Ask questions to The Digital Bits team (Bill Hunt, Jeff Kleist et.al.)

[Gamma_Winstead]

Originally Posted by WickyWoo

Riddick should be out before the end of the year according to the catalog Universal is including with Mummy. There's no need to re-do Pitch Black's video, the HD DVD was stunning. From my viewing of it, Riddick could definately use a re-compression. There's some high action sequences that just don't hold up and there were a lot of parts that just felt too compressed to make it all fit

Hey Bill/Wicky, Are you guys sure that The Scorpion King was not re-encoded for Blu? Cause I'm watching it now and the Bit-rate has peeked at 38.6 Mbps!

[WickyWoo]

Hey Bill/Wicky, Are you guys sure that The Scorpion King was not re-encoded for Blu? Cause I'm watching it now and the Bit-rate has peeked at 38.6 Mbps!

Could have been. One thing to consider is that it has a lot the HD DVD never did. PiP is usually good for 3-4mbps. DTS-MA track 3+, plus 2 more DTS dub tracks is another 3 as well. So it's very possible that it could peak close to 40 and still be using HD DVD video

[Gamma_Winstead]

Originally Posted by WickyWoo

Could have been. One thing to consider is that it has a lot the HD DVD never did. PiP is usually good for 3-4mbps. DTS-MA track 3+, plus 2 more DTS dub tracks is another 3 as well. So it's very possible that it could peak close to 40 and still be using HD DVD video

hm thats interesting. I just took a snapshot and the bit-rate was 44.6.

[Deciazulado]

Originally Posted by WickyWoo

Could have been. One thing to consider is that it has a lot the HD DVD never did. PiP is usually good for 3-4mbps. DTS-MA track 3+, plus 2 more DTS dub tracks is another 3 as well. So it's very possible that it could peak close to 40 and still be using HD DVD video

Wait a minute you're saying that the bitrate meter is reading all the tracks simultaneously while the disc is playing adding audio + video to the reading, even the unused ones? That is wrong.

[JasonR]

I know on my S300 I add audio + video, I didn't know about unused information....

[Deciazulado]

Well on the PS3 is just the video. With the audio running at constant 4.6 Mb/s you can have the video from 0 -> 40+

[HeavyHitter]

Originally Posted by Nick Graham

Wouldn't surprise me greatly after Pan's Labyrinth, but I'll reserve judgment until Netflix delivers it. As much as I will miss New Line's commitment to always trying to deliver the most bang for the buck on DVD, maybe it was for the best WB will be handling their titles on Blu.

Agreed. While some Warner titles have visible DNR, it seems to be less of a problem compared to the New Line titles.

[horseflesh]

Bill, forgive me for asking another random question....
Any ideas what's happened with Kiss of the Spider Woman?
http://www.amazon.com/Kiss-Spider-Wo...508715&sr=1-10

[Mikeblu]

With so many companys now offering movie/tv downloads how do the studios/CEs feel about blu, this is espeically important with Sony which of coarse just released its PS3 downloads service. Its odd cos won't this slow BD down as the only people that would accept 1080p 7.1 over 720p 5.1 or 2.1 are people like us.

[WickyWoo]

Wait a minute you're saying that the bitrate meter is reading all the tracks simultaneously while the disc is playing adding audio + video to the reading, even the unused ones? That is wrong.

It's true the PS3 audio meter only reports back the track being read, I just noticed that's what he had. Blu-ray, like DVD before it is one solid datastream that has many components inside it. You must fit everything that could happen at the same time into that mux. It's still very possible that the PiP track is being included in that video count however, since it's intertwined with the main video track (which is why so many un-updated players are choking on 1.1 titles, they hit a flag they don't recognize and have an electronic seizure)

[darkblueme]

Hey Bill,

Thank you for talking to Warner Brothers about our lossless audio concerns. I know DNR has also been a big issue for many of us, including yourself, so I'm wondering if you've been able to get the message across that consumers ARE NOT PLEASED with DNR and EE on our Blu-Rays.

