Sony switching to VC-1?

[JTK]

Looks like Sony is going to be giving VC-1 a whirl if this article is accurate:

http://www.dvdfile.com/index.php?opt...=5683&Itemid=5

Specifically:

You should also be made aware that Sony is switching to VC-1 video compression. The first Sony Blu-ray Discs that came to market were encoded with MPEG-2, the same CODEC that’s been used for years for DVD and terrestrial HD broadcasting. Prone to less graceful and more visible failure modes, the older CODEC mated with single-layer Blu-ray Discs disappointed. Increased Blu-ray Disc capacity and the switch to the higher performance video CODEC should yield a better presentation and far more generous supplements.

Good article, in general.


So much for the supposition though that you "have to encode to HD-DVD first to get VC-1 on Blu-ray" which the zealots were proposing, which was a ludicrous proposition to begin with, like so many other things they've written and said.

So many lies.


Just yet another nail in the coffin of HD-DVD if this ends up coming true.

Microsoft is going to "win" no matter what, by getting their codec royalty fees, including from their arch rival, so I think that's the beginning of the end right there.

[Dave]

Great! I welcome this move

[ProvenFlipper]

I think Sony is doing this in part to make it true that you don't have to create a HD-DVD encode first before a BD encode. By taking this step out of the process, it makes it less likely that an exclusive studio will start releasing HD-DVDs as well.

So much for LG going neutral? We'll see... Remember there were also rumors months ago that Disney wanted to use VC-1 as well. Maybe the other studios pressured Sony into using VC-1 in their authoring tools?

[JTK]

I posted a direct link and posed the question about whether or not this was really true in the AVS Insiders thread. Hopefully I'll get an answer in short order.

I hope that Sony does take both MPEG4 and VC-1 for a spin and starts getting away from MPEG2.

It can only be a good thing for them, in any event.

[ProvenFlipper]

Originally Posted by JTK

I posted a direct link and posed the question about whether or not this was really true in the AVS Insiders thread. Hopefully I'll get an answer in short order.

I hope that Sony does take both MPEG4 and VC-1 for a spin and starts getting away from MPEG2.

It can only be a good thing for them, in any event.

Exactly... they have nothing to lose in this case. VC-1 has proven to be a great codec, even in its infancy. Disney has cranked out some really nice MPEG4 releases as well. Sony has mentioned that they have years of experience with MPEG2, but these newer codecs have produced great results and have been more consistant.

[BTBuck1]

Alladin recently changed his signature at avsforums to say,

HDDVD/BD VC-1 insider.

so we'll see.

[JTK]

Originally Posted by markrubin

I believe this report (Sony going VC-1) will be confirmed shortly

^^ Take it FWIW.

Mark is pretty well connected and well informed as a long time AVS forum moderator.

[BTBuck1]

This is great news for Blu Ray...

Another nail in the coffin for HDDVD.

Now aside from being

1) a complete Uber Toshiba fan/Sony Hater

2) a complete Universal Pictures fanbOi

or

3) a complete HDDVD shill (Insert your favorite shill here: mine starts with an H and ends with an N)

what reason is there to own HDDVD???

They announce Universal as in the BD camp next and us HDDVD owners bet get our shit to auction and fast!!! before the word gets out and our shit is worth $3 dollars.

[Shadowself]

I always thought Sony (not the BDA) might go with only AVC when they migrated away from MPEG-2 if only just to not have to pay royalties to Microsoft. It's interesting to hear reports that they are considering VC-1.

But then again, these reports are mostly (but not solely) from persons with vested interest in VC-1.

Time will tell.

[GoldenRedux]

Originally Posted by JTK

Looks like Sony is going to be giving VC-1 a whirl if this article is accurate:

http://www.dvdfile.com/index.php?opt...=5683&Itemid=5

Specifically:




Good article, in general.


So much for the supposition though that you "have to encode to HD-DVD first to get VC-1 on Blu-ray" which the zealots were proposing, which was a ludicrous proposition to begin with, like so many other things they've written and said.

So many lies.


Just yet another nail in the coffin of HD-DVD if this ends up coming true.

Microsoft is going to "win" no matter what, by getting their codec royalty fees, including from their arch rival, so I think that's the beginning of the end right there.

Which makes me wonder why they would go with VC-1 and not H.264. Yeah, way to win a war Sony. How inept are they?

[JTK]

MS is getting what they always really wanted in all of this: Most, if not all, studios paying VC-1 royalty fees.

I've never yet been fully convinced that MS was gung ho about HD-DVD and I'm still not.

Whether it's the year after the fact HD-DVD add-on afterhtought for the 360, on through...make no mistake: This is MS's real endgame.

Like 'em or lump 'em: MS always finds a way to put themselves in the winning position for themselves.

One format. Ten formats. It doesn't matter. As long as they got that VC-1 codec bringing in the money for them, it's all good.

For them to see one of their arch rivals like Sony finally blink on this?

I don't see how this isn't the beginning of the end for HD-DVD, truly.

