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

[Kris Deering]

Originally Posted by phansson

Hey Kris,

Are you using the Phillips player? I wish Oppo would implement this feature.

Definitely not. I'm using one that may make your wishes come true.........

[phansson]

Originally Posted by Kris Deering

Definitely not. I'm using one that may make your wishes come true.........

Have you been going to the Penton school of "hints"?

Will this be a new product or a firmware upgrade?

[Jeff Kleist]

I don't think anyone writing about Blu-ray professionally is using a Phillips as their primary deck. They're about a half step above Magnavox and Insignia

[phansson]

Hey Kris,

I saw your post over at the other site and it answered my questions.


Jeff,

I didn't think Kris would be using a Phillips player, but he was talking about moving sub titles and it was the only one that I know of. I guess that I didn't know about the "secret" oppo.

[blindcat87]

I believe the two most common players used by reviewers are the Oppo and the PS3. I am sure there are some who use other players, but these seem to be the two biggies.

I figured out Chris's hint immediately since I hadn't heard anything about him changing his review deck recently.

Chris

Originally Posted by Jeff Kleist

I don't think anyone writing about Blu-ray professionally is using a Phillips as their primary deck. They're about a half step above Magnavox and Insignia

[wallendo]

Originally Posted by Kris Deering

This may become even less of an issue pretty soon. Players will start offering the ability to shift the subtitles soon. This includes both Java and non-Java titles. My current reference player ()is already offering this feature in beta software and it works great. In fact, I tried it out last night watching Angels and Demons and I was able to get the subs into the movie frame making use of my masking system even easier than before! Stay on the lookout for this feature with certain players soon!

Would this let you move subtitles either up or down. I am one of the five people who like subtitles below the image.

[Kris Deering]

Originally Posted by wallendo

Would this let you move subtitles either up or down. I am one of the five people who like subtitles below the image.

Yes.

I believe the two most common players used by reviewers are the Oppo and the PS3. I am sure there are some who use other players, but these seem to be the two biggies.

There are a lot of solid Blu-ray players out there for just straight Blu-ray playback. I use the Oppo because it does so many other things right. It is also fast, which is a problem with most of the higher end players on the market right now. I've modded mine for region free playback and love its video processing performance with 1080i material (regardless of frame rate). Their customer service and player firmware support also leaves just about everyone else in the dust right now. I just hope we start seeing more companies step up and display the same type of support and solid product offerings going forward.

[blindcat87]

Absolutely agree Chris, the 83 is my third Oppo player, the first two being the BV-970 and 980. I love all of the factors you mentioned, but especially appreciate the service and attention to improving their products, even after release.

Chris

Originally Posted by Kris Deering

Yes.



There are a lot of solid Blu-ray players out there for just straight Blu-ray playback. I use the Oppo because it does so many other things right. It is also fast, which is a problem with most of the higher end players on the market right now. I've modded mine for region free playback and love its video processing performance with 1080i material (regardless of frame rate). Their customer service and player firmware support also leaves just about everyone else in the dust right now. I just hope we start seeing more companies step up and display the same type of support and solid product offerings going forward.

[phansson]

Kris,

if subs are movable, would you be able to move menus as well? I watched angels and demons last night and the menus were cut off. I know it is a common thing, but it would be nice to be able to see them on CIH.

[Mr. Cinema]

Originally Posted by Esox50

Penton,

SPHE did an outstanding job on the Angels & Demons release. I don't know if I'll have time re: the MovieIq stuff, but once again, SPHE sets the standard for A/V quality.

Looking forward to The Mask of Zorro this week...

-Esox

Agreed on Angels and Demons. I thought it also looked and sounded terrific. I prefer Da Vinci Code though, mainly for Ian McKellen.

I'm also looking forward to Zorro, but I'll wait for a better price than $16.49 (Amazon).

[Penton-Man]

Originally Posted by phansson

Glad you watched. It was a good game. The Razorbacks are really close to having a good program. Petrino is a great coach and I am proud to have him and our quarterback Ryan Mallet will be a first round pick in 2011.

I thought you were a soccer fan.

I’m a longtime American football fan and European football supporter, having played the former thru high school and the later thru college in the ACC.

