General Blu-ray news and discussion
03-30-07 | 06:06 PM
#751
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From: In the Universe.
Originally Posted by Drexl
I sure hope Identity has the extras from the DVD. It's nice that they're going to AVC over MPEG-2, but then turning around and using up the saved space on dubbed PCM tracks is ridiculous if it means the extras have to be dropped.
03-30-07 | 06:56 PM
#752
DVD Talk Legend
Great so the big advantage to BD-50 is a bunch of PCM tracks 90% of buyers don't need. Awesome. Thanks Sony.
I almost bought Bullitt and Planet Earth on Blu-ray, but after being reminded why I hate Sony I bought them on HD DVD.
I almost bought Bullitt and Planet Earth on Blu-ray, but after being reminded why I hate Sony I bought them on HD DVD.
03-31-07 | 11:58 AM
#754
DVD Talk Hall of Fame
Originally Posted by Burnt Thru
hollywood studios sell more dvds in europe than the us...
03-31-07 | 03:48 PM
#755
DVD Talk Gold Edition
i don't have the publication to hand where this was stated, but i can assure you that this is the case to the best of my knowledge. consider it this way: the uk is a fifth the size of america and doesn't have a movie industry to speak of (i live here); germany is at least half again as large as us and only sporadically put out decent sized movies; france is the same size as uk and again have a less than prolific film industry... it goes on. add up all the pieces and it's a very large market for hollywood movies. the rest of the world, inclusive of europe, is a far larger market - as can be seen on box office mojo.
03-31-07 | 08:38 PM
#756
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Burnt Thru has a point. World War One and Two wiped out a lot of the movie making infrastructure of Britain, Germany, Russia and Italy. I think the main competition for Hollywood are in places like India (Bollywood) and China.
04-01-07 | 12:04 AM
#757
DVD Talk Legend
Originally Posted by Burnt Thru
hollywood studios sell more dvds in europe than the us, so i suspect the 90% figure is a little wide of the mark.
04-01-07 | 03:04 AM
#758
DVD Talk Gold Edition
it comes down to cost: both to manufacture different stock, and to distribute different stock through the same supply chain. there are great savings to be made by using the same article over a large region - which is the fundamental tenant behind the introduction of the euro. a further benefit is the ability to shift excess units from one country to another, which would not be possible if they were all different.
04-01-07 | 01:16 PM
#759
DVD Talk Legend
Originally Posted by Burnt Thru
it comes down to cost: both to manufacture different stock, and to distribute different stock through the same supply chain. there are great savings to be made by using the same article over a large region - which is the fundamental tenant behind the introduction of the euro. a further benefit is the ability to shift excess units from one country to another, which would not be possible if they were all different.
Since day one all I have heard about with Blu-ray was its superior storage and in return we get no new HD special features and we get space wasted with useless PCM tracks.
I guess it doesn't matter if the space would just be sitting there unused. However, I would prefer that space is used up with features more substantial.
Last edited by darkside; 04-01-07 at 01:21 PM.
04-01-07 | 02:06 PM
#760
DVD Talk Gold Edition
we seem to have our wires crossed. i'm not saying that the american and european releases should be the same. quite the contrary, i expect them to remain different in most cases. it seemed you were arguing that different versions of the bd should be released in france, germany, britain, denmark, etc... that doesn't make financial sense when it's possible to include multiple language tracks on one general disc for the entire region.
what this means is that european discs require more space relative to their american counterparts - something the studios knew going into this debacle of a format war. hd dvd has limited options on how it can handle this situation. one is to ship different versions of all discs to the various countries in europe (at negligable cost to begin with, but becoming increasingly expensive as production and demand ramps up). the alternative is to ship discs with low bitrate audio tracks which is what seems to be more likely. it's unclear how this will be received by german, french, italian, and spanish consumers.
what this means is that european discs require more space relative to their american counterparts - something the studios knew going into this debacle of a format war. hd dvd has limited options on how it can handle this situation. one is to ship different versions of all discs to the various countries in europe (at negligable cost to begin with, but becoming increasingly expensive as production and demand ramps up). the alternative is to ship discs with low bitrate audio tracks which is what seems to be more likely. it's unclear how this will be received by german, french, italian, and spanish consumers.
