Archived: Insiders Thread

[Penton-Man]

Originally Posted by TheLion
Hello Blu-Ray.com!
This is my very first post over here so please let me state a few things I have on my mind.
After more than three years with 1620 posts I am ready and relieved to finally put the AVSforum behind me (although I will still attend a few sub-forum areas like my beloved Digital High-end projectors, the Subwoofer/Speaker/Amp and above all the Ultra High-end HT gear forums).

First of all let me say how nice it is to see a few familiar and much valued names around here. My Best Regards to Rob Tomlin, Supermans, benes, Maxpower1987, Dave Mack, patrick99, darinp2, Penton-Man and of course paidgeek. (among many others I sure should have mentioned here...)

Looks more and more like a AVS refugee camp to me.

It’s about time you got over here.
Welcome.

If memory serves me, I think that you and Deciazulado (the mod) may have some things in common in regards to audiovideo stuff beyond the typical consumer realm, I suggest you PM him.

[Penton-Man]

Originally Posted by TheLion
One thing though - I sure didn't come here to hold hands with fellow Blu-Ray/AV enthusiasts and sing Kumbaya all day long in the light of Blu-Ray's greatness.
Being supportive and intrigued by Blu-Ray's capabilities and potential shouldn't make us closed-minded -

NO - not everything is good or even acceptable with Blu-Ray as a format (yet).

YES - there are some things HD-DVD is (still) better at and we all can and should learn our lessons here!

Let us strive to make Blu-Ray live up to it's potential and let's make it the format WE want it to be. What better opportunity can there be than having such supportive insider's as paidgeek listening to us.

Let us make sure that just for once the technologically more advanced and much more ambitious format ends up on top against the bean counter's dream of a super (cost-)efficient, "good enough" approach that is HD-DVD!

For the sake of our passion.

Not to worry. Constructive criticism (once, not repetitively like is done on the agenda driven AVMS to purposefully bash blu-ray ) is welcome here.

All that the insiders and members here desire is....... a level playing field.
We rely on guys like you, Darin, DaViD, etc. to keep paidgeek’s nose to the grindstone.

[Penton-Man]

Folks I’ll be super busy this week so you probably won’t be hearing from me for awhile. I haven’t even caught up with this thread since I posted this morning and I see my PM’s are stacking up again. My apologies but I probably won’t get to any of them until this weekend, the earliest.

Meanwhile bug Talkstr8t to do more talking.
Plus kjack should be coming back from vacation.

Later

[Bullseye]

Originally Posted by Maxpower1987

I hang out (work really!) around EC1, but Piccadilly Circus isn't exactly far . I live in N21, so again a 30min train journey into Piccadilly is all it takes .

I think you will find that Loserpool are top of the table, God forbid Arsenal ever do that!

Hey less of the Liverpool FC bashing lol.

[ack_bak]

@paidgeek (or other knowledgeale insiders):

What is up with the $49.99 MSRP for Close Encouters Of The Third Kind?
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00...SIN=B000VECACG

I was planning on buying this title, but I was not expecting the price to be much higher than $39.99 (MSRP) and $26-27 street.

As a comparison, Blade Runner 5 disc collectors addition (BD) is $39.99 (MSRP) from Warner. Between this movie and the $43.99 list on Spiderman 3, I hope this is not a sign of increased prices from SPHE. Can you elaborate on the pricing of Close Encouters and why the $49.99 list price? Maybe I am just missing something.

[Alan Gordon]

Originally Posted by Aygie

Im with you on that, seems to be Europe and US packaging are different. Paid can you confirm?

My question actually had more to do with U.S. releases (though I'm sure other countries may be having the same problem).

My question, or what I was bringing to Paidgeek's attention is regarding Close Encounter's upcoming Blu-ray release which appears to be in "special packaging" compared to every other Blu-ray movie released in the U.S.

It also has to do with the artwork released for "Lost" S3 which appears to be either a box (similar to what I think HBO used for Sopranos) instead of the packaging used by Sony and Warner for their TV series or a slip-on cover (ala POTC).

HD DVD has already made things worse with Heroes packaging (and the upcoming BSG and ST:TOS releases) that I would LOVE for the BDA to agree to a standard instead of going the route of DVD and making shelves a cluttered mess...

~Alan

[BStecke]

Anybody have any confirmation of Live Free Or Die Hard being PG-13-only on Blu-ray?

[BigB88]

Originally Posted by ack_bak

@paidgeek (or other knowledgeale insiders):

What is up with the $49.99 MSRP for Close Encouters Of The Third Kind?
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00...SIN=B000VECACG

I was planning on buying this title, but I was not expecting the price to be much higher than $39.99 (MSRP) and $26-27 street.

