Archived: Insiders Thread

[Brain Sturgeon]

Originally Posted by Anthony P

In theory anyone that cares will get a better player that supports all three

Looks like another blu-ray player is in my future-- maybe the Denon.

Although I have preferred the DTS "sound" over the Dolby codecs in the past, it always seems like they make it a pain in the arse to use/enjoy their products.

Thanks to you and amillians for the education.

[TauRus]

Originally Posted by Neo65

A thank you note to paidgeek and other people at SPHE for the T5E remaster replacement.

It is rare in these days to find a manufacturer so willing to fix a mistake and going out of their way to make a customer happy.

Much appreciated. I feel a grievious wrong has been done in that HoFD did not find a better master to redo the work, that's unfortunate.

Now if only those other people will only exchange my Traffic and Spartacus in the red case after the hack job they did with those two.

I also got my remastered 5th Element a little while ago and I full heartedly join Neo in thanking Sony for their superb customer care!!!

[Anthony P]

Although I have preferred the DTS "sound" over the Dolby codecs in the past, it always seems like they make it a pain in the arse to use/enjoy their products.

Even though I think DTS is a bit better then DD, you can't compare the two on DVD. When DVD was formed (same issue with HD DVD) DD was forced to be used in conjunction with the MPEG2 stream while DTS,which was added later was not. That meant that DTS could give you all that it could and up to 1.5mbps but DD could not go up to 640kbps (it's max) and was limited to 448kbps

[LeoneFan]

I have also always preferred DTS over DD. I don't what it is but DTS has always sounded much more clearer and well defined compared to DD. I'm anxious to hear what DTS-MA sounds like but if the 1.5mbps DTS track on Kingdom of Heaven is any indication then I'm sure it sounds mind blowingly good.

[dobyblue]

Originally Posted by crackinhedz

but, does this automatically mean the advanced authored discs will allow bitstream HD audio??

a catch 22?

You'd have to ask kjack and paid, but I'm pretty sure this was discussed and that yes they would still be able to pass audio as bitstream, you just wouldn't be able to pass anything other than the main audio tracks sans commentary or PIP.

[Chris Gerhard]

Originally Posted by LeoneFan

I have also always preferred DTS over DD. I don't what it is but DTS has always sounded much more clearer and well defined compared to DD. I'm anxious to hear what DTS-MA sounds like but if the 1.5mbps DTS track on Kingdom of Heaven is any indication then I'm sure it sounds mind blowingly good.

Has somebody provided information that DTS-HD MA will sound any different than Dolby TrueHD?

Chris

[unreal1080p]

Originally Posted by Maxpower1987

It shouldn't, unless dialogue normalisation has been applied on the TrueHD track. If this is the case then chances are the DTS-MA track will sound 'better' in a DBT.

Dialog Normalisation is "Standard Operating Procedure" for Dolby TrueHD tracks. I believe Sony said they would stop using it (Dialog Normalisation) for future releases but everyone else still does therefore making Uncompressed Lossless PCM audio or DTS-HD Master Audio more desirable (those 2, in theory, should be equal).

[paidgeek]

Originally Posted by lupin23rd

CH-DVD will be perfect for China. HD-DVD doesn't have as much studio support, but they don't allow half the movies in China anyways.

paidgeek,

I posted something in another thread and brought it up here - sure it's been discussed before, but perhaps not. I think it's obvious Sony sees the PS3 as a key to the success of BD - outside of the buy a PS3 (or BD player) and receive free movies, is there anything planned to reach out to gamers to start buying BD movies instead of DVDs?

If all PS3 owner woke up today and bought just one movie, the numbers would likely be monstrous.

Maybe include a coupon for 1/2 off any BD movie (or a free selected movie) or something with particular PS3 games?

I know the guys who are still in SD may not pick up as many (I had 21 before I got an HDTV today), but those on the fence would maybe start picking them up.

There are a couple of different promotions in the works so that consumers who buy PS3 will get a chance to try a Blu-ray movie. Sony recognizes the potential of this customer base.

