Archived: Insiders Thread

[Frode]

I'll jump on the region questions for a sec, since it reminded me of something. According to posts by insiders Blu-ray titles with region coding have to remove that region code for any new pressings done after the first year. We've hit the one year mark now, and while I'm not sure about the region status of the discs of the old discs out there, are there any of the current titles where this "promise" will be kept?

Presumably demand will dictate whether a repressing is warranted, but do any of our insiders know of any existing titles that will get a repressing without region coding, or planned for repressing without region coding? Are there any requirement for labelling or change of SKUs so consumers can tell the difference?

[paidgeek]

Originally Posted by hyperdine

Paidgeek

Great news on Close Encounters. Definitely looking forward to that one. I'm assuming that at some point in the process, Steven himself is going to want to review the final product before it hits store shelves. If you happen to hear what he says about it and the format in general, I would love to hear about it...even if you can't give us too many details

Also, what are the chances that we might see Lawrence of Arabia this year? Is it about 50/50?

BTW, I'm probably in the minority here, but I don't get all the fuss about PiP (much less HD-PiP). As long as you guys keep giving us the best picture and audio quality possible, that's all I care about. Just my two cents.

I will let you know if we can quote a response from Steven's office when they get a sample disc.

LOA is not currently scheduled for release this year, and given that July is almost over, I don't really expect it to be moved... Sorry Rob, I know you are really looking for this one...

[hyperdine]

Originally Posted by paidgeek

I will let you know if we can quote a response from Steven's office when they get a sample disc.

LOA is not currently scheduled for release this year, and given that July is almost over, I don't really expect it to be moved... Sorry Rob, I know you are really looking for this one...

Thanks for the info! Keep up the great work!!!

[paidgeek]

Originally Posted by WriteSimply

paidgeek works for Sony Pictures Home Entertainment, not Warner. Those two titles you mentioned are Warner's.

paidgeek, I hope that you guys start experimenting on HD PiP and figure out what is the best bitrate and codec to use for it. Let us know about how hard or easy for you to encode the streams.

Two more questions: are you satisfied with the seamless branching feature on the CE3K? Will other SPHE movies going to come out with this, especially movies with director's cut and theatrical cut? Spider-man 2 theatrical and expanded version comes to mind.


fuad

The PiP testing in underway. Still very early days for this.


We have not tested the completed CE3K branching yet. You will actually see this feature come out first on Spiderman 2 and it is working great.

[paidgeek]

Originally Posted by darinp2

I know there are bound to be false rumors about studios going neutral and mistakes with which format titles will be on, so can any insiders give us any insight into whether there is any truth to the Weinsteins planning on releasing Grindhouse on Blu-ray as spelled out in this thread:

https://forum.blu-ray.com/showthread.php?t=12627

I know the Weinsteins aren't as big as some of the other studios, but seems like there would be more hoopla about this if it was true. On the other hand, I predict that the sales ratio for 300 between the Blu-ray version and the HD DVD version even with advantages on the HD DVD version should give the Weinsteins a good idea that Grindhouse would probably sell better on Blu-ray if they released it on both formats. Might be a good way for them to make some of the money on it they expected to. And I would like to see them release 1408 on both formats also.

--Darin

Darin,

I thought I recalled seeing something about releases from Weinstein on Blu-ray, but I can't find it. I'll try to confirm later this week.

[paidgeek]

Originally Posted by darinp2

paidgeek,

This is a request. If you end up in a situation where you can influence it and hear that MGM isn't planning on bringing Rescue Dawn to Blu-ray, please encourage them to release that one (when the DVD comes out of course). I haven't seen it yet, but from the reviews and what I've heard it sounds like this is a title Blu-ray owners could get behind if it is done right, much like Apacolypto. I'm afraid that the box office results might discourage them from spending the money to bring it to Blu-ray, but looks like one that could overachieve for sales on Blu-ray to me.

--Darin

It will be Fox's call. They the home video distribution for MGM now.

[paidgeek]

Originally Posted by WriteSimply

To paidgeek,

After an expansive discussion with Deci (props!), I think that the implementation of shifting subtitles within the frame should be a standard feature, especially on movies wider than 16x9/1.85:1. With users and their constant height screens, this is much needed.

Questions: How much harder is it to code this shifting procedure?

Can you also code it so that the size can be variable? A standard size for constant height users will obscure the frame too much, I would think.

Thanks paidgeek. Your efforts and discussions here are well appreciated.


fuad

The alternative position streams do cause some trouble because they have be created by our subtitle vendor and they consume bandwidth.

The positioning of the raster based subs is fixed so we have no way to allow user positioning of this type of sub.

