Pausing Blu-rays

[DGates01]

Originally Posted by cubs_2000

I don't care if it resumes like most here I watch the entire movie in one sitting. Just curious

Well sure, I think most of us intend to do that, but then nature calls or maybe a friend calls. Pausing is inevitable.

[slimdude]

A viewer shouldn't have to pause their movies that often anyway, because it'll break the momentum. Usually, before I watch my movies, I go to the bathroom (if I need to), get my snacks, then I'm ready.

[Dynamo of Eternia]

Okay, with all due respect, let's get off of this obnoxious, pretentious concept that a movie "shouldn't be paused" and it's "meant to be watched in one sitting", etc, etc, blah, blah, blah.

Pausing/stopping the movie in one spot and picking up where it left off in not some kind of new, novel concept in home video formats. Heck, VHS could be paused, and even in the cases where you wait to long and it automatically stops the tape, at least it's still in roughly the same place.

IDEALLY, yeah, I want to watch a movie in one sitting uninterrupted. But you know what? Sometimes I have to pee unexpectedly even if I did try to take care of it ahead of time, or the phone rings, or some other nonsense. As much as I would love not to have interruptions sometimes they happen... and sometimes they pull me away a bit longer than the pause time frame on a Blu-Ray allows. I'm sorry if some people consider it an 'insult' to the director ala watching a movie in an aspect ratio other than the original one ( ), but sometimes crap just happens, and I'm not going to write a letter to the director apologizing for it ( again). There's no reason why this feature shouldn't work in a manner that is at least on par with past home video formats that handled it in better by comparison.

Some people need to get over themselves with these ridiculous responses.

[slimdude]

Originally Posted by Dynamo of Eternia

Okay, with all due respect, let's get off of this obnoxious, pretentious concept that a movie "shouldn't be paused" and it's "meant to be watched in one sitting", etc, etc, blah, blah, blah. Some people need to get over themselves with these ridiculous responses.

Nobody has said, you shouldn't pause a movie at all, under any circumstances! All I'm saying is, it's not necessary to pause frequently, unless it's necessary, not just for the heck of it. And besides, this is a forum, and everybody is entitled to their own opinion (whether you like it or not), just like you are entitled to yours. You may not agree with everybody, but that's to be expected, which you should know by now. It goes with the territory. And if you're unable to deal with it, then don't participate.

[Steedeel]

Originally Posted by slimdude

nobody has said, you shouldn't pause a movie at all, under any circumstances! All i'm saying is, it's not necessary to pause frequently, unless it's necessary, not just for the heck of it. And besides, this is a forum, and everybody is entitled to their own opinion (whether you like it or not), just like you are entitled to yours. You may not agree with everybody, but that's to be expected, which you should know by now. It goes with the territory. And if you're unable to deal with it, then don't participate.

+1

[Dynamo of Eternia]

Originally Posted by slimdude

Nobody has said, you shouldn't pause a movie at all, under any circumstances! All I'm saying is, it's not necessary to pause frequently, unless it's necessary, not just for the heck of it. And besides, this is a forum, and everybody is entitled to their own opinion (whether you like it or not), just like you are entitled to yours. You may not agree with everybody, but that's to be expected, which you should know by now. It goes with the territory. And if you're unable to deal with it, then don't participate.

I can deal with differing opinions just fine. But it does get under my skin a bit when people's counterpoints to legitmate technical complaints are based on this kind of 'ideal way of watching a movie' stuff. I'd love it if everytime I could watch a movie I could do so uninterupted. My guess is most people would prefer that as well. I don't 'want' to pause it, sometimes I just have to.

Not to mention that the point that the OP is making is the frustration over trying to get back to the point in the movie he was at if it is paused for too long, goes into screen saver mode, and it doesn't save where it was paused at. It doesn't take 'frequent' pausing for this to happen... just a single interuption that pulls someone away from the movie long enough for it to go into screensaver mode is all it takes, and it's annoying.

Saying that ideally a movie shouldn't be paused really contributes nothing of substance to the discussion at hand. It's fine to be of that opinon. I don't fundamentally disagree with it. But the discussion is about a technical issue, not one of fundamental ideals. It would be like discussing the problem and potential solutions to the violent crime and shootings that keep happening in Chicago, and saying that ideally there should be no crime. Yeah, no kidding... but there IS crime, so that statement is rendered moot.

