Archived: Insiders Thread

[ps3andlovinit]

Originally Posted by paidgeek

Apologies for not being posting too much lately. I have not had much time to spend online...

I don't really think that pricing is much of a barrier for a potential BD customer. An awareness of the picture available from these discs seems to be the bigger issue.

Frankly I was surprised that both formats brought the pricing in as low as it is. There is virtually no chance of selling these films again on the basis of improving picture or sound and I think having such a close copy of the master elements should command a better price.

Agree.

In fact for new releases I've found the prices to be only a few dollars different and in some cases the same. Very happy on that front myself.

It's the back catalogues that have a larger disparity...but it will be new releases that drive sales anyways.

[Penton-Man]

Originally Posted by Nick Graham

Penton - what would be the best way to go about making Sony aware of/getting them to fix the HDMI audio handshake issue with the Onkyo 604 receiver? I was pretty much just gonna ditch my PS3 when the new Panny player came, but the new firmware update makes me think they are looking specifically to add things/fix things that enthusiasts want, and with that being the case I'd rather keep the PS3 (especially if DTS-MA decoding is added). Paidgeek seemed to have somewhat of an inside track on contacting the group responsible, but he has been MIA from AVS lately.

Well, he just appeared.
And he can answer the above question because I'm going a bike ride before it gets dark.

[ps3andlovinit]

Originally Posted by paidgeek

I'm glad you are a happy customer. Few persons would want to open the cases on one of these units, but I can tell you they are a work of art inside and out...

There are video and photos of people taking them apart and yes they confirm this is a work of art. Just Google.

Btw we are also planning to get another one and a 3rd one eventually. It's hands down the nicest piece of kit. For the low price it's incredible what is does already.

[Frode]

Thanks a lot for the information on Paprika . It's definitely going on my list now. As a European with an imported player it's been rather frustrating browsing the few titles on shelves in stores, since the region coding on the packaging for Sony's titles doesn't always match the disc (packaging marked region B, disc is region A, B and C). If you could take this up with marketing I'd appreciate it.

Also, excellent job on the PS3 update - send our kudos to the hardware guys when you talk to them . The DLNA support was something I didn't expect, and I think you handled it much better than Microsoft did with their recent updates. All it's missing now is some more codec support for video playback and it can replace my HTPC.

[theknub]

paid, ur information and insight is, as always, greatly appreciated.

p-man, enjoy the ride. i went for one myself this morning. i hate to say it, but it is really tough riding in the mountains

[bigmf]

Originally Posted by paidgeek

We are all still around, it's just the busy season for meetings and vacations...

I really want to thank you for all the great information you give us. It really means a lot to the high-def fans. Also I think all the ps3 owners here would agree with me when I say I'd like to pass on my thanks to the Sony Computer guys for all the updates (of which of course 1.8 was the most amazing).

My question is will sony put their own media server software out to link the PS3 with the computer. I have complained elsewhere about WMP11's inability to put MP4s in its library.

This is a bit of a problem for me because when I have TV shows on DVD I like to convert them with Red Kawa to a PS3 compatable format - mainly so I can have the whole series in one place and not have to change all the DVDs when I want to watch the next one. Currently the only way I can do this is via sneaker-net, and it uses up a lot of DVD-Rs to get the video to the PS3.

Again, thank you for your time here.

[ProvenFlipper]

Thanks for the updates Paidgeek! Keep them coming.

BTW... Use whatever influence you have over there to get us Bad Boys 1&2 and both of the MiB films.

[Nick Graham]

Speak of the devil...welcome back!

[Penton-Man]

Originally Posted by theknub

paid, ur information and insight is, as always, greatly appreciated.

p-man, enjoy the ride. i went for one myself this morning. i hate to say it, but it is really tough riding in the mountains

"Well, keep your nose in the wind, and your eyes along the skyline."
Del Gue

[teacher_man99]

If I hadn't spent all my money on new releases this week, I would put some money in the tip jar for the insiders. I really enjoy this thread and thoughts shared by the insiders, as well as those members who are much more technologically intelligent than I. It's great to learn more about High Def and get some inside details at the same time. Thanks again!

[PeterTHX]

You have to realize BD insiders actually have jobs to fufill. It isn't like HD DVD where there's nothing to do but flog your format to the ignorant on the internet.

On that, I always appreciate any information Paid, Penton, Kjack, Talk, etc (everyone) can take time out to tell us.

[JTK]

The FUD is even starting to show up around here a little bit, so I must ask:

Can we get some kind of official clarification or whatever as to what Fox is doing these days and why they pulled back and delayed a bunch of titles?

Thanks!

[WriteSimply]

Originally Posted by bigmf

My question is will sony put their own media server software out to link the PS3 with the computer. I have complained elsewhere about WMP11's inability to put MP4s in its library.

