Archived: Insiders Thread

[JadedRaverLA]

Originally Posted by ra1024

Hey Rob,

I've never seen it either but I've heard it's like Hidalgo. If I liked that one, do you think I'd like LOA?

If you like GREAT films, then you will LOVE LOA.

[Esox50]

Originally Posted by Penton-Man

Send them all to Jodi’s house?
She can store them in her garage as heirlooms.

If I'm picking up what you're putting down here, the player can be heirlooms right next to the Star Trek outfit (was it at CEDIA?) and that ridiculous remote control she was holding in the picture that I saw.

[JadedRaverLA]

Originally Posted by Penton-Man

Long-term readers of my postings know that I consider the French to be some of the most progressive thinkers around.

Similarly... HD DVD is to Blu-ray as "sparkling wine" is to champagne. Sometimes cheaper... but nowhere near the quality. The French (and others with taste) always know better.

[darkedgex]

Originally Posted by WriteSimply

paidgeek, an additional request to the SCE team, if you may. Pass them along please?

So far the HD MP4 trailers, either downloaded at PSN, Yahoo or Apple.com (as far as I know) are in stereo only. Even when they are in 5.1 in their MOV format, the change of container to MP4 from MOV only allows for a 5.1 downmix to stereo. Apple has yet to enable Quicktime change the containers and preserve the original 5.1 mix - like the "passthrough" option for video.

@Paid:

More simply, could you ask the folks at SCE for the following two things:

1. Add support for multichannel AAC decoding (and not downmixing/truncating to stereo) regardless of the container the AAC is within (MP4/M2TS/3GPP/etc).
2. Add support for the Apple Quicktime MOV container (with support for AVC and AAC decoding). Quicktime MOV also supports other audio and video formats, such as Sorenson, but so far as HD trailers on the internet go, they all sem to be AVC/AAC (2.0 or occasionally 5.1).

For what it's worth, I'd like this as well since I download a lot of trailers off the internet (which I have to manually convert to MP4 for playback on the PS3). Obviously if I could just down the MOV directly inside the PS3 to the HDD and play it back within the XMB, that would be preferable. =)

[Rob Tomlin]

Originally Posted by ra1024

Hey Rob,

I've never seen it either but I've heard it's like Hidalgo. If I liked that one, do you think I'd like LOA?

Honestly, I have a hard time saying LoA is "like" any other film. It's an "epic", based on a true story, and that probably does as good a job indicating whether you will like it or not than any thing else I can offer.

To truly appreciate this masterpiece, I would strongly recommend that you seek out a 70mm viewing (from a restored print) at a good theater!

[Nick Graham]

kjack,

Since I'm assuming you guys did the chipset, is the new LG combo player going to be capable of decoding DTS-HR and MA? I'm highly considering getting either the Sammy combo or the LG combo come Christmas (or tax time if Christmas doesn't shake out). Of course, if you have some insight into which would be the better player, feel free to PM

P.S. Add me to the list of hypocritical people who call themselves film buffs and yet have never seen Lawrence of Arabia. I'm waiting for the BD for my first viewing (maybe by then I will have a TV that will actually do it justice!) It along with the first two Godfathers are the big 3 that I have never seen, despite claiming to be a movie enthusiast since high school.

[phloyd]

Originally Posted by Rob Tomlin

To truly appreciate this masterpiece, I would strongly recommend that you seek out a 70mm viewing (from a restored print) at a good theater!

I was lucky enough to see this on 70mm in San Fran last month (for the first time too) and would say that the film defines epic.

[Papi4baby]

Originally Posted by paidgeek

Yes, I expect it to support the 1.1 specification. The development we are doing with some test hardware is going well.

Paid or anyone that knows.
I take the for PiP since you need to video decoders, on the PS3 one would be the GPU, is the other one the Cell? Or is there a regular dedicated decoder besides the GPU

Originally Posted by Rob Tomlin

You've never seen the best movie ever made?!?!?

Sorry, but I think you deserve this:

Im on the same boat, so i will be picking this up next year on BD.

Originally Posted by Penton-Man

Long-term readers of my postings know that I consider the French to be some of the most progressive thinkers around.

Even though i don't like them very much, they are. Not everyone gives them the credit they deserve.

[dazbug]

Paid,

I remember you saying a few months back that Batman Begins and Terminator3 will be released this year.

Are these 2 still on schedule?

[jdc115]

Question for Paid,

Do you know if Sony releases different versions of the same movies for different countries on Blu-ray to conform to local film rules? I live in Singapore and I am wondering if there is just a single release of the version of the movie or will there sometimes be edited versions for local film board requirements. Though the rules are much more lax now, many films use to be edited to be released in Theatres here though now they added more rating levels which allow more movies in their uncut form still some require to be edited.

