Simon’s Blog

Java will be embedded into every Blu-ray player on the market, and that includes Sony’s PS3 gaming console. That means, over the next five years, Java-enabled (Java ME CDC) devices will very likely be connected to well over a hundred million TV sets around the world. The question is: what kind of opportunities does this present?

The name for Java platform on Blu-ray is BD-J, and Java programs running on Blu-Ray are called “Xlets”. There’s a fair amount of functionality in the BD-J platform. Clearly, then, opportunities abound for makers of Blu-ray movie discs - given the powerful capabilities for building software that integrates with video.

But what about other opportunities? The big question - that I don’t know the answer to - is: do BD-J Xlets have to be loaded from Blu-ray discs, or will it be possible for owners of Blu-ray players to grab Xlets over the Internet in an open way?