I would concur. Or somebody from the Linux/WinXP/OSX community can write the code for it. Transcoding, I feel, should be an extra (paid) feature.

This is a bit of a problem for me because when I have TV shows on DVD I like to convert them with Red Kawa to a PS3 compatable format - mainly so I can have the whole series in one place and not have to change all the DVDs when I want to watch the next one. Currently the only way I can do this is via sneaker-net, and it uses up a lot of DVD-Rs to get the video to the PS3.

De/Remuxing and/or transcoding would fall out of the catagory of media server software. Companies like Red Kawa (or others) can work at making de/remuxing VOBs or any video files to match with the PS3s video playback capabilities. The media server software can handle the streaming and indexing of the files.


fuad

[dobyblue]

Originally Posted by paidgeek

I don't know if it is possible to update a PS3 to passed compressed lossless audio, but this is not the direction that Sony Computer has chosen to follow. It is more effective to decode in the player and transmit LPCM to handle mixed audio functions.

So does this mean that we may see the existing PS3 hardware set-up having some form of saftware update being done to add DTS-HD Master Audio decoding inside the player so we can start enjoying Fox's releases, Chronos, etc.?

I'd import The Fountain from the UK to get the DTS-HD MA, but if there's absolutely ZERO chance of the PS3 getting DTS-HD MA decoding sometime in the future then I have some big decisions to make.

[blitz6speed]

Originally Posted by dobyblue

So does this mean that we may see the existing PS3 hardware set-up having some form of saftware update being done to add DTS-HD Master Audio decoding inside the player so we can start enjoying Fox's releases, Chronos, etc.?

I'd import The Fountain from the UK to get the DTS-HD MA, but if there's absolutely ZERO chance of the PS3 getting DTS-HD MA decoding sometime in the future then I have some big decisions to make.

I would say that chances are sky high that it will be possible. However, paidgeek works at Sony Pictures and not at SCEA, so even if he knew if it was coming, it isnt his place to say so. Remember, 7 Cell CPU's inside the PS3, decoding 48MB/Sec combined AVC/TrueHD takes up only 3.5 CPUs power. Theres still 3.5 CELLS being unused. And DTS HD-MA is just a compressed format like ZIP or RAR, same with TrueHD. So honestly, chances it wont do it eventually.. SLIM. When? Who knows.

[PeterTHX]

And DTS HD-MA is just a compressed format like ZIP or RAR, same with TrueHD

Yes, but TrueHD is much much less CPU intensive. The impression I'm getting it takes something like a 3.0GHz CPU just to decompress and decode a DTS-MA bitstream.

Less CPU + better efficiency + more support (and the fact that they had it ready and working on time) is the reason I support Dolby TrueHD as the lossless compression solution for Blu-ray.

[blitz6speed]

Originally Posted by PeterTHX

Yes, but TrueHD is much much less CPU intensive. The impression I'm getting it takes something like a 3.0GHz CPU just to decompress and decode a DTS-MA bitstream.

Less CPU + better efficiency + more support (and the fact that they had it ready and working on time) is the reason I support Dolby TrueHD as the lossless compression solution for Blu-ray.

I have 0 issues with TrueHD. But DTS HD-MA is here and not going anywhere, so we need a playback solution. And i insanely doubt it takes 3ghz to decompress an audio track from its container. PowerDVD does it already and uses 2% cpu difference from the 1.5 track vs the full DTS HD MA track.

[PANIC]

I would firstly like to thank PaidGeek, Penton-Man, and the rest of the Insiders who have done a fantastic job of keeping everyone up to date. I certainly feel much more in the 'know' after reading through the last 49 pages ;-).

My question is more of an observation on the Region B blu-ray discs - Where none of them so far have any form of Dolby or DTS trailers (the pcm ones can obviously be excused). Is there any reason, or is it strategic?

[PeterTHX]

And i insanely doubt it takes 3ghz to decompress an audio track from its container. PowerDVD does it already and uses 2% cpu difference from the 1.5 track vs the full DTS HD MA track.

AFAIK PowerDVD doesn't yet decode DTS-MA, only TrueHD.

Remember the lack of DSP power (which could do TrueHD) was the reason Panasonic couldn't add it to their players.

RAR takes more horsepower than ZIP even at similar compression ratios. It's metadata, downmixing, everything. The algorithms are vastly different. God knows what DTS came up with last second to compete with Dolby.

[phloyd]

Wisely or not, as B6 has noted, we have a slew of Fox titles with DTS-MA, so a solution to play them would be nice.

It is sad that it is not coming to the Panasonic, but them's the breaks.

I wonder if KJack can comment on the capacity to deal with DTS-MA in future or current SoC solutions from Sigma?

We really do need to whole suite of codecs going forward.

Weren't some Euro HD DVD releases DTS-MA? Or where they just DTS-HD? If MA, can any HD DVD player manage the audio?