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

[ErikR]

This is why Profile 1.1 is called "Bonus View" and Profile 2.0 is called "BD Live". If there was a 3D version, they would likely code name it Profile 3, but name it "BD 3D" or something like that.

Imagine the box of a BD player lists the features...

- DTS HD MA internal decoding
- Dolby True HD internal Decoding
- Bonus View compatible

Then another player from the same manufacturer priced a bit higher lists

- DTS HD MA internal decoding
- Dolby True HD internal Decoding
- Bonus View compatible
- BD Live compatible


It looks just like an additional feature. Hence, the loss of "profile XX".

[Penton-Man]

Originally Posted by AstroBlu

Just a fan of his since 2001 (the movie).

Silent Running was a good one.

Too bad Brainstorm killed his career.............

Well, if you’re in town then you may want to mark your calander for this event.

This also serves as a heads-up to all afectionados of 2001: A Space Odyssey, or dudes that like to see anything presented in 70 mm.
http://www.oscars.org/events/2001asp...sey/index.html

Me, I’m just hoping that Tom brings Rita.

[Penton-Man]

http://www.oscars.org/events/2001asp...sey/index.html

^
P.S.
I don’t know if it’s mentioned in the supplementary material as I didn’t get a chance to watch this film on Blu-ray but if there is no mention of a *funny episode* involving Kubrick and Jan Harlan during the restoration of this landmark film then I’ll share it with you folks sometime if anyone is interested.

[Penton-Man]

Originally Posted by Knight-Errant

Oh yeah I'd buy a 3-D profile player. Absolutely.

I don't think we need fear confusing anyone for the time being; something tells me BD 3-D is quite a ways off. Certainly I think films shot in 3-D like Avatar ought to be available in that form for people

Penton, is 3-D something that will be applied to older movies with the filmmakers' approval? I've no problem with 3-D versions of Nightmare Before Christmas and the Star Wars movies as they're given the blessing of the filmmakers for instance.

Sorry, I can’t answer any questions as this is cutting err…… bleeding edge stuff, I think that thee ole BDA website hacker himself, amillians might even incur a bit of a problem if he were motivated to hack the site again and gather info on the matter.

I’m looking for input here from early adopters. I’m revealing little at this time.

[Penton-Man]

Originally Posted by Anthony P

For the format war movie. I agree with most of the rest, I would buy it if someone made it, but I don't think the time is right. I think time is needed for two major reasons

1) it would be interesting to be farther along in BDs future
i.e. imagine in 2010 when everyone is using BD a movie comes out titled, "BD the format that almost wasn't", and it starts out with a narrator reading a few choice quotes from the HD DVD analysts, fan boys and shills saying how BD had no chance and HD DVD was going to win, and ends in the closing scene with Amir interviewed from the cardboard box he lives in moaning how he was a big guy at MS and now he is a homeless person............

Good point.
A bit of cureing and aging over time might lend itself a better perspective for the film rather than rushing the project out now, with the format war just being “officially” over weeks ago.

[Jack Torrance]

Originally Posted by Penton-Man

Sorry, I can’t answer any questions as this is cutting err…… bleeding edge stuff, I think that thee ole BDA website hacker himself, amillians might even incur a bit of a problem if he were motivated to hack the site again and gather info on the matter.

I’m looking for input here from early adopters. I’m revealing little at this time.

PM:

A "third" profile for BD doesn't bother me at all (and I presume this would be a ways off anyway?). It's really not much different from the changing capabilities of the current SD DVD format.

I would absolutely buy a BD-3D player, especially with filmmakers like James Cameron taking the plunge into 3D film making, and I believe many other consumers would too.

[tvted]

Originally Posted by Penton-Man

I’m looking for input here from early adopters. I’m revealing little at this time.

HDMI offers a model for an evolving spec. Though it causes confusion for many i.e. people thinking what is essentially a transport spec, confers new capabilities on equipment, though much of those abilities are dervied from the capabilities of the device itself.

