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

[Penton-Man]

Originally Posted by Penton-Man

Hey, all I’ll admit to is that as per doctor’s orders, I am totally in compliance and my heart; therefore, should be in great condition -http://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?id=6128576n

Additionally, dem Brits know their sound!
Film Awards Nominations - Film - Awards - The BAFTA site

even when they’re not at the local park supporting their club……..
Listen to Arsenal FC football chant lyrics Arsenal & buy AFC song Pro Ev mp3 download Arsenal FC ringtone

One of you computer geniuses tell me why the hell my first link above doesn't take you directly to the video.
It spoiled the moment for sure having to copy and paste the url.

[JimSD]

Originally Posted by Penton-Man

Someone should run a Google Trend Daily Unique Visitor chart and see if they’re hurting over there. Maybe that’s it.

All you have to do is see how few threads have any posts from today in the High Definition Software forum for your answer. It seems to be a dead zone. Before the format war I used to check that site daily for years. Only time I go there now is if someone links to something over there from this site.

[sharkshark]

Originally Posted by Penton-Man

One of you computer geniuses tell me why the hell my first link above doesn't take you directly to the video.
It spoiled the moment for sure having to copy and paste the url.

Here: Linky

[Dennis M]

Originally Posted by Penton-Man

One of you computer geniuses tell me why the hell my first link above doesn't take you directly to the video.
It spoiled the moment for sure having to copy and paste the url.

Think it might be the dash in front the the link.

I'll try it here and see if it works.

Study: Sex Prevents Heart Attacks - CBS News Video

There you go it works.

Just remove the - and it will be good.

[Penton-Man]

Originally Posted by sharkshark

Plus, companies often downright lie about their own published specs.

At least, that's what I think...

I finally got around to listening to Don Eklund’s spiel which DenonCI linked to here awhile back.
Anyway, somewhere in that interview ole Don is talking about how flat panels now are being primarily used (as the desktop monitor of choice) rather than CRTs for HD finishing in mastering suites. On that note, the Achilles’ heel, so to speak, for LCDs is that the viewing angle is limited…..which is especially important in terms of accurate color grading.

To the best of my knowledge, Sony is the only manufacturer that is giving honest specs in regards to LCD angle of view (only 15 degrees of off-axis for the Sony ‘pro’ class LCDs) and this was publicly stated at a past IATSE Local 600 monitor seminar.

[Penton-Man]

Originally Posted by Dennis M

Think it might be the dash in front the the link.

I'll try it here and see if it works.

Study: Sex Prevents Heart Attacks - CBS News Video

There you go it works.

Just remove the - and it will be good.

Dang, I missed that videoclip further on down the page named “Steamed over bikini baristas”.
Tell that 'Holographic' dude who is thread crapping in Jeff Kleist’s thread that I plan on getting my coffee there from now on.

[Slec]

Originally Posted by Penton-Man

even when they’re not at the local park supporting their club……..
Listen to Arsenal FC football chant lyrics Arsenal & buy AFC song Pro Ev mp3 download Arsenal FC ringtone

he's 5 foot 4.... he's 5 foot four.... (nsfw)

[Dennis M]

Originally Posted by Penton-Man

Dang, I missed that videoclip further on down the page named “Steamed over bikini baristas”.
Tell that 'Holographic' dude who is thread crapping in Jeff Kleist’s thread that I plan on getting my coffee there from now on.

Now that's getting coffee.

[sharkshark]

Originally Posted by Dennis M

Shark, is this one directed at me and my preference for tube preamps in my 2 channel setup.

No, I make fun of that to your face...

I do agree with you. Stats can be interpreted and spun to one's own benefit, or view point. The minefield called highend audio, is abound with it. But there has to be some form of empirical data to work with, not just subjective. The challenge is finding a balance between the two.

Man, with that kind of balanced approach, you'd be accused of being Canadian.

Oh, wait...

[sharkshark]

Originally Posted by Penton-Man

All I'll say is that as you see, like Rafe Covington, I always had trouble with the Jesuit lesson of “turning the other cheek” when confronted with evil.

