Archived: Insiders Thread

[Penton-Man]

Originally Posted by monkyman

Speaking of which, do any insiders know what FOX is thinking now that there are reports that BD+ may be cracked?

Not much.

Neither does Macrovision for that matter.
http://www.tradingmarkets.com/.site/...20NEWS/839157/

[blitz6speed]

Originally Posted by lztp6k

My guess is that deal was inked long before BD+ was cracked. I wonder what their stance is now.

BD+ is not cracked. Read my earlier post in this thread for the exact circumstances. BD+ out now is at its EARLIEST incarnation as well, the next updates will totally decimate anything out now. BD+ is very, very powerful, and AnyDVD is washing its hands clean and giving up BD support due to it. Not hard to imagine why Macrovision wants it and why microsoft is so terrified of it.

[Kris Deering]

Originally Posted by Maxpower1987

The sountrack they asked for is Dolby TrueHD 7.1 (but since then I think DTS paid some undisclosed sum and they use DTS as their primary provider), but they were given DD+ in the tests and fobbed off with some weaksauce excuse about variable bitrates or somesuch. Theatricals were chosen for the tests because NL want to put the EE's on the same discs but it just wasn't possible on HD DVD so Blu, again had to try and win with one hand tied behind its back.

If they did it properly I gaurantee that Blu-ray would wipe the floor with HD DVD.

I've heard the same for the DTS stuff. And I have no doubt that a full BD edition would be a sight to behold, especially if SB was used.

[blitz6speed]

Casablanca is being released in Italy on blu-ray by Warner themselves. Still no word on a US release.

[cjamescook]

Originally Posted by BluOgre

As a buyer for 60+ Blockbuster stores I think it's very important that all boxoffice titles are released on BR at this point.

BluOgre-

Would you please comment on the results of the poll for what Sony films of the 1990s and 1980s we'd like to see on BD, then comment on what you agree/disagree about and why?

Thanks in advance for your insight,
-Jim

[darinp2]

paidgeek or another insider who would know. I'm a little confused about the Black Friday deal for the Sony BDP-S300 at Best Buy. It is currently $399 at a BB I went to today (and $379 at Costco), but at least one Black Friday site is reporting that it will be $499 with a $100 gift card and SM:3 on BD. Just want to make sure that is right (since if the gift card was after the current price people would probably want to get the word out about that). Is it going to be $499 before the discounts for Black Friday there?

And on that same note, are there going to be any big discounts for standalone Blu-ray players for just this Friday or this weekend that we should know about? So far it seems like standalone players are already pretty close to the prices in the Black Friday ads I've seen (if they have been interpreted right) and in some cases, even lower.

Thanks,
Darin

[foots]

Originally Posted by BluOgre

As a buyer for 60+ Blockbuster stores I think it's very important that all boxoffice titles are released on BR at this point.

For every title you don't think will sale it will have great rentability. If you want my honest opinion if my customers saw that the same titles were available to rent on Bluray as they are on DVD, you might find more people switching to the highdef format. Imagine going into to rent a Bluray title like Bratz from Liongates. You get there and find there is no Bluray version available to rent. Then you look at the movies like Waitress, Namesake, Once, Daywatch, Amazing Grace, ect....also not available but there is a DVD version. Every title is important if you want to get people to switch from DVD to Bluray.

Fox and Lionsgate atm do not release their entire boxoffice slate on Bluray. You have a lot of $1-30 million dollar movies that are not going to be released this year on highdef because of this thinking that it won't sale. They should just release them because it helps the adoption of this format quicker. Sure it might not sale to you guys but that doesn't mean most won't rent it. Maybe I'm biased because I'm a rentailer but that's what I think.

BluOgre,

I agree with you however I find your statements odd considering your position. You say it is bad that movies like Daywatch, Waitress, Namesake, etc aren't available on BD to rent. I agree. However if they were availabe I'm not convinced Blockbuster would carry them in store. My local Blockbuster was a HDM test store and is a high volume BD store however they did not receive copies of Mr Brooks, The Company, Black Book, The Lives of Others, Prison Break Season One, The Lookout, and the list goes on.

My point is it goes both ways. What good is it if the studios release all the films you speak of if Blockbuster doesn't stock them in their stores?

[VernR]

Originally Posted by frank_t

Makes you wonder what the real agenda is here... Is it a move to kill the physical disc as we know it and go the download route?

Here's a quote from the "retired" insider at AVS that gives you a peek into Microsoft's agenda.

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showt...7#post12260677

[Objectivity]

Originally Posted by Frode

When Casablanca sells so badly on HD DVD that Warner isn't going to do a BD release of it I think that says a lot about the classic movie market. Being a niche fan myself (of anime) I appreciate your predicament, but niche titles will always sell to a niche market and so it's harder to justify for the studios at this stage. I suggest you buy the titles that do come out and convince others to buy them as well. If the sales figures start reflecting a healthier market for it they'll do more releases.

Casablanca is one of my favorite movies of all time. Since it's not on Blu, I don't have a choice, but if I did, I would need to see the quality before I purchased. I think there's a belief in some people that the older movies don't improve that much between the formats. After all, a black shadow is a black shadow.

I would love to own that on Blu if I could see a difference though, that and Spartacus. Unfortunately, I've heard that the HD-DVD version of that movie makes the Criterion DVD look even better.

[Penton-Man]

My choice for Thread of the Day goes to…………………

https://forum.blu-ray.com/showthread.php?t=24229

With a tip of the hat to the reviewer Chad Varnadore as to his description of the video here…………….
http://www.hometheaterspot.com/fusio...hp?tid/139444/

Something surely to put a smile on the face of Richard Casey (one of our other insiders here).