[paidgeek]

Originally Posted by whippersnapper

To any knowledgeable Insider: I was at my local Best Buy tonight and saw POTC played from a Sony BDP-S300 and displayed on one of the new 120MHz HDTVs. And the video display was absolutely stunning. I don't know if it was because of the mood I was in tonight or whether it was because of the way that HDTV was "tuned" but it looked as good as my 1080P 50" Pioneer Elite Monitor. Can it be that 120MHz can have that much impact?

I wonder if the set was using motion interpolation, black frame insertion, or equivalent. Without getting into the display settings, it is hard to know what feature was appealing to you.

[patrick99]

Originally Posted by paidgeek

There are a couple of different promotions in the works so that consumers who buy PS3 will get a chance to try a Blu-ray movie. Sony recognizes the potential of this customer base.

Change of subject. I'm not sure how long SPE has been using the new Columbia logo that appears at the beginning of Perfect Stranger, but that was the first time I noticed it. Very nice looking.

[paidgeek]

Originally Posted by Jish

paidgeek,

Not sure this will be a popular request as it isn't the most loved film ever... but...

The picture quality on the Talladega Nights Blu-ray has been pretty universally criticized - on highdefdigest it received a worse PQ score than the original Fifth Element disc.

Is there any possibility of a future re-issue of this with an improvement in picture quality? Do you know if it is more of an issue with the original source material?


My experience has been that it has poor contrast (as per highdefdigest as well) but also that it is generally "soft". I found most scenes to not be crisp and detailed.

I have not seen much criticism on Talladega Nights picture quality. It does have a 'look' with high contrast and highly saturated color. We encoded it with a relatively high bitrate as I recall, so there should be no issues whatsoever with encoding artifacts.

"The Fifth Element" was a special case because the original release was transferred using a Rank Cintel Telecine instead of newer machines. TN was not transferred in the typical sense because it was a digital intermediate title, as are most titles now with considerable budgets.

Tell me, when you bring up the hidden monoscope pattern on the disc, can you read the fine print at the bottom?

[paidgeek]

Originally Posted by TheLion

Dear Paidgeek,

will the upcoming UK edition of Underworld Evolution (Due for release on 09/24/2007) be the same transfer as the US release (Mpeg2) or is it a new encode (preferably AVC)?

I have just watched the Legends of the Fall trailer on the Patriot BD - please tell me that the "PQ" of this trailer is in no way representative of the final release! This movie happens to be one of my wife's absolute favourites (guilty pleasure and my very first DVD purchase) - is the quality of the transfer (as it is now - even the UK Superbit was not exactly striking...) the reason why this particular release get's postponed and postponed and...

A little bird (Moretonbay) told me "The DaVinci Code" BD get's released 12-31-07 -> can you confirm this?

Thank you!

I'll have to confirm, but I think the UE release will be a new encode since the title is now being released on BD50.

Legends does not look as spectacular in HD as I would hope for, but please understand that this is not an issue with the "quality of the transfer" but rather a function of what we have to work with in the film elements. It is fair to say that we are favoring our catalog titles that have the best presentation.

DaVinci Code will not be out this year in any market.

[paidgeek]

Originally Posted by TauRus

I also got my remastered 5th Element a little while ago and I full heartedly join Neo in thanking Sony for their superb customer care!!!

I'm glad the new version and the customer exchange program worked out. We exchanged a lot of discs, so distributing information about the program through forums and the press turned out to be very effective.

[Esox50]

Originally Posted by dobyblue

You'd have to ask kjack and paid, but I'm pretty sure this was discussed and that yes they would still be able to pass audio as bitstream, you just wouldn't be able to pass anything other than the main audio tracks sans commentary or PIP.

This is the question to which we need the definitive answer. Any insiders care to go on the record?

This makes a HUGE difference in how I am going to reconfigure my system in terms of what Pre-amp and standalone...

