"Club Penton" - Ask questions to Hollywood insider "Penton-Man"

[Alan Gordon]

Originally Posted by Jeff Kleist

I think they'd like nothing better than to ship one disc out the door for all formats, but I also don't think it'll take. I DO think that Uni will give it the good old college try first though

How will this affect their plans for this:
Universal to Expand BD/DVD Combos to Catalogs

~Alan

[Doctorossi]

Much ado about nothing, IMO. Personally, I'd rather have a side sans-artwork than a DVD I'll never use in the case. I'm too busy looking at the artwork in the disc to spare a thought for the artwork on the disc.

[Alan Gordon]

Originally Posted by Doctorossi

Much ado about nothing, IMO. Personally, I'd rather have a side sans-artwork than a DVD I'll never use in the case. I'm too busy looking at the artwork in the disc to spare a thought for the artwork on the disc.

The only reason I really care about the artwork is that it lets me know very easily which way is up. Yeah, it's rather lazy, but from now on I'd have to read the tiny writing telling me which side is Blu-ray, and which side is DVD.

I can imagine some people who use reading glasses accidently putting the DVD side in and being unimpressed with the transfer...

Why do you have an issue with a DVD you'll never use in the case?

~Alan

[Doctorossi]

Originally Posted by Alan Gordon

Why do you have an issue with a DVD you'll never use in the case?

I don't have an issue with it. And I have even less of an issue with a side I'll never use in the player.

I understand your point about being able to tell which side is up more easily and I agree, but some people are simply freaking out about this and making declarations that they'll never buy another Universal product again, etc.

Would I rather be able to see from 5 feet which side is up? Sure.

Is it going to stop me from watching one of my favorite movies in HD? ARE YOU OUT OF YOUR MIND?*







* Not you, Alan- the 'boycott' mob

[wallendo]

Originally Posted by Alan Gordon

The only reason I really care about the artwork is that it lets me know very easily which way is up. Yeah, it's rather lazy, but from now on I'd have to read the tiny writing telling me which side is Blu-ray, and which side is DVD.

I can imagine some people who use reading glasses accidently putting the DVD side in and being unimpressed with the transfer...

Why do you have an issue with a DVD you'll never use in the case?

~Alan

This should not be a major problem with BD/DVD combos, since I suspect that most BD users can plainly tell the blu side from the DVD side (The blu side has a smooth mirror-like surface, while the DVD side has a rainbow-like effect)

This is a major problem with flipper DVD's, which are usually poorly labelled. When the label say "widescreen side A" I never know whether the widescreen edition is ON side A, of if side A needs to be on top to play.

[kefrank]

Originally Posted by Doctorossi

I don't have an issue with it. And I have even less of an issue with a side I'll never use in the player.

I understand your point about being able to tell which side is up more easily and I agree, but some people are simply freaking out about this and making declarations that they'll never buy another Universal product again, etc.

I agree that many people are overreacting. However, I'm also tentatively concerned given the history of dual-sided discs on DVD and HD DVD. Up to this point, the technology has always had widespread reliability issues. Maybe those kinks have finally been worked out, but I'm skeptical.

[neo_reloaded]

I never complained about the separate DVD or digital copy discs - there really isn't a price difference, and a disc I'll never use does not bother me in the least.

Flipper discs, however, I am completely against. Not for money or aesthetic reasons (well sure, I like artwork on the disc, but I'm not about to skip a purchase because of it). My issue is reliability. I had more problems with HD DVD / DVD combo discs than I have had with any other media format ever. Those discs were a NIGHTMARE. It's impossible to enjoy a movie when you're worried it will freeze up at any moment. I was overjoyed to chuck those as BD versions came out.

DVD flippers have a terrible history too, so it's not like that was some magic HD DVD problem. I am not happy to soon have similar headaches with Blu-ray.

[Alan Gordon]

Originally Posted by Doctorossi

Is it going to stop me from watching one of my favorite movies in HD?

Some people had issues with HD DVD flippers, and this brings up bad memories. Personally, I never had any issues with the HD DVD flippers I owned, but I only had around half a dozen.

I'm not freaking out, but I'm in wait-and-see mode...

~Alan

[Penton-Man]

Originally Posted by ql007ql

Penton,
I thought you were a doctor (like ....), not a blu-ray specialist. Additionally, I thought you went to Harvard (and were a bike-rider)......

Thanks.

I’ll ride practically anything with either two wheels or four legs.
It seems the toughest thing for me has always been how to either mount or dismount……esp. with camels (no puns from the peanut gallery).

And I don’t know what I would have done at the starting line when I was but a wee young lad racing two strokes, if God hadn’t created the milk crate < probably the greatest thing after the pickup truck and tie-downs.

I went into “Blu-ray specialization” when I quickly learned that I could never make a career out of bull riding after trying it out at the local rancher’s spread a few years back.

[SquidPuppet]

Originally Posted by Penton-Man

It seems the toughest thing for me has always been how to either mount or dismount……esp. with camels (no puns from the peanut gallery).
.

Ohhh... er...... uh.... the temptation to behave poorly is strong.