It doesn't matter if Sony uses VC-1 all the time or not. The fact that they're blinking and relenting like this is all that matters. The door is open.


Academically, we all know about BD's superior technology, industry support, studio support, etc.


But now if you have both formats using the same codecs and the same everything else, with BD's obvious upside...literally: What's the point in HD-DVD continued existence?

I think it's going to be done in a year or less time when MS just kind of gradually backs off.

MS got what they really wanted from this charade, and you all have seen me post this for months here and at AVS:

This wasn't a format war. It was a codec war and MS won, like they wanted.

Game. Set. Match.

Now let's get this BS over with, tie it up, and move forward with Blu-Ray as we should have all along.

The format war's "usefulness" is just about finished.

[GoldenRedux]

Originally Posted by Brian@BBY

This is great news for Blu Ray...

Another nail in the coffin for HDDVD.

Now aside from being

1) a complete Uber Toshiba fan/Sony Hater

2) a complete Universal Pictures fanbOi

or

3) a complete HDDVD shill (Insert your favorite shill here: mine starts with an H and ends with an N)

what reason is there to own HDDVD???

They announce Universal as in the BD camp next and us HDDVD owners bet get our shit to auction and fast!!! before the word gets out and our shit is worth $3 dollars.

[JTK]

It all comes down to sales and numbers now.


Remember: There's a huge glut of AV and HT enthusisasts out there that don't bother posting on Internet forums.

The PS3 is a factor. The BD standalone players are factors. Big names are factors. Studios are factors. Great software and big names movies are factors.

BD has that covered starting by Christmas time. The names Toshiba, Sanyo, and RCA aren't going to cut it with the kinds of people I referred to above, including many of us.



Again: It's going to come down to basic, good business for Universal: They stand to make more money if they even throw BD a few bones.

Good business would arguably already dictate that ignorning BD entirely is sheer folly.


All they have to do is blink like that and BD has 100 percent studio support, in essence.

Game. Set. Match. That's all it's going to take.

[Spankey]

I love how the HD-DVDfb's are seeing this as a way for Sony to jump to HD-DVD. Sony will be the last studio to go HD-DVD. Not gonna happen. The reviews are in and Sony has seen the writing on the wall. If every Sony release used VC1, HD-DVD would not even be competitive right now. I believe the LG films switch to VC1 was the beginning of the change. If Universal adds BRD support, this whole mess is over. Toshiba players will be as expensive as Blu-ray and with less studio support.

[Jazar]

Surprsied they're not going MPEG4. Ah well good news. One less talking point for HD DVD. It's all down to the spec (higher storage space and bandwidth for BD) and content (90% studio support for BD).

[JTK]

Originally Posted by Jazar

Surprsied they're not going MPEG4.

They will probably use that as well.

I just see this as "Sony is no long saying 'hell no!' to Vc-1."

In other words: It's an option on the table, along with everything else.

Ah well good news. One less talking point for HD DVD. It's all down to the spec (higher storage space and bandwidth for BD) and content (90% studio support for BD).

Exactly right.

[ay221]

Maybe Sony going with VC-1, means Microsoft will be less close to Toshiba. Further isolating Toshiba's HD-DVD partnerships and allowing BD to quickly dominate.

[AV_Integrated]

Honey people! Bring on the honey!

To much talk of Sony vs. Microsoft in all of this. How about Sony PLUS Microsoft? How about some unheard of team ups that boost sales across all platforms?

Sony going to Microsoft and saying "Yes, we have issues, but you have things we want, and we have things you want. We'll all benefit from this." (Ever see A Beautiful Mind?)

Imagine game developers coming up with some games that aren't just released on both gaming consoles, but actually allow X360 gamers to play online against PS3 gamers! Imagine X360 vs. PS3 online tournaments, etc. Those fans taking part in the experience and boosting sales for both!

But, closer to home, MS wants sales and supporting HD-DVD only isn't necessarily in their best interest. Vista support of both HD-DVD and Blu-ray would be VERY good for Blu-ray... and something of a slap in the face to HD-DVD. In my opinion, it would be right in line with how much MS really cares about the format war.

Microsoft is a software company: It is their entire bread and butter. They make money by selling SOFTWARE. X360 loses them money, but the games (software) earns them cash. Windows, Office, etc. are all phenomenal money makers for them. So, it is in Microsoft's best interest to actively work with Sony to deliver the best video possible and to fully integrate Blu-ray into their next gen. operating systems.

[WriteSimply]

The end game is not the proliferation of VC-1 usage by the studios. It is for the optimization of VC-1 encoders so that average users can use it to do on-line encoding for their own HD recording such as HD video cameras and digital video recorders (DVRs).

AVC is already being used by Hitachi I think for their HD digital video cameras.


fuad

[zombie]

Originally Posted by Jazar

Surprsied they're not going MPEG4.

Yeah what's up with that? Doesn't Sony own a patent for MPEG4? Seems odd that they'd use VC1 and pay Microsoft royalties if they don't have to. In any case this is great news for Blu-ray.