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

[Penton-Man]

Originally Posted by sharkshark

So, changing gears... What's -your- home theatre like? Do you bother watching flicks at home on BD, or do you screen them at the studio? Are you someone that actually digs into extras from studios other than your own as a film nerd? Curious, basically, about how much of a fan of the films at home you remain, regardless of supporting the delivery technology or originating studio.

When I watch movies at home, I watch them solely for entertainment and really don’t critique the work (filmmaking or translation to video) in any conscious fashion.

In other words, I watch them for 2hr. of escapism.
I am a home theater enthusiast.

[Penton-Man]

What do you think is the sweet spot for viewing 2k digital exhibition in an auditorium, i.e. how many picture heights from the screen?

Good thing to know, if one ever ventures out of one’s home.

[Doctorossi]

Originally Posted by Penton-Man

What do you think is the sweet spot for viewing 2k digital exhibition in an auditorium, i.e. how many picture heights from the screen?

With the constant horizontal resolution of 2k projection, I would use picture-widths as a measure, rather than picture-heights. 2k translates to about 40 horizontal degrees, ideally, so I recommend about 1.5 picture-widths. Move closer to 1 width away if your eyesight is less than excellent.

[Penton-Man]

I guess I’ve been reading too many SMPTE proposals and standards over the years, so I use picture heights instead.

Also try downloading this…………
http://www.broadcastpapers.com/white...jid=32&pid=892
as the pdf is probably too large to attach to here.

[Doctorossi]

Right now, I would say that the relative value of 4k vs. 2k in a commercial theatre really comes down to screen-size (especially relative to seating distance). The narrower the degree of inclusion, the less advantage 4k will have and, with the practical realities of current projectors, there's a crossover point at which I would consider the additional light-output potential of a 2k projector of more perceptible value than the added resolution of the 4k projector. Of course, for very wide presentations, I would go with 4k.

Really, with the current-generation equipment, a well-aligned 4k double-stack is the way to go (good luck convincing any commercial theatre to make that investment, though).

Lately, I've been fantasizing about two parallel 4k double-stacks in a rigid arc, creating an 8k-by-3k image across a deeply-curved screen. I call it:

Dimension 150 Digital (Quick, call the copyright attorney!)

[pro-bassoonist]

Hello Penton

As requested:
http://vimeo.com/3869589

Our friends at A&E provided a few interesting bits about the restoration that will go on the main page/news section shortly.

Yours,
Dr.A

[Deciazulado]

[Penton-Man]

Originally Posted by Penton-Man

What do you think is the sweet spot for viewing 2k digital exhibition in an auditorium, i.e. how many picture heights from the screen?

Good thing to know, if one ever ventures out of one’s home.

So, for those that actually leave their Man Rooms once in a Blu moon to take the wife and/or kids out to a Cineplex that has a 2k digital projector in use to show their movies.

I would recommend sitting two picture heights from the screen.
Why do I say this?
Beeeeeeeecause, if one has access to one’s own demonstration auditorium and one has the opportunity to sit wherever one desires, then one will easily come to the conclusion that sitting closer than 2PH from the screen, one will begin seeing jagged edges in high octane action sequences and other strange artifacts in complex detail scenes……as well as pixels………while viewing content on what is considered to be the top of the line 2k projector professionally tweaked by a top of the line installer.

[Penton-Man]

Originally Posted by pro-bassoonist

Hello Penton

As requested:
http://vimeo.com/3869589

Our friends at A&E provided a few interesting bits about the restoration that will go on the main page/news section shortly.

Yours,
Dr.A

Love the end of the video clip.

AVS *grain gurus* like telecine noise………..many think they are seeing grain.
Feel free to use anything from this post in your review if so desired………
https://forum.blu-ray.com/showpost.p...postcount=6876

Which reminds me, speaking of roll negs………..

[Penton-Man]

I received a PM linking me to this fine article about the work done on South Pacific…..
http://www.in70mm.com/news/2006/south_pacific/index.htm

^ Good read.
All I would like to add is that some scenes in the original A/B negatives were unrecoverable due to damage so, in these instances a C roll was produced which was a recombinate of the separation masters and this C roll was spliced into the original A/B when the wetgate IP was made.

[Penton-Man]

Originally Posted by Deciazulado

Yay, Deci's back from Canada!
Apparently BigFoot didn't catch you.

[pro-bassoonist]

Originally Posted by Penton-Man

Love the end of the video clip.

AVS *grain gurus* like telecine noise………..many think they are seeing grain.
Feel free to use anything from this post in your review if so desired………
https://forum.blu-ray.com/showpost.p...postcount=6876

Which reminds me, speaking of roll negs………..

Review should be up by the end of the week.

Pro-B

[ThatArtGuy]

I *really* wanted to see that Goofy short "How to Hook Up Your Home Theater" but they didn't show it on our print of "National Treasure 2."

Now I probably never will.

[Robert Harris]

Originally Posted by pro-bassoonist

Review should be up by the end of the week.

