Archived: Insiders Thread

[paidgeek]

Originally Posted by WriteSimply

To paidgeek: Okay you don't want to talk about specific releases unless it is already announced with a confirmed date.

1) How many concert BDs have you guys done the encoding for?
2) How many are slated for 2007 release?
3) What are the video source for that? Film or HD video?
4) Most music videos are shot on film yet edited on SD and its EFX rendered in SD. Do you foresee this changing when Sony/BMG/Universal Music releases compilation of music videos from artistes in their roster?
5) As far as you know, has the music labels advised their artistes that want to shoot concert videos to at least shoot them on HD for future BD release?

Thanks for reading and maybe answering my questions!


fuad

I think we have only done two or three music titles for Sony BMG. I can't say how many they will release in 2007, but they like and support the format, so I expect titles to be coming. Most concerts or music product are shot on video. We are discussing ways to optimize quality of these difficult masters for current and upcoming releases.

[paidgeek]

Originally Posted by mbslrm

Sorry for my ignorance, but how does BT+ work?

I think you are referring to BD+. The most basic explanation is that it is a virtual machine in the player that we can use to run security software to validate the content is being played in a legitimate player. It is not a replacement for AACS, but rather another barrier which can be dynamically altered against hacks.

[GoldenRedux]

Originally Posted by paidgeek

I think we have only done two or three music titles for Sony BMG. I can't say how many they will release in 2007, but they like and support the format, so I expect titles to be coming. Most concerts or music product are shot on video. We are discussing ways to optimize quality of these difficult masters for current and upcoming releases.

Let me take this opportunity to say that I own the John Legend BD, and I thoroughly enjoy it. It looks and sounds superb, and I look forward to more releases from Sony BMG. I'm strongly leaning towards purchasing that Incubus concert BD as well.

[dobyblue]

Originally Posted by paidgeek

I think we have only done two or three music titles for Sony BMG. I can't say how many they will release in 2007, but they like and support the format, so I expect titles to be coming. Most concerts or music product are shot on video. We are discussing ways to optimize quality of these difficult masters for current and upcoming releases.

I know that both "Live at The Gorge" and "The Concert in Central Park" by Dave Matthews Band were both shot with HD cameras and have been broadcast over the air in high definition.

The CP show on DVD has a 24/48 PCM stereo track on it, so I can only presume based on the Incubus release that when they release the Central Park show on Blu-ray it will have a 24/48 5.1 track on it.

[WesleyTech]

Excellent and informative thread. Thanks to all the insiders for participating.

Are you aware of any current development efforts focusing on BD+ security software?

If so, can you give any type of estimate as to when we can expect to see BD+ protected discs hitting the US retail market?

Has BD+ development been accelerated or set at a higher priority due to the recent "plaintext" encryption key discovery methods that have been publicized?

[Rob Tomlin]

Very nice to have you here paidgeek! Thank you for your valuable time and excellent information.

I want to follow up on a previous question because the subject is very near and dear to my heart (as you can tell from my avatar): there was a rumor on The Digital Bits regarding Lawrence of Arabia (and a couple other movies) being released on Blu-ray as early as March. Is this correct?

If not, any information you could share on the status of Lawrence would be greatly appreciated!

[Deciazulado]

Rob, sorry to say, but for the moment look at paidgeek's posts (147 and 170). Of course, I too would love to hear about anything about this title's journey to Blu-ray that paidgeek may be able to tell us, be it now, or in the future

[Nismobeach]

paidgeek,

How far off are >50GB discs for movies, and will they work on the current players?

[Rob Tomlin]

Originally Posted by Deciazulado

Rob, sorry to say, but for the moment look at paidgeek's posts (147 and 170). Of course, I too would love to hear about anything about this title's journey to Blu-ray that paidgeek may be able to tell us, be it now, or in the future

Ooops, guess I missed his follow up in post 170. Or maybe I just wanted to pretend he didn't say it!

[Azumi]

hi Paidgeek,

Great to see you're posting here. I have a little followup on region codes, which is a very important issue for us international users, and even more so once the PS3 is released in Europe.

I have been trying to summarize what we know on region coding and the different Studio policies. Could you please review the following lines and tell us if they're correct and add anything I may have missed?

---

The BDA stipulates that - whenever region coding is to be used - its window cannot exceed 12 months from the street date. This is a global requirement that has to be enforced worldwide by every company wishing to use region coding.

After the 12-month window:
- A new SKU without region codes has to be produced and put in the market. Its new cover must be updated accordingly (so consumers will know that the new SKU doesn't have region coding),
- Existing SKUs with region codes might still be allowed to circulate during an interim phase. However, the old information must be used in order to avoid confusion.

Region codes may be used on a discretionary basis by Studios and other publishers, according to their broad policies and specific provisions for international rights.

Here's a broad breakdown of Studio policy regarding region codes at this time:

- Sony will use region codes on contemporary releases (day-and-date and such). Region coding might also be used on specific versions (director's cuts...) whereas the market requires it. Every non-recent and catalog release will be free.
- 20th Century Fox and BVHE are currently using region codes on all their titles. However, they must also abide to the BDA stipulations at the beginning of this post.
- Warner, Paramount and Lionsgate BDs don't have any region coding at this time.
- Information on independent companies and music releases isn't available.
- The adult companies are likely to never use region codes.

Studio policies are consistent in every region of the planet. For example, Sony's recent releases in Europe will have region coding too, and Warner's releases in Asia won't have any coding at all.


---

Last, I have a few questions that are related to this argument:

- Are there any other regions in the BD specs besides A, B and C ? I'm asking this because DVDs also have regions 7 and 8 for very specific uses.