[DGates01]

Originally Posted by Dynamo of Eternia

It doesn't take 'frequent' pausing for this to happen... just a single interuption that pulls someone away from the movie long enough for it to go into screensaver mode is all it takes, and it's annoying.

Exactly.

While Blu-ray is two steps ahead of DVD in picture quality, it's one step back in regards to the simplicity of resuming a movie after an interruption.

[DGates01]

Originally Posted by slimdude

A viewer shouldn't have to pause their movies that often anyway, because it'll break the momentum.

This is MY Home theater, in which I am the projectionist. I can pause a movie any time I want.

[Steedeel]

Seriously, how hard can it be to watch a movie in its entirety? Unless we are talking emergencies I always manage it. Just tell family not to phone in that time, take a leak, turn mobile off and have snacks at hand. Sorted. In my opinion, it is nitpicking and the type of thing that gives bluray a bad name. So what if we have to search through the movie to the point we are currently at. It takes, like, seconds to do that. Just use the fastest fast forward option. It's like people that complain about trailers and give that as a reason why they are dumping bluray. We have the privilege of watching high bit rate full hd on our home cinema. We could only dream of that several years ago. Get over yourselves guys! (Just my opinion)

[Dynamo of Eternia]

Originally Posted by Steedeel

Seriously, how hard can it be to watch a movie in its entirety? Unless we are talking emergencies I always manage it. Just tell family not to phone in that time, take a leak, turn mobile off and have snacks at hand. Sorted.

Well la-dee-freakin-da, aren't you special?

Regardless of whether we're watching a movie or regular TV, my wife and I tend to get disrupted at least a coule/few times a week during 'prime time' viewing time.

For one thing we don't make it a point to contact all of our close family members (of which we have several who live in the area) each time we watch a movie and tell them not to call (seriously, who the hell actually does that?... that's just weird). And for another sometimes we get various solicitation calls. Despite me putting our number on the do not call list repeatedly, we still get calls like this, and they often happen when we are trying to enjoy some form of TV/movies. I check the caller ID and don't answer if it's not a number I recognize, but I still check incase it is a family or friend calling (and if it is, I usually answer and might get stuck for a few minutes).

Plus even if this only happens 1 out of 10 times or even 1 out of 100 times, the point is that when it does happen, it's still annoying not being able to resume the movie from the paused point.

In my opinion, it is nitpicking and the type of thing that gives bluray a bad name. So what if we have to search through the movie to the point we are currently at. It takes, like, seconds to do that.

It can take more than just seconds if the disc has a reload from the start and you have to go through the warnings, etc, before you even get to the movie.

You can call it nitpicking, I call it a legit complaint amongst many. Don't get me wrong, overall I love Blu-Ray and highly recommend it to people. If I didn't, I wouldn't have the large, growing collection that I have now.

But none the less, the format does have it's short comings. Most of these are related to them trying to 'advance' the format beyond DVD in various ways besides the key differences of PQ and AQ. Things like putting bonus features online instead of on the disc to access with BD Live... the occasional disc that doesn't have a main menu and the only option is the pop up menu (and even the main menus on the majority of discs that have them just still seem more combersome than most regular DVD menus)... this pausing issue, etc.

Frankly I'd prefer it if Blu-Ray were a lot more like DVD, with the only differences being the improved PQ & AQ, the scratch resistant coating, and maybe one or two other minor things. IMO they tried to improve and advance a lot of things that weren't broken in the first place in a feeble attempt to try and set the format further apart from DVD when really the PQ and AQ differences are the only selling point that is really needed and should be pushed.

[Anthony P]

Originally Posted by crazyBLUE

If I sit down to watch a movie it is to watch the movie & not to go do something in the middle for however long. If I have to pause the movie it is a few minuets to do what ever I need to do ( snack / restroom ). Streaming is not an option for me because I have spent far to much money on the HT to downgrade by watching Netflix

As for the previews ~ When I toss the disc in I am still getting ready & by the time they are over I am ready for the movie Life is to short to complain about that & there is a forward button on the remote

agree 100% I don't get why it is such an issue with some. The few times I needed to stop a movie midway I found I got a much better experience starting from scratch than where I left off.