As a comparison, Blade Runner 5 disc collectors addition (BD) is $39.99 (MSRP) from Warner. Between this movie and the $43.99 list on Spiderman 3, I hope this is not a sign of increased prices from SPHE. Can you elaborate on the pricing of Close Encouters and why the $49.99 list price? Maybe I am just missing something.

Its $39 at DVDEmpire.

[TheLion]

Originally Posted by Penton-Man

Not to worry. Constructive criticism (once, not repetitively like is done on the agenda driven AVMS to purposefully bash blu-ray ) is welcome here.

All that the insiders and members here desire is....... a level playing field.
We rely on guys like you, Darin, DaViD, etc. to keep paidgeek’s nose to the grindstone.

I will do my part


btw probably the most important part of my post got lost while it was moved to the Commentary thread:

Paidgeek, this is to you:

Originally Posted by TheLion

...
I would also like to express my utmost gratitude and respect for all the support and great work paidgeek and Sony Pictures have delighted us with - especially over the past few months.

Paidgeek, thank you very much for listening to some of my suggestions (especially the forced 24p mode for the PS3 and 20bit/24bit DTHD tracks with Dialog Normalization "turned off") and for continuously acting in our best interest.
...

[MarekM]

Originally Posted by BigB88

Its $39 at DVDEmpire.

now on amazon is this price:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00...SIN=B000VECACG

Price: $34.95
You Save: $15.00 (30%)

[TheLion]

Originally Posted by Penton-Man

It’s about time you got over here.
Welcome.

If memory serves me, I think that you and Deciazulado (the mod) may have some things in common in regards to audiovideo stuff beyond the typical consumer realm, I suggest you PM him.

Sharing some projectionist anecdotes is always a pleasure. Thanks for the hint.

[Dave J]

Originally Posted by WickyWoo

David Vaughn has simply been assigned to be Amir's proxy under the new rules..

The one major problem with a media insider such as David Vaughn is you do not know which camp his info comes from. It's becoming very clear that his info regarding HD DVD yields is likely from the HD DVD camp (Amir?) as he had no problem with attaining that info yet, in his own words, "But, I’ve hit a stone wall when it comes to the combo discs, which no one can seem to get the yield numbers on these." It's interesting his sources provide one set of positive yields but did not disclose the other. Shouldn't that set off alarm bells for him that his sources are pushing an agenda and mirror the stance of the following statement from Amir?

Originally Posted by amirm
The yield for combos are somewhat lower due to extra process steps. They are also more expensive because of the additional processing . I can't provide specific information here unfortunately.

Yet, David Vaughn had no trouble coming up with multiple sources quoting very low yield rates for both BD-25 and BD-50s. Not only that, he basicaly goes on to make an editorial argument in favour of why HD DVD is the more logical succesor to DVD rather than blu-ray and use that to justify why Paramount made their exclusivity deal with HD DVD. Instead of just providing yield rates as per his sources, he goes on to echo the latest talking points from the HD DVD camp. Are his words supposed to be interpreted as those of a neutral insider?!

Unless he can clarify which side his sources work for, HD DVD or BD, how are we to interpret what is true insider information versus FUD fed to him by the competition whose sole purpose is to be regurgitated on the AVS insider thread? AVS is truly becoming a joke.

[onyxx]

Paidgeek,

What can you tell us about the quality of the upcoming 'Monty Python's Life of Brian'? Since this is the 30th anniversary edition I am kind of wondering if it is forced to BD because of that or if it can hold it's own as a HD title?

Say that the PQ is solid and it's a pre-order for me...

[TheLion]

Originally Posted by TheLion

Let us strive to make Blu-Ray live up to it's potential and let's make it the format WE want it to be. What better opportunity can there be than having such supportive insider's as paidgeek listening to us.


Let us make sure that just for once the technologically more advanced and much more ambitious format ends up on top against the bean counter's dream of a super (cost-)efficient, "good enough" approach that is HD-DVD!

For the sake of our passion.

About this paragraph:

The topic of my diploma thesis (business administration) reads something like "The clash of different minds" in English.

In short it is about the often contradictory mindsets of engineers versus " business people"/aka bean counters/blue-shirts and their implication on micro and macroeconomic levels.

In my opinion Blu-Ray versus HD-DVD with their different approaches would have served as quite perfect case study for my work.

------------------------------------------------------------------------
End of Insider Thread Disturbance.

[MatrixS2000]

Originally Posted by Dave J

"But, I’ve hit a stone wall when it comes to the combo discs, which no one can seem to get the yield numbers on these."

So if anyone was truly a neutral on looker...what would they consider more eyebrow raising? A statement such as above or a statement FROM the manufacturer that has yield information?

