Universal Studios Home Entertainment introduced a "groundbreaking" dual-format disc today. The studio will offer some of its films on "flipper" discs that contain both DVD and Blu-ray media.
Universal is aiming its combo discs at folks who plan to upgrade to Blu-ray in the future, but have yet to take the plunge – essentially "future-proofing" their collections. "The flipper disc offers an easy way for viewers to convert to Blu-ray now or any time in the future," said Craig Kornblau, president of Universal Studios Home Entertainment.
The combo discs will launch in the US on January 19, with films including The Bourne Trilogy. The Bourne films have a BD-59 disc specification, seemingly combining a 50GB dual-layer Blu-ray side with a 9GB dual-layer DVD surface.
No price has been disclosed, but it is probably safe to assume the discs will cost in the vicinity or upward of a standard Blu-ray film. If that is true, flipper discs may be too pricey for the "ideal" consumer, who has likely avoided Blu-ray and the HD-scene in the interest of saving money.