved' shot in a wide 2.35:1 aspect ratio, subtitles often "bleed" into the letterbox ares of the picture, which many consumers find distracting, and (in case of those with large front-projector set-ups with variable aspect ratio screens) can cause the subtitles to be partially or completely cut off during display.
Long requested by high-end early adopters (and as reader Joseph Whip points out, already implemented overeas on the French HD DVD edition of 'T2'), it's exciting to see Sony offering this option for high-def consumers stateside -- we can only hope 'Immortal Beloved' meets with success and the feature becomes the norm in the future.
You can find a link to the full specs for 'Immortal Beloved' in our Blu-ray Release Schedule, under August 21. And be sure to stay tuned for a full review of the disc in the coming weeks...
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