We are looking at text based subs which are rendered by the player, but they will not look as good on the first generation players. Profile 1.1 and BD Live players can have adjustable position, size and outlines, so this may come in to popular use in the future.

[WickyWoo]

LOA is not currently scheduled for release this year, and given that July is almost over, I don't really expect it to be moved... Sorry Rob, I know you are really looking for this one...

Can you give us any insight into how it's looking at least for when we do get it?

Is Robert Harris involved in making sure everything is tip-top? Not that you aren't good mind you, but he is the expert on the film

[cjamescook]

PaidGeek-

Would you (or anyone else in the know) speak up about print cleanup? Many BD features are new films, but we are starting to get into the back catalogs. Old prints have dirt and scratches. What percentage are being cleaned up or restored as part of their BD release?

This is a broadening of a previous question of mine. Dirt, scratches, frame jitter, and wandering contrast (in very old films) at SD were one thing, but the prospect of an HD version is depressing. I was hoping that some restoration (software) techniques had moved from the extraordinary (costly) to almost turnkey (cheaper).

Slightly off-topic: I am reminded of an episode of Benny Hill that I encountered when flipping channels. There was a crowd chasing someone on a bicycle, marred by a hair jiggling around in the frame. Then Benny stopped the chase, removed the "hair" from the front basket of the bicycle (it was a prop), and the chase resumed. I ordinarily did not like Benny Hill, but this had me rolling on the floor.

Cheers!
-Jim Cook

[Josh]

Originally Posted by cjamescook

Would you (or anyone else in the know) speak up about print cleanup? Many BD features are new films, but we are starting to get into the back catalogs. Old prints have dirt and scratches. What percentage are being cleaned up or restored as part of their BD release?

I just got done reviewing "Immortal Beloved" and I must say, that for a release nearly 13 years old, it looks absolutely magnificent. SPHE is doing some great restoration work on older catalog titles, and for the most part, they have all been winners - especially as of late!

[Penton-Man]

Originally Posted by Josh

I just got done reviewing "Immortal Beloved"

Got a link Josh ?
As I just gave a heads-up about this title last night to any enthusiasts left on A Virtual Smackdown Forum……..

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showt...&#post11171369

[Josh]

Originally Posted by Penton-Man

Got a link Josh ?
As I just gave a heads-up about this title last night to any enthusiasts left on A Virtual Smackdown Forum……..

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showt...&#post11171369

It will be up on HollywoodinHiDef either today or tomorrow. At least, I hope so - I don't know if there is some restriction for that site posting reviews for titles not yet released.

[paidgeek]

Originally Posted by WickyWoo

Can you give us any insight into how it's looking at least for when we do get it?

Is Robert Harris involved in making sure everything is tip-top? Not that you aren't good mind you, but he is the expert on the film

We have not compressed the master yet for the product, but Rob did assist with the color correction of the master we will use.

[BillCable]

Quick Futurama question, just in case anybody here is in the know...

It's been reported the first of four Futurama movies will be released in November. It's mastered from an HD source, and will reportedly be released in "high-def on DVD." But the report came from somebody who probably doesn't really know the industry terminology all that well. The report as it's written doesn't make a lot of sense.

So... any chance we'll see this Futurama film on Blu-ray? Please say yes.

[Petra]

PaidGeek or Penton-Man,

Bill Hunt mentioned at DigitalBits.com about Weinstein about to go neutral at the end of the year. Have you guys heard anything about this? is there any weight to this rumour at all?


thanks

[gandley]

Originally Posted by Petra

PaidGeek or Penton-Man,

Bill Hunt mentioned at DigitalBits.com about Weinstein about to go neutral at the end of the year. Have you guys heard anything about this? is there any weight to this rumour at all?


thanks

One things for sure, hes not the only one to have said this now. there is a thread on AVS about it. Seems the reps at Comic Con did mention this.

[patrick99]

Paidgeek,

Can you give us any insight on what's happening with the status of Starship Troopers?

[JBlacklow]

Originally Posted by gandley

One things for sure, hes not the only one to have said this now. there is a thread on AVS about it. Seems the reps at Comic Con did mention this.

+1 on this request. Seems at least three different people have confirmed this.

Also, to dobyblue (or any other insider with info): The inserts in the "300" BD say that "V for Vendetta" is coming soon to Blu-ray. Any more info on that?

[Member-9711]

Originally Posted by patrick99

Paidgeek,

Can you give us any insight on what's happening with the status of Starship Troopers?

I second this request. Seems weird to announce a title and then postpone it indefinately the next day :S

[ra1024]

Originally Posted by patrick99

Paidgeek,

Can you give us any insight on what's happening with the status of Starship Troopers?

In regards to this, can you expound on the typical reasons titles get pushed back? I can't remember reading anything about why this happens from time to time.