Sony hopes that its new MovieIQ service will be the 'killer app' for Blu-ray Live, serving up instant trivia and info to movie viewers at the push of a remote button.
Sony's MovieIQ launches in September on internet-enabled Blu-ray, where the disc being played at the time can grab all the relevant data from the web.
So if you really need to know exactly where a particular scene was shot, who sang the tune that's playing in the background or what movies the extras in the background of the scene have also been in, then MovieIQ will certainly be a bonus to you.
If, of course, you just want to watch a movie in high def uninterrupted by the small yellow icon appears on your screen whenever there's something to click upon. And you can hide the icon which pops up at the top of the screen each time info on the scene is available then you can just switch the service off!
Gracenote-developed
MovieIQ has been developed by Sony-owned Gracenote, the movie and music database specialists. Gracenote's Video Explore solution "allows users to search the online Gracenote video database, linking together related cast, crew, movies, TV episodes, franchises, seasons, DVDs, and Blu-rays. Gracenote's global Video database contains rich video information for North America, Europe, and Japan, including factual metadata, synopses etc."
"It has always been our goal at Sony Pictures to offer fans the ability to truly connect with their favorite movies using BD-Live," said Lexine Wong, Senior Executive Vice President of Worldwide Marketing at Sony Pictures Home Entertainment.
"We know many people interrupt their movie-watching experience to look up the filmography of an actor or to find out more about a song playing in the background. Now through movieIQ, movie lovers can dive into constantly-updated information about the movie they are watching without leaving their sofa, further enhancing the experience of watching movies in this always-connected age."