Crossfire Trail (2001) (TV)

Woah. You make deliciously obscure references.

The Jesuit tradition is actually the closest, pedagogically, that Christianity/Catholicism came to either the Talmudic (or equiv Islamic) exegetical forms of "academic" religiosity.

By far the best ever representation of Jesuit-educated brilliance was on the beloved show from Baltimore...

"SHE CRIED AND SHE DIED!!!"

awesome...

[Tok]

Originally Posted by Penton-Man

I guess that makes you one of the Band of Brothers of ‘Easy Company’.
Glad to see you’re still around.
I’m not sure how many of us are left.

Count me as a member of Easy Company too. What is funny as hell is that I had posts recently deleted in the China Blu thread over there when the last of the diehards were fantacizing a CBHD format competing with Blu here when TCL showed a CBHD player w/ HD DVD "CH DVD" logo recently at CES.

That player is not intended for the US market and nevermind even HD DVD 'CH DVD' differs enough that Toshiba's original HD DVD formated discs won't play in it. Yet these tools, think they are going to import this player and import CBHD discs for a price lower than what you can get legitimate BD hardware and software. [DR EVIL VOICE]Riiiiiiiight[/DR EVIL VOICE]

Its downright pathetic the format war ended over two years ago and people are still coming up with these delusional scenarios where their physical HD media is on a format other than BD. HD DVD lost... move on... and BTW that door hit you on the @ss almost two years ago.

Then moddy Kenny H comes on and says that they are only interested in the player for a backup in case their other HD DVD players die. Hell I was trying to warn these fools two years ago that hardware fails and if you sunk a lot of money into HD DVD software you better have a backup plan because they only made the playback HW for about 2 years. It is not like laserdisc where there was a near twenty year run on player production. Good luck finding a working HD DVD player in a couple of years.

[mark antony]

Originally Posted by Penton-Man

I’m a bit surprised because members here (including myself) have freely and repeatedly posted links in the past to threads on other forums (like HTF) in order to bring attention to certain topics/reviews (good or bad) that Blu-ray.com membership may be interested in contributing to, either here or there, esp. when the link represented the original source of information (or misinformation).

Given that i've been a member for nearly 10 years there, you'd think that would count for something, but obviously not...

M

[Oliver_A]

Dear Mr. Penton-Man,

although I have never posted anything here so far, I have been a reader of this forum for quite some time now. It's truly amazing to have the participation of a real studio insider here, because for an industry outsider, reading your posts here is an inportant contribution to understand the technical challenges this medium represents for both the studios and the consumer.

Naturally, I have a question for you, and I hope you won't mind answering it.

I just read this reply from you concerning the Ghostbusters Blu Ray:

Originally Posted by Penton-Man

A great deal of time, expense and attention to detail was invested in the HD master of Ghostbusters. There is really nothing to fault regarding the technical BD production of this title.

I bought the Blu Ray the day it came out, and I personally loved the fact that the transfer had the following characteristics:

- Superior colours compared to all previous releases
- Sharpness was very good
- The compression was excellent, especially regarding the difficult material
- No DVNR applied

So I am basically a very happy customer.

I believe that Blu Ray is a format which was designed to be as faithful as possible to the original materials. I don't have any preferred "High Definition Look (tm)", my joy lies in watching films as "authentic" as possible and learning about their history.

My questions are: are the original film elements of Ghostbusters in a bad shape? How hard was it to get this HD master produced for the Blu Ray?

I am asking this, because every time someone says "the Ghostbusters Blu Ray looks like sh*t", I try to emphasize the fact that the person hates the Blu Ray EXACTLY BECAUSE the transfer was done as faithful as possible to the original materials, and that many problems occur because the original film elements are in bad shape, something I picked up at another forum (can't remember where I read it first).

Is this correct?

Anyway, thanks for reading my post. My personal opinion is that Sony is the only studio where I can blindly buy any Blu Ray title, and won't be disappointed with its presentation.

Have a nice day, and looking forward to Ghostbusters II

Oliver

[sharkshark]

You guys are all in Easy Company? I guess that makes me אלעזר

Anyhoo...

