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

[Steedeel]

You guys are way too optimistic. We will struggle to get 9 mbps hd. That is the future now for high quality film fans. The sacrifice is too great for convenience. Hopefully by the time i have stocked up on enough blurays to last me a few years a 4k medium will be released!!

[rickah88]

Originally Posted by Steedeel

You guys are way too optimistic. We will struggle to get 9 mbps hd. That is the future now for high quality film fans. The sacrifice is too great for convenience. Hopefully by the time i have stocked up on enough blurays to last me a few years a 4k medium will be released!!

Actually no, you're just waaaaay too pessimistic about Streaming being the end of the world(and blu-ray).
And suppose it does happen(which it won't anytime soon), is crying about it on message boards going to do anything? Don't be reactive, be proactive...start writing studios, political figures, get the backing of world powers! You need to be on the front lines, man...not wasting your time here typing ridiculous messages.
In the meantime, I would suggest building a floating ark(I believe specs can be found in the Old Testament)and starting hoarding TWO of every blu-ray released. In no time whatsover you should have the largest collection on blu-ray.com ....no small feat, IMO.

[Steedeel]

Do you have it on higher authority than me just what the bit rates are going to be Rick? What is ridiculous about the statement? I have said all along this is not complimentary to bluray. It is a replacement. For the first time in home entertainment (film wise) we are facing an inferior technology taking over a superior one in the mainstream. What is there to look forward to in that? The current best offerings seem to hover around 9mbps at best. Are you telling me that is acceptable? What of all enthusiasts that have large screens, projectors, expensive surround speakers? Do we want to be watching highly compromised 'HD' on such systems?

[Doctorossi]

Originally Posted by Steedeel

I have said all along this is not complimentary to bluray. It is a replacement.

Many companies attempt products and services they would love to use to eat Blu-ray's lunch. This doesn't mean they'll succeed.

Originally Posted by Steedeel

For the first time in home entertainment (film wise) we are facing an inferior technology taking over a superior one in the mainstream.

Laserdisc-and-Betamax-preceding-VHS says 'hi'.

Originally Posted by Steedeel

What is there to look forward to in that?

If it truly was an 'inferior' product, it would not succeed in the market. What you are looking at is the fact that most consumers more highly value convenience factors, once the quality is at a certainly level that they find acceptable, but we do not. This has always been the case and it always will. And yet formats which cater to folks like us (Laserdisc, Blu-ray, etc.) have historically arrived to grab our cash. There are some fantastic Blu-ray discs on the docket this year- enjoy them.

Originally Posted by Steedeel

The current best offerings seem to hover around 9mbps at best. Are you telling me that is acceptable? What of all enthusiasts that have large screens, projectors, expensive surround speakers? Do we want to be watching highly compromised 'HD' on such systems?

I don't know about you, but I'm watching Blu-ray, instead.

It's here, it's now, it's awesome. The sky is not falling; enjoy a good movie, very well presented.

[Steedeel]

VHS did not take over Betamax. Both were contesting formats much like HD DVD and Bluray disc.

I like to think that a few years in the future high quality will be available. That is looking increasingly unlikely.

Obviously in regards to home cinema setups i am referring to the future, not now.

[Doctorossi]

Originally Posted by Steedeel

VHS did not take over Betamax.

Uh... yes, it did. They competed for a few years and then Beta pretty much bit the dust (for all practical consumer purposes) while VHS went on to remain the dominant format for another decade.

Originally Posted by Steedeel

I like to think that a few years in the future high quality will be available. That is looking increasingly unlikely.

Are we all going to disappear, destroying the demand for quality presentation?

[Steedeel]

No, i am saying that VHS did not overtake Betamax as a mainstream format. They were both in competition with each other, with some preferring one format over the other. for example, Bluray did not overtake HD DVD as HD DVD was not already mainstream.

[PeterTHX]

Originally Posted by Doctorossi

Uh... yes, it did. They competed for a few years and then Beta pretty much bit the dust (for all practical consumer purposes) while VHS went on to remain the dominant format for another decade.

Except the quality difference between the two wasn't very big. And for a long time Beta couldn't do two hours of recording with similar quality.

The real reason it lost was because Sony didn't license the format the same way JVC licensed VHS.

[Doctorossi]

Let me put it to you another way, Steedeel.

Look back over the last 35 years of the home video industry.

Laserdisc was the first high-water mark for prerecorded video. It remained available to consumers until it's quality was superseded by that of DVD.

DVD then remained available to consumers until it's quality was superseded by that of Blu-ray.

Over the entire history of the home video market, the highest available presentation-quality medium has always been available to the consumer.

Why do you imagine this will suddenly change in the future?

[Doctorossi]

Originally Posted by PeterTHX

Except the quality difference between the two wasn't very big. And for a long time Beta couldn't do two hours of recording with similar quality.

The real reason it lost was because Sony didn't license the format the same way JVC licensed VHS.

Your points are correct, Peter, but I'm not sure how they're relevant.

[Steedeel]

Originally Posted by Doctorossi

Let me put it to you another way, Steedeel.

Look back over the last 35 years of the home video industry.

Laserdisc was the first high-water mark for prerecorded video. It remained available to consumers until it's quality was superseded by that of DVD.