While we're on the subject (though maybe outside of the scope from a BD software standpoint), can any insiders who may have been at CEDIA comment on whether any of the high end companies (Theta Digital, Meridian, Lexicon, etc) showed any new Pre-amp/processors which are HDMI 1.3, and have DTS-MA and Dolby True Hd decoding? I cannot find anything. Maybe even not shown on the floor, but was there even anything discussed as in development? I thought CEDIA was going to be the place to see the new stuff, but it looks like we might have to wait for CES 2008?!?!?

[CAB]

In reviewing the specs for the newly announced Sony BDP-S2000ES I noticed:

dts®-HD Decoding-2

* Master Audio: No; HDMI™ bitstream out: No

The player doesn't decode DTS-HD HRA or MA which I can accept but won't output HD bitstream to an HD capable receiver. Are these specs correct given that the ES receiver lines do DTS-HD MA?

[Jamh]

To any Insiders, I recently found out that FOX is broadcasting the Super Bowl this season and was wondering if the BDA has any plans to take advantage of this opportunity?

[Blu_J]

Originally Posted by 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...

I think this one got lost in the shuffle, if it has been responded to I give my apology. If not, I too am very looking forward to this title and any info Paid could possibly give us about it.
Additionally, is there any tiny nugget of info that can be given about The Holy Grail on Blu?

[Razzy]

Any insiders care to comment on this?

Warner Bros. Weighing HD DVD Offer?

"Warner Bros is considering a "lucrative offer" to back HD DVD exclusively in the high-def disc format war."

"The Times writes that "Hollywood insiders" say Warner is "mulling over a lucrative offer that could bring such popular titles as Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix into the HD DVD camp." The newspaper doesn't say, but the offer is presumably from Toshiba, the leading backer of the HD DVD format."

"Wal-Mart, the newspaper said, had set a mid-August deadline for deciding which format to keep in its stores; it now carries both players. But Toshiba supposedly offered a large promotional budget to support HD DVD sales in a recent meeting at Wal-Mart headquarters."

https://forum.blu-ray.com/showthread.php?t=16383

[CptGreedle]

Originally Posted by Razzy

Any insiders care to comment on this?

Warner Bros. Weighing HD DVD Offer?

"Warner Bros is considering a "lucrative offer" to back HD DVD exclusively in the high-def disc format war."

"The Times writes that "Hollywood insiders" say Warner is "mulling over a lucrative offer that could bring such popular titles as Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix into the HD DVD camp." The newspaper doesn't say, but the offer is presumably from Toshiba, the leading backer of the HD DVD format."

"Wal-Mart, the newspaper said, had set a mid-August deadline for deciding which format to keep in its stores; it now carries both players. But Toshiba supposedly offered a large promotional budget to support HD DVD sales in a recent meeting at Wal-Mart headquarters."

https://forum.blu-ray.com/showthread.php?t=16383

I second this! Is there any truth to this? Does the BDA know about this?
What are they doing??
This would be a devastating move if WB goes HD-DVD exclusive! They have so many great films it would really hurt the format to loose their support especially after everything they said about remaining neutral.

Can any insiders please comment on this?

[krinkle]

Originally Posted by Razzy

Any insiders care to comment on this?

Warner Bros. Weighing HD DVD Offer?

"Warner Bros is considering a "lucrative offer" to back HD DVD exclusively in the high-def disc format war."

"The Times writes that "Hollywood insiders" say Warner is "mulling over a lucrative offer that could bring such popular titles as Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix into the HD DVD camp." The newspaper doesn't say, but the offer is presumably from Toshiba, the leading backer of the HD DVD format."

"Wal-Mart, the newspaper said, had set a mid-August deadline for deciding which format to keep in its stores; it now carries both players. But Toshiba supposedly offered a large promotional budget to support HD DVD sales in a recent meeting at Wal-Mart headquarters."

https://forum.blu-ray.com/showthread.php?t=16383

Yeah, I really hope Sony and the BDA have learned from the Paramount debacle.

Is the BDA just going to let Toshiba buy out the entire format war??

This is unbelieveable. After all that investment, is the BDA just going to let Toshiba and Microsoft strong arm everyone? Come on guys I hope you don't let this happen.

If Wal-Mart and WB go HD DVD exlusive that would be it for me.