Plus, I love real stories about good people doing good things and underdogs beating the odds.
It seems at least some folks feel the same way………..
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/3032619/..._news#34213092

[Penton-Man]

Originally Posted by mark antony

Just finished watching Leon, great picture, great sound...recommended, thanks for the effort Sony put in over the Euro editions.

Glad you liked it.

[Penton-Man]

Originally Posted by Esox50

Penton,
SPHE did an outstanding job on the Angels & Demons release. I don't know if I'll have time re: the MovieIq stuff, but once again, SPHE sets the standard for A/V quality.

Looking forward to The Mask of Zorro this week...

I see you’ve updated the studio BD quality rankings in your sig.
You won’t be disappointed with TMoZ.

[phansson]

Originally Posted by Penton-Man

I’m a longtime American football fan and European football supporter, having played the former thru high school and the later thru college in the ACC.

Plus, I love real stories about good people doing good things and underdogs beating the odds.
It seems at least some folks feel the same way………..
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/3032619/..._news#34213092

I haven't seen the movie but I know the story and have heard the movie is really good.

It upsets me that Houston Nutt got a cameo though. He is the worst coach in the NCAA today. Give Ole Miss 2 more years and they will be begging for him to leave.

That is great that you played college ball. Are we going to get to know where???? I am guessing Duke or BC.

[Bobby Henderson]

The BD of Leon: The Professional is a very nice disc. I was really glad to get it and Fight Club from a certain online retailer at a very deep discount.

The International Cut of Leon almost seems like a different movie for the way it is cut and the extra material that is included. I can understand why some of the extra stuff was cut for the palette of American audiences. Pretty cool to have both cuts on the same disc in seamless branching. The video quality is very good. So is the sound.

And, yeah, Gary Oldman steals just about every scene he inhabits -except when he is sharing the screen with Natalie Portman. Her acting skills at that very young age were pretty awesome.

[ql007ql]

Originally Posted by Penton-Man

I’m a longtime American football fan and European football supporter, having played the former thru high school and the later thru college in the ACC.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/3032619/..._news#34213092

Penton,

I have been following you for some time because - in my opinion - you are a genuis. However, it has gotten to a point where I feel as though I need to ask you a question or two... Please oblige me, if you will.

I thought you were a doctor (like ....), not a blu-ray specialist. Additionally, I thought you went to Harvard (and were a bike-rider), maybe I misread your post, but does the ACC play European Football?

Thanks.

[micks_address]

i watched Heat last night, amazing Blu-Ray really of an amazing film.. as noted in reviews the audio is quite low on the disc but fine once turned up.. i had forgotton that Natalie Portman played the daughter in the film.. she has had some amazing credits really..

Originally Posted by Bobby Henderson

The BD of Leon: The Professional is a very nice disc. I was really glad to get it and Fight Club from a certain online retailer at a very deep discount.

The International Cut of Leon almost seems like a different movie for the way it is cut and the extra material that is included. I can understand why some of the extra stuff was cut for the palette of American audiences. Pretty cool to have both cuts on the same disc in seamless branching. The video quality is very good. So is the sound.

And, yeah, Gary Oldman steals just about every scene he inhabits -except when he is sharing the screen with Natalie Portman. Her acting skills at that very young age were pretty awesome.

[Blu Titan]

Morning Penton. Just in case Sony is thinking about it, Unirversal's idea of introducing "flipper discs" has been met with universal disdain. Flipper Discs on Blu.

[Alan Gordon]

Originally Posted by Blu Titan

Morning Penton. Just in case Sony is thinking about it, Unirversal's idea of introducing "flipper discs" has been met with universal disdain. Flipper Discs on Blu.

I'm of the "wait and see" mindset.

If they work, I'll miss the artwork. If they don't work:

Personally, I prefer the current habit of providing DVDs in the Blu-ray case. It's possible Universal could be worried about buyers putting the DVD copy (sans case) on EBay...

~Alan

[Jeff Kleist]

Universal has always been very hot on making the least discs per unit and reducing inventory. They went DVD-18 on their TV titles before anyone else did, and eventually went back to DVD-9s. I suspect this is a big reason why they were so hot on HD DVD combos. I think they'd like nothing better than to ship one disc out the door for all formats, but I also don't think it'll take. I DO think that Uni will give it the good old college try first though