In a tech breakthrough for those who still prefer to have their media in a physical form (like me), Universal Studios is coming out with a new Flipper Disc Technology, which will have the blu-ray of a movie on one side of the disc, and the DVD on the other side. In other words, you’ll only need to buy one version and whether you plan to upgrade now or down the line, you’ll have everything you need.

“Universal’s flipper discs are the perfect way for consumers to future-proof their collections while still enjoying their favorite movies on all their existing DVD players,” said Craig Kornblau, President of Universal Studios Home Entertainment. “The flipper disc offers an easy way for viewers to convert to Blu-ray now or at any time in the future, confident in the fact they will be able to experience their home entertainment purchases in the highest quality picture and sound when they do.”

So what’s the first set of films to be put into this format? The Bourne Trilogy; however, not as a box set, the films will be sold separately for the first time on Blu-Ray. They were previously releases on Blu-Ray in a three-film box set at the beginning of 2009.

The new “flipper” discs will launch on January 19, 2010 with superspy thrillers, The Bourne Identity, The Bourne Supremacy and The Bourne Ultimatum, starring Matt Damon, premiering as individually packaged Blu-ray™ discs. Each side will have bonus features and have the capabilities to access BD-Live and U-Control Blu-Ray exclusives. See below after the jump for more details. Each blu-ray will have a suggested retail price of $29.98.

I’ve always been impressed with Universal’s blu-rays. The sound and picture quality overall of their library has never disappointed me and it’s refreshing to see someone other than Sony and Disney to really try and go forward and do something creative with the format. So consider this a cool bit of news that could change how the industry packs their movies in the future.

Below is a listing of the Bourne Trilogy content on the new Flipper Discs…

THE BOURNE IDENTITY

FILM SYNOPSIS:
After being pulled from the sea with two bullets in his back, Jason Bourne (Matt Damon) awakens on a fishing boat with no memory of his involvement in a top-secret, black ops arm of the CIA called Treadstone. The only clue to his identity is the number of a Swiss bank account in which he discovers an array of passports and weapons, as well as a fortune in cash. As he struggles to regain his memory, his former employers dub him a rogue agent and target him for termination. When an equally deadly assassin codenamed “Professor” (Clive Owen) is sent to dispose of him, Bourne rediscovers his extraordinary survival skills, including hand-to-hand combat, martial arts and multiple languages and begins to understand who he really is. As he struggles to unlock the secret of his own identity, Bourne has to deal with his past in order to ensure his own future.

