Sony Enhances Bonus Material on Digital Movies
Sony Pictures Home Entertainment has upgraded special features and user functions on select electronic sellthrough movies.
With access to transactional video-on-demand movies increasing exponentially, and subscription-based streaming doubling its footprint with the addition of Amazon, electronic sellthrough has been become an afterthought.
As a result, Sony’s “enhanced search” function uses facial recognition and speech-to-text software, coupled with a database of dialog, actors and character names, to return search results that link to exact spots in the movie where the keyword appears.
The “clip & share” function allows viewers to choose among a selection of film clips that can be shared on Facebook and Twitter. The “interactive music playlist” links to the exact scene where a song is featured in a film to the iTunes Music Store for easy purchase.
The enhanced digital movie features are available through iTunes on recent releases Burlesque and The Other Guys. Previous releases Salt and Resident Evil: Afterlife include “enhanced search” and “clip & share.”
Available on iTunes March 22, The Tourist will offer “clip & share” and “enhanced search,” while How Do You Know includes “clip & share.”
“Developing innovative features like search and social sharing are integral to increasing the value and relevance of our digital offerings, and to making digital movie purchases more collectable for consumers,” said Rich Berger, SVP of worldwide digital strategy and operations at SPHE. “As consumers continue to embrace digital content, we plan to expand these and other new and innovative features to additional titles and across digital service platforms.”