- When companies are releasing a new SKU after the 12-month window, are they required to issue new EAN/UPC and catalog numbers to avoid confusion?

- On current DVDs, some publishers (usually indies or European companies) enforce the use of localized subtitles when watching the movie in the original language track, and/or they restrict audio switching when the movie is playing. The main reason for that is that they don't have the localized rights for the standalone original audio. Will these provisions be used again on Blu-ray discs?

- Will catalog releases from Fox and Disney have region coding as well? As none of their reps are posting online, it would be great to have a sketchy answer - with their permission of course.

[paidgeek]

Originally Posted by WesleyTech

Excellent and informative thread. Thanks to all the insiders for participating.

Are you aware of any current development efforts focusing on BD+ security software?

If so, can you give any type of estimate as to when we can expect to see BD+ protected discs hitting the US retail market?

Has BD+ development been accelerated or set at a higher priority due to the recent "plaintext" encryption key discovery methods that have been publicized?

There is a greater focus on getting BD+ sorted out for implementation ASAP. The lastest annoucments of security breaks due to the software players has been a strong motivator as you would guess. I don't know when the first title with BD+ will hit, but I would be surprised if it took more than a few months.

[paidgeek]

Originally Posted by Rob Tomlin

Very nice to have you here paidgeek! Thank you for your valuable time and excellent information.

I want to follow up on a previous question because the subject is very near and dear to my heart (as you can tell from my avatar): there was a rumor on The Digital Bits regarding Lawrence of Arabia (and a couple other movies) being released on Blu-ray as early as March. Is this correct?

If not, any information you could share on the status of Lawrence would be greatly appreciated!

The information about LOA coming in March is incorrect. I'm sorry, but it is not on the current schedule. On the positive side, I have seen the latest video master and it looks very good. I'm sure you will be happy with the results.

[paidgeek]

Originally Posted by Nismobeach

paidgeek,

How far off are >50GB discs for movies, and will they work on the current players?

For movies, anything beyond 50GB is not coming soon. To be honest, having more storage would not be meaningful without having a higher transfer speed, so even if the current drives can handle more layers, we would not use it without being able to make the disc spin faster. Not to worry, 50GB is enough for any movie and we can put the extras on another disc to avoid over compression of the main program.

[JBlacklow]

I'd like to thank the insiders for choosing to join our happy (and admittedly biased) community here. Your work and communication is highly appreciated.

Originally Posted by paidgeek

There is a greater focus on getting BD+ sorted out for implementation ASAP. The lastest annoucments of security breaks due to the software players has been a strong motivator as you would guess. I don't know when the first title with BD+ will hit, but I would be surprised if it took more than a few months.

Is that current Sony titles that aren't using BD+, or is it all discs? I was under the impression that BD+ was already in place on the titles that have been released so far. And would it be right to assume that all of the current players/drives (including the PS3) are already BD+ compliant and have been tested to ensure no problems will occur?

[paidgeek]

Originally Posted by Azumi

hi Paidgeek,


- Are there any other regions in the BD specs besides A, B and C ? I'm asking this because DVDs also have regions 7 and 8 for very specific uses.

- When companies are releasing a new SKU after the 12-month window, are they required to issue new EAN/UPC and catalog numbers to avoid confusion?

- On current DVDs, some publishers (usually indies or European companies) enforce the use of localized subtitles when watching the movie in the original language track, and/or they restrict audio switching when the movie is playing. The main reason for that is that they don't have the localized rights for the standalone original audio. Will these provisions be used again on Blu-ray discs?

- Will catalog releases from Fox and Disney have region coding as well? As none of their reps are posting online, it would be great to have a sketchy answer - with their permission of course.

There are no other defined regions besides ABC. We may have reserved values for special uses like airlines, but I have not been party to any discussions like that.

As far as I know, there is no requirement to release another version of a given title without region coding unless there is a demand for it through re-orders.

I don't have an answer for your question about the localized versions that prohibit audio changes during playback/ force subtitles. There is nothing in Blu-ray to enforce or prohibit creating these kinds of discs, so if it works for DVD, it may be a continued practice.

I just can't speak for Disney or Fox. They can change there policies disc by disc or at any time and frankly, if SPE observes some advantage to doing so they could change their policy as well. Decisions here will be based on how catalog titles are performing in each market.

[paidgeek]

Originally Posted by JBlacklow

I'd like to thank the insiders for choosing to join our happy (and admittedly biased) community here. Your work and communication is highly appreciated.


Is that current Sony titles that aren't using BD+, or is it all discs? I was under the impression that BD+ was already in place on the titles that have been released so far. And would it be right to assume that all of the current players/drives (including the PS3) are already BD+ compliant and have been tested to ensure no problems will occur?

I'm am glad to participate here. It is certainly a friendlier environment than the one I have been getting used to. Thanks to all for the positive comments.

To the best of my knowledge, there are no BD+ discs in the market yet. All of the players in the market are supposed to be BD+ compliant and should have already passed a number of tests to verify this fact.

[Rob Tomlin]

Originally Posted by paidgeek

The information about LOA coming in March is incorrect. I'm sorry, but it is not on the current schedule. On the positive side, I have seen the latest video master and it looks very good. I'm sure you will be happy with the results.

[Knight-Errant]

Originally Posted by paidgeek

I'm am glad to participate here. It is certainly a friendlier environment than the one I have been getting used to. Thanks to all for the positive comments.

Our pleasure paidgeek. Any environment thats hostile to you is basically hostile to us too lol

[Zinn]

Paidgeek, have you any information on spider-man 1&2 BD50? pcm/truehd? mpeg2/avc?

[dobyblue]

He's stated that their toying with both TrueHD 20/48 and PCM 16/48.

There is a poll on AVS.