BLU-RAY™ HI-DEF BONUS FEATURES INCLUDE:
** Exclusive U-Control: Universal’s exclusive signature feature U-Control allows viewers to delve into the making of the film with the click of the remote without ever leaving the movie. While you watch the movie, immerse yourself in the character dossiers and location analyses, and explore the technology behind the spy gadgets through visuals and 3-D animations.
• Picture in Picture
• Bourne Orientation
• Bourne Card Battle Strategy Game
• Treadstone Files: Includes interactive Character Dossiers, Agent Status info and GPS features.
· BD-Live™: Blu-ray™ and Playstation3 players with an Internet connection can access exclusive interactive applications that allow viewers to communicate with friends and family while watching the film:
• My Scenes Sharing: Share your favorite clips with friends through BD-Live™ Internet discussions.
• Bourne Card Battle Strategy Game.
· Additional extras:
• My Scenes
• The Ludlum Identity: An extraordinary portrait of the best-selling author through archival interviews with friends, colleagues, family members and Ludlum himself.
• The Ludlum Supremacy: Who is Jason Bourne? A revealing look at how Bourne was born.
• The Ludlum Ultimatum: A fascinating examination of the Bourne character and his enduring audience appeal.
• The Birth of the Bourne Identity
• Deleted and Extended Scenes (Available on Blu-ray™ Hi-Def and DVD)
• Alternate Opening and Ending: With an introduction by producer Frank Marshall, screenwriter Tony Gilroy and actor Brian Cox. (Available on Blu-ray™ Hi-Def and DVD)
• The Bourne Mastermind: Robert Ludlum: A fascinating new look at the late Robert Ludlum, the bestselling novelist who created the “Bourne” trilogy. (Available on Blu-ray™ Hi-Def and DVD)
• Access Granted: An exclusive interview with screenwriter Tony Gilroy on the challenges of adapting Ludlum’s 500-page book for the screen. (Available on Blu-ray™ Hi-Def and DVD)
• From Identity to Supremacy – Jason & Marie: This feature includes exclusive interviews with Matt Damon and Franka Potente which explore the making of The Bourne Identity – and build a bridge to the spectacular sequel, The Bourne Supremacy. (Available on Blu-ray™ Hi-Def and DVD)
• The Bourne Diagnosis: Insights into the causes and effects of Jason Bourne’s struggle with amnesia from a UCLA psychologist. (Available on Blu-ray™ Hi-Def and DVD)
• Cloak and Dagger: In this feature, CIA liaison officer Chase Brandon delivers a detailed, real-world analysis of the making of a super-spy. (Available on Blu-ray™ Hi-Def and DVD)
• Inside a Fight Sequence: Join Matt Damon on the set as he and the film’s Stunt Choreographer map out the explosive action-packed U.S. Embassy fight sequence. (Available on Blu-ray™ Hi-Def and DVD)
• Moby “Extreme Ways” Music Video (Available on Blu-ray™ Hi-Def and DVD)
• Feature Commentary with Director Doug Liman (Available on Blu-ray™ Hi-Def and DVD)

THE BOURNE SUPREMACY

FILM SYNOPSIS:
When his lover is murdered and he is framed for the assassination of a fellow agent, Jason Bourne finds himself on the run again. But as he closes in on his girlfriend’s killers, he realizes his former handlers are back on his trail. After his fingerprints are found at the scene of a murder in Berlin, an ambitious CIA operative (Joan Allen) becomes determined to stop him once and for all. Haunted by debilitating fragmented memories as he navigates the labyrinth of international espionage, Bourne (Matt Damon) must outwit, outmaneuver and outmuscle some of the most powerful forces in the world just to survive.

BLU-RAY™ HI-DEF BONUS FEATURES INCLUDE:
** Exclusive U-Control: Universal’s exclusive signature feature U-Control allows viewers to delve into the making of the film with the click of the remote without ever leaving the movie. While you watch the movie, immerse yourself in the character dossiers and location analyses, and explore the technology behind the spy gadgets through visuals and 3-D animations.
• Picture in Picture
• Bourne Orientation
• Bourne Card Battle Strategy Game
• Bourne Dossier
· BD-Live™: Blu-ray™ and Playstation3 players with an Internet connection can access exclusive interactive applications that allow viewers to communicate with friends and family while watching the film:
• My Scenes Sharing: Share your favorite clips with friends through BD-Live™ Internet discussions.
• Bourne Card Battle Strategy Game.
· Additional extras:
• My Scenes
• Scoring with John Powell: A special look at creating the pulse-pounding score for the movie. (Available on Blu-ray™ Hi-Def and DVD)
• The Bourne Mastermind: Robert Ludlum: A fascinating new look at the late Robert Ludlum, the bestselling novelist who created the “Bourne” trilogy.
• The Bourne Diagnosis Part Two: Insights into the causes and effects of Jason Bourne’s struggle with amnesia from a UCLA psychologist.
• Feature Commentary with Paul Greengrass (Available on Blu-ray™ Hi-Def and DVD)
• Explosive Deleted Scenes (Available on Blu-ray™ Hi-Def and DVD)
• Matching Identities: Casting – See what it took to land a key role in this major action hit. (Available on Blu-ray™ Hi-Def and DVD)
• Keeping It Real – A look at the edgy and kinetic visual style the filmmakers brought to Supremacy. (Available on Blu-ray™ Hi-Def and DVD)
• Blowing Things Up – Virtual isn’t always better. See how some of the film’s most awesome pyrotechnical sequences were created—without digital effects. (Available on Blu-ray™ Hi-Def and DVD)
• On the Move with Jason Bourne – Travel the globe to visit the film’s exotic locations from India to Berlin to Moscow. (Available on Blu-ray™ Hi-Def and DVD)
• Bourne to Be Wild: Fight Training – Matt Damon didn’t become a lethal weapon overnight. Witness the action as the star and the movie’s fight trainer perfect the film’s thrilling hand-to-hand combat scenes! (Available on Blu-ray™ Hi-Def and DVD)
• Crash Cam: Racing Through the Streets of Moscow – Experience how stunt coordinators meticulously planned and executed the movie’s stunning, high-speed chase sequence. (Available on Blu-ray™ Hi-Def and DVD)
• The Go-Mobile Revs Up the Action – Feel the rush of being in the driver’s seat with this revolutionary new vehicle used to capture Matt Damon’s high-speed exploits in the film’s jaw-dropping car chase sequences! (Available on Blu-ray™ Hi-Def and DVD)
• Anatomy of a Scene: The Explosive Bridge Chase Scene – Step onto the set and experience the tension and intense preparation as the filmmaking team plans and shoots one of the movie’s most demanding, dangerous and thrilling action scenes. (Available on Blu-ray™ Hi-Def and DVD)

