Archived: Insiders Thread

[Talkstr8t]

Originally Posted by GoldenRedux

Can either of you confirm whether the upcoming FW update for the Panasonic DMP-BD1 Blu-ray to enable decoding of the advanced audio codecs scheduled for April will allow decoding of DTS-HD MA? Panasonic was not specifically about this. They mention Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD, but not specifically DTS-HD MA.

OK, there appears to be some ambiguity regarding whether DTS-HD can be implemented independently of DTS-HD MA. Put another way, DTS-HD compatibility may imply DTS-HD MA support (they are a family). I'm told the DTS certification program may not yet be finalized, hence the uncertainty.

- Talk

[Rio]

Originally Posted by joshd2012

Is the capability of the player detected before the menu is put on the screen? For instance, does the Samsung fail to show the sweeping flashlight or does the Java detect that the Samsung can't do it, and therefore doesn't even try to show it?

Apparently the BD-J program on the disc does some sort of performance test of the player and switches the rendering method so that the user would not be uncomfortable just for getting "gorgeous" graphics. Performance level of each player seems very much varying, even though using the same chip (I aware the performance difference between Panasonic and Sony/Pioneer, all of them utilizing same Sigma SoC).

[hyperdine]

I apologize if someone already answered this in another thread, but what happened to "Winged Migration" and "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon"? They were both supposed to be out by now, but got delayed. Is there an updated release timeframe for either of these titles?

BTW, hats off to Sony for the great job on the recent transfers. The post-launch titles have just been stellar in terms of picture quality, and uncompressed PCM audio just rocks!!!

[assur191]

Paidgeek - thanks for joining this forum. When the launch titles were announced, I remember Stargate: Atlantis being listed as a Summer '06 release, but there hasn't been any word about it since then. Is this still coming up soon, or has it been forgotten? Thanks.

[kjack]

Originally Posted by phloyd

what are the requirements for HDi in terms of resources?

Depends how optimized the code is, as most code for these platforms starts out on a PC for ease of development.

We have heard the need for WinCE and that this has hindered implementing HDi on SoC solutions like the Sigma Designs.

WinCE is not required to support HDi, it simply enables faster, easier development over Linux.

Are there plans for Sigma to support WinCE and/or HDi in the future?

We currently support WinCE for the IPTV market, so that is not an issue. We will be supporting HDi.

It seems to me that BD has a better path to cost effective players than HD DVD if the need to ship a 'PC' with every HD DVD player remains.

Doing the 'PC' approach allowed fully-featured HD DVD players to market much quicker, and they will get to a SoC-based solution. Most BD CE companies simply preferred not to initially go the 'PC' route for some reason.

[kjack]

Originally Posted by Rio

Performance level of each player seems very much varying, even though using the same chip (I aware the performance difference between Panasonic and Sony/Pioneer, all of them utilizing same Sigma SoC).

Ah, the joy of having multiple suppliers of software.

[dialog_gvf]

Originally Posted by kjack

Doing the 'PC' approach allowed fully-featured HD DVD players to market much quicker, and they will get to a SoC-based solution. Most BD CE companies simply preferred not to initially go the 'PC' route for some reason.

Considering the overall performance differences between the Toshiba PC implementation and the BD players, I think they were wise to go the route they did.

Are you able to tell us whether a BD player directly implementing your reference design is likely to occur (no CE names or times)?

I guess for competitive reasons you couldn't give the specs, right?

[Talkstr8t]

Originally Posted by joshd2012

As you mentioned, the spot light reacts differently on the Samsung and other Blu-ray players. Is the capability of the player detected before the menu is put on the screen? For instance, does the Samsung fail to show the sweeping flashlight or does the Java detect that the Samsung can't do it, and therefore doesn't even try to show it?

I don't have first-hand knowledge of how this application was written, but my speculation is that the application detects the relative performance level of the player it is running on and modifies its behavior based on this. If it weren't doing that you'd likely see the same animation, but it would be far slower on the Samsung than on faster players (like the PS3).

