Ask questions to Sony Pictures Entertainment insider "paidgeek"

[WriteSimply]

paidgeek, (US$5 in the coffer)
Just to clarify things. Somebody asked you if 1080i25/1080p50 content can be played using US players/HDTVs (DJ Tiesto to be more specific) and you said no, it can't.
Assuming that the HDTVs are also 1080i25/1080p50 capable, can existing players as well as PS3 in the market be firmware updated to play these discs, especially if they are not region locked?


fuad

[jason_grumpy]

Hi paidgeek,

First thank you for all your participation in this forum, and all your efforts to end the format war as quickly as possible.

Something pertaining to the PS3 store has been bugging me for quite a while. Although demo's and add-on's related to PS3 games have been updated much more frequently recently, the store itself lacks in upcoming or exisiting Blu-Ray trailers. Under the Blu-Ray section, there's only about 30 movie trailers -- some of them like are still launch titles from 2006 might actually turn off people to Blu-Ray's superior quality. One of the trailers for Blu-Ray is HoFD, which has been ripped to shreds by reviews and forums.

Could you pass on the word to update these sections much more frequently? They have gotten better with putting up trailers like Across the Universe, but great appealing catalog titles and D&D from all BR studios might be a way to inform the public that doesn't read this board or others.

I'm surprised that Sony hasn't used the PS store more in promoting Blu-Ray titles current and upcoming. I can't help but wonder if titles like Harry Potter, Cars, Rat, Sunshine, PotC, and other great movies would have gotten even more sales (and more continuing sales due to awareness for new and existing PS3 owners) if the PS3 store put them on the trailer section as available now or coming soon. Even better, Blu-Ray trailers for upcoming releases such as I am Legend, Gattica, The Golden Compass, A Passage to India, ID4, No Country For Old Men, Enchanted, Coyote Ugly, Commando, Predator, Twister, etc could create some excitement for those that are interested in those titles on Blu ray for purchase, but not actively checking pre-orders.

I would venture to say that the majority of PS3 owners do NOT know that these wonderful movies are out, or coming soon.

Even putting a 'did you know your PS3 is a Blu-Ray player' type video MIGHT even be more beneficial for the format and wake people up to the fact that the PS3 does play Blu. Also an informational video like the demo disc at BB that shows moving split screen of DVD compared to Blu-Ray would raise quite a few eyebrows for those PS3 owners that think DVD is 'good enough'. I've been seeing PS3/Blu commercials on TV lately, but not everyone watches TV, so why not use the PS3 store for free advertisement? Having an enormous amount of trailers also could help public awareness that these titles are available in high def and can be played on the PS3.

Also, another suggestion I would have would be a release list page for upcoming Blu-Ray releases in the PS3 store. The PS3 store is a perfect way to be aggressive for free in informing current and future PS3 owners -- so why not use it?

[horseflesh]

+1

I second Jason Grumpy's request for more/newer BD trailers on the PS3 Store.

[Logan00]

I also made a similar suggestion a few months ago about using the PS store to promote Blu-ray more. For example, every Thursday we get downloadable content. Why not promote the movies that are coming out the following Tuesday on Blu-ray every Thursday? This could be a trailer from each movie, a list on the side somewhere or something else.

This way, if you have your PS3 connected to the internet, there is NO way you don't know the PS3 plays Blu-rays.

[dialog_gvf]

Originally Posted by JadedRaverLA

I paid around $125 for the Criterion LaserDisc Special Edition of CE3K. I think $44.95 is a bargain for a remastered high-def version with seamless branching (as opposed to the track programming, etc that the LD had).

Criterion has always catered to the film enthusiast. I still have and watch titles from them in my LD collection.

HDM represents the first time a consumer can get access to near-projection quality encodings. And, as such, there is a HUGE number of films most of us have NEVER seen in this quality.

But, the restorations are going to be expensive, and I don't see any reason why we shouldn't be expected to pick our fair share of the tab.

Gary

[Zinn]

Paidgeek, do you know when the first music only BD will be released?

[Mobe1969]

Originally Posted by Logan00

I also made a similar suggestion a few months ago about using the PS store to promote Blu-ray more. For example, every Thursday we get downloadable content. Why not promote the movies that are coming out the following Tuesday on Blu-ray every Thursday? This could be a trailer from each movie, a list on the side somewhere or something else.

This way, if you have your PS3 connected to the internet, there is NO way you don't know the PS3 plays Blu-rays.

That's a good idea. PS Australia has some 1080p trailers, but you'd hardly think they were advertising Blu Ray. The one I looked at was a clip from Full Metal Jacket. It was even done in a promotional sense, just a 1 minute clip from the film.

[T-Wrecks]

I would go one step further and have the PS store dedicated to exclusive time-released Blu-ray AND movie trailers for movies that WILL get Blu-ray treatment and/or extended trailers not seen elsewhere.