Somehow the manufacturer is painted as lying and the stonewalling is over looked...

PS a true journalist would easily be digging into the stonewall as means they are hiding something....

[Penton-Man]

Originally Posted by Dave J

The one major problem with a media insider such as David Vaughn is you do not know which camp his info comes from. It's becoming very clear that his info regarding HD DVD yields is likely from the HD DVD camp (Amir?) as he had no problem with attaining that info yet, in his own words, "But, I’ve hit a stone wall when it comes to the combo discs, which no one can seem to get the yield numbers on these." It's interesting his sources provide one set of positive yields but did not disclose the other. Shouldn't that set off alarm bells for him that his sources are pushing an agenda and mirror the stance of the following statement from Amir?



Yet, David Vaughn had no trouble coming up with multiple sources quoting very low yield rates for both BD-25 and BD-50s. Not only that, he basicaly goes on to make an editorial argument in favour of why HD DVD is the more logical succesor to DVD rather than blu-ray and use that to justify why Paramount made their exclusivity deal with HD DVD. Instead of just providing yield rates as per his sources, he goes on to echo the latest talking points from the HD DVD camp. Are his words supposed to be interpreted as those of a neutral insider?!

Unless he can clarify which side his sources work for, HD DVD or BD, how are we to interpret what is true insider information versus FUD fed to him by the competition whose sole purpose is to be regurgitated on the AVS insider thread? AVS is truly becoming a joke.

In regards to David Vaughn and future postings regarding studio business, I would expect the depth of his knowledge into what’s happening at Fox, Disney, and Sony to pretty much exactly mirror that of ………..the A-man.

[mfinochio]

Originally Posted by MatrixS2000

So if anyone was truly a neutral on looker...what would they consider more eyebrow raising? A statement such as above or a statement FROM the manufacturer that has yield information?

Somehow the manufacturer is painted as lying and the stonewalling is over looked...

PS a true journalist would easily be digging into the stonewall as means they are hiding something....

Just a thought, I wonder if David is A-man's new ventriloquist dummy? I wonder if A-man's lips move when "David" speaks?
Michael

[Penton-Man]

Originally Posted by TheLion

About this paragraph:

The topic of my diploma thesis (business administration) reads something like "The clash of different minds" in English.

In short it is about the often contradictory mindsets of engineers versus " business people"/aka bean counters/blue-shirts and their implication on micro and macroeconomic levels.

In my opinion Blu-Ray versus HD-DVD with their different approaches would have served as quite perfect case study for my work.

You would be proud of how paidgeek has nearly broken the Sony Classics budget on the production of Lawrence of Arabia……. and there is still possibly room for improvement......if one didn't care about placing all other projects on *hold* for the next twenty years or so.

I think if he asks for anymore money for LoA, the President of SPE will have a stroke.

That’s it for this week guys, I answered as many PM’s as I could.

[stockstar1138]

Originally Posted by Penton-Man

You would be proud of how paidgeek has nearly broken the Sony Classics budget on the production of Lawrence of Arabia……. and there is still possibly room for improvement......if one didn't care about placing all other projects on *hold* for the next twenty years or so.

I think if he asks for anymore money for LoA, the President of SPE will have a stroke.

That’s it for this week guys, I answered as many PM’s as I could.

do you know when we might get to see the brilliant LoA on blu-ray. has a tentitive release date been set?

[Proteus]

We are getting too hung up on this issue of 'yields'. Let it go. It is beginning to look like people are just more 'angry' about having what apparently was an important site to them, AVS, turn into a petting zoo of bias. That is fine, but times do change... It's time to move on and just forget about them as they no longer represent what it is you enjoyed there.

Paid has already stated that yields are plenty high and at a point where it is irrelevant which alone is enough for me; however, if you look at the price of the Blade Runner FIVE DISC SET for $27 on Amazon, I would suffice to say it _definitely does not matter_ at this point.

It's just more FUD. The behavior of many of these 'insiders' from HDDVD based companies seems to really wreak of desperation to me. It is well known in human psychology that when you back someone into a corner they will try anything to get out including lying, cheating, biting and spitting. The rules change for them because they have no 'ethical' or 'moral' arguments left. This is where HDDVD is now. They know they have no manufacturers besides Toshiba and they also know they are pretty much screwed on the PC level as well (particularly after the Acer announcement). They have very few straws to grasp and know it. This FUD is all they have left. It shows the desperation and the consumer will see right through it (a quick glance at the on the shelf disc prices says it all to them).

Anyway, props to the insiders here who do not stoop to such levels and simply provide factual straight forward answers that are easily verifiable (particularly those made by Paidgeek). It shows the confidence in Blu-ray to stand on it's own merits rather than instead trying to focus on it's competitor's weaknesses.