Archived: Insiders Thread

[WickyWoo]

It's a new audio and video codec standard being deployed within China. I guess the significance of it blew over everybody's heads...

I'll translate

HD VMS effectively neuters the HD DVD cost advantage (real or subsidized) because they can make a profit on cheapass players because they need to be a lot less powerful in the emerging markets (especially China) that Toshiba so wanted to shoehorn HD DVD into, basically completely screwjobbing them.

How'm I doing Kjack?

[ReduxInflux]

Originally Posted by TheLion

Toshiba and Sony have their press conferences today. Toshiba at 4:00, Sony at 5:00. All times are mountain.

thanks for the info. per the BIG news - i'm trying to keep my expectations low. BIG is a relative term. i'm not expecting much. just the same old stuff...

p.s. i think it's great that HD DVD goes first.

[Neo65]

Originally Posted by kjack

It's a new audio and video codec standard being deployed within China. I guess the significance of it blew over everybody's heads...

kjack,

Does any of the current chips shipping on HDM players support AVS? This is a modified h.264 codec that tries to avoid paying any royalties right?

[Talkstr8t]

Originally Posted by Rob Zuber

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.

I believe Fox's upcoming Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer will implement this type of game.

[Talkstr8t]

Originally Posted by pepar

Talk - what is your take on the Daewoo 2.0 player and what, if any, implications are there for sales of 1.1 (and 1.0!) players?

I'm pleased to see 1.1/2.0 players announced, but the Daewoo is announced without price or delivery date, so it's less interesting than it might have been otherwise. As we know all players released after Oct 31st are supposed to be 1.1, and I expect most will be 2.0, so I think this will quickly become the norm.

[Talkstr8t]

Originally Posted by Penton-Man

Where the heck is talkstr8t ?

I is around, just swamped w/work and only able to check in here occasionally. Haven't looked at AVS at all today - anything that needs my usual velvet-gloved treatment?

[Delta_FX]

Talkstr8t,

Sony just announced the BDP-S2000, it's for sure not profile 2.0, but is it 1.1? It says coming Fall which I assume would be after Oct. 31, so does that automatically confirm profile 1.1?

http://gizmodo.com/gadgets/cedia07/s...yer-296413.php

PS: Just noticed your in Sunnyvale, CA, we live pretty close by! I'm in Campbell area.

[phloyd]

Are any of you local guys going up to see the Disney thing in San Fran this weekend?

New BD player eh!?

[Talkstr8t]

Not sure if this has ever been discussed here, but has anyone seen the "important notes" on the Toshiba HD DVD press release? Hilarious! (Italics added)

HD DVD with high-definition content required for HD viewing. Up- conversion of DVD content will result in near HD picture quality. Viewing high-definition content and up-converting DVD content may require an HDCP capable DVI or HDMI input on your display device. 1080p capable display required for viewing content in 1080p. Firmware update may be required for some interactive features depending on content, which may also require an always-on broadband internet connection. Some features may require additional bandwidth. To take advantage of web-enabled network content, downloading and installing the latest firmware (ver.2.3 for HD DVD player models HD-XA1, HD-A1, and HD-D1; ver.2.0 for HD DVD player models HD-XA2, HD-A2, HD-A2W, HD-D2, HD- A2C, and HD-A20; and ver.1.0 for HD-A35, HD-A30, and HD-A3) is required. Web- enabled features require an always on broadband connection along with specific movie titles that include this form of content. MP3/WMA audio files not supported. For 24p output, content that was created in 1080p/24 frames/sec is required. Viewing 24p output requires an HD display capable of accepting a 1080p/24Hz signal. Use of CE-Link, which is a feature based on HDMI-CEC, requires an HDMI-CEC compatible display device. Depending on the specifications of your TV, some or all CE-Link functions may not work even if your TV is HDMI-CEC compatible. Use of High Bit Rate Audio requires High Bit Rate Audio compatible AV receiver. Deep Color feature as specified in HDMI 1.3a requires compatible Deep Color capable HD display and/or device. Because HD DVD is a new format that makes use of new technologies, certain disc, digital connection and other compatibility and/or performance issues are possible. This may, in rare cases, include disc freezing while accessing certain disc features or functions, or certain parts of the disc not playing back or operating as fully intended. If you experience such issues, please refer to the FAQ sections of http://www.toshibahddvd.com/ or http://www.tacp.toshiba.com/ for information on possible work-around solutions or the availability of firmware updates that may resolve your problem, or contact Toshiba Customer Solutions. Some features subject to delayed availability. While Toshiba has made every effort at the time of publication to ensure the accuracy of the information provided herein, product specifications, configurations, system/component/options availability are all subject to change without notice. For additional information on Toshiba HD DVD players, please visit http://www.tacp.toshiba.com/hddvd/

[Talkstr8t]

Originally Posted by Delta_FX

Talkstr8t,

Sony just announced the BDP-S2000, it's for sure not profile 2.0, but is it 1.1? It says coming Fall which I assume would be after Oct. 31, so does that automatically confirm profile 1.1?

October is Fall. Until we see it or paidgeek confirms, we can make no assumptions about this player...[/QUOTE]

[hollywoodguy]

Originally Posted by Talkstr8t

I believe Fox's upcoming Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer will implement this type of game.

Correct, it's this one (from the news section): the BD-J multiplayer strategy game "Who Dares Defy Galactus?"

[Rob Tomlin]

My Toshiba A1 HD-DVD player still locks up on me.

[hoser]

Very funny Too-cheap-ah disclaimer.

BTW, why haven't there been more boasting of the quality of BD players that have been released?
I.E, a lack of freezing, unwillingness to play some titles, etc.
This is a very REAL example of having quality manufacturers producing BD players.
And not just ONE company as HD-DUD has (were they known to have produced quality DVD players....hmmmm?)