Originally Posted by CraigW

Then moddy Kenny H comes on and says that they are only interested in the player for a backup in case their other HD DVD players die. Hell I was trying to warn these fools two years ago that hardware fails and if you sunk a lot of money into HD DVD software you better have a backup plan because they only made the playback HW for about 2 years. It is not like laserdisc where there was a near twenty year run on player production. Good luck finding a working HD DVD player in a couple of years.

Agreed with the last statement, which is why I've got two players (A1 and an A35). I even managed to mod the A35 for multiregion, as the Oppo m/r fw project seems to have been waylaid.

Still, and lord knows I understand your frustration, it wasn't foolish to be wanting a number of titles that STILL aren't out on BD.

Frankly, I'd buy a 35mm projector to watch Lebowski in quality as good as the HD-DVD, let alone Grand Prix. There may have been idiotic format zealots that just can't let it go, but, well, some of us had the "backup plan" you talked about (buying both HD-DVD players was still HALF what my used first BD player cost (BD10), and I've bought two BD players since then...!)

So, while it would have been geniuinely cool to see at CES Cell-based, Tosh BD player that was Oppo-quality, but also had HD-DVD playback at CES (like my first DVD player, a Pio combo unit with LD), wishing for crazy Chinese format capable player to import, when the majority of titles are/will be available on BD? Silly...

[SpaceDog]

RE: Ghostbusters
One thing to keep in mind - it seems across the board a more grainy film stock was used in the 80s. In theater, on VHS, on DVD, and now on blu-ray, I swear the 80's seems to be the grainiest decade for film.

Perhaps someone can clarify a little better in terms of what film was used the created this result.

I think Ghostbusters is representative of what most 80's effects films will look like.

[42041]

Originally Posted by SpaceDog

RE: Ghostbusters
One thing to keep in mind - it seems across the board a more grainy film stock was used in the 80s. In theater, on VHS, on DVD, and now on blu-ray, I swear the 80's seems to be the grainiest decade for film.

Perhaps someone can clarify a little better in terms of what film was used the created this result.

I think Ghostbusters is representative of what most 80's effects films will look like.

I think Kodak was introducing higher speed films right around that time, which predated late 80s refinements such as t-grain emulsions. Push processing and such would make the grain rougher still.

[Penton-Man]

Originally Posted by sharkshark

Crossfire Trail (2001) (TV)
Woah. You make deliciously obscure references......

Personally, I like this entry from Wikipedia better (should be at the top) as it seems imdb is lacking a synopsis………
Rafe Covington turn the other cheek - Google Search

[Penton-Man]

Originally Posted by Oliver_A

Dear Mr. Penton-Man,

although I have never posted anything here so far, I have been a reader of this forum for quite some time now. It's truly amazing to have the participation of a real studio insider here, because for an industry outsider, reading your posts here is an inportant contribution to understand the technical challenges this medium represents for both the studios and the consumer.

Naturally, I have a question for you, and I hope you won't mind answering it. .................
My questions are: are the original film elements of Ghostbusters in a bad shape? How hard was it to get this HD master produced for the Blu Ray?

Welcome new member.

The original negative is in excellent shape. Ghostbusters is well-protected.
The time and effort I was referring to before, was related to the attention to detail in the preparation of the HD master.

[Penton-Man]

Lastly,
I admire Jim Cameron, esp. his unique way in dealing with people using cell phones on a set when it is supposed to be quiet.
Go down to about the 6min. mark on the video clip and watch from there, if you’re not interested in the whole interview, which is pretty good in itself …..
The Jay Leno Show - James Cameron - Video - thejaylenoshow.com

And a great way to end a rainy week in L.A.
Video Gallery -- KTLA

^ Thanks goes to Crystal for finding these links for me over her lunch hour……and a Special Thanks to Firefighter Joe St. Georges, who made the rescue.

Have a good weekend folks.

[sharkshark]

Originally Posted by Penton-Man

^ Thanks goes to Crystal for finding these links for me over her lunch hour

Waitadamnminit... You're getting your STAFF to find your links for you? I mean, I know she posted when you went over to CES, but, really?!

Man, I need a Crystal...