Archived: Insiders Thread

[MatrixS2000]

Originally Posted by Maxpower1987

As for the missing special features, well we were all told that 30GB was more than enough for a 2h30m movie in 1080p with TrueHD and IME, right?

Apparently not...

[paidgeek]

Originally Posted by mwales

I've been a lurker on the board a few months now, and have a question for the insiders (and probably more specifically Sony insiders):

Is there any plans to address Blu-ray playback for Linux systems?

I have migrated most of my home PCs to Ubuntu Linux (which overall, I'm very happy with), and I think in general Linux is beginning to pick up more and more momentum. Multimedia playback is a bit troublesome though, especially DVDS. All the major distributions that I know of have not been able to play DVDs because of patent and DMCA restrictions.

I've noticed that Sony seems to be drifting more and more towards open systems and standards (which is great!). So much so that I was able to install another OS on my PS3 without even voiding the warranty.

Would it be possible for Sony (or someone else) to release Blu-ray playback SW for Linux systems? If not, what are the limitations and could they be addressed? Linux users prefer open source applications, but are still accepting of proprietary software (Google Earth for example).

As long as any software player developer can build a secure implementation, there should be no problem for them to get a license for their player. I think the main issue will the size of the market for a Linux player, but if that is a growing user base then who knows??

[Bullseye]

Would a lack of disc space be a get out clause?

[paidgeek]

Originally Posted by gand41f

I have a somewhat related question to Paidgeek. There have been some discussions regarding 120Hz LCDs and 24Hz input. A set that does true 5:5 pulldown will make the motion (especially smooth panning motions, like end credits) look more film-like and 3:2 judder free. I know it's not your division or even your company, but do you know if the Sony XBR4/XBR5 LCDs do this correctly, instead of doubling the input to 60Hz and then to 120Hz and thus producing a 6:4 judder?

It would make Blu-rays look better if they do, that's why I am very interested. In fact, if this is confirmed by an actual insider I'd go out and buy that TV right away. I've been asking questions everywhere (including this site's Home Theater board) but haven't gotten any definite answers.

Or am I totally overrating this feature? Do people in the film industry care enough to go for multiple-of-24Hz setups (I believe high-end projectors do 48Hz and some Pioneer plasmas do 72Hz)?

Thanks! (Puts a c-note in the coffer)

enjoy
gandalf

The new XBR sets will not only display 24p as 5:5, but they will also take 60i, convert it to 24p, then display it at 120hz 5:5. The downside of the latter is that it takes a few frames to lock on the cadence of the signal, so it is better to feed 24p if possible. Be sure to check out the "theatre" viewing mode as well. SPE helped out with that and it works well. It is designed to emulate the picture on a professional display.

[Spankey]

Originally Posted by Maxpower1987

I will be very careful with this.

The deal includes get-out clauses in which Viacom can leave, but neither of those events would trigger any of the clauses.

Thanks for the update. I'm guessing an installed Blu-ray player base of X amount or sales numbers that don't meet projections.

Still not holding my breath for any Universal announcement any time soon. Keep buying this quarter.

[Alan Gordon]

Originally Posted by Maxpower1987

I will be very careful with this.

The deal includes get-out clauses in which Viacom can leave, but neither of those events would trigger any of the clauses.

Blu-ray wins the format war? I would assume that would be one of the clauses.

If so, here's looking forward to seeing "Iron Man" on Blu-ray next Christmas!

~Alan

[RickD]

Originally Posted by Maxpower1987

The thinking is that Blu-ray can't win without all of the studios, so it is a catch 22.

Do they have any clauses about low sales numbers?

Rick

[RickD]

Originally Posted by Maxpower1987

I am not allowed to talk about specific clauses in the deal, it would involve me breaking several NDA's. I shouldn't even have said anything about the above situation, I should be OK though. Hopefully .

I knew you probably couldn't answer the question, but I figured there was no harm in asking.

