The unofficial Blu-ray thread

sickicw

I just thought I would start this thread for people to post anything and everything that they have heard about new blu-ray player releases, new audio/video formats, and other blu-ray related info. If you find something please include the source of the information. Here is what I have so far…..

http://news.teamxbox.com/xbox/10795/New-PlayStation-3-Details-Emerge/
new of $399 blu-ray player in November

http://forum.blu-ray.com/
the Blu-ray forum is not updated very often…

http://www.dolby.com/consumer/technology/trueHD/avrs/trueHD_avrs_1.html
new dolby formats with blu-ray

http://www.highdefdigest.com/
info on hd formats and players.


Oh yea, also please do not post any rumors. Only post stuff that can be backed up by web sources, or your own personal experiences.
Thanks

Zen Dragon

sickicw wrote:

Oh yea, also please do not post any rumors. Only post stuff that can be backed up by web sources, or your own personal experiences.
Thanks

Good thing the web has all those "rumor filters". Won't find any misleading rumors on the internet.

My understanding is as with any technology the initial offerings run the risk of being a little buggy in a Beta test sort of way. It is probably best to stand back for a while and let the technology become more refined, and see if it becomes an accepted standard.
I would have thought by now either SACD or DVDA would have pushed further into mainstream, but you can never tell how far off the ground new technology is going to get.

sickicw

Yea, ok. So what I meant was only post “official rumors” or speculation from respected sources or personal experiences. Basically, just don’t make stuff up that can’t be backed up.

Yea, I am still wondering about DVDA and SACD. I would have bought one of them already if they would come with some universal digital output that would work with any receiver. Maybe when hdmi 1.3 comes out all this will change. I also am wondering if they will stop releasing music on SACD and start using dolby true HD instead.

Nelson57

Sickicw, you express my sentiments exactly. I just got into SACD and DVD-A, and in addition to all the unanswered questions about this new technology, I can't seriously consider the new players until they can handle these formats as well.

aaharvel

rumor has it that Blu-Ray is 2160i compatable.

Ron-P

And there's hardly a display out that can handle 1080p. If their going that route why not take it all the way instead of just half.

http://www.mcnblogs.com/digitaldretzka/2006/04/ready_or_not_ultra_hdtv_right.html

The Ultra HD experience – get this – allows for 4,320 scanning lines, and 7680 X 4320 pixels, which compares to the standard HDTV’s 1080 lines and 1920 X 1080. On the audio front, there are 22.2 channels of sound, in a three-layer setup … 22.2 friggin’ channels. Nine channels comprise the top layer, 10 channels in the middle orbit and 5 on the floor.

And, here’s the bad news, it’s amazing … like real life, but better … even compared with the best HDTV I’ve seen. Individual faces popped out from crowds, and we in the audience felt as if we were in the stands watching the basketball game and sumo-wrestling match. A wind-swept field of sunflowers approached those painted by Van Gogh in intensity and vibrancy.

AsSiMiLaTeD

I heard a rumor that Sony is scrapping the whole Blu-ray thing and is just going to do all their filming from now on with block figures and stick men - in black and white...

Fireman32

the only thing i have heard is that the new PS3 will be a blue ray player and will save the money of buying a stand alone unit

PolkThug

June 13th
Universal HD DVD
Happy Gilmore
The Rundown


June 20th
Sony Pictures/MGM Blu-ray
Fifth Element
50 First Dates
Hitch
House of Flying Daggers
A Knight's Tale
The Last Waltz
Resident Evil: Apocalypse
Underworld Evolution
****


June 27th
Lion's Gate Blu-ray
Crash
Lord of War
The Punisher
Terminator 2: Judgment Day
Saw


Sony Pictures/MGM Blu-ray
Kung Fu Hustle
Legends of the Fall
Robocop
Species
Stealth
SWAT
The Terminator
Ultraviolet

cheddar

The release info for players is fluid to say the least. But I think this is the first one out of the gate:

http://www.samsung.com/Products/DVDPlayer/Blu_ray/BD_P1000XAA.asp

http://reviews.cnet.com/Samsung_BD_P1000/4505-6463_7-31799185-2.html

sickicw

wow, that review is really lame. I wonder if they even hooked it up to a 1080p tv. I have seen 1080p content on the new samsung 1080p tv via a 1080p dvr, and i could tell a big difference in the picture quality vs 1080i.

Also this review didn't even mention the pcm audio. I guess we will have to wait a few weeks to get some real reviews for this player.

sickicw

And so it begins.....

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=688422

Sami

sickicw wrote:

wow, that review is really lame. I wonder if they even hooked it up to a 1080p tv. I have seen 1080p content on the new samsung 1080p tv via a 1080p dvr, and i could tell a big difference in the picture quality vs 1080i.

