Ask questions to Sony Pictures Entertainment insider "paidgeek"

[phloyd]

E_S - There was an awesome presentation at CES by the Surf's Up film makers on how they got that legitimate hand held camera feel using a real camera body with positioning sensors that showed a real time render of the scene in the camera viewfinder. Brilliant!

[FourToedStatue]

Originally Posted by Eternal_Sunshine

Paid, will Sony Japan's release of Eternal Sunshine of The Spotless Mind be region coded? I really hope it's not...

Just watched Surf's Up btw, and loved every second of it! I especially liked the "documentary style", it really puts you into the story and feels very fresh and real, which is quite unique for an animated picture. First non-Pixar animation I've seen that's on Pixar level, just really great work.

Japan and the US share the same region

[bluseminole]

Thank you, David Boulet and Brain Sturgeon.

I had a feeling that SACDs were lossless....David, you should consider an SACD player. Mine is cheap--Samsung DVD-HD841 for like $40 on ebay--and even that sounds absolutely amazing.

I get the impression that there is no significant difference in end result, based on your post, Brain Sturgeon. That is good to know...that the BDs will stack up to the preconceived expectations I hold thanks to SACD.

Oh, and paidgeek, I second the motion on having an SACD BOGO. It may be a niche format, but Sony should keep supporting it for us anyway...

[Clark Kent]

Originally Posted by Brain Sturgeon

You'll get arguments on the whole DSD vs PCM issue (revisit the SACD vs DVDA war), but multichannel 24/96--found on a number of DVDA's-- can sound absolutely stunning.

I was discussing this issue with another forum member here in recent months, and his impression on working with DSD vs 24/96 PCM on identical musical performances was that DSD sounded a shade more like the real thing.

Many engineers believe that SACD is very similar to 24/192 PCM in terms of real world fidelity.

[paidgeek]

Originally Posted by MarekM

Hello paidgeek

thank you very much for answare, would you be so kind to check if English DolbyTrueHD track have same bit depth on US and UK version of 6thDay.

(I will be probably taking UK version, same will be here in Slovakia, but in case that US version is A B C and have better spec, i will take US one )

thanx
Marek

Confirmed yes.

[paidgeek]

Originally Posted by Ian_S

Do you have any Sony Music contacts??

More related to SPE, some time ago on the other forum you made a comment about SPE policy regarding region coding that after 12 months, further discs would be pressed region free for titles where region coding was used to protect theatrical release windows. Has that happened or have none of the affected titles sold enough to generate the extra region-free production runs?

Also on RC, on a title such as The Holiday where Sony appear to hold US rights and Universal hold UK rights, the BD is coded Region A, preventing personal import on BD, yet the Universal HD-DVD is obviously region free meaning (poor currency rates aside) personal import the other way is fairly easy... Would such titles lose their region coding or would it be kept? If kept, isn't that a little one sided?

Is there any softening in general by studios on RC or is it something we're just going to have to live with?

I am not aware of any titles that have triggered re-mastering without RC yet.

When another studio has release rights in another region, we will not code for that region unless we also have rights to markets in that region. I expect that region coding is going to continue to be in use until new theatrical release models change. The advent of digital cinema may represent that change.

[paidgeek]

Originally Posted by blu2

This relates to a previous query, but this makes me wonder a bit about catalog titles being distributed to HD broadcast sources prior to Blu Ray availability.

LoA for example will be upcoming on HD NET.

I recently watched Dr Strangelove in HD on the cable HD movie network that I subscribe to, and all of the classic James Bonds have also been broadcast in HD in the last month.

Will such HD broadcasts not reduce the future market for an ultimate Blu Ray release?

I guess it's a business decision of course, and there could be more money to be made selling the HD broadcast of catalog titles that could be made, in the near term, with putting them out on Blu Ray?

I can't really answer how the timing decsions are released on catalog product. I'm not involved in those discussions so any response I might give you is just speculation.

[paidgeek]

Originally Posted by horseflesh

Paid, did you catch my other question?
(if you blinked you'd have missed it, LOL)

Is the upcoming European release of Almost Famous the Theatrical or Director's cut? There seems to be some confusion among retailers last time I checked.
It's one of my wife's favourite movies (we saw it the weekend we got married in New York) and I'd like to replace her DVD version.