- Talk

[shamus]

Thanks Paid and Straight.... this is my new favorite thread.

[Paladin]

I would like to thank all the insiders for spending their time here.

A quick question,

How much capital investment does it take to install a BD-50 production line vs a HD-DVD line?

Paladin

[GoldenRedux]

Originally Posted by Talkstr8t

OK, there appears to be some ambiguity regarding whether DTS-HD can be implemented independently of DTS-HD MA. Put another way, DTS-HD compatibility may imply DTS-HD MA support (they are a family). I'm told the DTS certification program may not yet be finalized, hence the uncertainty.

- Talk

Thanks, I think.

[GoldenRedux]

Originally Posted by paidgeek

Yes, no rumor about it, we are working on a new transfer and will make a new version available in the near future. For those unhappy with the original version, we are considering how to provide an exchange for the new one.

This is great news. Any estimates on when it may be available?

[shamus]

Originally Posted by GoldenRedux

Thanks, I think.

Im confused too! lol

[paidgeek]

Originally Posted by GoldenRedux

This is great news. Any estimates on when it may be available?

I estimate 8 to 12 weeks.

[GoldenRedux]

Originally Posted by paidgeek

I estimate 8 to 12 weeks.

Thanks. I'll be looking forward to this release.

[Josh]

It was requested, so I have added the names, companies, and links to the intros of the insiders to the first post. We aims to please!

[kjack]

Originally Posted by dialog_gvf

...I think they were wise to go the route they did.

The Japanese BD player manufacturers have extremely high QA requirements. If there was even one known bug, they would not ship. Over 40 custom test discs were made to help find/fix issues. This level of QA is the reason for taking so long for the BD players to come to market.

Are you able to tell us whether a BD player directly implementing your reference design is likely to occur (no CE names or times)?

They all modify the hardware slightly to their specific requirements, such as better audio output stage, improving analog video output stage, removing unwanted components, etc. For instance, nobody would use two different SATA controllers, but we did that on this reference design so a customer could easily use whichever one they preferred. What is currently really unique is a customer's ability to select from a variety of middleware, navigation and BD-ROM drive suppliers for their design.

[dialog_gvf]

Originally Posted by kjack

The Japanese BD player manufacturers have extremely high QA requirements. If there was even one known bug, they would not ship. Over 40 custom test discs were made to help find/fix issues. This level of QA is the reason for taking so long for the BD players to come to market.

And the resulting lack of "BD Player X Problems ONLY Thread" threads.

They all modify the hardware slightly to their specific requirements, such as better audio output stage, improving analog video output stage, removing unwanted components, etc. For instance, nobody would use two different SATA controllers, but we did that on this reference design so a customer could easily use whichever one they preferred. What is currently really unique is a customer's ability to select from a variety of middleware, navigation and BD-ROM drive suppliers for their design.

Your SoC handles PiP, of course. Is the first quote the reason it has been delayed to be let out into the wild?

Gary

[phloyd]

A followup for Keith...

Should it be possible for the players using the Sigma SoC to be firmware updated to do dual stream PiP or is it too early to be sure?

And a little 'off BD' pair of questions for paidgeek - I understand this may be beyond your scope but I would love to know the answers...

Why is it that there are Warner up coming movie trailers on the PS3 internet site but no SPE titles? There are lots of SPE BD trailers... just no new movies from anyone but Warner.

Secondly, do you have any idea why so few SPE movies are shown in HD on Starz HD? Recent movies like Zathura and Fun With Dick and Jane have aired on Starz HD but not actually in HD ... this seems strange to me and I have been wondering for some time why this is...

Thanks for any insights you can offer!

[JTK]

Quick request: Do we have any Apple folks in the house or people that kind of have some knowledge or connections thereof? It'd be kind of nice if we could get a little Apple presence thrown in the mix of the ever growing and impressive ensemble we have.

I have a few Apple related questions I wouldn't mind asking. Great thread!