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

[Tok]

Originally Posted by kpkelley

It's like Barry Melrose on ESPN telling the people what coaches and general managers in the NHL should be doing, but when he tries it he gets fired in the first two months

Look how good Matt Millen did in Detroit... funny they kept him for seven years... are the Lions better or worse? Not even a question.

[Jeff Kleist]

Maybe that's why Bill Hunt became so hated among HD DVD propagandists... did they give him a free player and in return he refused to jump on the HD DVD propaganda bandwagon. purely speculation, but boy did some of those AVS DUDers really hate Bill.

The Bits and HTF all got free players for our mutual birthdays from both sides

And HTF was the reddest of anthills

I can assure you that there were a LOT of free players and discs flying everywhere from the HD DVD camp. Why do you think the entire universe was against Blu? Toshiba ran a major A-game on the online propoganda circuit that I don't think any of the CEs on the Blu side were really prepared to fight, never having run into this kind of situation before in their industry. They stepped up in the end and that's all that matters.

That's been public knowlege (and repeated ad nauseum, ignoring said anthill got the same stuff) since the day it happened

It's mostly that the Bits wasn't going to be bought off. They're mad that we didn't reaffirm their beliefs, and they're mad that we told them they were wrong, and they're especially mad that we were right.

[Penton-Man]

Originally Posted by CraigW

BTW any coincidence why there was such a loyalty to HD DVD at those forums... bought and paid for comes to mind.

Naw, it was the superior bandwidth and storage capability of the HD DVD format compared to the Blu-ray format.
Purely, *scientific* analysis on *science* forums.

And we all remember the “doomsday scenario” floated on AVS and on several other forums by people so *connected* to the industry, that they were clueless to the fact that there was even such a thing as a queue at replication plants or that it was constantly changing until I enlightened them.

Jeff should tell you about some of the other *perks* the *science* administration received during the course of the format war and if they ever really get me irritated, I may just recount a story of a certain owner over there having deleted the posts (for a time) of a highly respected ISF calibrator, simply out of retribution for not getting his way with freebie calibration tips.

[Penton-Man]

Originally Posted by CraigW

Maybe that's why Bill Hunt became so hated among HD DVD propagandists... did they give him a free player and in return he refused to jump on the HD DVD propaganda bandwagon. purely speculation, but boy did some of those AVS DUDers really hate Bill.

Not just the rank and file membership.
You should check out (for purely historical research purposes) the reception Bill was given by some of the moderators over there the last time he visited AVS.

I think I was the solitary member (or, maybe one other person) that actually thanked Bill for his participation during his past grilling session there.

I must say though, that I'm told that some people who may have tilted red during the course of the format war have truly moved on and are only concerned with home theater enthusiasm, one being Josh Zyber ?sp. a movie reviewer.
So, if he ever chooses to post on this forum or my thread in particular, it's fine by me.

[Jeff Kleist]

Jeff should tell you about some of the other *perks* the *science* administration received during the course of the format war

Real science asks this question often:

"What do you know, and what can you prove?"

People have often said that we should write a book on the format war, and that we'd make a million. Unfortunately the legal bills resulting from such a book would probably be at least TWO million

[4K display]

[Penton-Man]

Originally Posted by 4K display

Hey, you've got Liverpool/Chelsea on Sunday and we've got the Super Bowl, so don't eat that popcorn too quickly or you may just run out.

[Penton-Man]

Plus, DGA Awards Dinner is on Saturday evening (Sunday your time "4k2k") so, I’d like to see Chris Nolan beat the odds and bag one.
http://www.dga.org/news/pr_expand.ph...ion=&oldpage=#

P.S.
Do you know what executive in the industry carries the nickname of "Mr. 4k"?

[Slec]

random guess...your boy CC?

edit: i.e. Chris Cookson... I seem to remember him coming up quite a bit with 4k talk, especially when he took his current position.

[4K display]

4K Digital Cinema

Pioneering spirit: interview with “Mr. 4K” Chris Cookson, president of Sony Pictures Digital Technologies

[Brain Sturgeon]

Originally Posted by Penton-Man

It’s good to see that Rob E. used a Blu-ray disc to replace his herniated disc rather than an using an HD DVD disc; otherwise, the orthopedic surgeons would have had to re-operate several months later after some usage, remove the hd dvd disc and boil it to get it functioning again and then put it back in.
Ouch!
Seems to me, Mr. E. saved himself a future back surgery.

