The October 9 release of Evan Almighty also brings the next major development in Universal’s high-definition website and disc features. The UniversalHiDef.com site started offering user accounts back when it was launched in August, however much of the site was under construction and unavailable for use. One week ahead of the HD DVD release, Universal’s unveiled new features that will go online with the release of Evan Almighty.

This whole thing about going online with your HD DVD player is relatively new and studios are still trying out different ideas. The online experience is likely to improve as more viewers take advantage of web-enabled content, and these first attempts are likely to pale in comparison with cooler stuff that comes in the future.

Warner offered ringtones and wallpapers for 300, and Universal will play upon the environmental theme in Evan Almighty by offering a few green-friendly products like a solar-powered radio and spinning composter. More predictable film items like t-shirts will also be available. You can browse for these items online at Universal’s site and through your HD DVD player, but the final purchase must be made through the HD DVD player.

What’s the bigger picture here? It’s merchandising and product placement.

Merchandising is the obvious way that studios and moviemakers capitalize on their hit movies. Shrek has resulted in green colored yogurt, and plenty of Halloween costumes. A month before Transformers came out, Target and Toys ‘R Us already had new toys based on the movie. The last Star Wars movie came out long ago, but new toys and video games based on the series continue to be released. Posters, ringtones, and clothing are more examples of movie merchandising.

Product placement is the advertising that happens within a movie. You can’t miss the GM product placement in Transformers, or the slightly more subtle Nissan Rogue in Heroes. There’s some good money to be made through this channel, and web-enabled content might provide an opportunity to extend the advertising relationship beyond the initial placement in a movie.

For example (this is hypothetical, I’m not saying Dreamworks or Chevrolet are actually doing this), as nice as the Camaro might have been in 2007 when Transformers came out, it’s possible that GM would like to show you the more recent models of the car as you watch in 2009, 20012 and beyond. The Bumblebee character would never change in the movie, however web-linkage allows the bonus features to provide updated information on the car used in the movie, or even a more recent model in case you’re interested.

Advertising is a fact of life, and has been going on for years everywhere. It can help drive technology and bring prices down. For example, when Top Gun came out on VHS, the movie was significantly cheaper than other VHS tapes at the time because it contained a Pepsi commercial. All the technologies and ideas that go into these commercial opportunities improve our non-commercial uses as well. Ken Graffeo, Universal executive VP of marketing and co-president of the North American HD DVD Promotional Group, said that “it’s about the technology and showing how far we can go.”

Graffeo also mentioned that future HD DVD marketing will focus more on the advantages of high-definition, and not all of this interactivity. He said the bigger issue is to educate consumers about HD, and “if they don’t even understand what high-def is all about, bonus features don’t mean anything.”

• Universal builds bridge to Web shop on Evan Almighty – Video Business
• UniversalHiDef.com