[Anthony P]

Originally Posted by Dynamo of Eternia

Okay, with all due respect, let's get off of this obnoxious, pretentious concept that a movie "shouldn't be paused" and it's "meant to be watched in one sitting", etc, etc, blah, blah, blah.

Pausing/stopping the movie in one spot and picking up where it left off in not some kind of new, novel concept in home video formats. Heck, VHS could be paused, and even in the cases where you wait to long and it automatically stops the tape, at least it's still in roughly the same place.

IDEALLY, yeah, I want to watch a movie in one sitting uninterrupted. But you know what? Sometimes I have to pee unexpectedly even if I did try to take care of it ahead of time, or the phone rings, or some other nonsense. As much as I would love not to have interruptions sometimes they happen... and sometimes they pull me away a bit longer than the pause time frame on a Blu-Ray allows. I'm sorry if some people consider it an 'insult' to the director ala watching a movie in an aspect ratio other than the original one ( ), but sometimes crap just happens, and I'm not going to write a letter to the director apologizing for it ( again). There's no reason why this feature shouldn't work in a manner that is at least on par with past home video formats that handled it in better by comparison.

Some people need to get over themselves with these ridiculous responses.

agree so why are you adding a ridiculous response? some people don't like interruptions, why do you care if they also have a say? maybe you think a film should be watched in 5minutes increments with three days in between, others don't why don't you start by getting over yourself.

The simple reality is that BDs can be paused and resumed, so a bathroom brake during a long film is not even what is really being discussed, even though some are trying to portray it as such. The issue is when you turn it off and come back much later.

[cricepng]

Originally Posted by Anthony P

agree 100% I don't get why it is such an issue with some. The few times I needed to stop a movie midway I found I got a much better experience starting from scratch than where I left off.

We actually have lives that are not centered around just watching movies! With young children, emergencies arise that require attention. In June I will be moving back to a country where the power is almost guaranteed to go off during the span of a movie. If we started from scratch every time we had to pause a movie for an extended period of time, we'd never see the last half of almost anything.

So you don't get why it is an issue, it doesn't mean that it can't be an issue for others. I'm glad that you don't have to stop much in the middle of a movie. Some of us aren't so lucky.

[Anthony P]

Originally Posted by cricepng

We actually have lives that are not centered around just watching movies! With young children, emergencies arise that require attention.

so I guess you are the first human being with a kid it is not about having lives centered around movies, it is more of an attitude, if something happens and I need to stop a movie I just prefer to start from the beginning. The reason to watch a film for me is not to kill 2h but to experience the film. You can ***** and moan all you want and make all the excuses you want , but you just can't experience a film correctly when you cut it into bite size pieces.

In June I will be moving back to a country where the power is almost guaranteed to go off during the span of a movie. If we started from scratch every time we had to pause a movie for an extended period of time, we'd never see the last half of almost anything.

man if the power is that unreliable that you can guarantee it won't be on for whole movie then you have much bigger things to worry about than. That would also just kill your equipment.

[Dynamo of Eternia]

Originally Posted by Anthony P

The simple reality is that BDs can be paused and resumed, so a bathroom brake during a long film is not even what is really being discussed, even though some are trying to portray it as such. The issue is when you turn it off and come back much later.

Actually no it isn't. The issue is that for some movies, if it is paused for too long, it goes into a screen saver mode, and often time as a result the spot it was paused at is lost. That's different than turning off the machine and coming back later. That's a single, slightly extended pause with the intent of coming back relatively shortly and finishing the movie, but the disruption in question happens to take enough time for the movie to go into screen saver mode.

[cricepng]

Originally Posted by Anthony P

so I guess you are the first human being with a kid it is not about having lives centered around movies, it is more of an attitude, if something happens and I need to stop a movie I just prefer to start from the beginning. The reason to watch a film for me is not to kill 2h but to experience the film. You can ***** and moan all you want and make all the excuses you want , but you just can't experience a film correctly when you cut it into bite size pieces.

man if the power is that unreliable that you can guarantee it won't be on for whole movie then you have much bigger things to worry about than. That would also just kill your equipment.

