Archived: Ask the Insiders: Judgment Day Edition

[Chris Beveridge]

This thread is dedicated to asking questions of industry insiders who have graciously taken the time to participate here. While we understand that at times there will be discussion among readers here, we request that readers use their judgement in taking more involved discussions to a new thread, particularly if it's covering a larger topic.

Before asking a question, please skim at least the last weeks worth of posts in order to make sure that the question hasn't already been asked or answered. Please also avoid asking "chicken little" questions or asking when unannounced titles will come out.

As of 12/16/2007, the following individuals are known and vetted insiders that are participating here in one form or another:

Insiders:

drmpeg - Compression Engineer - Track posts
Fox Executive - Fox - Track posts
kjack - Sigma Designs - Intro - Track posts
Maxpower1987 - Finance - Track posts
paidgeek - Sony Pictures Entertainment - Intro - Track posts
Penton-Man - Hollywood - Track posts
RBFilms - R&B Films, Ltd - Track posts
Robert Harris - Motion Picture Archivist - Track posts
Sir Terrence - Sound/Audio - Track posts
TalkStr8t - Unspecified - Intro - Track posts

Our original Insiders Thread began on January 17th, 2007, and ran until December 16th, 2007. It accumulated over 7200 posts in which a great number of interesting revelations, discussions and discoveries were made. We recommend browsing it both for an understanding of what the events of 2007 have been like but also to see what kind of posts and discussions work in this kind of thread. You can find that discussion here.

Thank you to the folks mentioned above for their participation in this thread and to the readers of Blu-ray.com for following the slightly stricter rules and guidelines of this thread.

[BadAss]

Why is this thread called the Judgement Day Edition?

[darkblueme]

Originally Posted by BadAss

Why is this thread called the Judgement Day Edition?

Because the end of the format war is near.

[Seretur]

Hopefully this will be dedicated SOLELY to insiders questions, and all other posts will be moved to wherever. I'll drink to that!

Let me reiterate two questions I already posted, but that were never actually replied to (to the best of my knowledge -- I apologize in advance, but the current Insiders thread is really difficult to wade through):

1. For Paidgeek or anyone involved with the current Sony XBR series: If the US models can play back true 24p content at 120Hz, is the same true of the equivalent EU models (X3500/X3000) at 100Hz? I understand they can, as it's not a simple issue of frequency, but I'd like a firm yes if at all possible. This TV set will be my major HD investment in 2008, and this feature will be vastly more important to me than Motionflow, its main selling point.

2. For Paidgeek or anyone involved with disc production: Is there any way to tell the lack of region coding on previously coded discs pressed after the first 12 months? I understand that the removal of region coding is mandatory after the one-year window expires, but is there going to be any way online customers (using Amazon, for example) can tell if their copy is not coded? Or, indeed, can this information be made available to the buying public?

Thanks in advance!

[BluDomain]

Another website is all excited about the new Community Screening
feature Warner has implemented. It has me exceedingly upset, so
I signed on instead of just lurking. I have sent the below quoted
e-mail to Warner, but I thought maybe an Insider here could give
some insight also. If it works like I am told it is suppose to work,
that in itself is enough for parents not to support HD DVD, and no
I'm not that excited about up-grading my Blu-ray player to one
that has an ethernet connection either. I do not have children,
but I do have a professional interest in the results of child abuse.
I would like others to express their concerns to Warner also, and
stop this on inception or put safeguards in place.

"I have a concern with the Community Screening feature you have
implemented on the HD DVD version of Harry Potter Order of the Phoenix.
Does it have any means for parents to lock that feature from use by
children not supervised? If not, I can see it will only be a short time
before child abusers use it to their advantage. I'd hate to have to keep
the disc under lock and key. Or better yet not buy it. Perhaps your legal
department should put a disclaimer on your website, the packaging and
on the disc itself."

[SGRSBSKIER]

Two Questions for Fox Executive:

1. I have seen many commercials for new Fox BD releases, they show the Blu-ray logo but they never actually say that its available on Blu-ray, so if your not looking at the screen at the very end you may not know its available on Blu-ray. Why have you doesn't Fox say its available on BD in the commercial?

2. Does Fox still have the rights to Firefly the TV series?

[Frode]

Bludomain, do you think you can elaborate a bit on what you perceive to be a problem, and how it would lead to child abuse?

[Anthony P]

Bludomain, do you think you can elaborate a bit on what you perceive to be a problem, and how it would lead to child abuse?

I think the main issue is that there is not enough info on it. After all,

. Invite other owners of the Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix HD DVD to simultaneously watch from their own internet-accessed players and text with your remote, PC or cell phone. When you host an invitation-only viewing, you control the film by pausing and playing the feature on everyone’s machine. You can chat live with your friends as you watch.

is all we know about it.