Dark City, one of my very favorite movies of all time, has been softened by WB's over-processing. Source: http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showt...015709&page=11

When will this end? There is no excuse for it.

Thanks again, Bill. All of your efforts are appreciated.

[WickyWoo]

Dark City was done by the New Line crew, who are by far the worst offenders. It's only coming out under WB because NL Home Entertainment has been folded into them

[BluDomain]

Originally Posted by darkblueme

Dark City, one of my very favorite movies of all time, has been softened by WB's over-processing. ....

Not Warner. Those AVS cries of woe are based
on computer captured stills. Your basis for concern
is a self-indulgent protagonist? The review by people
that have actually watched the Blu-ray disc on a HD
television are promising.

The nipple shots showed no indication of DNR or
EE. That's what counts. We all have our HiDef
priorities.

[darkblueme]

Originally Posted by WickyWoo

Dark City was done by the New Line crew, who are by far the worst offenders. It's only coming out under WB because NL Home Entertainment has been folded into them

It was my understanding that WB processed and distributed New Line titles for some time now. Is that not the case?

Originally Posted by BluDomain

Not Warner. Those AVS cries of woe are based
on computer captured stills. Your basis for concern
is a self-indulgent protagonist? The review by people
that have actually watched the Blu-ray disc on a HD
television are promising.

My concerns are based on the fact that Pan's Labyrinth and The Golden Compass - BOTH New Line Blu-Rays with massive DNR and EE - weren't up to snuff. I was hoping Alex Proyas would have the final say in the Director's Cut of Dark City on Blu-Ray.

That aside, my question for Bill remainsl: Does Warner "get it" that consumers don't like DNR and EE on our Blu-Rays?

[dialog_gvf]

Originally Posted by darkblueme

That aside, my question for Bil remainsl: Does Warner "get it" that consumers don't like DNR and EE on our Blu-Rays?

Many consumers have stated they don't like grain on their Blu-rays.

Mixed messages.

Gary

[Knight-Errant]

Originally Posted by dialog_gvf

Many consumers have stated they don't like grain on their Blu-rays.

Mixed messages.

Gary

Yeah Lots of people don't like black bars though so hopefully the cinephile argument will win through. It's a very similar situation in that the film is being modified from its original version to suit the tastes of people who probably don't understand what they're getting.

[darkblueme]

I'm 100% for a filmmaker's intent.

[Deciazulado]

Watching The Golden Compass Blu-ray at 2PH looked much much better and sharper than watching The Golden Compass at 2PH on 35 on a theater screen. $20 disc, lossess sound, $2000 print, lossy sound, sharper disc? no contest.

[Knight-Errant]

Originally Posted by darkblueme

I'm 100% for a filmmaker's intent.

My sentiments exactly

[Kris Deering]

Originally Posted by dialog_gvf

Many consumers have stated they don't like grain on their Blu-rays.

Mixed messages.

Gary

I wonder if that is to a point though. Many consumers don't like excessive grain, but fine film grain is rarely distracting. If you take an older film that has an excessive amount of grain, it can be a visual distraction. Fine film grain rarely is.

I remember when 300 came out a lot of my friends who aren't geeks about this stuff really complained about how much film grain was on the Blu-ray and HD DVD. I mentioned that the filmmaker wanted it to look that way and actually added grain in and they still thought it hurt the picture quality. Different strokes I guess, but I think the video presentation should match the filmmaker's intent.

I just watched The Counterfeiters last night and it is a title I can see some being on the fence about. Great looking image, but the amount of grain varies considerably from scene to scene and at times it borders on excessive. This is obviously intentional but that doesn't mean the majority of people will like it.

It would be nice if video processing manufacturers came out with a solid grain reducer that could be incorporated into displays. Silicon Optix makes a great one for compression noise, but it doesn't do a lot for film grain. This would allow studios to preserve the INTENDED grain structure of the film and allow end users to either eliminate it or reduce it to their liking. Black bar haters have options since most widescreen displays have an overscan or aspect ratio option that will virtually eliminate bars.

Just some thoughts.