If I was Paramount, that would have been my main concern. Actually, if I was Paramount I would have dropped HD-DVD and went Blu-Ray exclusive. I would have done it for free too.

Rick

[Proteus]

Actually...

You wouldn't need all studios in Blu to mean a 'win' in the format war.

All that is required is 90% or more of overall market share (not just discs sold, but games, computers, etc., anything the format affects basically).

Ironically, Blu is far closer to this 90% than people realize. Most people only see the 64/36 or whatever disc sales but if you consider _all_ areas that the format affects it is actually closer to 85-87% market penetration right now.

It would actually only require a small nudge to put Blu-ray over the top. Ironically, this 'nudge' is already in place and the influence from other countries where Blu is totally dominating (i.e. Japan) ensures that it is here to stay and will become the de facto HDM standard. It is actually only a matter of time and I would surmise less time than many people would suspect.

[paidgeek]

Originally Posted by cjamescook

Okay, call me confused. I am engineer, having worked for computer manufacturers for over 30 years. We spec. things out or implement industry standards and customers use them, expecting to program them according to those specs. Anything less is a bug, with a fix expected by customers, and scheduled according to severity.

BD players must implement the BD spec. Therefore, BD discs should just work. How can players be so buggy that such extensive testing is necessary? At what point do you stop programming around the firmware bugs of some player or chip set used in a set of players?

This has to drive you nuts after awhile.

Yes, dealing with player bugs is a pain, but as products get more complex, it is a given. I think the satellite and cable set-top boxes are in a similar position, though they have an easier time of it since then can push down firmware updates whenever they want.

[Dalese]

Originally Posted by Maxpower1987

I am not allowed to talk about specific clauses in the deal, it would involve me breaking several NDA's. I shouldn't even have said anything about the above situation, I should be OK though. Hopefully .

Quick, we need to get someone to channel the exiled spirit of Amir here. We have a Blu-ray insider not talking about specifics due to some trivialities as a NDA. Where are those hot tongs?

Seriously, a big thank you to you and all the insiders who make this forum an informative source for the Blu-ray enthusiasts. I for one appreciate the information and insight you are all able to share without jeopordizing your jobs.


Paid - Has the language track specs for the US release of Paprika been finalized? From what I read the French release had an English language track and there is some speculation still if the US release will be anything other then Japanese. (I don't want to get into a dub vs. sub on anime sidetrack discussion but I'd hate to think the US release was going to be omit English on it)

[WickyWoo]

We will probably look into the font based subs next year. One of the downsides is that they will not look quite as good as the raster based subs. This has to do with the level of anti-aliasing or outlining we can do.

Paid, can you give us an outline of the subtitles capabilities of Blu-ray, or point me to a good source?

As someone who came from the anime fan tradition of fansubbing, I always see value to the practice, and am very excited about foreign companies being able to open their films to wider audiences by "blessing" fansubs for everyone to download

After hearing the anime companies complain about the limitations of DVD subs I hope a lot of theissues were addressed. It's great to hear they're raster based, that certainly makes scaling a lot better

[paidgeek]

Originally Posted by gand41f

Hi Paidgeek,

I inserted Memoirs of the Geisha into my PS3 yesterday and noticed the little icon that shows up on the XMB instead of the blue disc. I like it very much and makes me feel that my BD movies are finally part of my "PS3 family" as everything else has that icon.

I don't know if it works on any other player but this is a very nice touch. Thanks a lot!

enjoy
gandalf

This is standard practice for our titles now..

[NutsAboutPS3]

Originally Posted by Maxpower1987

...the story goes that part of the compression team wanted to do a new encode for Blu-ray for titles with IME and TrueHD on HD DVD as 'perceptible' improvements could have been made with the greater bandwidth allowed on Blu-ray. WB seemed up for it, but in the end decided it would be too costly for the 10 or so titles to get new encodes...