THE BOURNE ULTIMATUM

FILM SYNOPSIS:
All he wanted was to disappear. Instead, Jason Bourne (Damon) is now hunted by the people who made him what he is. Having lost his memory and the one person he loved, Bourne has only one objective: to go back to the beginning and find out who he was. Now, Bourne will hunt down his past in order to find a future. He must travel from Moscow, Paris and London to Tangier and New York City as he continues his quest to uncover the truth behind his mysterious past—all the while trying to outwit a new generation of highly-trained assassins as well as the relentless CIA operatives who will stop at nothing to prevent him from learning his true identity.

BLU-RAY™ HI-DEF BONUS FEATURES INCLUDE:
** Exclusive U-Control: Universal’s exclusive signature feature U-Control allows viewers to delve into the making of the film with the click of the remote without ever leaving the movie. While you watch the movie, immerse yourself in the character dossiers and location analyses, and explore the technology behind the spy gadgets through visuals and 3-D animations.
• Picture in Picture
• Bourne Orientation
• Be Bourne Spy Training – Viewers test their skills to see if they’ve got what it takes to be a covert operative.
• Bourne Card Battle Strategy Game
• Blackbriar Files: While you watch the movie, immerse yourself in the character dossiers and location analyses, and explore the technology behind the spy gadgets through visuals and 3D animations.
· BD-Live™: Blu-ray™ and Playstation3 players with an Internet connection can access exclusive interactive applications that allow viewers to communicate with friends and family while watching the film:
• My Scenes Sharing: Share your favorite clips with friends through BD-Live™ Internet discussions.
• Bourne Card Battle Strategy Game.
· Additional extras:
• My Scenes
• Man on the Move: Jason Bourne – From Berlin to Tangier, see how the film’s exotic locations influenced the filmmaking process. (Available on Blu-ray™ Hi-Def and DVD)
• Rooftop Pursuit – Discover how state-of-the-art technology was used to film the incredible Tangier rooftop chase scene! (Available on Blu-ray™ Hi-Def and DVD)
• Planning the Punches – Matt Damon reveals his complex and rigorous fight training. (Available on Blu-ray™ Hi-Def and DVD)
• Driving School – Join Matt Damon behind the wheel as he trains for the New York car chase scene. (Available on Blu-ray™ Hi-Def and DVD)
• New York Chase – An insider’s view on how the film’s heart-stopping chase sequences were filmed. (Available on Blu-ray™ Hi-Def and DVD)
• Feature Commentary with Director Paul Greengrass (Available on Blu-ray™ Hi-Def and DVD)
• Deleted Scenes (Available on Blu-ray™ Hi-Def and DVD)