You know who's missing from the Digital Entertainment Content Ecosystem (or DECE) consortium? A group bent on redefining the way we buy, access, and play digital content with a membership roster that includes Best Buy, Cisco, Comcast, Fox, HP, Intel, Lions Gate, Microsoft, NBC Universal, Paramount Pictures, Philips, Sony, Toshiba, VeriSign, and Warner Bros? Right, Apple and Disney, the latter landing a lengthy piece in the Wall Street Journal describing Disney's own distributed content ownership scheme that goes by the code-name, "Keychest;" a DRM solution that instantly provides access to content on any participating service (digital download store, mobile-phone provider, or on-demand cable for example) when a purchase is made. Keychest does this though a system of unique keys that are issued when a movie is purchased. The keys are then stored in a central repository (aka, chest) that participants would query. In this scenario, the movies would reside with each delivery company on their respective systems -- movies would not be downloaded. On the bright side, if a content provider went out of business you would still have access to your films elsewhere. The proposed solution would work with Blu-ray disc purchases too, since BD players are internet-enabled by design -- DVD keys would have to be manually typed in by the user. So in effect, you'd now be paying once for ownership rights to the film, not to the physical media. If it sounds similar to DECE it is, but Disney claims that its approach is more streamlined and you know, better.

Disney has been quietly courting other movie studios with Keychest and intends to go public with its technology next month. Of course, with Steve Jobs listed as Disney's largest stockholder and the rumored Apple tablet being a media-redefining device that will single-handedly save newspapers while ridding the world of hunger and ignorance, well, you can see where the speculation is headed.

[Thanks, Demopublican]

We've got good news and bad news. The good news is that our children won't have to suffer through SD versions of their favorite movies forever, the bad is that it's going to take another seven years. This might be really bad news for some of us, because we don't know about anyone else, but our kids like to watch the same movies over and over again and suffering through DVD versions of Disney classics is very painful on a 60-inch Kuro -- we swear the damage is permanent. This is especially true when the latest Disney titles are already available on Blu-ray so we know exactly what our poor kids are missing. Seven years isn't forever though and over the that time Disney will be releasing two of its 14 biggest classics each year. Pinochio and Sleeping Beauty were released already, and Beauty and the Beast and Fantasia come next. All of them will of course be fully restored and included Dolby TrueHD 7.1 surround sound.

• Beauty and the Beast
• Fantasia
• Fantasia 2000
• The Lion King
• Bambi
• Cinderella
• Lady and the Tramp
• The Little Mermaid
• Peter Pan
• The Jungle Book
• 101 Dalmatians

Blu-ray buyers of Disney movies can expect to keep finding DVD copies packed in, at least through 2010. According to a statement from the company received by Video Business, president Bob Chapek claims customers have shown "tremendous interest" in packages that can also play in their existing DVD players. Especially for the market of Disney titles, we can see how that would be, since you probably haven't upgraded the television in the kids room, or in the backseat of the car just yet. Hopefully this deeper commitment to including an additional disc doesn't lead to the rumored raised prices, but hopefully the threat of Redbox keeps that at bay.

This weekend, the first four seasons of Lost suddenly became available for streaming (in HD even) via Netflix Watch Instantly, and now Netflix and Disney-ABC have announced an agreement (an extension to the deal that already brought Disney episodes of JONAS, Hannah Montana and more to the service the day after they aired) that will bring even more familiar content to the service. Desperate Housewives and Legend of the Seeker already have some seasons available, while the fifth seasons of Grey's Anatomy, Lost and Desperate Housewives are coming along for the ride in September. We're sure the Lostpedia heads have already bought and doubled up on the series DVD and Blu-ray releases, but for everyone else struggling to remember what the hell is so important about that island, it's easier than ever to catch up before the final season starts.

[Via The Official Netflix Blog]

Read -- Sony Pictures, Redbox Sign Movie Agreement (WSJ sub required)
Read - Studios Rethink Redbox (WSJ sub required)

While you'll probably have to wait for James Cameron's Avatar for a proper stereoscopic 3D experience on consoles, Disney is readying two games this summer that will not only support anaglyph 3D (good news, it will work on any TV, bad news, it's the same low quality red/blue style 3D you've seen and ignored before), but come with two pairs of glasses packed in. Just continuing on the 3D hype its been dispensing to the kids with Jonas Bros. and Hannah Montana flicks both on the big screen and at home, highlighted most recently with Up and culminating in the upcoming Toy Story 1 & 2 3D remakes in October, Disney is clearly making an effort to work the technology in on every level with special 3D modes (no cheat codes necessary.) Toy Story Mania is a Wii-exclusive game due this fall based on the ride at its resorts, while G-Force brings spy guinea pigs to the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 July 21.