In other words, "see it here first and/or see it no where else". Other sites will pick up on this and link to it, furthering your marketing dollar and creating great demand for the PS store service.

It just makes too much sense.

[paidgeek]

Originally Posted by WickyWoo

Paid, we've been discussing accessibility issues over in Talk's thread, whether something could be done to write a text to speech program in Java for blind users, that would interface with some kind of HTML type menu (probably done in HDMV).

Would it be possible to write a text to speech in Java, and implement a standard something like "Hold down the A function key on boot to access HDMV menu" so that people with bad eyes can navigate the menus, and people who are annoyed with long load times can forgo those features? Or would something like text to speech have to be implemented in some kind of hardware due to processing limitations?

We would need to do some serious technical study to see if this is possible, but if it is, it would be at the expense of everything else given the finite memory constraints of our Java programs. A far more practical solution would be to create a consistent "back-door" method of navigating the disc. For example, pressing 11 when you hear the SPHE logo could start a sequence of playing the trailers and warnings, then automatically start main title playback. If there is enough feedback on this approach, I will float it.

[paidgeek]

Originally Posted by patrick99

I watched a large chunk of Across the Universe again last night and had the same reaction as when I watched it the first time.

I know of course that Shoot 'Em Up is not yours, but that is a recent example of something that I think looks notably better, as well as recent Fox releases such as Prison Break or Mr. Brooks or Die Hard 4.

As for recent Sony releases that I thought looked better, SM3 and RE3 come to mind. I thought that Fifth Element (remastered) looked fantastic. I thought The Patriot looked very nice.

To pick one specific shot in Across the Universe that illustrates what I had a problem with, the opening shot of Jim Sturgess on a beach, ending with a tight close-up. The close-up just doesn't have the crispness that I expect to see in such tight close-ups, and that is really true throughout the movie. There are some exceptions; the close-ups of Prudence during I Wanna Hold Your Hand look pretty good. Many close-ups of Sturgess seemed especially lacking.

Another example of something that I thought looked bad: the blue elongated heads in the Eddie Izzard number.

I respect the fact that we have a difference of opinion on this title. I won't try to tell you that a so-so picture is great, but this is not a so-so picture.

[paidgeek]

Originally Posted by patrick99

Paidgeek, perhaps Jane Austen Book Club presents a better occasion for asking about SPE's current bitrate practices than Across the Universe, since I seem to be a voice in the wilderness on that one.

I very seldom agree with Peter Bracke's PQ evaluations, but I do in this case:

http://bluray.highdefdigest.com/1261...nbookclub.html

"Detail and depth to the image are simply mediocre, at least for a new release. The image never boasts the kind of visible fine texture of the best high-def."

To avoid any possiblity of misunderstanding, I don't agree with Bracke's comments about colors; I asssume that this is simply a choice as to how the director and DP wanted the movie to look. Also, this encode does look much better than those cases where studios have used the same low bitrate encode on both formats. Nevertheless, I do agree with Bracke that detail and sharpness often seemed lacking.

Is the problem here the source material? It seemed to me while watching that a higher bitrate might have helped.

Does SPE have a rule or practice or policy against using bitrates above about 30?

Thanks again for your valued participation here.

Sony Pictures does not have any policy of holding back bit rates. They are calculated based on all of the typical criteria including making foreign versions of the title.

JABC is another title that translated to Blu-ray very well in my opinion. The master was exceptionally good and I am very happy to have this title represent HD and Blu-ray.

[paidgeek]

Originally Posted by Dotpattern

Paid,

I don't know if this is something that you can answer. I brought this up on another thread and was wondering what the possibility of something like this being done on certain future releases?

https://forum.blu-ray.com/showpost.p...4&postcount=18

Thanks in advance!

This is interesting, but would be very hard to do. When a film score is rejected in favor of another, you can well imagine that it could be a messy affair. Getting the film finished with both soundtracks would be almost impossible.

[paidgeek]

Originally Posted by NoQuestion

paidgeek,

EDIT: is this server capable of performing 1.1 PiP and 2.0 features in the future? If not then I will hope that Sony will put out a bigger storage media server that can handle PiP and 2.0. If that happens I am all over it

Any help on this will be greatly appreciated.

Thanks!

Can you provide more information on your question?

[paidgeek]

Originally Posted by Darth Fredius

Thank you so mutch.
But are you sure that 30 Days of Night is not region coded ?
Here's a picture of the back cover. And it says : REGION A...
Last question is it a canadian dubbed french track or a parisian dubbed french track ?
Thanks !

The marketing deparment has chosen not to code the product with multiple regions when it is destined for North America. It is a multi-region disc.

