Archived: Insiders Thread

[paidgeek]

Originally Posted by Aygie

OK, i got a question for our insiders.... are there any plans to release any "proper" comedies on Blu? and when i say proper i mean the likes of Eddie Murphy's Delirious & Raw and Richard Pryors Stand up shows. Ok i know there old but these would be a must for me.

Any ideas?

Superbad is pretty damn funny.

[Jack Torrance]

Originally Posted by paidgeek

Superbad is pretty damn funny.

Paid --

Great to see you back and posting on this forum!

[whippersnapper]

Paidgeek, I'm going to break the rules this one time and not post a question. It's good to see you back. I think you did a righteous thing pulling out of AVS for awhile in hopes things calm down. I don't think they will. I think the place is becoming more and more of a snakepit daily and is certainly becoming more "in-bred".

I followed the Duke Lacrosse case beginning last year on several forums. The forums that initially assumed the Duke lacrosse players were guilty became angrier and angrier as more and more evidence came out proving not only that the Duke players could not have possibly done as they were accused but that what the accuser said happened could not have possibly happened. The regular posters at those "something happened" forums became absolutely delusional. And I think that I'm beginning to see the same process of denial and separation from reality beginning to happen at the AVS forum. I suspect that as the news for HD-DVD continues to worsen, the denial and delusions will increase. Quite frankly, at times Amir is now occasionally beginning to sound hysterical.

We're all better off having you work toward having quality Blu-ray product for the consumer than having you waste your time being insulted and badgered at AVS. Keep up the good work.

[paidgeek]

Originally Posted by mick

Any insiders have a response to this post in the AVS Insider's thread?In particular the bolded item.

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showp...postcount=3616

I don't know what the yields are at other plants, but DADC told me several months ago that they were getting very acceptable results at over 80%.

Yield numbers can change depending on the type of product being run, and many other factors, but main concern is whether or not the manufacture has been able to remove the mysteries about why one line might be getting better numbers than another. This indicates they have a good handle on the entire process and indeed, DADC reached this point some time ago.

[paidgeek]

Originally Posted by hoser

For any insider:

I am having a bit of a debate with someone concerning the passing of audio codecs (TrueHD, DTS-HD & MA, etc.) bitstream.
He claims that none of the BD disks released so far will be able to pass these codecs bitstream (due to some kind of DRM or something) to the new receivers and pre/pros (for example, the new Onkyo/Integra line).
Current disk releases can only be decoded by current and future players internally; while external decoding is only possible with future releases.
What is the truth on this stuff?

This incorrect. If you have a new player that handles advanced codecs via HDMI 1.3, then the new generation of recievers from Sony, Pioneer, Onkyo and the like can decode them just fine.

[paidgeek]

Originally Posted by onyxx

Paidgeek,

Can you provide some insight on how the "consideration" regarding Seinfeld on BD is going?

A lot of effort has gone into making new HD masters. We may release this some time next year, but given that it is an episodic comedy, I think we should release it with some innovative added value. Maybe a Seinfeld trivia game or something. The fact that it is being released in HD may not be enough to get people to buy it if they already have the DVD. What do you think?

[paidgeek]

Originally Posted by *Enigma*

To any BD insider who can give me an answer (preferably with some kind of back up doc): One poster on AVS seems to be making a carreer out of defining what the various profiles of BD's availability might be. He's convinced the Sigma 8634 rev C is the only SoC solution for profile 1.1. From reading the pdf on Broadcom 7440 it appears that it is also compliant (they state that it will do profile's 1.0 and 2.0). I thought that any player cabable of 2.0 would also do 1.1; is this not correct? Also, can anyone enlighten me as to whether Broadcom 7440 is in fact "luma-key capable"?

Is there a chance that the Sammy BD players just announced (1400 and 2400) might be either 1.1 capable (with no annoucnement yet) or perhaps upgradable to 1.1 at a later date?

The only player announcement I've seen wrt advanced profiles is todays from Daewoo, with no release date. Why no announcements or discussion of profiles from manufacturers? Is this just to prevent impacting existing unit sales, or should we be worried that their is trouble getting this to work?

I thought after it was discovered that profile 1.1 did not mandate HD PiP that this profile would be fairly easy to do; after all it's basically the same functionality that HD DVD has been using all along, right?

As far as the specs go; is it possible to be 2.0 compliant without being 1.1 compliant?

If a player is profile 2.0 compliant (BD-Live), then it is automatically profile 1.1 compliant.