I've never understood why a CE spec has to remain static over its lifetime, particularly with digital devices. With computers, we've a history of evolving capabilities as the OS/Hardware interdepency changes and grows. I think consumers are more sophisticated than even 15 years, and are more willing to adapt to change and purchase new equipment as required. I think that the era of keeping our displays for 20 years as we did with CRTs will change and people will upgrade more regularly. So please allow the spec to be "extended" to take advantage of newer displays and transports.

How about something that is delivered in such a manner (100G BD if economically possible) that computers only could take advantage of it?

ted

[Penton-Man]

B.T.W.
I’ve also received a bunch of PM’s the past several days from folks complaining about other internet forums/websites and how their members continue to bash Blu-ray whether it is overt or subtle and contrived………..in essence, not truly letting go of the format war.

Let me tell you a little anecdotal story to ease your pain. Over the past several weeks, while out walking our dog, I have walked with 2 other dog owners in the neighborhood that know I am a home theater enthusiast (but know absolutely nothing else in that regard). They don’t even know that I own a Blu-ray player(s), just that I spend far too much money on home theater equipment than I should, as I frequently have guests over for movie viewings and they can hear my sound system (in one of our rooms) down the block.

Anyway, each person over the past few weeks has told me that their husbands have decided to take the plunge into high definition movies as they are movie freaks and now that the Holiday season is over, things have calmed down for them to do research on the matter. I have offered neither of them any advice nor information, I’ve just listened attentively. Each person told me that the way they decided to purchase a Blu-ray player (having little knowledge of the subject, thus qualifying as Joe or Joan6pack) is that they googled this word…………
Blu-ray

What do you think came up at the top of the list?
This forum.
They then proceeded to read the section on “players” as well as other sections like “news” and “movies” to research their player of choice as well as to get a vibe for the format.

Don’t worry about the other forums!
When the format war ended, this forum’s *brand name* jumped exponentially among early adopters but, most importantly the mainstream public that will determine the degree and rate of Blu-ray adoption.

The industry folks know this.

[Penton-Man]

Originally Posted by Jack Torrance

PM:

A "third" profile for BD doesn't bother me at all (and I presume this would be a ways off anyway?).

Yes.
There has only been one formal meeting on the subject...........it is definitely still in the brainstorming phase.

[disneyboi81]

I think the idea of 3D films on blu-ray is a great idea, but not something to spend time looking into at the current time. Having got a PS3 right at launch, it has taken quite sometime to get invested in the format. I encourage the idea, but feel the BDA first need to get the format heavily penetrated in the consumer market and then 3-4yrs down the road look at this option.

[TheRealBob]

Originally Posted by Anthony P

if done right, you can add 3D to the disk and still remain compatible, but if a movie is 1080p60 it might not be compatible with a player that was not built for that purpose. The thing is that if you brake backwards compatability then you are in essence creating a new format.

I suppose if they can hack it up in some ugly way that still maintains compatibility, then that would be OK (although the purist in me would be disgusted).

But if they are going to break compatibility, then I think they should roll in everything at once.

[Esox50]

Penton-Man,

Since you're looking for feedback/input on this 3D stuff, I have to say that I'm not really interested in it.

To me, the point of BD is to replicate the theatrical experience, and there's not much 3D in the theaters. In addition, I think a lot of average people have enough trouble getting their home theaters to work anyway so another layer of complexity is not needed.

Just my $0.02.

-Esox

[Nighthawk]

Originally Posted by Penton-Man

Each person told me that the way they decided to purchase a Blu-ray player (having little knowledge of the subject, thus qualifying as Joe or Joan6pack) is that they googled this word…………
Blu-ray

What do you think came up at the top of the list?
This forum.

Your absolutely right. I just tried googling Blu-ray myself. Think of how many uninformed Americans will google Blu-ray also to learn about the format, and come to this website. This is awesome news. LOL.

Don’t worry about the other forums!
When the format war ended, this forum’s *brand name* jumped exponentially among early adopters but, most importantly the mainstream public that will determine the degree and rate of Blu-ray adoption.