As I said, if you can regularly watch entire movies without interruption, then you are lucky. It still doesn't mean that those of us who cannot do not have a valid complaint in the lack of universal resume functionality of BDs. I agree that watching a movie w/ no breaks is ideal but not possible all the time. Why do you complain about people discussing a feature that they wish were more universally available?

And about the power, you wouldn't believe the level of power conditioners, surge protectors and UPS's that I use. In 13 years I have only lost one cheap HT receiver. But that is also the reason that I don't invest in expensive equipment.

[Race Bannon]

Originally Posted by Dynamo of Eternia

Okay, with all due respect, let's get off of this obnoxious, pretentious concept that a movie "shouldn't be paused" and it's "meant to be watched in one sitting", etc, etc, blah, blah, blah.

Pausing/stopping the movie in one spot and picking up where it left off in not some kind of new, novel concept in home video formats. Heck, VHS could be paused, and even in the cases where you wait to long and it automatically stops the tape, at least it's still in roughly the same place.

IDEALLY, yeah, I want to watch a movie in one sitting uninterrupted. But you know what? Sometimes I have to pee unexpectedly even if I did try to take care of it ahead of time, or the phone rings, or some other nonsense. As much as I would love not to have interruptions sometimes they happen... and sometimes they pull me away a bit longer than the pause time frame on a Blu-Ray allows. I'm sorry if some people consider it an 'insult' to the director ala watching a movie in an aspect ratio other than the original one ( ), but sometimes crap just happens, and I'm not going to write a letter to the director apologizing for it ( again). There's no reason why this feature shouldn't work in a manner that is at least on par with past home video formats that handled it in better by comparison.

Some people need to get over themselves with these ridiculous responses.

Seriously. I pause all the time, particularly on repeat viewings. Or on the special features and commentary tracks. If I have an extra 30 minutes, sometimes I'll pop in a commentary track or "making of" special features for a movie.

There are any number of reasons for seamless pausing to work well, and be convenient to the viewer.

[Cevolution]

It's very rare that I don't watch a movie from start to finish in one sitting, however there has been a few times where I have had to split up a movie. For example, my brother lives a block away from me and on the odd occasion he has called me up and asked for my help with something for a short time. Though from memory, when I have paused a blu I am watching (if I do happen to do this I always turn my plasma off though) to attended to something else, my Oppo doesn't power down after a period of time, I'm pretty sure the screen saver mode stays active. Though I do know that the Toshiba bdx3200ky player in my bedroom does power off if it is paused for roughly 10 minutes.

[Anthony P]

Originally Posted by Dynamo of Eternia

Actually no it isn't. The issue is that for some movies, if it is paused for too long, it goes into a screen saver mode, and often time as a result the spot it was paused at is lost. That's different than turning off the machine and coming back later. That's a single, slightly extended pause with the intent of coming back relatively shortly and finishing the movie, but the disruption in question happens to take enough time for the movie to go into screen saver mode.

can you give an example? (I am curious to try it out), I don't tend to pause often, but I have yet to try a film where a short pause (the kind discussed here like going to the bathroom, looking into a kid that is crying or picking up the phone for a few minute) would mean an automatic restart.

[jvonl]

The simple reality is that BDs can be paused and resumed, so a bathroom brake during a long film is not even what is really being discussed, even though some are trying to portray it as such. The issue is when you turn it off and come back much later.[/QUOTE]

The OP had an issue relating to pausing, going to screensaver, and having to start all over again instead of being able to resume where he left off, not coming back days later and having the position remembered. He is absolutely right. I have used Oppo dvd and blu players for many years. With the dvd players if you paused and went to screensaver, it would start again where you left off just by pushing play. The blu player does not; you have to go back to the beginning (of the disc, not the movie). Menus, warnings, etc. If I stop play on the dvd player, it will ask if I want to resume where I left off when I come back. The blu does that sometimes, not always. I can live with that. However, the inability to resume from screensaver on blu is just ridiculous. New technology should not be less convenient! The big companies overreached, got it wrong, and should be embarrassed! It can take up to 10 minutes to get back to where I left off. Talk about breaking the mood! Get rid of BD-live, get rid of cloud storage, and get back to the primary purpose - let me play MY damn movie! Thank you, I feel better now....