[paidgeek]

Originally Posted by horseflesh

Paid, sorry if I'm starting to sound like a broken record, but did you get a chance to ask about the European release of Almost Famous??

My finger is on the order trigger.....

It is the extended edition

[NoQuestion]

Originally Posted by paidgeek

Can you provide more information on your question?

Sorry about original post, I was looking at the hes-v1000 on sony's website and i love everything about it except the capicity, but that is a very small issue. My questions about this pertains to the profile of the player. is is a profile 1.1 player? if not, since it does have a hard drive, can it be upgraded similar to the ps3? The only other question i have about it is what is the load times like for disc boot up? Before i purchase this i just wanted to see if i could get these questions(mainly the profile question) answered.

[paidgeek]

Originally Posted by WriteSimply

paidgeek, (US$5 in the coffer)
Just to clarify things. Somebody asked you if 1080i25/1080p50 content can be played using US players/HDTVs (DJ Tiesto to be more specific) and you said no, it can't.
Assuming that the HDTVs are also 1080i25/1080p50 capable, can existing players as well as PS3 in the market be firmware updated to play these discs, especially if they are not region locked?


fuad

Existing US based displays do not support 25p or 50i (at least not Sony's, let me know if someone else's do).

I don't know if a firmware update could change this. It depends if the player hardware is dual format capable in the first place. European players, need to support both line standards, so this seems like a possiblity.

[paidgeek]

Originally Posted by jason_grumpy

Hi paidgeek,

First thank you for all your participation in this forum, and all your efforts to end the format war as quickly as possible.

Something pertaining to the PS3 store has been bugging me for quite a while. Although demo's and add-on's related to PS3 games have been updated much more frequently recently, the store itself lacks in upcoming or exisiting Blu-Ray trailers. Under the Blu-Ray section, there's only about 30 movie trailers -- some of them like are still launch titles from 2006 might actually turn off people to Blu-Ray's superior quality. One of the trailers for Blu-Ray is HoFD, which has been ripped to shreds by reviews and forums.

Could you pass on the word to update these sections much more frequently? They have gotten better with putting up trailers like Across the Universe, but great appealing catalog titles and D&D from all BR studios might be a way to inform the public that doesn't read this board or others.

I'm surprised that Sony hasn't used the PS store more in promoting Blu-Ray titles current and upcoming. I can't help but wonder if titles like Harry Potter, Cars, Rat, Sunshine, PotC, and other great movies would have gotten even more sales (and more continuing sales due to awareness for new and existing PS3 owners) if the PS3 store put them on the trailer section as available now or coming soon. Even better, Blu-Ray trailers for upcoming releases such as I am Legend, Gattica, The Golden Compass, A Passage to India, ID4, No Country For Old Men, Enchanted, Coyote Ugly, Commando, Predator, Twister, etc could create some excitement for those that are interested in those titles on Blu ray for purchase, but not actively checking pre-orders.

I would venture to say that the majority of PS3 owners do NOT know that these wonderful movies are out, or coming soon.

Even putting a 'did you know your PS3 is a Blu-Ray player' type video MIGHT even be more beneficial for the format and wake people up to the fact that the PS3 does play Blu. Also an informational video like the demo disc at BB that shows moving split screen of DVD compared to Blu-Ray would raise quite a few eyebrows for those PS3 owners that think DVD is 'good enough'. I've been seeing PS3/Blu commercials on TV lately, but not everyone watches TV, so why not use the PS3 store for free advertisement? Having an enormous amount of trailers also could help public awareness that these titles are available in high def and can be played on the PS3.

Also, another suggestion I would have would be a release list page for upcoming Blu-Ray releases in the PS3 store. The PS3 store is a perfect way to be aggressive for free in informing current and future PS3 owners -- so why not use it?

Thanks for providing these suggestions. We will take a look into the status of the PS3 store trailers.

[patrick99]

Originally Posted by paidgeek

Sony Pictures does not have any policy of holding back bit rates. They are calculated based on all of the typical criteria including making foreign versions of the title.

JABC is another title that translated to Blu-ray very well in my opinion. The master was exceptionally good and I am very happy to have this title represent HD and Blu-ray.

I am very appreciative of your taking the time and trouble to respond to my questions on these subjects. It is this type of responsiveness that is one of the many reasons why we are all so glad that you are willing to participate here.

I didn't fully understand the bolded part of your response. I assume you are not referring to the need to allocate space to foreign language audio tracks, since you refer to "foreign versions," or am I misunderstanding and the need for space for foreign language audio tracks is in fact what you are referring to?

[paidgeek]

Originally Posted by Zinn

Paidgeek, do you know when the first music only BD will be released?

I don't know. This would be of interest to Sony BMG, but I think they will wait to coordinate with any CE company that might be releasing an audio only player. This music profile of Blu-ray was designed to support a device that has no display.