Archived: Insiders Thread

[hyperdine]

Originally Posted by paidgeek

As you would expect, we think we can make something that works well on PSP as a first step. The schedule is not fixed yet, but it would be interesting to know how the members here feel about how attractive a feature this is.

I think this would be a very cool feature. Might even be a competitive advantage. Talk about a bonus feature I can see it now..."Features include deleted scenes, director's commentary, and a portable version of the movie for your PSP!"

Thanks for stopping by. We appreciate your time!

[Zinn]

Originally Posted by paidgeek

I don't have any info on LC, but Casino Royale is AVC and BD50. PCM will be used for North America. I don't think we have finalized the audio codec for the European version.

Damn, Im in Sweden, Europe.

But thanks for a fast reply.

Is there a Dolby TrueHD decoder in the PS3??

[bluwizard]

Dear paidgeek, I have some questions.

Why warner drop DOLBY TRUE HD track on BD?

Second question, SONY announced they don't ban porns, if so, why Digital Playground insisted sony banned porns?

Third question, can Playstation 3 decode DD+? And I heard playstation 3's future firmware will include DTS-HD MASTER AUDIO decoding. Is it true?

Thanks for your time & efforts.

[paidgeek]

Originally Posted by Zinn

Damn, Im in Sweden, Europe.

But thanks for a fast reply.

Is there a Dolby TrueHD decoder in the PS3??

Yes, the PS3 decodes Dolby THD and outputs it as LPCM over HDMI.

[theknub]

Originally Posted by paidgeek

As you would expect, we think we can make something that works well on PSP as a first step. The schedule is not fixed yet, but it would be interesting to know how the members here feel about how attractive a feature this is.

not wanting to get this off track, but it would be a phenomenal feature. i know it is illegal, but i have tried ripping DVDs to my portable media player to watch on plane flights and all that. so, making it a real legal future for psp's or other devices that can play protected content when i travel would be great.

[paidgeek]

Originally Posted by bluwizard

Dear paidgeek, I have some questions.

Why warner drop DOLBY TRUE HD track on BD?

Second question, SONY announced they don't ban porns, if so, why Digital Playground insisted sony banned porns?

Third question, can Playstation 3 decode DD+? And I heard playstation 3's future firmware will include DTS-HD MASTER AUDIO decoding. Is it true?

Thanks for your time & efforts.

I can't speak for WB, but I don't think they dropped Dolby THD, they have not used it on BD as far as I know. I think they may be reconsidering using Dolby THD or LPCM, but you will have to confirm with their announcements.

Sony did not ban anything, our domestic replication plant just doesn't replicate pornography for any format. I suspect Digital Playground was mis-quoted or exaggerating.

PS3 does not decode DD+ but will decode the DD core stream from a DD+ soundtrack. DD+ has limited use in BD as it is used for mixes requiring more than 5.1 channels and few of those exist in our catalog. I don't have any details about PS3 adding DTS HD decoding. We generally get that kind of information when everyone else does through Sony Computer press releases.

[b2bonez]

Originally Posted by paidgeek

I don't have any info on LC, but Casino Royale is AVC and BD50. PCM will be used for North America. I don't think we have finalized the audio codec for the European version.

Questions about the AVC encoder use.

1. Is this a "Sony" HW encoder similar to the the current Sony MPEG2 encoder ?

2. How do the encoding times compare. Reportedly the MPEG2 HW encoder is "real time", is the AVC encoder getting close to real time.. or what "X" factor of realtime does it have.

3. Is the AVC encoder ready for "prime time" with it being phased in over the next year or is the Royale feature a late phase production test (ie. working production beta test)

Thanks,

b2b

[shug7272]

I am not asking for any sort of details, but can you tell us if Sony has any big surprises coming and if you can say a vague timetable. Thanks again for coming.

[Chris Beveridge]

Thank you for your contributions both here and elsewhere. It's much appreciated, as others have said, to get straightforward answers without any real spin to it.

Being a big anime fan, I've been behind the format for the simple reason that the majority of what I want will come out on Blu-ray in Japan. Sony's domestic side has a small number of key titles for that particular genre in its library. I know release plans are things that aren't talked about until they're finalized, but has any kind of anime passed across your field of view? We've seen lots of CG style shows and more coming (such as Open Season) but not much in this realm in any market.

For what it's worth, I've so far see Gonzo's "Project Papo", Warner Bros. "Brave Story" and Disney's "Ghost in the Shell 2: Innocence" in import form and they are simply stunning. Knowing that SPHE has such great theatrical anime features on hand I hope to see them shine at some point.

(Or the Blood+ TV series that still needs street dates on any format!)

Again, thank you for your time and participation.

[phloyd]

Originally Posted by paidgeek

As you would expect, we think we can make something that works well on PSP as a first step. The schedule is not fixed yet, but it would be interesting to know how the members here feel about how attractive a feature this is.

I like using my PSP as a portable movie player when travelling and would certainly consider it an asset to get a PSP version available with the BD version of a movie.