[Rob Tomlin]

Originally Posted by Cruyff14

I already have all of the above (Seventh Seal pre-ordered) and want more.

Look, I'm not asking for the release of an obscure Columbia noir like Johnny O'Clock but for the release on BD of a movie that was voted 52 on the most recent AFI 100 list. It's a sad state of affairs if a movie that is at the bottom of the IMDB is deemed more worthy of release than one of the best movies ever made.

Wait a minute! Are you saying Seventh Seal is being released on Blu-ray!?!?

[Mericalis]

Originally Posted by Rob Tomlin

Wait a minute! Are you saying Seventh Seal is being released on Blu-ray!?!?

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Seventh-Seal.../dp/B000TQLJ0U

I know this one is coming out on Blu in UK...thought about ordering it since I do own one region B player.

Edit: I know Amazon states it is region free, but after reading that they didn't put region 1 on Ratatouille, I wouldn't recommend you go by their information.

Edit 2: I must have been half asleep when I typed this response...I put region 2 instead of region B.

[Deciazulado]

Originally Posted by Rob Tomlin

Wait a minute! Are you saying Seventh Seal is being released on Blu-ray!?!?

You should watch out more for the Apocalist, Rob

[Rob Tomlin]

Originally Posted by Mericalis

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Seventh-Seal.../dp/B000TQLJ0U

I know this one is coming out on Blu in UK...thought about ordering it since I do own one region 2 player.

Edit: I know Amazon states it is region free, but after reading that they didn't put region 1 on Ratatouille, I wouldn't recommend you go by their information.

Oh man, I would really love to have this on Blu too. If anyone gets this and confirms that it is region free, please let me know via PM!

Originally Posted by Deciazulado

You should watch out more for the Apocalist, Rob

[Shadowself]

Originally Posted by richteer

And that's the really sad thing, because the 32" 720P Vizio crowd is quite happy with the SD DVDs.

If something is worth doing, it's worth doing properly. And HD DVD is NOT HD done properly. (I know I'm preaching to the choir!)

+10,000

[onyxx]

Originally Posted by Rob Tomlin

Oh man, I would really love to have this on Blu too. If anyone gets this and confirms that it is region free, please let me know via PM!

Tartan UK has confirmed that their titles will be region free, take a look at DVDTimes: http://www.dvdtimes.co.uk/content.php?contentid=65295


All discs will be encoded using the AVC video codec and on the newer titles you can expect DTS Master Audio. Extras from the DVD releases of Black Book and the 50th Anniversary Edition of The Seventh Seal should find their way onto the respective Blu-ray Disc editions, while Oldboy on Blu-ray Disc will have the commentary tracks along with the deleted scenes with optional commentary carried over. We can also confirm the discs will be coded for all regions (A, B and C).

[blindcat87]

When wringing one's hands over day and date releases vs. catalog releases one should keep in mind that new releases require little work whereas catalog titles, particularly venerable classics require quite a bit more.

Remember that a master that is ready for DVD release, no matter how pretty it will look or sound on DVD, is not always (or even often) ready for BD. BD brings out all of the flaws in glaring HD, so a lot of care is given to preparing them for their BD debut. I swear that I recall a discussion on Taxi Driver on this thread in which it was stated that a lot of work would need to be done before it sees a BD release. Perhaps I am misremembering, but I am pretty sure this was what was said.

The specifics of Taxi Driver aside, there is little point in groaning over the release of new titles of lesser stature while classics remain unannounced. It is the hackneyed old apples and oranges again. The new release is pretty much ready to go, likely costs a lot less to get to disc, and adds another trickle to the ever growing revenue stream. I really don't think it is fair to begrudge studios these releases when, in the end, they can help fund the restoration and release of titles that may be more to some of our tastes.

Insiders, am I wrong about this way of looking at things? I am no expert on the process, but this is my understanding of how things work.

Chris

[darinp2]

I read elsewhere that Angels and Demons has been delayed because of the writer's strike and won't be coming out until 2009 now. If that is true, any chance of getting The DaVinci Code on Blu-ray sooner rather than waiting until then?

--Darin

[onyxx]

Paidgeek,

Sony Pictures Home Entertainment has announced a 15th Anniversary Edition of Groundhog Day on DVD on January 29th. Have you considered releasing it on BD as well, but for some reason opted against it?

[Cruyff14]

Originally Posted by Objectivity

Casablanca is one of my favorite movies of all time. Since it's not on Blu, I don't have a choice, but if I did, I would need to see the quality before I purchased. I think there's a belief in some people that the older movies don't improve that much between the formats. After all, a black shadow is a black shadow.

I would love to own that on Blu if I could see a difference though, that and Spartacus. Unfortunately, I've heard that the HD-DVD version of that movie makes the Criterion DVD look even better.

The HD of Spartacus could be a lot better but it is still miles ahead of the Criterion, especially in resolution. The Criterion has better colours but otherwise it is not very good.
The HD of Casablanca is simply reference quality.

Assuming that the studios use the right sources for mastering, then all movies, no matter the age, will improve tremendously on HD. I've yet to see a HD or BD that did not look much better than their SD counterpart. SD looks like VHS compared to HD optical.

When wringing one's hands over day and date releases vs. catalog releases one should keep in mind that new releases require little work whereas catalog titles, particularly venerable classics require quite a bit more.

The thing is that most catalog titles are mastered in HD. That HD master is then downconverted for the DVD release. If a HD master exists little extra work is required for a BD release. I assume that the HD master that was used for the recent SD of Taxi Driver was done fairly recently so little extra work would have been necessary for a BD release.
Sony has never been into classic movies (I know for a fact for instance that the Boetticher/Scott westerns have been remastered for a while now but they just don't release them for whatever reason) but the fact that Daddy Day Camp gets a release before genuine classics is maddening.