[Via Joystiq]

Big news for Vudu fans this morning as yet another barrier to the digital download world is knocked down. Buena Vista has shown over the past year or so that it is willing to try new things and today that means you'll be able to buy HD and HDX titles via Vudu. This is the first major studio to make this type of commitment to digital purchases via Vudu and although we're not the biggest fans of the model due to limited viewing windows etc, we have to admit that having access to 60 HDX quality movies like No Country for Old Men is intriguing. No mention of animated features in the release though, which is a concern, but even so, we like knowing that there are higher quality digital downloads than Apple available for sale.

Looks like the studios are finally beginning to loosen their digital distribution grip, now that Warner Bros. and Lionsgate are allowing Comcast to offer extended two day viewing windows this month, with Disney and Summit productions following next month. That coincides with a slew od day and date with the DVD HD VOD postings including He's Just Not That Into You, Gran Torino, Friday the 13th and more. Check the PR for the full list, any ideas how long it is before we see 48 hour replay windows on other cable providers and movie delivery services?

If you hit the theaters for Disney / Pixar's Up this weekend, you're probably more than ready to watch at home, and our friends at Cinematical recently talked to director Pete Docter about what to expect on the Blu-ray release. Beyond just commentary, there's also a documentary on their South American mountain research trip and Cine Explore powered look at all the artwork and animation tests behind the making of the flick. Considering how many of you consider other Pixar Blu-ray discs reference quality, there's little doubt this will be another great to add to the collection, check out the rest of the interview at the read link.

If you roll out this weekend to check out Disney Pixar's latest addition to the 3D film movement Up, you might be seeing it broadcast by one of NEC's new NC2500S-A projectors or an older model that has been upgraded, sending out 3D in 2K res courtesy of Texas Instruments' DLP chips. The kids might not notice a 33% improvement in resolution and brightness over previous generations that let it put the show on bigger screens than ever before, but we're sure you will. Word is Clearview's Ziegfeld Theatre is one of the first with the upgrade, so if you're close by, we all know how important choosing a theater carefully can be these days.

Just as we'd heard, Disney has worked out a deal with Hulu that includes taking a piece of the streaming video site, joining NBC Universal, News Corporation and Providence Equity Partners as owners and bringing Disney TV shows and movies to the site. Expect Lost, Desperate Housewives, Greek, General Hospital and the like so show up after the deal closes, no word on any delay periods and the only content not mentioned in the deal appears to be ESPN related properties. Also sadly missing from the announcement? Any word of increased HD streaming on Hulu, lets hope they take a page from ABC.com and get right on that.

Still believe in the potential of BD-Live? Sony does, exec David Bishop called this the "Pong" stage of development in the technology during an industry demo yesterday on its lot. Apparently wanting to get some fresh eyes on BD-Live after some glitchy releases and underwhelming features, Sony, Disney and others are still trying to find different ways to work BD-Live into their discs, and new wireless capable players like Samsung's 2009 models mighty see more people going online. We've seen live directors chats, games, story databases and other twists, but at the moment we're not as optimistic about where BD-Live is headed in 2009 and beyond.

Put down that import order form Tarantino & Samuel L. Jackson fans, Disney/Miramax has apparently set a date for Pulp Fiction and Jackie Brown, with both coming to Blu-ray August 4. High-Def Digest notes they're tagged special editions, so in lieu of any official information about specs, extra features or price, we still expect only the best fo these long awaited flicks.

Announced during CES as the third title (after Sleeping Beauty and Pinnochio) to get Disney's Platinum Edition treatment, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs will appear for the first time in high definition October 6 --well ahead of the standard DVD November 24 -- and Disney prez Bob Chapek is already bragging that it will be a reference point for home entertainment libraries. Expect a major push from Disney to upsell its family customers to the HDTV edition, with the staggered release scheduling and meticulous attention paid to this release, there's no question this as much a part of the company's Blu-ray driving strategy as its Magical Tour last year. USA Today also says several Blu-ray exclusive extras will be included, but your guess is as good as ours what they are, other than the now standard for Disney $40 combo pack that includes a DVD and Pinnochio's Disney View picture frame.

It's a bit surprising to see the Disney family of channels mixing it up with the riff raff like YouTube and, potentially, Hulu given so much time spent increasing its online video presence already (ABC.com, ESPN 360, etc.) but here we are. The deal with YouTube will put video clips (with shared advertising revenue from 15 second prerolls, overlays and banners) and all ESPN to embed its own player on YouTube's page, similar to the deal with CBS and its March Madness Silverlight powered page. About the possibility of a deal with Hulu, Disney's not talking, but if they do take an equity stake, hopefully it will bring the same priority for HD streaming (and boxee cooperation) that's been pushed on its own site.