I wonder if you or another insider could explain why encoding is costly, as I have to admit to not understanding why it isn't effectively free. I can understand if the work is contracted out, that you would have to pay an extra fee for an extra encode, but surely the major studios do their encoding in house? If so, once you have the staff on salaries, and you own the encoding hardware and software, surely it takes just a few minutes for someone to set an encode going, and then it's basically free? Okay, if they were doing so much encoding that doing more would mean they needed more hardware and software, I can understand that costing more, but the number of titles being released each week shouldn't require more than one HD encoding machine per studio as far as I can tell. Hence I don't understand why there is a cost issue.

[Bombthroat]

Originally Posted by paidgeek

This is standard practice for our titles now..

I have to agree, it is pretty cool. Thanks!

I watched Dracula last weekend (awesome transfer, congrats!) and it caught me off guard. This was the first movie I have noticed this on.

Anyway, it's just a nice touch that adds to the value. It would be VERY cool if you added the wallpaper splash background like game demos do when you hover on them in the game chooser. Just a suggestion.

[Alan Gordon]

Originally Posted by Maxpower1987

The thinking is that Blu-ray can't win without all of the studios, so it is a catch 22.

I'm not going to ask you another question regarding this since I don't want you getting in trouble... especially since my question was partly tongue-in-cheek, but I do feel it is interesting considering that thinking makes it appear as they (HD DVD) don't intend to win, but to simply keep Blu-ray from winning... or at least a stalemate... because surely they don't believe that:

You can't win if you don't have all the studios, but you CAN win without Sony, Fox, Disney, Lionsgate, etc...

You can't win if you don't have all the studios, but you CAN'T win without Paramount, Universal & Warner Bros.?

Weird thinking...

~Alan

[androvsky]

Originally Posted by Maxpower1987

Would a Linux based player have to comply with the GPL?

If so doesn't that end any chance of releasing a player as stuff like BD+ would be laid bare to the world.

A common, but understandable misconception. Linux puts no requirements on the software that runs on it whatsoever. Distribution makers are free to bundle whatever software they want, as long as they follow the licensing rules for all the software they include (GPL software must include source, software that requires license fees must have the fees paid, and so on).

The problem is the popular distributions will only deal with open-source software (not necessarily GPL), mainly so that if something goes wrong they can fix it (it helps if it's free too, but it's really not the main reason), also so it can be released on multiple platforms. It took years for there to be a linux DVD player (closed source), but since the open-source implementations were so good by that time, it never went anywhere. Linux users are used to having free software, there's no getting around it.

So yeah, there could be a linux blu-ray player (assuming there's no requirement for kernel-level DRM "enhancements" like Vista has). Only problem is hardly anyone would buy it, and only one or two non-free distributions would ever touch it.

Amusingly enough, the first retail Toshiba HD-DVD player was a pentium 4 pc running Redhat Linux made to look like a set-top box.

[MerrickG]

Originally Posted by BluOgre

One of the reasons I thought it was a contract with HD/Universal was the fact Universal has everything ready to go to make Bluray movies (according to my sales rep). Obviously it's too late for this year but it's going to be very intresting early next year what happens with them. If they go neutral or exclusive with Bluray...I wonder if Paramount has an escape clause in that $150 mill deal.

You're telling me that Universal is all but ready to start releasing titles on blu?
How do you know this? You dont have to be specific, but give me a reason to get anxious.

[MerrickG]

Originally Posted by Maxpower1987

Nobody but Universal know whether they will release on Blu. None of the Insiders here will be able to talk about it even if they know anything, so I think it would be best if this topic was dropped for now.

Fair enough. Thanks.

[MerrickG]

Originally Posted by Maxpower1987

I'm sorry if that was a bit harsh, but I don't want a repeat of the WB hoax we had earlier in the month, and this seems like the best way to do it.

Universal are exclusive to HD DVD until they announce otherwise, and I wouldn't believe a forum poster telling me otherwise.

No, I understand, sometimes people like me get greedy to get some inside information and want to know if our format is holding up behind the scenes.