04-09-07 | 03:06 PM
#761
Right now, I have a PS3 and a non-HDMI receiver. Some on AVS who have the same setup, set their receivers to dolby pro logic II and then select the PCM track on the BD and claim it's better than using optical for the standard 5.1 mix. Has anyone done this? I've tried it, but I'm not sure which is better. I never use pro logic II. Is this really just a 2.0 setting, but appears as 5.1?
04-09-07 | 04:36 PM
#762
DVD Talk Legend
Originally Posted by Mr. Cinema
I never use pro logic II. Is this really just a 2.0 setting, but appears as 5.1?
The main downside to this in comparison to a proper 5.1 track is that the directional control isn't going to be as refined, since the pro logic II algorithms are basically guessing where some sounds should be, although it can "guess" very well.
I listened to LOTR: FOTR 2.0 surround in pro logic II once, and while not quite as good as the actual 5.1 track, it was pretty damn close.
Is the PS3 downmixing the PCM 5.1 track to 2.0 Dolby Surround, or just 2.0 stereo? If it's the former, it's already working from the 4 channels from the surround encoding, so it should sound pretty close. If it's the later, then the Pro Logic II decoder has to do a let more guesswork as to what sound should come from where.
It's basically a trade-off. With the PCM downmix, you're getting the full uncompressed audio, but with less distinct directionability in the track. With the DD 5.1 track, what you call "standard", you're getting the correct and full directionability of the soundtrack, but at a reduced audio quality. If you can't tell a difference in the audio quality, then you might be fine just sticking with DD 5.1. Or just do a few more comparisons between the two yourself and see which you prefer.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dolby_Pro_Logic
04-09-07 | 11:45 PM
#763
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From: Mpls, MN
Is it DPLII or DPLIIx? The x version does not degrade Dolby Digital 5.1 signals, but simply adds 2 channels to them.
Those people should be selecting the PCM track and using pass-through, not DPLII. Unless they mean DPLIIx, perhaps. There is no reason to take a high quality track and degrade it, if the receiver can accept 96/24 PCM to trash it, it can also simply be played directly.
The more I think about this, the more bizarre it seems.
Those people should be selecting the PCM track and using pass-through, not DPLII. Unless they mean DPLIIx, perhaps. There is no reason to take a high quality track and degrade it, if the receiver can accept 96/24 PCM to trash it, it can also simply be played directly.
The more I think about this, the more bizarre it seems.
Last edited by Spiky; 04-09-07 at 11:49 PM.
04-11-07 | 10:42 AM
#764
Originally Posted by Mr. Cinema
Right now, I have a PS3 and a non-HDMI receiver. Some on AVS who have the same setup, set their receivers to dolby pro logic II and then select the PCM track on the BD and claim it's better than using optical for the standard 5.1 mix. Has anyone done this? I've tried it, but I'm not sure which is better. I never use pro logic II. Is this really just a 2.0 setting, but appears as 5.1?
04-11-07 | 01:27 PM
#765
Originally Posted by matome
I tried it inadvertantly with my Samsung as you have to manually switch the settings to multichannel output for PCM or else it sends out 2-channel PCM. My Denon's DPLIIx did a damn good job of fooling me into thinking I was running discrete PCM multichannel until I noticed the front panel (usually off) said Dolby Pro Logic II. Directionality with the DD5.1 tracks was better but not in such a mind-blowing manner. The matrixed PCM track certainly blew it away in power and clarity. I would equate it to those kick ass uncompressed Dolby Pro Logic tracks on my laserdiscs.
04-11-07 | 01:42 PM
#766
You have to select the Dolby Pro Logic IIx with Cinema mode (I believe there are General and Music modes also, IIRC) as the DSP or surround parameter setting on your Denon. I'm using a Denon 4806 with the Samsung via HDMI which automatically selects DPLIIx for 2ch signals for me, but I'm not sure what settings you need to change on the PS3 (if any). I believe Denons remember the last surround settings for each type of input so yours may remember it as well for 2ch signals.