[Hussla]

Heya! long time lurker from the land of Australia and also a former poster on DTVFORUM, which is HEAVILY slanted in favour of HD-DVD by several member!

Oh well, my question relates to all this hoopla at TL51.

I hear HD-DVD fanbots touting how great TL51 is and condemning BD50's "apparently" low yields and higher costs.

But correct me, BD50 uses a mere 2 layers to achieve 50gb whilst TL51 uses 3! Now isn't it more difficult an expensive the more layers you add? and therefore your yields become worse?

Another question for the insiders and this one of the few things I agree with the pro-HD-DVD fanbots on, but why wasn't BD Profile 1.1 & 2.0 implemented from day one?

I find that the whole Profile 2.0 business been optional is probably in the long run a bad idea as it'll be questionable how many manufacturers will bother to implement the feature, personally it should have been mandatory from day one.

However on the contrary I admit, I find the idea of having my disc player having to be connected to the internet rather troubling, especially as it may lead to the possibility of discs with features that can only be unlocked via the internet once they are paid. Once again I see the pro-HD-DVD fanbots going on how Blu-Ray is the first step before a DIVX style pay-per-view system, however personally I think HD-DVD is already on that course....and well been a Microsoft backed format, why am I not suprised?

The HD-DVD brigade are fools, blindly supporting a format that is only allowing Microsoft to further entrench itself in our homes, lol!

Whatever happened to the days where Microsoft bashing was fashionable?

[Bombthroat]

I don't care about the interactivity at all. I only care about the PQ/AQ. Having said that, I wish the advanced audio codecs would be supported pervasively in every player whether that be through internal decoding or passing it via bitstream to a compatible A/V receiver.

I'd like to see every Blu-ray released include the best PQ possible, some form of lossless audio track, and seamless branching for movies that have more than one "cut".

I know other people do care about the interactivity though and unfortunately they will have to exercise patience a little while longer before their desires are answered.

[Hussla]

Originally Posted by Bombthroat

I don't care about the interactivity at all. I only care about the PQ/AQ. Having said that, I wish the advanced audio codecs would be supported pervasively in every player whether that be through internal decoding or passing it via bitstream to a compatible A/V receiver.

I'd like to see every Blu-ray released include the best PQ possible, some form of lossless audio track, and seamless branching for movies that have more than one "cut".

I know other people do care about the interactivity though and unfortunately they will have to exercise patience a little while longer before their desires are answered.

I'll admit Ive got Dead Mans chest and I havent even looked at the 2nd disc yet!!

I've got heaps of DVD's with extras and that I haven't bothered with.

Well if PIP is the ONLY thing we're pissing out on with Profile 1.0 well big woop! I can live without a little distracting window on the screen, plus if I want directors commentary i'd rather hear and watch the movie. But that's just me!

[Bombthroat]

I don't think anyone would even care about PiP missing at this point if it weren't for the fact that the other side keeps harping on it like it's the most important thing ever. And this clearly shows where their priorities lie in my opinion. Sacrifice PQ/AQ for the feature film (which should always be priority number one to get "right" regardless for format) but pack it full of secondary media. There's nothing wrong with "extras" but not at the expense of PQ/AQ for the feature film.

To that end, I see Profile 1.1 and 2.0 as more of a tool to shut the other side up and put a check in the box beside PiP.

To any Blu-ray insider: Do you have any comment regarding what I have stated above? Does the BDA have data to suggest that the current audience (hardcore) is indifferent to PiP and thus the reason it hasn't seemed like a high priority to get released?

[Slapper]

Got a question for Paidgeek though it may be a little touchy.

I was curious as to whether Sony was pulling low bitrate VC-1 encodes alongside the higher bitrate encodes of movies that you're currently doing the transfers for on Blu-ray. I've read through alot of the Insider's Thread and I saw a reference to Sony not using an outside VC-1 encoder but I haven't seen anything about Sony not doing this in-house. It would make sense to have this "back-up". You know...just in case...so that the studio wouldn't have to start from scratch.

So, I guess the question is simply: Is Sony doing dumbed-down back-up VC-1 transfers for HD-DVD compatibility?

I know it's a touchy subject and if you prefer not to answer, I understand. Mods, feel free to remove this if it makes you feel...uneasy. A friend of mine brought this up and it made me wonder...

[Slapper]

Originally Posted by Maxpower1987

While I am not paidgeek, I think it is safe to say that this is not the case.

I think you need to get out of conspiracy theory mode, the Paramount announcement put a lot of people into it.

I've been wondering for awhile. My friend mentioned it a couple months ago, well before the Paramount announcement. I'm not a conspiracy theorist, it just seems like it would make financial sense to have these back-up encodes. Even if they were just going to be used for broadcast.

[paidgeek]

Originally Posted by Slapper

Got a question for Paidgeek though it may be a little touchy.

I was curious as to whether Sony was pulling low bitrate VC-1 encodes alongside the higher bitrate encodes of movies that you're currently doing the transfers for on Blu-ray. I've read through alot of the Insider's Thread and I saw a reference to Sony not using an outside VC-1 encoder but I haven't seen anything about Sony not doing this in-house. It would make sense to have this "back-up". You know...just in case...so that the studio wouldn't have to start from scratch.

So, I guess the question is simply: Is Sony doing dumbed-down back-up VC-1 transfers for HD-DVD compatibility?

I know it's a touchy subject and if you prefer not to answer, I understand. Mods, feel free to remove this if it makes you feel...uneasy. A friend of mine brought this up and it made me wonder...

This is an easy one to answer. We are not making any preparations of any kind for possible release of our titles on HD-DVD and there is not the slightest possiblity that we will begin doing so.