Pro-B

Modern 16mm elements, properly handled, can be wonderful mastering elements for video. The enemy is now, as it always has been...

dirt.

I'm looking forward to seeing P & P from A & E, and have it on order. They're a class act.

RAH

[Doctorossi]

Originally Posted by Robert Harris

Modern 16mm elements, properly handled, can be wonderful mastering elements for video.

In fact, a well-mastered BD from black & white 16mm materials ought to be able to be completely transparent to the source.

[Jeff Kleist]

Originally Posted by ThatArtGuy

I *really* wanted to see that Goofy short "How to Hook Up Your Home Theater" but they didn't show it on our print of "National Treasure 2."

Now I probably never will.

I missed it too, but they used a bunch of it on the blu educational video on the Disney movie rewards site (100pts for watching to boot!)

[SquidPuppet]

Sun-Times Media Group files for bankruptcy

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/SunTim...=TBD&ccode=TBD

[Penton-Man]

Originally Posted by DenonCI

Our government in California....

I haven’t had the time to read and digest all the particulars but from what I gather, the CEC is floating the theory that their more stringent proposals will ‘encourage’ the development of more energy efficient televisions, whereas CEA claims effective realistic progress in this area is already being accomplished through the Energy Star government standards (guidelines set by the EPA and DOE).

This morning, from a staffer at the CEA……….
http://blog.ce.org/index.php/2009/03...ban-large-tvs/

One can download the actual CEC proposal itself if you click on http://www.energy.ca.gov/2008publica...008-028-SD.PDF

You can get a feeling for the meat of the matter and the mindset of the CEC, if you flip to page 12 of the report and read the ‘Stakeholder Comments’ – starting with the EPA’s warning to the California Energy Commission that as of Nov. 1, 2008, 73 percent of the TVs on the market would be banned in California by the proposed CEC rules.

And the PDC’s warning to the California Energy Commission that their proposal would be an "effective ban" on plasmas and believe that institution of the proposal would just produce a black market in other states for those big screen TV’s banned in California, in other words, people would still buy – just online, and have them shipped into the state. The downside to that would be you couldn’t really do any side-by-side comparison shopping for picture evaluation at your favorite local retailer as you can now.

[Living Near Shamu]

Originally Posted by ThatArtGuy

I *really* wanted to see that Goofy short "How to Hook Up Your Home Theater" but they didn't show it on our print of "National Treasure 2."

Now I probably never will.

Its on the Disney Movie Rewards website. Sign up for free, and select the link to view how good Blu-ray is. That's the goofy short and its pretty funny

[4K2K]

Originally Posted by Robert Harris

Modern 16mm elements, properly handled, can be wonderful mastering elements for video. The enemy is now, as it always has been...

dirt.

I'm looking forward to seeing P & P from A & E, and have it on order. They're a class act.

RAH

Isn't the size of the grain relative to the frame size on 16mm film a problem, compared to the size of the grain on 35mm, when transferring to HD video, like in giving an acceptable image and being easy for the mpeg encoders to compress without introducing artefacts? Isn't HD video higher resolution than what is shown in many cinemas, even though HD video doesn't have as much colour or brightness range? So wouldn't it be better to go for higher resolution film like 35mm or use HD video cameras for HD video instead?

I've read that the P&P encode is cropped too far down at the top of the screen compared to the anamorphic widescreen PAL DVD

The only thing that seems off with the BD is the framing of the picture - comparing the original to the remaster, it seems like the picture has been cropped on all sides. It's particularly noticeable at the top of the frame - the tops of everyone's heads have a tendency to be chopped off slightly, leading to a rather cramped feel to the picture, and one which wasn't an issue with the older DVD - the picture there seems to have more in frame.

Plus hasn't the Blu-ray encode been slowed down by 4.096% compared to the original filming rate and the original broadcast and PAL DVD? I don't have the DVD or Blu-ray it's just the principal of slowing down TV stuff when it goes onto Blu-ray that doesn't seem right, and won't this affect the pitch and tempo of the audio too?, and I don't see how that can be said to be transparent to the source - if the source is the original 16mm film, filmed at 25fps or the original intended broadcast speed.

50i and 25p within 50i to give 25p when decoded to give a proper 25p progressive picture if decoded properly are valid rates in the Blu-ray specs aren't they? The people who make the US HDTVs and US Blu-ray players are the same people who make the European HDTVs and Blu-ray players aren't they, and the European ones all work correctly work with 50i/p sources - and therefore 25p too by frame doubling. Some US models work with 50hz too, so shouldn't it be quite easy for the US manufacturers to stop disabling the 50hz support on US sets and players to allow everything at their intended frame rates? And most of the the TV manufacturers are also members of the BDA, yet in the Blu-ray specs doesn't it say that 50fps is valid, or is it only in Europe? If it's only in Europe aren't the US effectively meaning 25fps can't be used, especially by the BBC because if not all of the US is compatible, they don't use it, even for their European releases, even though Europe, their principal market, is completely compatible?