04-19-07 | 10:16 AM
#767
Panasonic has released their promised 2.0 April update for those that have the Panny BD10 Blu-ray player.
http://panasonic.jp/support/global/c...d10/index.html
Enhancements from the Panny site:
- Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD High Resolution Audio are supported. A new decoder is incorporated to support the latest high quality multi-channel surround sound formats.
- Functions of EZ Sync(North America) or VIErA Link(Europe/UK, Oceania) are enhanced. You can now seamlessly operate multiple connected components with one remote control.
- Playability and stability
I installed it last night but didn't restart the machine yet. No DTS-MA decoding unfortunately, so it's still the 1.5mbps core for those Fox discs, and I don't have a TrueHD BD to test. I do have DTS-HD ones though so I will give those a spin.
http://panasonic.jp/support/global/c...d10/index.html
Enhancements from the Panny site:
- Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD High Resolution Audio are supported. A new decoder is incorporated to support the latest high quality multi-channel surround sound formats.
- Functions of EZ Sync(North America) or VIErA Link(Europe/UK, Oceania) are enhanced. You can now seamlessly operate multiple connected components with one remote control.
- Playability and stability
I installed it last night but didn't restart the machine yet. No DTS-MA decoding unfortunately, so it's still the 1.5mbps core for those Fox discs, and I don't have a TrueHD BD to test. I do have DTS-HD ones though so I will give those a spin.
04-23-07 | 12:09 AM
#768
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From: MN -> TX -> SoCal
I suppose I don't need to start a new thread for this, and I'm not sure if it's been mentioned anywhere else...but...:
Blu-ray burning its high-def DVD rival
By Thomas K. Arnold
LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) - Of the high-definition discs bought by consumers in the first quarter, 70% were in the Blu-ray Disc format and 30% were HD DVD, according to sales figures provided by trade publication Home Media Magazine.
Blu-ray took the lead in February, and its percentage of total sales accelerated to the point where it accounted for nearly three out of every four high-definition discs sold in March.
What's more, when given the choice, consumers are going with Blu-ray. Warner Home Video released "The Departed" the same day, February 13, in both formats. Between then and March 31, consumers bought 53,640 copies of the film on Blu-ray Disc and 31,590 on HD DVD, according to Home Media's market research, based on studio estimates and Nielsen VideoScan point-of-sale data.
Research also shows that eight of the 10 top-selling high-definition titles in the first quarter were on Blu-ray Disc. At the top of the list was "Casino Royale," which sold through to consumers an estimated 59,680 units in the period. The Blu-ray Disc edition of "Departed" finished second, while the HD DVD version of that Oscar-winning film placed third.
From January 1-March 31, consumers bought almost 1.2 million high-definition discs -- 832,530 Blu-ray units and 359,300 HD DVDs -- according to Home Media Magazine. In March, consumers bought 335,980 Blu-ray Discs and 119,570 HD DVDs.
Since the high-def format's inception -- HD DVD launched in April 2006, while Blu-ray got rolling two months later -- more than 2.14 million discs have been purchased by consumers: 1.2 million Blu-ray Discs and about 937,500 HD DVDs.
Observers aren't surprised by the disparity, noting that Blu-ray Disc enjoys the support of five of the six major studios, while HD DVD is supported by three of them. Three studios -- Sony, Disney and Fox -- are exclusively in the Blu-ray camp, as is mini-major Lionsgate. Paramount and Warner support both formats. Universal is the only major studio to release titles only in the HD DVD format, which backers claim is easier and cheaper to produce.
Reuters/Hollywood Reporter
Is anyone surprised? I didn't cross-post this to the HD-DVD thread, cause I figure y'all read both threads. Anyways...
Originally Posted by Hollywood Reporter
Blu-ray burning its high-def DVD rival
By Thomas K. Arnold
LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) - Of the high-definition discs bought by consumers in the first quarter, 70% were in the Blu-ray Disc format and 30% were HD DVD, according to sales figures provided by trade publication Home Media Magazine.
