Ask questions to Sony Pictures Entertainment insider "paidgeek"

[paidgeek]

Originally Posted by desmond

Hi Paid,

Finally had a chance to see Lawrence on HDNet and it was very, very good, can't wait for Blu-ray. Here is my question: Are Gandhi and Guns Of Navarone on HDnet based on transfers that will be used for HDM release like Lawrence?

Keep up amazing work!!

I don't know if these are same masters, but if I get chance, I will find out...

[paidgeek]

Originally Posted by Batman2

Any details of the supposed Ghostbusters release on Blu-Ray, will it have the same extras as the old DVD's or anything new, is the picture going to be remastered again, will we get music videos this time...?

You will have to wait to see...

[paidgeek]

Originally Posted by krazeyeyez

hey paid, my first post here and its a doozy, having some problems with the true hd and whether or not the bdp-s300 will do it.

my equipment is listed in my sig and everything is hooked up via hdmi. my players firmware is up to date. just wanted to confirm that the s300 can internally decode the true hd now, and how to accomplish this.

thanks in advance for the help.

I finally took some time this evening to reconfirm what is going on with the 300.

A couple of points to know first:

I checked this with firmware 3.7, but it applies to several earlier releases going back to when the feature first appeared on the S1.

It is not an advertised feature of the S300, It could be removed at any time in a future firmware release.

DO NOT call Sony customer service and hassle them about why this does not show up in the information display or in the manual. As mentioned before, this is an unadvertised feature. Consider it a gift.

The only setting that matters is the HDMI audio setting. It MUST be set to LPCM, or Dolby THD will only come out of the HDMI connection as DD. The downmix setting does not matter.

Dolby THD will only be decoded and passed as LPCM on the HDMI connector. If you want to confirm if you are really getting THD versus DD, try the following: Connect your receiver analog inputs to the analog outputs of the S300, set the HDMI audio output to LPCM and connect the HDMI output to your receiver as well, playback a THD audio stream and use your receiver to toggle between the analog input or the HDMI input, better yet, have someone else do the switching for you. If these do not sound the same to you, you have learned something. Now try the same thing with a normal DD stream and see if you hear the same difference, if not....

For those of you who will continue to question this until the sun burns out, someone makes a test disc to confirm it, or someone dedicated does an invert/add of the analog out vs. the HDMI THD out, keep in mind that I don't do this for a hobby and I don't have anything to gain by misleading you.

[paidgeek]

Originally Posted by cobwebb

Hey Paidgeek,

With Sony's resent annoucement that they would release over 100 titles this year, how soon do you think we'll get a full calender projection estimate for the year? Thanks

We may release 100 titles, but that does not mean that we have decided which ones ahead of time...

[paidgeek]

Originally Posted by Alan Gordon

Hey Paidgeek,

A few weeks ago, I posted some questions related to Sony's (and other studios) lack of Blu-ray releases for some smaller film and TV releases. You responded (Post #533) to my original post (Post #503), but my question still wasn't exactly answered... yet I decided to just let it be. However, after a thread started by another member popped up regarding the same issues (Thread), and then this little bit of news came out:

Sony To Release 100 Blu-ray Titles In 2008

I figure the above announcement kind of answers my question as surely this means that Sony will be releasing more D&D titles as it probably wouldn't make a lot to sense to flood the market with this many catalogs in one year (at this point in Blu-ray's life). Am I wrong?

Thanks!
~Alan

We will release almost everything that comes out new on DVD on Blu-ray.

[pro-bassoonist]

Originally Posted by paidgeek

For those of you who will continue to question this until the sun burns out, someone makes a test disc to confirm it, or someone dedicated does an invert/add of the analog out vs. the HDMI THD out, keep in mind that I don't do this for a hobby and I don't have anything to gain by misleading you.

Thank you for clarifying this for the nay-sayers!!

And thank You!