I'll check into it...

[coolmilo]

Paidgeek,

I was on the fence with the movie "Across the Universe." However, after reading a few reviews I decided that this is a must own movie. Congrats to the Sony team for appears to be another phenomenal release.

Are you as pleased with this release as the reviewers seem to be?

[jd213]

paidgeek,

The Punisher (2004) was set to be released by SPE in Japan in late 2006, but it's been on hiatus forever. Do you know what's going on, or if they're waiting release the extended cut?

Also, do you know if the Japanese release of Hairspray by SPE will just have the same VC1 encode as the US release, or if it will be optimized for Blu-Ray?

[paidgeek]

Originally Posted by Alan Gordon

I'm somewhat surprised by this given comments made by Maxpower1987 (see this post for quote I'm referring to). Is this because WB has lower expectations than Sony... or did Max throw out CE3K as an example without really meaning to use it as one?

~Alan

I'm not sure of the origins of Maxpower1987's comments, but I can only say that CE3K has not sold what we would like for such a great title.

[paidgeek]

Originally Posted by CraigW

paidgeek,

Not to pick on Sony, but Sony charged a fairly high price for the CEotTK set. Warner's Blade Runner set included 5 versions of the film and streeted for $10 to $15 less.

I received the CEotTK set as a gift and have not had a chance to watch it yet.

I really like the BD format and I have no problem paying reasonable prices on HD content, but HD content should not carry more than a $5 premium over the equivalent SD content. If BD is truly going to become the next DVD, the prices have to be much more in line with DVD.

I know preparing these titles and marketing them is expensive, but Sony and the other studios need to start thinking with the mass market mentality.

BD has essentially beat HD DVD, but BD still needs to take down DVD and if it remains another high priced medium like LD for too long of a period there is a danger it may never be more than a niche product. I was a laserdisc owner towards its last hurrah, 1990 -1997, and I don't want to go back to high prices and niche status.

For example, the only titles I have purchased from FOX over the last year have been on BOGO offers and 50% sales. I just can't justify spending $35 at a retail store like BB on a title just because its HD and typically with minimal extras.

Again if BD is going to win prices not only need to come down on hardware, but software as well. If BD starts jacking things up just because HD DVD is out of the way then the BDA may just be shooting themselves in the foot.

Also a few members here have stated that you said dts Master Audio decoding is coming to the PS3 this year. Is that the case or were words inserted into your mouth or comments taken out of context?

I agree with you that lossless is lossless. Since the PS3 has TrueHD decoding and it is by far the most popular BD player and several legacy 1.0 players were updated to include TrueHD decoding, I would just rather all studios use TrueHD over dts MA since very few can enjoy it now. Do you know if dts offers incentives to content providers to use their encoders and codecs? If so, does Dolby do the same thing?

Again keep up the good work. My 3yo and I recently enjoyed Surf's Up. Great TrueHD track BTW. Also count me in as one who would buy a stellar BD version of LOA preferably with Robert Harris' input and guidance.

Thanks,
CraigW

Others will tell you that I bristle a little when pricing comes on up Blu-ray software. The product is such a good value for what you get that I think it is appropriate for the price to be significantly higher than DVD. Taking CE3K as an example, it was loaded with added value, a nice package and all 3 versions of the movie. In my opinion, worth every penny of the advertised price. I think price and value are based on a perception that changes based on what other products sell for. For example you can now buy an HD copy of a movie for the price of about 3 movie tickets that is vastly superior to a film presentation. The fact that you can buy $5 DVD's may skew your perceived value of new HD releases, but is that really a fair comparison?

[paidgeek]

Originally Posted by Rob Tomlin

BLASPHEMER!





Unfortunately this is probably true. I know I will do my part though.

Thanks Rob, I know you are one of the devoted....

[paidgeek]

Originally Posted by cjamescook

Paidgeek-

Is there any way to encourage BD releases of independent films?
Are there economies of scale to producing a BD at the same time the SD DVD is produced?

I am an avowed fan of space documentaries, such as The Wonder of It All and In the Shadow of the Moon. I fear that if the BD version is not released day and date with the DVD, it will never be released.