Blu-ray took the lead in February, and its percentage of total sales accelerated to the point where it accounted for nearly three out of every four high-definition discs sold in March.
What's more, when given the choice, consumers are going with Blu-ray. Warner Home Video released "The Departed" the same day, February 13, in both formats. Between then and March 31, consumers bought 53,640 copies of the film on Blu-ray Disc and 31,590 on HD DVD, according to Home Media's market research, based on studio estimates and Nielsen VideoScan point-of-sale data.
Research also shows that eight of the 10 top-selling high-definition titles in the first quarter were on Blu-ray Disc. At the top of the list was "Casino Royale," which sold through to consumers an estimated 59,680 units in the period. The Blu-ray Disc edition of "Departed" finished second, while the HD DVD version of that Oscar-winning film placed third.
From January 1-March 31, consumers bought almost 1.2 million high-definition discs -- 832,530 Blu-ray units and 359,300 HD DVDs -- according to Home Media Magazine. In March, consumers bought 335,980 Blu-ray Discs and 119,570 HD DVDs.
Since the high-def format's inception -- HD DVD launched in April 2006, while Blu-ray got rolling two months later -- more than 2.14 million discs have been purchased by consumers: 1.2 million Blu-ray Discs and about 937,500 HD DVDs.
Observers aren't surprised by the disparity, noting that Blu-ray Disc enjoys the support of five of the six major studios, while HD DVD is supported by three of them. Three studios -- Sony, Disney and Fox -- are exclusively in the Blu-ray camp, as is mini-major Lionsgate. Paramount and Warner support both formats. Universal is the only major studio to release titles only in the HD DVD format, which backers claim is easier and cheaper to produce.
Reuters/Hollywood Reporter
04-23-07 | 06:56 AM
#769
DVD Talk Legend
The gap between 53,640 copies of The Departed sold on Blu-ray and 31,590 sold on HD DVD is barely a blip, considering that the DVD sold several million copies.
04-23-07 | 07:35 AM
#770
Political Exile
The first quarter numbers are going to be skewed in Blu-Ray's favor since there were very few HD-DVD movies released over that time vs a large number of Blu-Rays. The 2nd quarter numbers should be more interesting since the number of new releases for each format are going to be much closer.
04-23-07 | 10:16 AM
#771
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From: In the Universe.
Originally Posted by PerryD
The first quarter numbers are going to be skewed in Blu-Ray's favor since there were very few HD-DVD movies released over that time vs a large number of Blu-Rays. The 2nd quarter numbers should be more interesting since the number of new releases for each format are going to be much closer.
04-23-07 | 10:17 AM
#772
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From: MN -> TX -> SoCal
well considering HD-DVD had a two month head-start, I think this is interesting:
1.2 million Blu-ray Discs and about 937,500 HD DVDs have been sold since their inception.
1.2 million Blu-ray Discs and about 937,500 HD DVDs have been sold since their inception.
04-23-07 | 11:24 AM
#773
DVD Talk Legend
Originally Posted by Brent_MN
well considering HD-DVD had a two month head-start, I think this is interesting:
1.2 million Blu-ray Discs and about 937,500 HD DVDs have been sold since their inception.
1.2 million Blu-ray Discs and about 937,500 HD DVDs have been sold since their inception.
But WB discs exclusive to HD-DVD are going to be few and far between. Uni is coming to plate with lots of catalog titles through May-July, but I still don't think that will be enough for them to get back on top regarding total discs sold.
04-23-07 | 11:30 AM
#774
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From: WV
I really do not think it matters which format sells more discs right now. The market is only around 1%, so the winner will be which side can get the biggest portion of the other 99% to adopt their format. With that said, I still expect both formats to be around for a while.
04-23-07 | 12:57 PM
#775
Originally Posted by Brent_MN
well considering HD-DVD had a two month head-start, I think this is interesting:
1.2 million Blu-ray Discs and about 937,500 HD DVDs have been sold since their inception.
1.2 million Blu-ray Discs and about 937,500 HD DVDs have been sold since their inception.