Ciao,
Pro-B

[Icemage]

Paidgeek:

I'm sure every title is unique in its own way, but "on the whole", how would you characterize the condition of Sony's catalog film elements with respect to HD transferrability? Would the majority of titles need a lot of restoration work? Or are most titles adequate aside from some basic cleanup?

I'm sure the age of the master has some influence here (mostly pertaining to how well kept the film elements have been over the years), but I'm a bit curious about how difficult it really is to get a "typical" older film onto a Blu-ray disc.

[AndreasSt]

Originally Posted by paidgeek

It is not an advertised feature of the S300, It could be removed at any time in a future firmware release.

Can we expect such an unadvertised feature for the S500 too? I'd like to have DTS MA bitstream output on this player.

But on the other hand, I have already ordered an DMP-BD30 for this purpose.

[djOS]

Im not that fussed about it, my s300 wil be releagated to the family room LCD TV (which doesn't have an AMP + Speakers) once the s550 becomes available; so the decoding abilities of the s300 are a non issue for me now.

[JasonR]

Originally Posted by paidgeek

I finally took some time this evening to reconfirm what is going on with the 300.

A couple of points to know first:

I checked this with firmware 3.7, but it applies to several earlier releases going back to when the feature first appeared on the S1.

It is not an advertised feature of the S300, It could be removed at any time in a future firmware release.

DO NOT call Sony customer service and hassle them about why this does not show up in the information display or in the manual. As mentioned before, this is an unadvertised feature. Consider it a gift.

The only setting that matters is the HDMI audio setting. It MUST be set to LPCM, or Dolby THD will only come out of the HDMI connection as DD. The downmix setting does not matter.

Dolby THD will only be decoded and passed as LPCM on the HDMI connector. If you want to confirm if you are really getting THD versus DD, try the following: Connect your receiver analog inputs to the analog outputs of the S300, set the HDMI audio output to LPCM and connect the HDMI output to your receiver as well, playback a THD audio stream and use your receiver to toggle between the analog input or the HDMI input, better yet, have someone else do the switching for you. If these do not sound the same to you, you have learned something. Now try the same thing with a normal DD stream and see if you hear the same difference, if not....

For those of you who will continue to question this until the sun burns out, someone makes a test disc to confirm it, or someone dedicated does an invert/add of the analog out vs. the HDMI THD out, keep in mind that I don't do this for a hobby and I don't have anything to gain by misleading you.

Thanks Paid, much appreciated.

[jnm422]

Thank you for your help. I just watched The Rock on Monday and had no problems whatsoever. Also, I've been playing Burnout Paradise without any issues as well.

Your help is greatly appreciated.

Originally Posted by paidgeek

I have asked about this and I am waiting for a response.

[krazeyeyez]

Originally Posted by paidgeek

For those of you who will continue to question this until the sun burns out, someone makes a test disc to confirm it, or someone dedicated does an invert/add of the analog out vs. the HDMI THD out, keep in mind that I don't do this for a hobby and I don't have anything to gain by misleading you.

thanks paid, ill give that a shot, didn't mean to question yah, just figured if i worked for sony i as a person may not no all the ins and outs of every unit, and i kept getting your earlier post in response to my inquiries and figured you may have been referring to a different model number.

either way good lookin man, thanks.

[blurayisking]

Hi Paidgeek:

Now that you have clarified the limitations of BDP-S300 in regard to transmitting Dolby TrueHD via HDMI (PCM) only; the question I have is whether the current Sony BDP-S500 model or either of the new 2008 models (BDP-S350 or BDP-S550) models would be able to transmit lossless audio (eg: Dolby TrueHD converted to PCM) via the 5.1 analog outputs. This could be a cheaper alternative as opposed to replacing my BDP-S300 player and my non-HDMI receiver. An increasing number of blu-ray titles are being released with Dolby TrueHD soundtrack option, so it would be nice to be able to properly decode those blu-ray titles.