The industry folks know this.

Great news Penton, time for another Blu-ray victory party.
Now it's time to start the deathwatch for DVD.

[4K2K]

I would like 3d, but would it work on LCD HDTVs or only certain other types of HDTV? Would I need red+blue glasses or LCD shutter glasses or a TV that works without glasses?

What happened to the Mitsubishi 3D player that was scheduled to be released during the first half of 2008. It was also said to allow for realtime conversion of content from 2d to 3d. Is that not happening or is it going to be delayed?

Will the 3d use the secondary video for a right eye view? If they are going to sell software that has been converted from 2d to 3d will that look different from the machine doing realtime 2d to 3d conversion? Do you think we will ever see 3d that is more than a left+right eye view (ie. one with z depth data for each pixel, or perhaps multiple layers of video - though I'm not sure how good or not that would be).

I'd probably buy a 3d machine (though I hope the TVs wouldn't be too expensive) and I hope they'll have motion interpolation from 2d 24fps to 3d 60 or 120fps (120 fps for both eyes!) built in

Also I think it might be better if they could name the profiles in a way that made it clear that you could have some things without others. eg. would a 3.0 (ie. 3D) player automatically have to have all things in the 2.0 (bd live) specs? I don't think it should necessarily but by calling it 3.0 it might seem as though it should. Just let the player specs clearly list all capabilities.

And you could add specs for other new stuff too (like colour schemes etc)

[Jock Blu]

Originally Posted by Esox50

Penton-Man,

Since you're looking for feedback/input on this 3D stuff, I have to say that I'm not really interested in it.

To me, the point of BD is to replicate the theatrical experience, and there's not much 3D in the theaters. In addition, I think a lot of average people have enough trouble getting their home theaters to work anyway so another layer of complexity is not needed.

Just my $0.02.

-Esox

But many cinemas now are adding the 3D experience...last year there was Beowulf and as mentioned, next year there will be Cameron's Avatar...

[Knight-Errant]

Originally Posted by Penton-Man

Sorry, I can’t answer any questions as this is cutting err…… bleeding edge stuff, I think that thee ole BDA website hacker himself, amillians might even incur a bit of a problem if he were motivated to hack the site again and gather info on the matter.

I’m looking for input here from early adopters. I’m revealing little at this time.

That's OK P-Man. I fully understand. Call me interested in the 3-D facility anyhow.

[neo_reloaded]

I think these 3D movies are kind of a gimmick. I've found them interesting on a few rare occasions, but it was mostly the novelty of it. For well done 3D (like the new Nightmare Before Christmas version), the effect is extremely subtle. On a smaller screen, it'd be even more subtle I imagine.

I don't begrudge anyone who enjoys them, but I certainly don't plan on purchasing a 3D player if one ever was to be released. Having to wear the silly glasses and everything would get old fast, and it just seems unnecessary.

[Robert Siegel]

Originally Posted by Jock Blu

But many cinemas now are adding the 3D experience...last year there was Beowulf and as mentioned, next year there will be Cameron's Avatar...

Not to mention the films that have already been released, plus all future Dreamworks animation films are going to be 3D like Monsters vs. Aliens. I would say that for myself, this interests me.

[WickyWoo]

Virtually every single CG animated release from 09 on is being planned as a 3-D release

In addition, there's a pile of regular movies that are looking at it as well

[dialog_gvf]

Originally Posted by Alan Gordon

I think naming the "optional" adoption of new features a new profile "sets up a moving target of what" a "BD player should be".

CAN not should. It's those demanding mandatory that are converting it to SHOULD.

Originally Posted by Alan Gordon

but calling it Profile 2.0 makes Profile 1.1 players seem like an inferior player.

The BDA never did. These were internal designations pending the official terms that we used to talk about it. The official names are: BonusView and BD-Live. The mass public will never see the profile numbers.

So, you're saying call it BD-3D and not profile X? Worry not, they would have never done so. But, it's still a profile.

Gary