If the idea is that your player connects to an internet site where people can decide to watch a movie together and chat, what is too stop a child molester using it to find new victims? It becomes as scary as any chat forum, except with out being able to have some added parental control and security (like stopping your kids from going to some sites and logging the discussion with others.)

[DaViD Boulet]

Here's a question.

When sales of HDM (and HD DVD in particular) are tracked via the usual Nielson sources, do "returns" ever get taken into account? I've seen so many people at my local Target picking up HD DVDs and putting them in their cart because 'they just bought a new TV, and they want the DVDs that work with their TV'. These folks don't have an HD DVD player and don't even realize that the discs won't play on their DVD player at home (despite the warning fine-print).

What gives? Those sales get counted into "HD DVD sales". Do the returns a week later get counted too?

[WickyWoo]

The Harry Potter chat requires you to use a cell phone to text your chat, or a computer logged on to a website. I would be shocked if there was no some kind of password lock feature on any player that can use an internet connection. All the game systems have it, and I know Xbox allows you to enable/disable feature by feature all aspects of live on a per-user basis

[atomik kinder]

Originally Posted by Maxpower1987

Yes, returns do get taken into account, it will count as a negative. When all those people buying PE on HD DVD put their discs into their HD upscaling DVD player and it doesn't work, expect the figures for this title to crash.

This was always the problem with their perfect name.

Wow, could that title actually have negative numbers for the week?

[sj001]

Originally Posted by Maxpower1987

If the returns were big enough, but that doesn't seem likely.

Hmmm, but what about after X-Mas? How many do you figure of these were X-Mas gifts, that get returned when they don't play in these people's DVD players (even after boiling them)?

[BluDomain]

Originally Posted by Anthony P

If the idea is that your player connects to an internet site where people can decide to watch a movie together and chat, what is too stop a child molester using it to find new victims? It becomes as scary as any chat forum, except with out being able to have some added parental control and security (like stopping your kids from going to some sites and logging the discussion with others.

That is exactly correct, with the addition that it is not
just any internet site. It is one bought and paid for
by Warner Home Video and a Harry Potter HD DVD at that.
The initial contact to watch the movie can be made on
a safe internet site with arrangements to join in with
instructions to watch Harry Potter. Unforunately DVD players
are often used as a baby sitter. Not well thought out in this
day and age. I may have to contact Bill O'Reilly to put the
word out warning parents. But I'll wait for a response to my
e-mail from Warner or from an Insider. Thankfully, it is not
a feature on the Blu-ray version.

[Jack Torrance]

Question for Fox Executive:

In the last week or so, I saw Michael Mann's THIEF on the new MGMHD channel. The new transfer looked stunning compared to the MGM's previous (and only?) DVD release (from 1998 I believe? Non 16x9, and made from a PAL video master).

As Fox handles the MGM catalogue, and with this new transfer showing up just recently on MGMHD, are there any plans afoot to release this any time soon on Blu-ray?

Many thanks in advance

[MerrickG]

I hope Penton and paidgeek can find this thread!

[darinp2]

Originally Posted by Maxpower1987

Yes, returns do get taken into account, it will count as a negative. When all those people buying PE on HD DVD put their discs into their HD upscaling DVD player and it doesn't work, expect the figures for this title to crash.

This was always the problem with their perfect name.

Do you think Warner cares about that and is taking it into account, or just assuming that pretty much all the sales are people who meant to buy the version they did? One really messed up thing is that on Amazon the version without the confusing name (the Blu-ray version) is the one with the warning that it won't play in regular DVD players, where I can't find any such warning on the page for the HD DVD version of Planet Earth, even though it is the version that needs the warning most.

--Darin

[Balian]

From the new title of this thread, I get the feeing the insiders know something we don't. I know Sunday is the last day for the week but is it also the day studios, such as Warner, get the sale numbers in for the week ...thus the decision whether to go Blu-ray exclusive or not? Judgment Day 2007?

[juanleche]

When is Judgment Day?

*Couldn't Resist*

Any updates on the Playstation insider? no rush by the way but am eager for his/her arrival

[FourToedStatue]

Insiders,

Why aren't all day and date dvds given the blu ray treatment?

Fox Executive,

I love Fox but I'd much rather have no announcemnets until the last possible moment than several of them and have a few retracted. Hope fully you guys make all your dates for 2008 I'm looking forward to alot of those titles.

[Crackbone]

Originally Posted by Balian

From the new title of this thread, I get the feeing the insiders know something we don't. I know Sunday is the last day for the week but is it also the day studios, such as Warner, get the sale numbers in for the week ...thus the decision whether to go Blu-ray exclusive or not? Judgment Day 2007?

I'd like to ask a question as well:

This is an awfully bold thread name, is there something about to happen that we don't know about?

I am really curious. Or.... is this just wishful thinking?