What model? I suspect it was still 1080p hooked up to 1080i input and then deinterlaced back to 1080p. Nothing wrong with that, it's as good as 1080p is.

thehaens@cox.net

Still on the fence on this whole HD DVD, and will wait till there is a comprehensive library. What I am looking forward to, (and will probably ensure me buying into these HD formats) is the older films that were shot w/ 70mm film. I am sure George Lucas is going to be re-mastering the Star Wars and Empire movies to HD, as they were shot in both 35 and 70mm.

Does anyone know the resolution capable of the 65 and 70mm film?

Scott

sickicw

Sami wrote:

What model? I suspect it was still 1080p hooked up to 1080i input and then deinterlaced back to 1080p. Nothing wrong with that, it's as good as 1080p is.

Im going to have to disagree with that. I am not a big fan of video conversion when you have the entire 1080p signal available. The tv was the new Samsung HL-S5687W. It takes 1080p siganls via a hdmi input. Not sure what model the dvr was, but I think it was from Samsung as well and was only designed to demo the 1080p signals.

Sami

sickicw wrote:

Im going to have to disagree with that. I am not a big fan of video conversion when you have the entire 1080p signal available.

The end result is going to be exactly the same if done correctly. If the original source was 1080p60 then there would be loss but 60fps films are not going to happen anytime soon so it will be 1080p24 which 1080i60 is more than capable of handling.

sickicw

Sami wrote:

The end result is going to be exactly the same if done correctly. If the original source was 1080p60 then there would be loss but 60fps films are not going to happen anytime soon so it will be 1080p24 which 1080i60 is more than capable of handling.

yes, i understand the math involved in this, but i have read that most 1080p tvs out right now do not do this as well as they should, and the best image i have ever seen on a hdtv came from a 1080p signal.

cheddar

sickicw wrote:

And so it begins.....

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=688422

The thread has degenerated into another HD-DVD/BD shouting match. But I found at least two interesting pieces of info:

1. A hands-on review link: http://reviews.cnet.com/4531-10921_7-6542126.html?tag=cnetfd.sd

2. People are already getting them at Best Buy pre-release date. I guess they are already coming in (at least two per store) and people are finding them stacked on shelves with no display etc. advertising their existence. I think the official displays will go up Sunday.

jdhdiggs

Go check AVS on the new samsung units. Of the six or so who purchased it, 2 have returned it and 2 others are keeping it and saying that it is inferior to the tosh. The others say it's a wash (with the exclusion the price point).

This is from the sticky thread: http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=688793

polkatese

If it proves anything, it is only convinced me to wait for the second production batch of players and hoping for the resolution of the format consolidation, at some point. The cash outlay this time around will be significant, and I've been burned being the early adopter of HD-RPTV, so it is easier to be more pragmatic about the whole subject.

sickicw

yea, from what i read is isn't so good at video upconversion compared to the hd-dvd, and one of the first blu-ray disks (the fifth element) just plains sucks. But there have been good reviews on other disks (the terminator for example) and from what i hear the pcm audio is very nice. Im waiting until tuesday to demo one out at a local best buy as I am curious to see it on a true 1080p display. Not going to buy it, but come november i will have some type of blu-ray player in my house....

http://www.upcomingdiscs.com/dvd_review.php?id=6013&rtype=date_posted&rcrit=date_posted

http://www.upcomingdiscs.com/dvd_review.php?id=6009&rtype=date_posted&rcrit=date_posted

http://bluray.highdefdigest.com/fifthelement4.html

http://bluray.highdefdigest.com/50firstdates2.html

polksda

Being an owner of HD-DVD, and considering also purchasing BR, I spend entirely too many waking hours reading over at avsforum. The reviews and reports of BR thus far are NOT encouraging.

Had BR not been preceded by HD-DVD, its current foibles might be glossed over. Say what you will about the idiosyncracies of the Toshiba HD-A1 (many of which which the new firmware appears to fix, at least it did for me), HD-DVD has set the bar pretty high with respect to picture quality. HD-DVD was smart to get out there first.

BR has been promoted as being better than HD-DVD and "beyond HD", yet the first BR player and titles have the format coming up short on quality at double the price.

I'm hoping this spurs some of the studios to switch sides and, if not abandon BR entirely, at least release on both formats...

