Archived: Insiders Thread

[blublublu]

Originally Posted by phloyd

ra, you will see over and over again that the likes of Ben Wagonner claim that there is no advantage in having more bitrate for VC-1 than the bitrate they release with (a convenient truth perhaps).

I think most sane engineering types find this hard to believe, but if Warner is being told this by Microsoft's leading compression experts, you can't really fault Warner for believing it.

Consider what Microsoft used to claim (or maybe still does) about the quality of low bit rate WMA encodes for audio!

[Rob Tomlin]

Originally Posted by Talkstr8t

Universal is the one which matters, and I think we'll see activity by the end of the year. Between the many rumors and the ever-widening salesgap, it'll be increasingly hard for them to justify their current stance.

[lasse]

Paidgeek,

When is Sony going to release some movies from the Columbia Vault on Blu-Ray. It's nice to have movies like Casino Royale but there is clearly a lack of back catalogue available on Blu-Ray. I think it is vital to have some classics released to get a wider public interested. Any of the following movies planned for release:

Lawrence of Arabia
Gandhi
Remains of the day
Howards End
A Few Good Men
Prince of Tides
Close Encounters of the third kind
Ghostbusters
Tootsie
As Good as it gets
Silence of the lambs

I noticed Silence of the Lambs being released in Japan this month. Is it coming out in the US soon ?

[Talkstr8t]

Originally Posted by blublublu

Is there some BD-J middleware layer that provides some abtracted interface to a players hardware capabiliies for PiP functions for example?

There are both BD-J and HDMV API's for accessing secondary video.

And if so, is there a version of BD-J associated with each BD-Video profile?

No, there's only one version of BD-J. The profiles determine whether hardware is available to support all the BD-J API's. For example, the networking API's still exist on a player without network support, but the middleware will always return "network not available" to the application when it tries to access the network.

What I'm trying to understand is whether there are any outstanding dependencies on BD-J to allow studios to deploy IME capabilities on Blu Ray.

No, the dependencies are on hardware and middleware capable of supporting the secondary audio/video requirements in the spec. In addition, Warner could implement PiP the way that Lions Gate did, but it's not as elegant and requires more disc space.

As well, does the PS3 currently support the 1.1 BD-Video profile (via software for example for the second video decoder).

Not currently, though it has been widely speculated that a firmware release can enable BD Video 1.1 support.

If no BD-J dependencies, and the PS3 can support, then I don't see why the likes of Warner are holding up their IME releases on Blu Ray, since everyone knows that the PS3 is the dominant Blu Ray player.

Because a)the PS3 hasn't had a firmware update to support it, and b)releasing the content before you have a couple of different players upon which to test it is risky, since the PS3 might interpret the spec differently than other models, resulting in incompatibilities. Testing against a couple of different models greatly reduces the risk of incompatibilities.

- Talk

[Talkstr8t]

Originally Posted by ra1024

Can you elaborate on this? I'm curious if they are ok with the idea of formats coexisting or if they are anxious for one to win out.

I think their TotalHD proposal clearly indicates they are comfortable with the formats coexisting.

Can you also give us an idea of whether they feel like they're short changing the BR crowd with encodes designed for lower capacity discs? I keep hoping they will do encodes optimized for both formats but I don't see this happening with THD on the horizon. I think it's an absolute waste to release titles like the Matrix and 300 with lower bitrates.

While I agree that throwing more bits at the encode is likely to improve video quality, it's harder to determine whether the extra expense would be justified by the marginal improvement you'd see. If Warner titles on HD DVD were getting panned for poor video quality this would be an easy argument to make, but based on reviews I've seen their PQ seems to be equal to the other studios. On the other hand, not providing a lossless PCM option where you have room to do so certainly strikes me as short-sighted.

- Talk

[Deciazulado]

Originally Posted by Talkstr8t

If Warner titles on HD DVD were getting panned for poor video quality this would be an easy argument to make, but based on reviews I've seen their PQ seems to be equal to the other studios.

With 60% of reviewers not having 1080p displays I can see why...

[Razter]

paidgeek, Is the japanese version of "16 Blocks" BD50? MPEG-2 or AVC?

[GoldenRedux]

Originally Posted by Deciazulado

With 60% of reviewers not having 1080p displays I can see why...

I only have a 720p display, and I have to say that Warner's titles are amongst the worst looking in my collection of 42. In fact, they are the absolute worst looking. I really don't know what the reviewers are looking at when they review some of those titles.

[ra1024]

Originally Posted by Talkstr8t

I think their TotalHD proposal clearly indicates they are comfortable with the formats coexisting.

Good point. I just wouldn't think that would be the desirable outcome.

I don't see how that can be easier or cheaper than doing just one format. I don't know about the encodes but it seems like most of the parts of the process would involve twice as much work from the IME/BD-J aspect down to testing on players. If they are truly hoping THD is the end result, it would seem to me that the goal is to make money on licensing THD and not on arriving at the best outcome for all.

EDIT: Not trying to be negative on Warner, it's just that's the conclusion I would draw if they want THD and 2 formats.

[ra1024]

Originally Posted by GoldenRedux

I only have a 720p display, and I have to say that Warner's titles are amongst the worst looking in my collection of 42. In fact, they are the absolute worst looking. I really don't know what the reviewers are looking at when they review some of those titles.

That's been my impression from what I've been hearing people say. I'm kinda surprised to hear that their encodes are considered on par with BR after seeing Crank, Casino Royale and Kingdom of Heaven.

[Chad Varnadore]

I think Sony and maybe Disney have raised the bar for high def video this year. I much prefer their recipe to Warner's as well.

