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Nope. And neither will anyone buying that combo.
It has been widely documented that changing a DVD line to an HD--DVD line is a minimal expense, where creating a BD line is a huge investment. I was not talking about recordables; they have no bearing on the point I was trying to make. |
Burnt,
it's already been established that existing DVD lines can easily switch to HD DVD whereas BD is a totally different story. |
Originally Posted by Qui Gon Jim
Nope. And neither will anyone buying that combo.
It has been widely documented that changing a DVD line to an HD--DVD line is a minimal expense, where creating a BD line is a huge investment. I was not talking about recordables; they have no bearing on the point I was trying to make. should HD DVD take off unexpectedly in the future at some point it may make sense to retool older lines to fill orders quickly, but I don't really see that happening anytime soon. |
Got my Toshiba today and first watched LoTR just to see how it is for upconverting. That one happens to be a pretty mediocre transfer, but it looked very good. Then I watched Serenity HD-DVD. I gotta' be honest and let you know that I expected more. I think I set myself up for that though. I remember asking if HD-DVD was significantly better than tv programming in HD. I remember hearing a resounding yes. It is better, but not be leaps and bounds. I still can't imagine watching a standard program unless I had to, but I think I set my sights too high.
Now, there is a lot of dark scenes in Serenity that are not great to really tell on. On a few shots that were far off looking to a town, etc. the image was amazing. Looked like I was looking through a window with 3-D and all. And, I also need to remember that I am watching on a 122" screen sitting 13 feet away. For the size of the screen, etc. the picture is unbelievable. My projector is native 720p so that might also come into play. However, I could see myself sticking to Netflix until prices come down or the war is over. |
Hmm, I'm not sure about that but who knows. Heres what the senior director at Cinram had to say about this in June. If it only took them five minutes to set lines up before launch why would they build new ones at higher cost ???
"Dominick Dalla Verde, senior director of pre-production at Cinram, a Toronto-based DVD replication company, said his company has produced 1 million HD-DVD discs, including five playable discs that were unveiled at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in January. He said standard DVD replication lines can be switched to produce HD-DVD discs in “five minutes,” with cycle times needed to transfer content to a 30GB disc in less than four seconds." --- Home Media Retailing |
Originally Posted by kvrdave
Got my Toshiba today and first watched LoTR just to see how it is for upconverting. That one happens to be a pretty mediocre transfer, but it looked very good. Then I watched Serenity HD-DVD. I gotta' be honest and let you know that I expected more. I think I set myself up for that though. I remember asking if HD-DVD was significantly better than tv programming in HD. I remember hearing a resounding yes. It is better, but not be leaps and bounds. I still can't imagine watching a standard program unless I had to, but I think I set my sights too high.
Now, there is a lot of dark scenes in Serenity that are not great to really tell on. On a few shots that were far off looking to a town, etc. the image was amazing. Looked like I was looking through a window with 3-D and all. And, I also need to remember that I am watching on a 122" screen sitting 13 feet away. For the size of the screen, etc. the picture is unbelievable. My projector is native 720p so that might also come into play. However, I could see myself sticking to Netflix until prices come down or the war is over. |
HDMI hookup, no idea what my firmware is. How do I know and how do I upgrade?
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go into maintenance and then "update." it's the first two numbers (probably 1.4).
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I'll do that. And this is without a doubt the most worthless remote control I have ever owned. :lol: I have a flashlight next to it so I can see what the buttons are.
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Have 1.4 and am updating now. How long does that generally take?
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Originally Posted by DthRdrX
Hmm, I'm not sure about that but who knows. Heres what the senior director at Cinram had to say about this in June. If it only took them five minutes to set lines up before launch why would they build new ones at higher cost ???
"Dominick Dalla Verde, senior director of pre-production at Cinram, a Toronto-based DVD replication company, said his company has produced 1 million HD-DVD discs, including five playable discs that were unveiled at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in January. He said standard DVD replication lines can be switched to produce HD-DVD discs in “five minutes,” with cycle times needed to transfer content to a 30GB disc in less than four seconds." --- Home Media Retailing |
VUP ERROR 121
-confused- Cannot find out server. rotfl |
Originally Posted by kvrdave
VUP ERROR 121
-confused- Cannot find out server. rotfl |
Originally Posted by Burnt Thru
I believe he was refering to an DVD/HD DVD hybrid line which was purchased from Toshiba. It can indeed be switched from one type of production to the other in just minutes. The re-tooling which was speculated to cost around $150,000 per line never happened to my knowledge. It's all new lines.