I don't know what the capabilities of the specific chip sets are, but maybe kjack can answer.

[Rob Zuber]

Originally Posted by paidgeek

...I think we should release it with some innovative added value. Maybe a Seinfeld trivia game or something. The fact that it is being released in HD may not be enough to get people to buy it if they already have the DVD. What do you think?

I already have the DVDs, so it is true I'd look for something extra. Certainly having as many episodes as possible on one disk would be a great convenience. So I'd suggest doing that and leaving the extras on other discs. For those of us who love the episodes and have them memorized, perhaps there could be some sort of game where you have to predict what is about to happen in the episode. Does the format anticipate multi-player games? An example would be two people (in the same room) competing to answer the questions and having the machine keep score.

Of course if you could get Jerry and the gang together to produce an hour-long new episode exclusive to the BD, that would do it! Give Jerry a call.

[paidgeek]

Originally Posted by JadedRaverLA

Paidgeek --

I just saw your post over at AVS saying you'd be taking a break from that forum. I certainly can't imagine how you've been continuing to post over there all this time. It is sad, though, that there will be one less voice of reason over there. Given the hugely lopsided list of "insiders" on that forum, I am starting to think it's time to just give that forum over to MS and be done with it.

A couple of questions:

Why (in any insider's opinion) would a company as big as Microsoft (and with as much to lose) allow someone in such a high position to run their mouth off on an online forum, making derogatory and sometimes insulting comments about other companies, with no evidence to back up many of his attacks. The liability is just insane. Also, what kind of mods do they have over there that allow the same man to continue to try to "out" the identity of other insiders on a regular basis?


And for a real Blu-ray question:

"Rent" has been released in Japan and Korea on Blu-ray, and I'm thinking of importing it (along with a few other titles). Since it's a Sony release, though, I'd rather just wait if it's coming in the near future in the U.S. Any word on that title?

Rent should be out about the same time in the US.

Thanks for your thoughts about the AVS forum. I'm not giving up on them altogether, they just need to tighten up the show a bit.

I cannot venture into the places that Amir goes without causing myself a lot of drama with Sony and other BD companies. Better to let some facts surface in the press that answer a lot of the nonsense being perpetuated.

[depooter]

Paid:

A couple of questions/comments:
why is Sony so late in announcing special features for their Blu-Ray releases? I still haven't seen a complete list of extras for "A Few Good Men", "Memoirs of a Geisha", etc.

www.experiencebluray.com has some major typos. Not sure if there's anything you can do about it, but under the movies section. It has the Matrix collection coming twice (one is mispelled). Looks kind of sloppy and want the Blu-camp to put their best foot forward.

thanks
Greg

[paidgeek]

Originally Posted by Azumi

hello Paidgeek,

A little while ago, I asked you about some market data. Since you're at IFA and a few numbers have been scattered throughout the different presentations and releases, could you please check with GfK, NPD and Nielsen if more consistent US and European data on player and disc sales, could be disclosed over here?

On a personal note, I'm very sorry for what happened at AVS and what you had to endure.

I did not get any more specific numbers than those that were provided in the BD press conference. The most significant items announced were:

Overall, 60% of the set-top players sold in Europe are BD. The contribution to this number by each company can vary widely, but the trend is improving overall.

If you include PS3, something like 96% of HD players in Europe are BD, or BD capable.

69% of discs sold are Blu-ray

Thanks for your comment about AVS, but no need to worry about me, I'm not personally upset. As I mentioned in an earlier post, I just thing the benefit of wading into the mud is not worth the potential problems that engaging on that level can bring. There is not much point in having an "insider's thread" when most of the information going around is just rumors and guess work. It's up to individual player companies, replicators and studios to brag about their own accomplishments. For me to speak for them is not okay and when I have done so in the past, I hear about it...

[paidgeek]

Originally Posted by Iceman_II

Paidgeek....

I confess, I have not read ALL of this thread, and I am sorry if this has already been asked, but...

Do you have any contacts over at SCE, and can you give them some feedback?

If so, here goes...

Its great that they turned on the PS3's abily to recognize media servers, it truly sets the device ahead of the pack of standalones, making it a legitimate media center. The only negative is the support (or lack there of) of not necessarily codecs, but of packages. It is great that it supports the MPEG2 and MPEG4 codecs (including h264 and x264) but would it be possible for them to expand the support of packages to include matroska files (.mkv)

For those that don't know, .mkv files are a completely open source package format which allows for video, audio and subtitle information packaged into a single file. Because it is simply a package, the video and audio codecs can be pretty much anything, although the most common that I have seen is .mkv using mpeg4 and AC3.