So do they ever do the same to the Blu-ray version when released in certain countries or will they just not sell them if not approved by the local film board?

Thanks

[Knight-Errant]

Originally Posted by jdc115

Question for Paid,

Do you know if Sony releases different versions of the same movies for different countries on Blu-ray to conform to local film rules? I live in Singapore and I am wondering if there is just a single release of the version of the movie or will there sometimes be edited versions for local film board requirements. Though the rules are much more lax now, many films use to be edited to be released in Theatres here though now they added more rating levels which allow more movies in their uncut form still some require to be edited.

So do they ever do the same to the Blu-ray version when released in certain countries or will they just not sell them if not approved by the local film board?

Thanks

This is certainly the case here in UK. We get censored films through our ratings board sometimes.
Like Batman Returns has the scene with Catwoman rigging the department store to explode removed because of potentially imitable behaviour. We also don't have unrated releases so if a film can't get a certificate from the BBFC it's either trimmed or not released.

[blitz6speed]

Originally Posted by Nick Graham

kjack,

Since I'm assuming you guys did the chipset, is the new LG combo player going to be capable of decoding DTS-HR and MA? I'm highly considering getting either the Sammy combo or the LG combo come Christmas (or tax time if Christmas doesn't shake out). Of course, if you have some insight into which would be the better player, feel free to PM

The new LG has no Analog Outs, so doubtful it will decode anything in the player.

[navychop]

Originally Posted by paidgeek

....What would we do with all those players anyway?

"PULL!" Buck a shot.

[Frode]

Originally Posted by blitz6speed

The new LG has no Analog Outs, so doubtful it will decode anything in the player.

If that was the case the PS3 wouldn't have been able to output TrueHD as LPCM over HDMI. Before you output something using analog you need to convert it to PCM anyway.

PS. I don't believe LG uses Sigma for their solutions so kjack wouldn't be able to answer this one anyway.

[cjamescook]

Originally Posted by fronn

On a side note:

I saw Across the Universe last weekend and I have to say it was my favorite movie of the year -- I can't wait for it on BD! ...

Yep, saw it last night, too. Definately was impressed. A lot of work went into that film. At 2+ hours, it was a little long, but if the rough cut was as dense, I can see how they had a hard time cutting it down (as hinted by Penton).

Tell your friends to see it. I can definately see this being a sleeper hit, as in slow audience numbers in the short run, but total audience just builds and builds over the long run.

[WickyWoo]

Please no french or anything else bashing in the insider's thread or anywhere else

[Penton-Man]

Originally Posted by stockstar1138

please no political arguements in the forums.

Agreed.
Hey let’s not get into a prolonged discussion of French politics and such.

That comment was a tongue-in-cheek thing like I said to long-term readers of my postings. Rob Tomlin probably remembers what I’m referring to. I got myself in a bit of trouble asking directions of a helpful attractive lady in a hotel bar during the last Tour de France that Sir Lance won and I ended up sleeping on the couch that evening…..courtesy of my better half.

I told her that I was just practicing my French and was earnestly trying to find the fastest way out of town after the next day’s stage so we could beat the media circus (think a long caravan of 18 wheelers).

She wasn’t sympathetic and didn’t see it that way.

[Penton-Man]

Originally Posted by Esox50

If I'm picking up what you're putting down here, the player can be heirlooms right next to the Star Trek outfit (was it at CEDIA?) and that ridiculous remote control she was holding in the picture that I saw.

You got it !
Another interesting tidbit is that I only stayed around until 11:00 A.M. at the Hilton (hoping to see Paris show up for one of her “Board” meetings ) on Thursday[for the past 5th Annual HDTV Conference] but the agenda showed a session later that day devoted to “Home Connectivity” and I didn’t see Amir’s name listed as a panelist.

I mean I thought that was his new reassignment.
Oh well, I guess he never did get enough ice cream and is still busy posting somewhere, somehow on the internet.

At least MS appears to be getting their money's worth out of Kevin.

[Azumi]

Back on topic. A question to the Insiders about the weekly video sales:

Why is it that the hard numbers (# effective copies sold) are never disclosed publicly, while at the same time the box-office rentals are easily available, and excerpts of the videogames unit and disc sales are disclosed monthly by NPD?

Obviously it's not for confidentiality reasons, because every other company can subscribe to the Nielsen feed and get the full data (on their movies and their competitors').

So, what makes the homevideo hard numbers so special, that they are to be hushed hushed only by ratios, or on occasional quarterly reports? Why all the secrecy?

[WickyWoo]

Back on Topic. I mean it.