I think it is just so funny that some people defend BD to the death even when no one is saying anything bad about it. My point in talking about BD production runs has nothing at all to do with final MSRPs, or the line's productivity. It is a fact that right now, a BD costs more per unit to produce than an HD-DVD. Now as more BD lines come on, and as those existing lines churn out more product, that larger cost diminishes. So for the short term, if Sony wants the other studios to us BD, even in a world where both formats are dead equal, they have much more to lose from dual format catching on as the defacto standard like DVD+-R did. They need to get to that point BD's lifecycle where there is not a huge difference in production investment. Even if we talk new HD lines vs. new BD lines, HD STILL comes out cheaper, AND can be reverse converted to a standard, profitable DVD line if HD-DVD is a lemon in the marketplace. Every BD line is a lost investment if BD goes bust. |
While I agree with some of what you've writen, I'm certain I read that lines were not being re-tooled in practice. I'm sorry that you've not read this as well, it was posted many times and discussed extensively in one of AVS's great HiDef News threads. Alex would be the guy to go to on this, but unfortunately he's taking a backseat these days. The comments from the Tosh engineer with regard to DVD forum votes don't inspire confidence in his overall accuracy.
Is it really so difficult to accept the possibility that the HD DVD discs are cheaper to produce right now, but have only been made on new (hybrid) lines? That doesn't alter the fact they're currently cheaper to produce, it just means the lines haven't been re-tooled in the way they were speculated to be. |
Originally Posted by Paul_SD
I think I've read the same info that Burnt has and that contrary to early reports, they are finding it more advantageous to just build the lines from the ground up rather than converting/retooling existing ones.
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Nobody doesn't love charts
http://www.fantasticdamage.com/blog/hdbook3.gif
IMDB's Top 250 Per Format If you put any weight into IMDB's Top 250 being a list of great movies, you might wonder how that breaks into formats. I decided to look into it: 75% of the titles are or may be available on Blu-Ray, 44% are or may be available on HD-DVD. I also weighted the information. For example, if Buddy Cop Picture 3 is in the Top 250 with a score of 8.0 and 100,000 votes and Obscure Finnish Drama has a score of 9.0 with 10,000 votes, the scores are weighted like this: <center>Weighted Ranking = # of Votes × Score ÷ 1000</center> This gives huge movies like Buddy Cop Picture 3 a huge advantage over Obscure Finnish Film. Hence, DVDs share is much lower in this next-gen battle, as most big studios (and big movies) have picked sides. |
Thanks Bus. Thats a great chart. It does make me more confident in my decision to hold off a few months before buyiong into a format.
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Originally Posted by The Bus
I also weighted the information. For example, if Buddy Cop Picture 3 is in the Top 250 with a score of 8.0 and 100,000 votes and Obscure Finnish Drama has a score of 9.0 with 10,000 votes, the scores are weighted like this:
<center>Weighted Ranking = # of Votes × Score ÷ 1000</center> This gives huge movies like Buddy Cop Picture 3 a huge advantage over Obscure Finnish Film. |
Originally Posted by Josh Z
Damn, Obscure Finnish Drama is my favorite movie. :(
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Originally Posted by digitalfreaknyc
when you go into the ethernet section, make sure you confirm all of your addressses and there are no zeros in there. Otherwise, ya ain't gonna be able to connect.
Thanks much. I believe I will be doing Pitch Black tonight. Maybe Unforgiven, though, as it has lots of light scenes that I think will show off the HD quite well. edit - Why don't they have a download that you can burn to a disc? They make you wait for them to send you one....that seems retarded and spendy on their end. |
I just got my A1 yesterday as well. I set output to 720p since that's my projector's native resolution and couldn't beleive how bad it looked. Set it to 1080i and it looks great -- looks like the Panny AE900 is a better scaler than the A1!