TIA for getting the feedback to them.

Cheers,
Scott

I'm not familiar with this file package, but I'll see what I can find out. Who is using it?

[Jamh]

Hey Paidgeek, great to see you posting again.

Question: Do you have any inside information on when the PS3 will be updated to be 2.0 compliant?

[paidgeek]

Originally Posted by WickyWoo

Here's a real question for our insiders- How come BR discs are semi-transparent? If I hold it up to the light I can see the label through it

Actually CD and DVD are semi-transparent as well, just less so. It is a function of the thickness and type of reflective layer applied. With BD, the layer is thinner and therefore, more transparent.

[paidgeek]

Originally Posted by hollywoodguy

Paidgeek,

I don't know if you even check your AVS private messages anymore, so in case you don't, check this out: Paidgeek Appreciation Thread.

Of course even a simple thank you thread got seriously derailed and locked in the end, but many people did (and still do here) value your participation in the forum(s) and, I can't stress it enough, the real-world contributions you make to the format.

Makes you wonder, though, if no one at AVS thought "If we mod this from the start, maybe we won't have to lock it at the end." The fact that the thread had to be locked in the end pretty much proves your point.

To make this a question: How was Berlin?

I did see the thread, and I sincerely appreciate the fact that some members go out of their way to say thanks for the time the insiders spend answering questions.

I did not intend to leave anyone with the impression that I was disgusted and would not post over there just to make a point. For me the problem is that with all the shouting and nonesense, it is hard for legitimate questions to even be seen and shouting back is not acceptable for me. What individuals can say and what those who work for corporations can say are two different things (at least for most corporations?). I think these things go in cycles. A few days, weeks, or whatever and I'm sure it will get back to normal. Maybe everyone just needs to make sure they are taking their medication.

[dialog_gvf]

Paidgeek:

IMDB indicates that Columbia Pictures has an uncredited involvement in the production of Evan Almighty. Is that right?

Gary

[paidgeek]

Originally Posted by depooter

Paid:

A couple of questions/comments:
why is Sony so late in announcing special features for their Blu-Ray releases? I still haven't seen a complete list of extras for "A Few Good Men", "Memoirs of a Geisha", etc.

www.experiencebluray.com has some major typos. Not sure if there's anything you can do about it, but under the movies section. It has the Matrix collection coming twice (one is mispelled). Looks kind of sloppy and want the Blu-camp to put their best foot forward.

thanks
Greg

Thanks for the heads up on both items. I'll see what I can find out when I get back to the office next week.

[paidgeek]

Originally Posted by Jamh

Hey Paidgeek, great to see you posting again.

Question: Do you have any inside information on when the PS3 will be updated to be 2.0 compliant?

I don't know. It has not been officially announced that the PS3 will support BD-Live, but this is everyone's expectation.

[JadedRaverLA]

Originally Posted by paidgeek

Rent should be out about the same time in the US.

Paid: can you clarify that for me? The disc is already released in Japan and Korea but I haven't seen a U.S. announcement yet.

Also, I wholeheartedly agree with your assessment of AVS. They are definitely an important forum, and I definitely think that Blu-ray should be represented. But given the current environment, I don't know how you could stand to be there. And now that Amir is on strike to keep the new format, I imagine it will likely stay the horrible grudge match that it has become. Anyway, thank you again for all that you do.

[kitzi]

Originally Posted by paidgeek

I did not get any more specific numbers than those that were provided in the BD press conference. The most significant items announced were:

Overall, 60% of the set-top players sold in Europe are BD. The contribution to this number by each company can vary widely, but the trend is improving overall.

If you include PS3, something like 96% of HD players in Europe are BD, or BD capable.

69% of discs sold are Blu-ray

Thanks for your comment about AVS, but no need to worry about me, I'm not personally upset. As I mentioned in an earlier post, I just thing the benefit of wading into the mud is not worth the potential problems that engaging on that level can bring. There is not much point in having an "insider's thread" when most of the information going around is just rumors and guess work. It's up to individual player companies, replicators and studios to brag about their own accomplishments. For me to speak for them is not okay and when I have done so in the past, I hear about it...

On the other forum Talk said it was 60% in terms of dollers...not total units? I like you numbers better...What talk describes seems a bit deceptive to me.

Good to see you back posting...Any chance of seeing Saving Silverman?