I presenting have 75 titles; 32 have uncompressed PCM option and another 10 that have Dolby TrueHD so you see my thinking.


Regards:

Blurayisking

[paidgeek]

Originally Posted by blurayisking

Hi Paidgeek:

Now that you have clarified the limitations of BDP-S300 in regard to transmitting Dolby TrueHD via HDMI (PCM) only; the question I have is whether the current Sony BDP-S500 model or either of the new 2008 models (BDP-S350 or BDP-S550) models would be able to transmit lossless audio (eg: Dolby TrueHD converted to PCM) via the 5.1 analog outputs. This could be a cheaper alternative as opposed to replacing my BDP-S300 player and my non-HDMI receiver. An increasing number of blu-ray titles are being released with Dolby TrueHD soundtrack option, so it would be nice to be able to properly decode those blu-ray titles.

I presenting have 75 titles; 32 have uncompressed PCM option and another 10 that have Dolby TrueHD so you see my thinking.


Regards:

Blurayisking

The S500 does not support internal decoding of THD to the analog outputs. the S550 will do everything; Internal decoding of THD and MA internally, available on HDMI or Analog, and bitstream output of all formats via HDMI. The S350 is two channel analog out only, but supports internal THD decoding and THD and MA bitstream output. The S350 does not decode MA internally.

[ckenisell]

In light of the last q & a, I'd like to recommend that the BDA make an additional profile after the BD-Live profile.

BD-Everything
This profile would include everything BD-Live includes, but also mandates that the player has to bitstream all Dolby modes and all DTS modes. In addition, it must decode all Dolby modes and all DTS modes and send it in uncompressed PCM via HDMI and out of the 7.1 analog outs. It sure would clear up a lot of confusion. Would some of it be redundant? Sure. Would it be an excellent idea to eliminate consumer confusion? Absolutely.

[DaViD Boulet]

Amen.

If die-hard Blu-ray enthusiasts like us are baffled and confused by the myriad of unclear features, specs, and performance issues surrounding the current state of hardware, how much more so would be the average person?

It would be SO NICE to have an "Everything" tag that let's you know you're buying a player with all it's "t's" crossed and all it's "i's" dotted.

[saprano]

Hey paid, news just broke about sony is in talks with microsoft for a BD add on for the xbox. is this true? http://www.ft.com/cms/s/ca6017de-eba...hp%3Ft%3D41126, it doesint look like the guy from sony says anything about a 360. only that there in talks thats it, the guy who wrote the artical says xbox. it could mean its for there laptops?

[djOS]

Originally Posted by DaViD Boulet

Amen.

If die-hard Blu-ray enthusiasts like us are baffled and confused by the myriad of unclear features, specs, and performance issues surrounding the current state of hardware, how much more so would be the average person?

It would be SO NICE to have an "Everything" tag that let's you know you're buying a player with all it's "t's" crossed and all it's "i's" dotted.

And ppl wonder why HD DVD fans jumped up and down about this sort of stuff!

[DaViD Boulet]

I've actually started threads about the problem of the BDA allowing such a hodge-podge of profile specs and player features.

Does 2.0 mean that your player will bitstream DTS-HD MA? Nope. and the fact that a 1.1 profile player could have features like this that aren't required in the 2.0 spec just makes it more confusing.

I think that HD DVD had it's hardware act together. I've never said that BD should have competed with such profit-losing prices. But BD should have had, and should have, hardware that performs to full-specification.

And it shouldn't just be top-tier players. It should be ALL players.

[LFletcher]

Hi Paidgeek,
Can you comment on the recent Sony release of Welcome To The Jungle in the UK (aka The Rundown in the US) which was the cut version of the film (I believe this was the rated 12 version shown in UK cinemas) rather than uncut rated 15 version that Sony released on DVD in the UK?

Do you know if the other global releases of this film (Germany, France, Australia, etc) will be uncut?

Thanks