Is there supposed to be a pic quality improvement w/ the firmware upgrade? |
Originally Posted by DamingR
Is there supposed to be a pic quality improvement w/ the firmware upgrade?
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Originally Posted by kvrdave
Got my Toshiba today and first watched LoTR just to see how it is for upconverting. That one happens to be a pretty mediocre transfer, but it looked very good. Then I watched Serenity HD-DVD. I gotta' be honest and let you know that I expected more. I think I set myself up for that though. I remember asking if HD-DVD was significantly better than tv programming in HD. I remember hearing a resounding yes. It is better, but not be leaps and bounds. I still can't imagine watching a standard program unless I had to, but I think I set my sights too high.
Now, there is a lot of dark scenes in Serenity that are not great to really tell on. On a few shots that were far off looking to a town, etc. the image was amazing. Looked like I was looking through a window with 3-D and all. And, I also need to remember that I am watching on a 122" screen sitting 13 feet away. For the size of the screen, etc. the picture is unbelievable. My projector is native 720p so that might also come into play. However, I could see myself sticking to Netflix until prices come down or the war is over. You probably know this but I'll mention it anyway: even though you are using a 720p projector, you need to use 1080i output from the A1, if you have firmware 1.4 or earlier. The 720p scaling bug wasn't fixed until firmware 2.0 from what I have read. Since you are in the process of installing 2.0, the problem should be moot for you. |
Originally Posted by Burnt Thru
While I agree with some of what you've writen, I'm certain I read that lines were not being re-tooled in practice. I'm sorry that you've not read this as well, it was posted many times and discussed extensively in one of AVS's great HiDef News threads. Alex would be the guy to go to on this, but unfortunately he's taking a backseat these days. The comments from the Tosh engineer with regard to DVD forum votes don't inspire confidence in his overall accuracy.
Is it really so difficult to accept the possibility that the HD DVD discs are cheaper to produce right now, but have only been made on new (hybrid) lines? That doesn't alter the fact they're currently cheaper to produce, it just means the lines haven't been re-tooled in the way they were speculated to be. Also, that pie chart is noce, but it really means nothing in the here and now. It means a lot in the "potential" world where most die hard BDers make their home. Right now, there is a greater variety of films available on HD-DVD, and if the sales continue to surpass BD, then those studios not embracing HD will. What you'll then have is huge chart with a small piece for pro HD/anti BD, a small piece for pro BD/anti HD, and a huge chunk format agnostic. |
Originally Posted by lizard
I also had a problem with Serenity being too dark on the A1. Turned out that the port I was using (DVI) needed different calibration from the one I was using with my DVD player (component). I used VE (no, I don't have DVE or Avia yet) to calibrate my display and the problem was solved (needed a higher brightness setting, which is the black level). I would suggest calibrating your projector, if you haven't already done so.
You probably know this but I'll mention it anyway: even though you are using a 720p projector, you need to use 1080i output from the A1, if you have firmware 1.4 or earlier. The 720p scaling bug wasn't fixed until firmware 2.0 from what I have read. Since you are in the process of installing 2.0, the problem should be moot for you. Anyway, what are the DNS settings, etc. and how do I find my address for the updates? |
Originally Posted by kvrdave
Okay, I need to do this. Now for the question from a guy much less a nerd that he thought. How/where do I find all the addresses? Also, so that I can do this in one shot, could you walk me through this in terms of what needs to be selected etc?
Thanks much. I believe I will be doing Pitch Black tonight. Maybe Unforgiven, though, as it has lots of light scenes that I think will show off the HD quite well. edit - Why don't they have a download that you can burn to a disc? They make you wait for them to send you one....that seems retarded and spendy on their end. Make sure your cable modem (I'm assuming that's what you're using) is completely unplugged when you connect the Toshie to it. Once you do that, turn the power on for the modem. Then turn the Toshie's power on. When you go to the Ethernet option in setup, you should see #'s in each of the address fields. It should automatically pick up your addresses. Hit confirm twice and they should stay there. If not, you have a problem. Once that's done, just go to maintenance and update. Then click setup to start downloading the new firmware. Then click "ok." And it should start. Let me know if you have any other questions. |
Thanks much. :up:
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Originally Posted by kvrdave
Thanks much. :up:
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Don't keep us in suspense, dave!