[WriteSimply]

To paidgeek:

This is not really your area of expertise but since you're somewhat connected...

As you know, a lot of people are using their PS3s as their main/only BD player. To get the full aural effect of BD, PS3 owners have been getting or will be getting HDMI receivers that can accept multichannel PCM input. The same setup also enables PS3 owners to hear multichannel SACDs to almost its full effect.

So my question is: do you know if SCEA is working synergistically with Sony Music/BMG or any other music labels to release MORE new SACD titles to coincide with the growing number of PS3 owners having easy access to SACD playback? If not, would you consider recommending that approach to them as a possible relaunch of SACD and a new unhackable way of releasing catalog and new titles?


fuad
PS - if I had a dollar for every question I had asked paidgeek, I'd have US$20!

[paidgeek]

Originally Posted by WriteSimply

To paidgeek:

This is not really your area of expertise but since you're somewhat connected...

As you know, a lot of people are using their PS3s as their main/only BD player. To get the full aural effect of BD, PS3 owners have been getting or will be getting HDMI receivers that can accept multichannel PCM input. The same setup also enables PS3 owners to hear multichannel SACDs to almost its full effect.

So my question is: do you know if SCEA is working synergistically with Sony Music/BMG or any other music labels to release MORE new SACD titles to coincide with the growing number of PS3 owners having easy access to SACD playback? If not, would you consider recommending that approach to them as a possible relaunch of SACD and a new unhackable way of releasing catalog and new titles?


fuad
PS - if I had a dollar for every question I had asked paidgeek, I'd have US$20!

I was involved in SACD before coming to work for Sony Pictures so I am very interested in it. Even so, things look bleak at the moment for SACD and DVD-A.

I think the music industry is looking forward to leveraging Blu-ray as a readily available format for a large base of consumers. The LPCM capabilities are very good and the tools to master audio in a compatible format are available.

Not good news for SACD, but good news for those that appreciate great sounding audio.

[paidgeek]

Originally Posted by Chad Varnadore

I think Sony and maybe Disney have raised the bar for high def video this year. I much prefer their recipe to Warner's as well.

Warner is presently committed to VC-1, but when they open up to using other codecs for their Blu-ray product, things will get better. Their film mastering capabilities are at the top of the industry.

[paidgeek]

Originally Posted by Razter

paidgeek, Is the japanese version of "16 Blocks" BD50? MPEG-2 or AVC?

\

I'm fairly certain it is MPEG2. This is a very good master and it would not be difficult to encode with any codec.

[paidgeek]

Originally Posted by crunchy

Hi paidgeek, thank you very much for posting here. I, like many others, use the PS3 as a primary Blu-ray disc player. One of the reasons I chose the PS3 was the "future-proof" aspect created by including the Cell processor and the RSX.

My questions concern upgrades to the PS3's playback abilities. So without further adieu:

1) When will we see the ability to output 1080p/24 added to the PS3? With HDMI 1.3 this should be no problem to add this feature. (My projector supports 1080p/24)

2) When will we see the ability to decode DTS-HD MA added to the player? Everyone knows that the Cell could handle this easily.

Thank you for your time in addressing these questions. I hope that Sony realizes that these features are very important to many early adopters like myself, and it is a big part of the reason for choosing a PS3: future upgradability.

Let first give you a disclaimer that SCE is very careful about providing answers to questions like yours. The gaming industry is very competitive I think a culture has developed accordingly at SCE.

What I can tell you is that SCE is very aware of the demand for 24p and I do expect to see a firmware update to support it in the not to distant future.

They are also aware of the desire for DTS HD MA, but this is not trivial and will take longer, if it can be done at all. The Cell processor is powerful, but using a CPU to do the work of a DSP is not so easy.

[paidgeek]

Originally Posted by Damon Payne

My question for the insiders today is:
People often talk about hypothetical announcements from studios. When do the insiders in the BD camp think we'll see a studio like Universal or Weinstein go neutral, or a neutral studio drop hd-dvd, etc? When will the sales #s finally cause a big event? Just your opinion, of course.

I think that this year, one of the scenarios you mention will happen.

[theknub]

Originally Posted by paidgeek

I think that this year, one of the scenarios you mention will happen.

when this happens, we can do the happy dance... or peanut butter jelly man

[paidgeek]

Originally Posted by lasse

Paidgeek,

When is Sony going to release some movies from the Columbia Vault on Blu-Ray. It's nice to have movies like Casino Royale but there is clearly a lack of back catalogue available on Blu-Ray. I think it is vital to have some classics released to get a wider public interested. Any of the following movies planned for release:

Lawrence of Arabia
Gandhi
Remains of the day
Howards End
A Few Good Men
Prince of Tides
Close Encounters of the third kind
Ghostbusters
Tootsie
As Good as it gets
Silence of the lambs

I noticed Silence of the Lambs being released in Japan this month. Is it coming out in the US soon ?

At least 5 of the titles you mention will be out in the next 12 months. Don't miss "A Few Good Men", the master for that one was outstanding. You did not mention "Seven Years in Tibet" and that will also be a reference catalog title.

With DVD it was great to have beloved titles out in that format, but with Blu-ray, many of the catalog titles going back 50 years are just outstanding. It is going to be a great ride...

[Deciazulado]

Originally Posted by paidgeek

With DVD it was great to have beloved titles out in that format, but with Blu-ray, many of the catalog titles going back 50 years are just outstanding. It is going to be a great ride...

Me and Rob and Shadowself and untold legion of the members here (and on another video site too) agree, know it will, and, as my partner in crime just said after she read that: "I really can't wait to see what BD's cooking up for the second half of the year... "