Popping out to a theatre? Or popping over to your sofa? Either way, you could enjoy a realistic production of a classic play. Stage On Screen is a new initiative that’s designed to delivers big benefits to teachers and students, as well as theatre lovers everywhere.

“We professionally stage classic plays, recording them with multiple cameras on high-definition 16:9 widescreen video, to deliver the look and feel of a live performance. These recordings are then available on DVD in a choice of formats,” a spokeswoman told DVD & Blu-ray Review.

The idea is that education establishments reap the benefit, as all of the productions are set texts on the UK national curriculum. A special 4-disc Teacher Packs also contains six hours of material to help with the teaching and appreciation of the play.

“Students benefit as their set text really comes to life and they can replay key scenes as often as they want,” the spokeswoman added.

“Theatre lovers benefit as they can now enjoy high-quality stage plays on DVD in the comfort of their own home.”

HDMI Licensing (as the name suggests, the body responsible for licensing the High-Definition Multimedia Interface specification) has made the 3D portion of the HDMI Version 1.4 available for public download on its website.

The document will give those companies or organisations that don’t currently have an agreement to create products using that spec the chance to view it. Which means more 3D products in the future, as the number of manufacturers expands...

”The HDMI Consortium recognizes the importance of standardized 3D formats for movies, gaming and broadcast content and the need for non-adopter companies and organizations to have access to that portion of the HDMI Specification,” said Steve Venuti, president of HDMI Licensing.

“As the mainstream adoption of 3D is gaining momentum and content providers define and expand their 3D roadmaps, HDMI is ready to support this major market development.”