The Beauty of Second Screen Viewing

Second screen viewing has become commonplace with the advent of social media and portable technology.  Services such as Twitter and Zeebox combine with smartphones and tablets to allow entertainment to be multiplied onto a second screen; not just your television but also your portable device.

For example, the Zeebox app is to be used whilst watching television and gives real-time information about locations, people and topics that are included on that show right in your hands.  Channel 4 is also a great user of Twitter hashtags in their television shows so that you can follow along on the social media platform to see what others are saying about it.

Today I've found a development in this idea using the iPad and a BluRay disk and it has excited me a lot!

The Dark Knight Rises Second Screen app in action.

The Dark Knight Rises BluRay has released an accompanying app to make your viewing of the movie even better by using your tablet as a second screen.  As the film progresses on your TV, the app syncs with the BluRay player and, in real-time, cycles through a number of features during the film to enhance what you are watching.

It might be some of the original storyboards for the scene you are watching (as above), an interview with the makers on how they put the scene together (you can pause the film on your TV via your iPad to watch the interview on your tablet) or information on where the scene was filmed or what other productions an actor has been involved in.

This is a really excellent addition to the movie for film fans and adds a new dimension to watching films.  BluRays are slowly taking the place of the DVD (I never thought I'd admit that...!) and features like this, that are only possible thanks to BluRay technology, are helping that happen.