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Some more pompous statements from the BD camp..
The 342-min. Kingdom of Heaven will be Fox's first Blu-ray release on 50- GB dual-layer discs. Cinram does most Fox DVD replication and is expected to have a big hand in its Blu-ray titles, but Fox executives indicated the studio would source Kingdom & Heaven from Sony DADC in Terre Haute, Ind. DADC has said 50- GB production will begin there the week of Sept. 25, with daily Blu-ray output averaging about 100,000 discs. Production of 50-GB discs will account for 30% of total output a month later, when plant capacity hits 150,000 discs daily... ... Kingdom of Heaven is encoded in MPEG-2, a codec Microsoft and other HD DVD backers have criticized as passe and prone to visual artifacts when used for Blu-ray, Fox executive Danny Kaye told us. MPEG-2 is mandatory in HD DVD and Blu-ray. Fox will decide title by title which codec to use and may end up using MPEG-2, VC-1 and H.264, he said. Fox has a "full-on commitment" to launch in Blu-ray and no plans to back HD DVD, Dunn said. Consumers will choose the winning format, he said. For "emotional and rational" reasons, they will pick Blu-ray, he said. "Availability and versatility" of Blu-ray content offerings will make it "an easy consumer choice," Dunn said. ... Steve Nickerson, Warner Home Video (WHV) senior vp, said his studio may have been late to the Blu-ray party in the U.S., but except for Sony, it's been the most active. WHV will be "equally active in Europe," said Nickerson. In Nov., he said, WHV will launch Blu-ray at least in Austria, France, Germany, Spain, Switzerland and the U.K., with each market having 10 titles by Christmas. |
Some #'s for those interested:
http://www.gulf-daily-news.com/Story...&IssueID=29167 BERLIN: Japanese electronics maker Toshiba said it aims to ship a total of 350,000 high-definition DVD players and recorders worldwide by the end of 2006 and a further 200,000 in the first quarter of 2007. "We've already shipped around 50,000 in the US and Japan. We plan to ship another 300,000 by the end of the year," Yoshihide Fujii, the head of Toshiba's digital consumer business, said. "In the first quarter of next year, we should ship another 200,000 worldwide," he added, speaking after giving a keynote speech to the IFA consumer electronics trade fair in Berlin. Toshiba said on Friday it would introduce its first two high-definition DVD (HD-DVD) players in Europe by November, priced between $768-$1,280. Fujii said the majority of the HD-DVD machines shipped would be players, which are still far cheaper than recorders, and about 70 per cent would go to the United States, with the rest about equally divided between Europe and Japan. "We see rapid growth in the recorder market, especially in Japan, in the second half of next year," he said, adding that prices were currently still above $3,000. Getting a critical mass of next-generation DVD players onto the market at the right price fast is crucial at the moment in the electronics sector, which is divided into two camps each supporting a different standard to succeed current DVDs. The HD-DVD camp is led by Toshiba, while the competing Blu-ray standard is supported by a group of companies around rival Japanese electronics maker Sony. |
50k shipped total in the world. Nice. I could be like others and dig up peoples posts claiming 500k sold by now, but ill just say, since launch, 50k SHIPPED. Not even 50k sold. I hope you realise what a drop in the bucket that is.
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As opposed to BD: 20,000 shipped, 12,000 sold, 11,999 returned.
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Amir posted some great news regarding VC1 ....
Two recent encodes are clocking in at 9-10 mbps! The encoders and progress in general with VC1 is getting better by the month! |
He said that Batman Begins was transparent at 10 mbps, but they kicked it up to 12 just to be safe.
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Originally Posted by digitalfreaknyc
Did it work?
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Originally Posted by Suprmallet
He said that Batman Begins was transparent at 10 mbps, but they kicked it up to 12 just to be safe.
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Dave, set all that stuff to ON (I think there's a firewall thing that you probably don't need to mess with). Then restart your player and see where that gets you.
Originally Posted by DthRdrX
Yep, I remember reading that last month in the insider thread, I believe. I wonder how low they can actually go without losing detail. I guess this is how LOTR is going to fit on a single 30GB disc.
What's even more incredible is that they can now fit 2 hours of HD DVD quality material on a SD DVD. |
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