SAN FRANCISCO – In response to consumer demand for “harder-edged content in mind-blowing high definition,” Titan Media will release all expanded “Director’s Hardcore” versions of its gay adult titles solely on Blue-ray Disc, the company’s vice president said Thursday.

Previously released on both standard-definition DVD and high-resolution Blu-ray Disc, the Director’s Hardcore edits contain expanded and bonus scenes with hardcore fetish sequences including fisting, watersports, BDSM and other “extreme fetish” content. The expanded material is not available on regular retail version DVDs, which are geared primarily towards U.S. wholesale and retail accounts that prefer a less edgy product, according to Titan Vice President Keith Webb. The standard retail versions will continue to be released on standard-definition DVDs.

“As the leading, and virtually only, producer of high-end gay adult films on Blu-ray, our customers are telling us they want our harder-edged content in mind-blowing high definition,” Webb said. “We will continue to release all of our films on standard definition DVDs, but our more edgy and hardcore TitanMen content will only be released on Blu-ray high-definition discs in the future.”

In addition, “Existing Director’s Hardcore edit films on DVD will not be reproduced when existing stock sells out, so if you want Director’s Hardcore on DVD, buy ’em now before they are gone,” he said.

For the “gotta-have-it-now” crowd, Director’s Hardcore versions will continue to be available in digital video-on-demand format at TitanMen.com and TitanXXX.com (neither SFW).

Barely two years into its product lifecycle, Blu-ray already enjoys an installed user base of more than 10 million U.S. households. According to a January report from market research firm Zogby, the number represents more than double the penetration of DVD players at the same point in their lifecycle. A recent online poll of TitanMen.com customers indicated almost one-third currently own a Blu-ray player, and another one-third plan to purchase a Blu-ray player within the next 12 months.

“Blu-ray high-definition is clearly a winner in the high-end gay market, with an adoption rate nearly three times that of the general public,” Webb said.

Titan believes Bruce Cam’s opus Breakers, released in March 2008, was the world’s first gay adult film to be available on Blu-ray. The title won the 2008 GAYVN Award (NSFW) for Best HD Production. Currently 13 TitanMen films are available on Blu-ray, and one new Blu-ray title is released per month.

All TitanMen films on Blu-ray employ seamless branching technology to give viewers the option of watching the retail or Director’s Hardcore edit. Users decide what they want to watch and control the action. The underlying technology is the same as that used by mainstream Hollywood studios to offer multiple versions of their films on Blu-ray, Webb said.

“I am very proud that TitanMen has led the way in technology by producing more films on Blu-ray then all other gay adult studios combined,” Titan Chief Executive Officer Cam said. “Our customer is often ahead of the curve in the adoption of new technologies; Blu-ray is one of them.

“In these tough economic times, we have to give the customer a reason to buy,” he added. “TitanMen’s superb, non-stop hardcore action in Blu-ray high-definition format is just that reason.”