Seriously, what Scott is talking about is not at all surprising. Some people on the internet can repetitively make the most egregious errors either in technical assessments (i.e. on *science*) or with future forecasts which have ultimately proven false over time (Rob E.), and their followers will display a selective memory loss and continue to read their nonsense.

:sigh:

Oh well... I wouldn't want to work on Enderle anyway...

[Penton-Man]

Sorry, as I do realize that part of the human body is ‘shared’ by orthopods and Neurosurgeons……….it’s just that I became lazy in my typing.

Brain, you really should put the letters F.A.C.S. after your online handle so as to remind me of your status, unless there’s some limit to the number of letters allowed.

[Tok]

Originally Posted by Penton-Man

Naw, it was the superior bandwidth and storage capability of the HD DVD format compared to the Blu-ray format.
Purely, *scientific* analysis on *science* forums.

And we all remember the “doomsday scenario” floated on AVS and on several other forums by people so *connected* to the industry, that they were clueless to the fact that there was even such a thing as a queue at replication plants or that it was constantly changing until I enlightened them.

Who can forget Amir and his timeless classic, "BD50, it breaks the law of physics" I seem to have many BD50s and I have not yet ripped a hole in the space-time continuum. Or are we living on borrowed time

Originally Posted by Penton-Man

Jeff should tell you about some of the other *perks* the *science* administration received during the course of the format war and if they ever really get me irritated, I may just recount a story of a certain owner over there having deleted the posts (for a time) of a highly respected ISF calibrator, simply out of retribution for not getting his way with freebie calibration tips.

Men it is time to air out the dirty laundry. Many of us suspected that AVS had become way too comfy with Microsoft, Toshiba and a certain dealer who sold HD DVD players. I want the truth.

I lost a lot of respect for the owners of that board and the way it was run. It's too GD funny to go there anymore. HD DVD fanboys are still trying to knock BD down at every chance. Their was even one thread recently where some delusional fan thought that he had a great idea about finding a third party supplier (think Image LD production) and have them produce indie titles and such for them for $20/disc. Do these tools even remember that the reason many LDs cost $50+ was because of the licensing fees the third party producer had to pay to the content owner? I am still laughing my @ss off at them. Really what would be a better option... buy Blu and just move on or actually waste time and energy thinking that this pipe dream has any validity.

[Penton-Man]

Originally Posted by CraigW

Who can forget Amir.......

The thing with Amir (HD DVD) though, is that it wasn’t just perks. His posting presence personally brought traffic to *science* and the mods/administrators there will protect in subtle or even not so subtle ways anyone who they think brings traffic to that site - if they think those topics can be perceived as true *science* by the mainstream reading members.

They did it with Amir during the format war and now they are providing the same type of self-vested protectionism for *screenshot scientists*. Whenever anyone questions the true scientific accuracy, relevancy or significance of critiquing a Blu-ray in motion by single screenshot science, if they are not beaten down by the mob, the mods will step in and remind everyone that “This particular forum is for those interested in the highest level of accuracy in film reproduction possible”, “AVS is about the technical side of the HT hobby”, or other such self-righteous nonsense.

I’m wondering if the usual suspect in *science* who has essentially replaced Amir, is still cherry picking his screenshots or comparing I and B frames of an encode just to fit his agenda.

I think the only thing that has changed over time there, is that some members and online movie reviewers are no longer buying into the *science* of the accuracy and relevance as to how those people assess for the presence or significance of video processing artifacts.

[Penton-Man]

Originally Posted by GabrielB

Yes... But here's the thing, we've been told regraining CG elements in a 35mm plate is preferable and "easier" because you have a reference of the grain structure already in the picture so the technician would need to match grain.

Whereas creating 100% artificial grain on a digital capture is trickier and it's more difficult to get accurate and authentic results since one does not have any reference visually.

This is what we've been told. I don't know if it's bag of misinformation.

There’s going to be a 30 sec. commercial for Angels and Demons during the Super Bowl on Sunday.
Some of the green screen work was shot with the RED camera as well as some on 35 mm. film.