TIA,
-Jim
http://www.thewonderofitallfilm.com/
http://www.intheshadowofthemoon.com/

It is a magical time for independent film makers because you can now make a good looking movie without having huge money behind you. HD equipment that makes an excellent picture is within reach of the most modest budget. I can't wait to see what comes to Blu-ray in the next few years.

[paidgeek]

Originally Posted by LFletcher

Paid,
As a follow up to the Almost Famous question earlier, Cameron Crowe mentioned on his website that he believed that the UK version was the theatrical cut and that the Japanese version was the extended cut, can you confirm whether this is the case or are they both the same?

On a similar vein, it looks like Sony have the rights to quite a few titles in Japan which are already available in the US or which are HD-DVD exclusive. Assuming these all came through Culver City, do you have any information (video/audio) or even how they may compare to there US counterparts for any of the following which are either available now or will be within the next few months,

War (called Rogue Assassin in Japan)
Transporter 1 & 2
Saw Quadrilogy
Erin Brockovich
Trainspotting
Danny The Dog (Unleashed in the US)
Arthur & The Invisibles
Cinema Paradiso
Taxi 4
Taxi 3

Do you know if the last 3 had English subtitles on them?

Thanks

I'm going to be completely honest and tell you that despite the fact I would like to answer your questions, they require quite a bit of research and I just can't manage it right now... sorry.

[paidgeek]

Originally Posted by blitz6speed

Paidgeek

Have sony get together with Amazon and do a BOGO on SACDs! I want to get a few but would like to get a deal on them if possible, of course.

Also, SPHE licensed Blood+ and have a date for a DVD release. Why no BD? Source Material? Not Enough Interest? Please advise!

Sorry, but I don't know this title.

[MarekM]

Originally Posted by paidgeek

Confirmed yes.

thank you very much for very fast answare !!
and thanx for CE3K !!! excellent release, you have one more happy owner !

Marek

[dialog_gvf]

Originally Posted by paidgeek

I'm not sure of the origins of Maxpower1987's comments, but I can only say that CE3K has not sold what we would like for such a great title.

That's a damn shame. And people wonder why lots of other great catalog isn't on the schedule.

Anyway, let me say it was a BIG hit at my movie night get together soon after it was released.

Gary

[blitz6speed]

Originally Posted by dialog_gvf

That's a damn shame. And people wonder why lots of other great catalog isn't on the schedule.

Anyway, let me say it was a BIG hit at my movie night get together soon after it was released.

Gary

Well, what can we do? I rented it, loved it, and then bought CE3K. Thats about as much as i can do to support the title! You know, i was shopping at best buy, and they had this movie at 44.95. Sorry, but thats ridiculous.

[blindcat87]

I think you have hit the nail on the head. Consumers have become terribly spoiled by DVD. I also think that this applies to both hardware and software, and that the red camp has been trying to use this to their advantage since day 1. We have seen how much good that has done them.

I preordered Close Encounters at Amazon, and their discount was very nice. The price was still much higher than any single disc release I've bought, and I was happy to pay it for what I got in this release. I paid much higher for special edition laserdiscs even near the end of that format. I also paid premium prices for some of the first real SEs on DVD back in the early days.

If you feel you need a deal, there are plenty of places whose regular prices are a decent percentage off of MSRP. I tend to lean towards those retailers myself. But I really feel that what is included in the Close Encounters set is worth the MSRP, and thus getting it at such a good discount was a steal.

I am really bummed that it didn't do as well as Sony had hoped. I think that a lot of consumers probably really didn't realize how much you really get in this set and if they realized how much is actually packed into that little case, they would have more of a clue of what a deal it really is.

Just my opinion.

Chris

Originally Posted by paidgeek

Others will tell you that I bristle a little when pricing comes on up Blu-ray software. The product is such a good value for what you get that I think it is appropriate for the price to be significantly higher than DVD. Taking CE3K as an example, it was loaded with added value, a nice package and all 3 versions of the movie. In my opinion, worth every penny of the advertised price. I think price and value are based on a perception that changes based on what other products sell for. For example you can now buy an HD copy of a movie for the price of about 3 movie tickets that is vastly superior to a film presentation. The fact that you can buy $5 DVD's may skew your perceived value of new HD releases, but is that really a fair comparison?