[Penton-Man]

Originally Posted by ql007ql

Penton,

I have been following you for some time because - in my opinion - you are a genuis. However, it has gotten to a point where I feel as though I need to ask you a question or two... Please oblige me, if you will.

I thought you were a doctor (like ....), not a blu-ray specialist. Additionally, I thought you went to Harvard (and were a bike-rider), maybe I misread your post, but does the ACC play European Football?

Thanks.

Shucks.
In all seriousness, since you’ve been following me for some time, truth be told, I’ve earned two doctorates (in the sciences rather than the arts) which were obtained during excruciating formal education from different accredited institutions - which I guess, qualifies me as a “doctor” and at the very least, means that I can pile it higher and deeper than 99.9% of folks out there, when I’m in the whimsical mood.
So, it would not be incorrect to address me as Dr. Penton but, I’ve never been a stickler for correct salutation etiquette on the internet.

One mental downside to all that neuronal activity, is that I’ve still got minutia movie stuff stuck in my brain which I can’t seem to forget about, even if I tried. Like, for instance, that Kodak 5247 was used to film all the Gremlins exteriors while all the film’s interiors were shot on 5293. Go figure.

Or that, in one of my most favorite sci-fi movies of all time (i.e. Contact), that all of the digital effects work was contracted to Sony Picture Imageworks, of which about 300 shots stayed in-house while the others were farmed out to auxiliary places like ILM, Weta, Mac-Guff, etc.
On the contrary, I would be perfectly happy to only remember during that particular motion picture, that the filmmakers shot scenes on Super8 for the *home movie look* when Ellie is playing with her father or washing the car……or that, overall, the beginning of the motion picture is softer due to more filtration than towards the end because of the Director’s creative notion that as the story progresses, Ellie finds more clarity in life, and thusly, so should the audience in the imagery.

In regards to soccer, I would say (at least, back when I played during my undergraduate days) that the style of soccer in the ACC
http://www.theacc.com/sports/m-socce...ccer-body.html

is much more akin to that of European, rather than South American football.

[Penton-Man]

Originally Posted by Penton-Man

work was contracted to Sony Picture Imageworks...

P.S.
That would be in contradistinction to Colorworks, which just recently came to fruition ………..
http://www.prnewswire.com/news-relea...-70201657.html

[The Big Blue]

Camels? Seriously? I think we finally know who Penton is.

Forgive me if that card has already been played.

[Penton-Man]

Originally Posted by SquidPuppet

Ohhh... er...... uh.... the temptation to behave poorly is strong.

When I was in the Middle East the ‘camel guy’ actually offered to “buy my wife” in exchange for several of his camels.

[Penton-Man]

Originally Posted by micks_address

i watched Heat last night, amazing Blu-Ray really of an amazing film.. as noted in reviews the audio is quite low on the disc but fine once turned up.. i had forgotton that Natalie Portman played the daughter in the film.. she has had some amazing credits really..

Who feels 'old' now?
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/3032619/..._news#34204874

[PeterTHX]

Originally Posted by Doctorossi

I don't have an issue with it. And I have even less of an issue with a side I'll never use in the player.

I understand your point about being able to tell which side is up more easily and I agree, but some people are simply freaking out about this and making declarations that they'll never buy another Universal product again, etc.

Would I rather be able to see from 5 feet which side is up? Sure.

It's JP6 you should be worried about, not "power users". Just how many people are going to put the wrong side up?

BD has a different structure than DVD/HD DVD. The Blu-ray format is a single bonded disc with protection coat, a lot more robust than DVD. This would compromise the design of Blu-ray and make the discs more prone to damage.

Remember, with BD players now priced at "mainstream" levels (and all the disc sales), it's JP6 who is the format's target audience now. It's no longer early adopters.

[SquidPuppet]

Originally Posted by Penton-Man

When I was in the Middle East the ‘camel guy’ actually offered to “buy my wife” in exchange for several of his camels.

Wow. It's amazing how different cultures can be.

[PeterTHX]

Originally Posted by Penton-Man

When I was in the Middle East the ‘camel guy’ actually offered to “buy my wife” in exchange for several of his camels.

So how many camels did you end up getting?

[huntifosi]

Originally Posted by Penton-Man

When I was in the Middle East the ‘camel guy’ actually offered to “buy my wife” in exchange for several of his camels.

Is that the same camel guy that has 'free' rides around the Great Pyramid? It only cost 20 bucks to get down......

[SpaceDog]

There was a lot of evidence this past weekend at places like Best Buy and Target that blu-ray adoption is taking off in a big way this holiday. Black Friday advertised blu-rays were selling out while their DVD counterparts lingered.

This said, I wonder if any studio is considering single sku releases (Not like Universal) where a DVD bonus disk is an afterthough and there is not a seperate DVD sku to further nudge folks to BD adoption?

Seperately, on NPR this weekend they had a commentator exclaiming that Blu-Ray won't be hollywood's next best hope because they had to commoditize it too quickly and the prices crashed out faster and harder than was expected or hoped for. Thoughts?