Interactive television company Ensequence, and Sony Pictures Home Entertainment (SPHE) today announced an agreement in which SPHE will license and resell the Ensequence on-Q Create suite for Blu-ray Java (BD-J) to studios and Blu-ray development partners.

Under the aggreement, Blu-ray Disc developers worldwide will use Ensequence on-Q Create for Blu-ray Java to develop advanced interactive features for Blu-ray Disc titles.

For traditional DVD authors with varying skill sets, the Java component of BD-J authoring could prove challenging. Blu-ray has been receiving criticism in the past that its interactivity offerings pale in comparison to what HD DVD was offering through HDi. In addition, the early implementations of BD-J in some Blu-ray titles had caused incompatibility problems with some Blu-ray players.

The on-Q Create suite reduces the learning curve by enabling creative teams to design and develop interactivity for Blu-ray Discs without requiring advanced knowledge of Java and the BD-J specification. The software offers a drag and drop authoring environment, Photoshop integration and a Blu-ray Disc wizard that offers built-in Blu-ray Disc functionality out of the box.

"The Ensequence on-Q Create suite has drastically reduced the complexity of authoring Java content on Blu-ray Disc titles, enabling content developers to create compelling, rich and dynamic interactive experiences in a WYSIWYG environment ? and in drastically reduced timeframes," said Don Eklund, SPHE?s EVP of Advanced Technology.

The Ensequence on-Q Create suite also enables compatibility across various players, and supports current and next generation Blu-ray Disc features including advanced picture-in-picture functionality (e.g. director?s commentaries overlaid on top of the video), purchase functionality, Bonus content, notification about sequels and more.