After the film debuts theatrically, I may be able to speak about how much green screen/RED footage made it to the final cut.

[MerrickG]

Originally Posted by Penton-Man

The thing with Amir (HD DVD) though, is that it wasn’t just perks. His posting presence personally brought traffic to *science* and the mods/administrators there will protect in subtle or even not so subtle ways anyone who they think brings traffic to that site - if they think those topics can be perceived as true *science* by the mainstream reading members.

They did it with Amir during the format war and now they are providing the same type of self-vested protectionism for *screenshot scientists*. Whenever anyone questions the true scientific accuracy, relevancy or significance of critiquing a Blu-ray in motion by single screenshot science, if they are not beaten down by the mob, the mods will step in and remind everyone that “This particular forum is for those interested in the highest level of accuracy in film reproduction possible”, “AVS is about the technical side of the HT hobby”, or other such self-righteous nonsense.

I’m wondering if the usual suspect in *science* who has essentially replaced Amir, is still cherry picking his screenshots or comparing I and B frames of an encode just to fit his agenda.

I think the only thing that has changed over time there, is that some members and online movie reviewers are no longer buying into the *science* of the accuracy and relevance as to how those people assess for the presence or significance of video processing artifacts.

Even Dave Vaughn says he no longer spends much time on AVS because he is sick of the screenshot scientists.

So you two DO agree on one thing, right Penton?

Thanks again for being on this forum to answer our questions.

[HeavyHitter]

I see one member over there now is constantly belly aching and trying to cause stir about what he claims is the lack of classic and older movies on Blu-ray. If memory serves me, a couple of years back, this particular individual had Amir and other red ants once out to his house for an HD DVD party. You never have to look very far.

[Penton-Man]

Originally Posted by merrick97

Even Dave Vaughn says he no longer spends much time on AVS because he is sick of the screenshot scientists.

So you two DO agree on one thing, right Penton?

Thanks again for being on this forum to answer our questions.

Well, if Dave thinks like that, then it may be time to welcome him back to Blu-ray.com.
I had actually thought that he was an active posting member here already and was just using another online handle to avoid any potential controversy to his presence as I believe we have one member here whose IP address matches up with Dave’s purty well, if that internet computer stuff is indeed accurate.

I often wondered how personally malicious he was against the Blu-ray format vs. how he just succumbed to overconfidence regarding his posting behavior because he was being used by the HD DVD Promotions Group machine that saw things through red-colored glasses….for instance, the ludicrous notion that Fox was serious about flipping prior to the WB decision to go Blu.

I think a lot of people that had indirect, peripheral ties to the inner workings of some aspect of the industry during the format war, like for instance, Dave and Kosty, just got caught up *in the moment* with their 15min. of fame and look back now and see how truly misinformed their HD DVD based sources were.

[Penton-Man]

Originally Posted by HeavyHitter

a couple of years back, this particular individual had Amir and other red ants once out to his house for an HD DVD party..........

Does anyone know if the warranties have run out on those HD DVD players yet and for how long into the future Toshiba will support that product in case of needed repair or replacement parts?

That may be a consideration for those dual format owners that are thinking about how quickly they should consider replacing their combined high-def home media collection with exclusively Blu titles………..also, an additional consideration being getting a somewhat respectable price on e-bay for their HD DVD materials before its too late to even fool Joe6Pack.

[Tok]

Originally Posted by Penton-Man

Does anyone know if the warranties have run out on those HD DVD players yet and for how long into the future Toshiba will support that product in case of needed repair or replacement parts?

That may be a consideration for those dual format owners that are thinking about how quickly they should consider replacing their combined high-def home media collection with exclusively Blu titles………..also, an additional consideration being getting a somewhat respectable price on e-bay for their HD DVD materials before its too late to even fool Joe6Pack.

I think the standard manufacturer warranties have expired or will soon. Typically 90days labor/1year parts.

What I find comical are the few that sunk a lot money into HD DVD on bargain bin media and ONLY HAVE ONE PLAYER. Finding a replacement HD DVD player in a couple of years to watch that bargain media if they need one is going to be a difficult task and expensive proposition most likely. I bet then that bargain media really is not going to be much of a bargain.