DVD then remained available to consumers until it's quality was superseded by that of Blu-ray.

Over the entire history of the home video market, the highest available presentation-quality medium has always been available to the consumer.

Why do imagine this will suddenly change in the future?

Simple answer. bluray has large amounts of space and bit rates to play with. Streaming does not!

[Doctorossi]

Originally Posted by Steedeel

Simple answer. bluray has large amounts of space and bit rates to play with. Streaming does not!

You're missing my point.

As long as there's demand for a higher-quality product, the industry will find a way to deliver that product. Throughout the industry's history, that demand has always been present and the industry's ability to meet that demand has also always been present.

Additionally, if you don't think streaming will improve from what it is today, just look at where it was 5 years ago.

[Steedeel]

Originally Posted by Doctorossi

You're missing my point.

As long as there's demand for a higher-quality product, the industry will find a way to deliver that product. Throughout the industry's history, that demand has always been present and the industry's ability to meet that demand has also always been present.

Additionally, if you don't think streaming will improve from what it is today, just look at where it was 5 years ago.

I really hope you are right. I love film and always have. To get such fine quality at home was a dream and now we have it, i wan't to keep it.

[Penton-Man]

Originally Posted by rickah88

I, for one, would be very grateful!
Speaking of which can you confirm(not sure if you've done so already) Bad Boys 2 for 9/27? I had not seen that movie in years then saw it on one of the HD channels yesterday...looks pretty good!

p.s. Ditto for Stripes & Higher Learning...both of which I've seen on HD movie channels!(There fanboy quota filled for the day!)

Rick, you’re a good guy . But for the time being, I’m out of the confirmation-Blu-ray-street-date business. I’ll leave that up to some unscrupulous members, due to their lack of ethics, who routinely enjoy breaking embargoed announcements from studios or using other roundabout methods to acquire or speculate about upcoming Blu-ray street dates.

[Penton-Man]

Originally Posted by PeterTHX

Kinda like Congress and the Health Care Bill last year!

Your efforts to get classic releases out are always appreciated.

While not a classic in the least (but pleasant enough) I'm still waiting on Fools Rush In starring this lovely señora:

I'm a big fan too. If we have a thread here about actresses who look great in their 40's she should be near the top of the list. As an added bonus, she is a dog lover and if memory serves, she has Elvis and Lolita now in Paris.

[Penton-Man]

Originally Posted by Blu-Ray Watcher

Penton, looks like you'll have a future project to work on in about two years : http://www.superherohype.com/news/ar...-for-may-2-201

Work is good.

[Penton-Man]

Originally Posted by Steedeel

Penton Man, i have watched the video you linked in it its entirety and not once did i hear the word 'quality'. I heard portability, convenience, options and ohhh........convenience, but no mention of quality. Why don't they just come out and tell us what the bit rates are going to be!!!

That conference/ forum at Caltech was open to the general public and I think that about a half hour (or more?) was devoted to questions from the audience to either Mitch or the panel members en masse.

In short, nobody asked.

Look, I’ve tried to ally your fears about this since back in June ( see…https://forum.blu-ray.com/insider-di...ml#post4828847 ) and now other folks are trying to save you from yourself. You seem appeased for a few hours or days and then start up all over again with the same predictions and paranoia.

My advice to you is to take this OP “Oh noes teh sky is falling!”
from ’07 …..https://forum.blu-ray.com/blu-ray-te...y-falling.html

and substitute the phrase -
”or how I stopped worrying and learned to love Ultraviolet”. As many of the people to which you are responding to were active advocates on the forums during the format war days…when it really counted.

[Penton-Man]

Steedeel, if, on the other hand, you have some masochistic tendencies and actually enjoy worrying about such *threats* to the Blu-ray format, then I can help you with that also.

Interoperability among 12 devices with movies and TV shows vis-à-vis UltraViolet is just the initial vehicle to gaining access into peoples’ lives. You have no idea of the other applications which are possible . I’m talking about precision marketing and personalization to individual consumers …
http://www.variety.com/article/VR1118039625

And innovative minds are already thinking about other UltraViolet applications besides media, like booking hotel rooms or flights using UltraViolet.
Pandora’s box is opening.....run for cover!

[Steedeel]

Originally Posted by Penton-Man

Steedeel, if, on the other hand, you have some masochistic tendencies and actually enjoy worrying about such *threats* to the Blu-ray format, then I can help you with that also.

Interoperability among 12 devices with movies and TV shows vis-à-vis UltraViolet is just the initial vehicle to gaining access into peoples’ lives. You have no idea of the other applications which are possible . I’m talking about precision marketing and personalization to individual consumers …
http://www.variety.com/article/VR1118039625

And innovative minds are already thinking about other UltraViolet applications besides media, like booking hotel rooms or flights using UltraViolet.
Pandora’s box is opening.....run for cover!

I bet it is. Why let a little thing like quality get in the way! No ultraviolet for me thank you very much.

[Doctorossi]

Originally Posted by Steedeel

Why let a little thing like quality get in the way! No ultraviolet for me thank you very much.

And why let a little thing like an open mind or a sampling of actual product get in your way?