As it stands I think that the PSP movies are priced a little high considering the relative price to DVD and the relative feature set and quality. I still have a number of them though!

[blublublu]

Originally Posted by paidgeek

Sony did not ban anything, our domestic replication plant just doesn't replicate pornography for any format. I suspect Digital Playground was mis-quoted or exaggerating.

Hasn't another adult film vendor (Vivid) indicated they will still be releasing on Blu Ray. If so, who would do replication?

Are there BD replication plants independent of Sony?

[Josh]

Ok guys. Paidgeek is a software guy, so let's cool it with all the hardware questions. He has already made it clear that he can not answer any questions outside of Sony software. Please, lets stick with that.

[LeoneFan]

Welcome paidgeek!! I know Sony owns MGM so I thought you might have some information. Do you know anything about For A Few Dollars More, which was supposed to be released back in November but was delayed indefinitely? How about The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly? Are there any plans for a release on BD? With A Fistful of Dollars scheduled for June, I'm hoping these other two could also be released. Thanks.

[Banjo]

Originally Posted by LeoneFan

Welcome paidgeek!! I know Sony owns MGM so I thought you might have some information. Do you know anything about For A Few Dollars More, which was supposed to be released back in November but was delayed indefinitely? How about The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly? Are there any plans for a release on BD? With A Fistful of Dollars scheduled for June, I'm hoping these other two could also be released. Thanks.

A thought just occurred to me, isn't Fox now responsible for all MGM releases on DVD and BD while Sony handle all the theatrical releases?

I guess that's not always the case. Hmm.

[Josh]

Sony owns the new MGM property. Fox is distributing the older stuff (up to a point). If you have a question about some new property (like Casino Royale) I'm sure he would be glad to answer.

[paidgeek]

Originally Posted by b2bonez

Questions about the AVC encoder use.

1. Is this a "Sony" HW encoder similar to the the current Sony MPEG2 encoder ?

2. How do the encoding times compare. Reportedly the MPEG2 HW encoder is "real time", is the AVC encoder getting close to real time.. or what "X" factor of realtime does it have.

3. Is the AVC encoder ready for "prime time" with it being phased in over the next year or is the Royale feature a late phase production test (ie. working production beta test)

Thanks,

b2b

The Sony AVC encoder is a software product. We run it on multiple high end PC's in networked arrangement.

The encoder takes about 12X realtime in our current configuration.

We have been testing this encoder for over a year. It is ready for production use and it is available to other authoring facilities as a Sony product.

[paidgeek]

Originally Posted by shug7272

I am not asking for any sort of details, but can you tell us if Sony has any big surprises coming and if you can say a vague timetable. Thanks again for coming.

Probably the biggest surprise is that our division president announced 100 titles over the next year. We are going to be very busy delivering all of that product.

[paidgeek]

Originally Posted by Chris Beveridge

Thank you for your contributions both here and elsewhere. It's much appreciated, as others have said, to get straightforward answers without any real spin to it.

Being a big anime fan, I've been behind the format for the simple reason that the majority of what I want will come out on Blu-ray in Japan. Sony's domestic side has a small number of key titles for that particular genre in its library. I know release plans are things that aren't talked about until they're finalized, but has any kind of anime passed across your field of view? We've seen lots of CG style shows and more coming (such as Open Season) but not much in this realm in any market.

For what it's worth, I've so far see Gonzo's "Project Papo", Warner Bros. "Brave Story" and Disney's "Ghost in the Shell 2: Innocence" in import form and they are simply stunning. Knowing that SPHE has such great theatrical anime features on hand I hope to see them shine at some point.

(Or the Blood+ TV series that still needs street dates on any format!)

Again, thank you for your time and participation.

I have seen a couple of masters and one of them impressed me called "Paprika". I have no idea when or if this title will be scheduled, but I thought it worked well in HD. Some animation I have seen does not demonstrate HD that well, but it will always be an improvement over the same title on DVD.

[paidgeek]

Originally Posted by blublublu

Hasn't another adult film vendor (Vivid) indicated they will still be releasing on Blu Ray. If so, who would do replication?

Are there BD replication plants independent of Sony?

I think you are correct that Vivid is still planning to release titles on Blu-ray.

There are plants in the U.S., Austria, Japan and possibly elsewhere. Blu-ray lines are operated by Sony, Panasonic, Technicolor, Deluxe, Cinram and maybe others. I'm not sure who is doing the work, but it could be a plant in Japan. If it works well for Vivid, others may follow suit.

[paidgeek]

Originally Posted by LeoneFan

Welcome paidgeek!! I know Sony owns MGM so I thought you might have some information. Do you know anything about For A Few Dollars More, which was supposed to be released back in November but was delayed indefinitely? How about The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly? Are there any plans for a release on BD? With A Fistful of Dollars scheduled for June, I'm hoping these other two could also be released. Thanks.

As mentioned by another poster, SPE is no longer distributing MGM catalog titles. I'm not sure when these will be out, but I did have a look at some of the masters and they hold up very well for their age. It is great to see some of these actors in their prime in HD.