Given the history of beta vs. vhs, I don't have confidence that the better quality format will necessarily win out. Even if HD-DVD ultimately proves itself to provide a better HD experience, Sony's marketing machine may overpower HD-DVD. Given the pervasive Circuit City and Best Buy mantras of how much better BR is (despite them not being able to tell me WHY), I fear that the average public may ultimately be convinced that BR is somehow better just by being inundated by the marketingspeak...

cheddar

Actually, both formats sound somewhat buggy at the moment. I agree with others that the best thing might be to wait until the second generation players come out, HDMI 1.3 is bulletproof, and we can actually listen to beautiful high resolution 7.1 surround sound. (I understand and support if first adopters want their toys now, though .)

These first linux boxes from either format just seem rushed out before they could even get their firmware right. I can't believe that the only players we will get in the future will be these same buggy computers in a box.

From what I gather, PQ on both machines in HD is great. Don't know what happened to 5th element. But newer movies like Underworld: Evolution seem to be good. So that may be software dependent. Upconversion also doesn't relate to the HD format. So I'm sure as both move forward, second generation machines will give us better quality choices at different price points, from different manufacturers.

It took years for HDTVs to drop down to consumer level prices (still pricey at several grand a pop) with a wide variety in choice and quality. I don't expect these new HD formats to do it any faster, especially with the two formats trying to kill each other. If the PS3 can do decent quality BR, it may be an option for me as I was looking for a new game machine anyways. But from how buggy everything is sounding right now, I may end up just putting the whole thing off for a year and see what happens.

Edit: Now that I think about it, maybe the two formats trying to kill each other will drop prices and improve quality fast. It just means that one format's camp is going to pay a heavy price. But us consumers should end up winning with the quality and price of the next generation of players...:D

polksda

Well, I can tolerate "buggy" if the PQ is worthwhile, as in the case of HD-DVD.

With additional reports of the BR release of House of Flying Daggers exhibiting macroblocking and other artifacting, it appears that MPEG2 single-layer Blu-Ray titles are problematic. When 2-layer BR titles come out, it may change, but right now I'm having a hard time justifying the 2x entry cost of Blu-Ray...

the best thing might be to wait until the second generation players come out, HDMI 1.3 is bulletproof, and we can actually listen to beautiful high resolution 7.1 surround sound.

The only problem is that it may take 6-12 months before all 3 are true. I guess I'm not willing to wait that long, given the lower entry cost of HD-DVD, the PQ of which is stellar.

Especially since there are reports of HD-DVD players already being discounted (Wal-Mart, Costco) and can thus be obtained in the $410-430 price range.

*shrug*

What we ultimately may wind up seeing, rather than a clear winner or loser in the format war, are two niche formats (like SACD and DVD-A) that both end up withering away and dying in the face of streaming content. I pray that's not the case, but you never know...

cheddar

polksda wrote:

Especially since there are reports of HD-DVD players already being discounted (Wal-Mart, Costco) and can thus be obtained in the $410-430 price range.

Yeah, I hear ya. My HDTV just sits there taunting me everytime I think of buying another DVD when I could be feeding it HD now. But even if I can get a $430 player now, it still means that I could have gotten a PS3 for Christmas at only $169 extra. For me, at least, that's a reason to wait until November before jumping into anything. At least I'll have all the reviews on the Sony, Pioneer, and PS3 to make a better decision.

Ron-P

Being an owner of HD-DVD, and considering also purchasing BR, I spend entirely too many waking hours reading over at avsforum. The reviews and reports of BR thus far are NOT encouraging.

Same here, I'm staying far away from anything BD right now and most likely for quite a long time, early reports are not good.

Heck, the $500 I paid for my A1 was worth the upscaling alone.

What we ultimately may wind up seeing, rather than a clear winner or loser in the format war, are two niche formats (like SACD and DVD-A) that both end up withering away and dying in the face of streaming content.

Won't happen, HD is much stronger and is only growing in the consumer household, every day more and more people buy HD TVs and add HD programming. Hi-def dvd is the next step, a slow one to be sure but it is here to stay. SCAD and DVD-A were always and forever will be an enthusiast format, not too many people need or want high quality audio playback.

kingkip

+1 Ron

Most people won't even admit to hearing a difference between hi-def audio and a CD. They will, however, see a difference between DVD and HDDVD. People trust their eyes a lot more than their ears.

Airplay355

Nice TV's are alittle easier to come by then nice stereos too. You can find a nice TV in best buy but good luck finding a stereo that sounds nice.

cheddar

Of course the ironic thing is that with the new HD lossless formats, these players might bring hi-def audio to the masses in the end...;)

cheddar

Ron-P wrote:

Heck, the $500 I paid for my A1 was worth the upscaling alone.

Does anyone know or have links to how this upscaling compares over HDMI to the $150 oppo?

Ron-P

From what I've read over at AVS, much better then the Oppo.