New Ken Kutaragi interview (1) @ PC Watch

[mckmas8808]

Digital recording.

Okay so maybe Batman Returns was made with Digital cameras instead. If not then HD-DVD movies and kicking Blu-ray movies butt (at least between these two very different styled movies).

 

[scooby_dooby]

Most people here now what I like and what I will be getting this November. But let me say this one thing. House of Flying Daggers on Blu-ray SUCKS!!!! It looked exactly like an upscaled DVD movie. I expect alot more.

Now Batman Returns on HD-DVD looks really really really good. To me it looked as good as ESPN games (if you can imagine). The clarity was great. Made me wonder if they shot Batman Returns in HD. Does anyone know?

Ouch. That's pretty brutal man, of all the things I expected to happen I didn't expect a large disparity in qualiuty between the two players. The BRA better fix this quick.

 

[PiNkY]

In related news, Sony is delaying their bluray start again.

link

 

[Titanio]

But then how did the studios manage to produce mpeg4/vc-1 on hd-dvd?

Will the software/hardware/etc. that works for HD-DVD work for Blu-ray?

Anyway, Panasonic has announced it will be offering Blu-ray authoring services to Hollywood studios from July 1 - including Mpeg4 encoding. So if it wasn't possible before, it should be shortly.

http://www.vnunet.com/vnunet/news/2158950/panasonic-author-hollywood-blu

Panasonic has been authoring DVDs in the US since 1996. New equipment installed for the Blu-ray process includes a specially developed MPEG-4 Advanced Video Codec (AVC) encoder and a Blu-ray Java authoring system.

The combination of the encoder and authoring system enables Blu-ray title creators to reproduce near-original, high-quality video with an easy-to-use graphical user interface based on Java.

The Panasonic MPEG-4 AVC encoder, capable of more than twice the compression of conventional MPEG-2 encoding, maintains the highest resolution 1080p image quality of the source.

 

[TheChefO]

Will the software/hardware/etc. that works for HD-DVD work for Blu-ray?

The process to produce the mpeg4/vc-1 files should be the same. In fact I see no reason the end result files themselves would not be the same. The only difference being the media they get stamped on to. (and politics/profits of course )

 

[one]

The process to produce the mpeg4/vc-1 files should be the same. In fact I see no reason the end result files themselves would not be the same. The only difference being the media they get stamped on to. (and politics/profits of course )

Actually the peak transfer speed of HD DVD-ROM video is 36Mbps while BD-ROM is 54Mbps so when you encode a movie in higher than 36Mbps an HD DVD player can't handle it.

 

[scooby_dooby]

There's absolutely no reason a VC1 movie would even need to be encoded at 32mbps.

The current HD-DVD's are only encoded at 18mbps and are already noticeably superior to the BR movies

 

[Titanio]

Actually the peak transfer speed of HD DVD-ROM video is 36Mbps while BD-ROM is 54Mbps so when you encode a movie in higher than 36Mbps an HD DVD player can't handle it.

Silly question, maybe, but can Mpeg4 be variable bitrate? Or do they have to be constant?

 

[one]

Silly question, maybe, but can Mpeg4 be variable bitrate? Or do they have to be constant?

I think most H.264 movies are in VBR, which means the peak bitrate is higher than the average rate.

 

[RobertR1]

Actually the peak transfer speed of HD DVD-ROM video is 36Mbps while BD-ROM is 54Mbps so when you encode a movie in higher than 36Mbps an HD DVD player can't handle it.

VC1 simply does not need that high of transfer rates to produce the best picture unlike mpeg2.

 

[scooby_dooby]

VC1 simply does not need that high of transfer rates to produce the best picture unlike mpeg2.

Ya it's a pointless statement. 18-20mbps for VC1 seems to be fine for the nuts over on avsforums.

At 32mbps the 25gb BR disc would only be able to hold 1:45 hours worth of video content, with no extras. It's a complete waste of space and is completely unnescesary if you just use a better codec. Currently, from my calculations, BR is using ~24mbps MPEG2 (Underworld BR contains 150mins of video + Audio in 25gb)

24mbps MPG2 can not compete with 20mbps VC1.

This is particularly distressing if you're a BR buyer IMO:

"HD-DVD currently enjoys the advantage when it comes to titles with announced ship dates. As of today, there are 50 HD-DVD titles either shipping or announced (with release dates), compared to 26 for Blu-ray. All 26 of those BD titles use MPEG-2, while 48 of the 50 HD-DVD titles use VC-1. "

If someone can confirm this info please do, it was taken from a post at avsforum

Why is sony being so stubborn with the MPG2 encoding? They're shooting themselves in the foot, and all signs are point to the BD50 disc not being available until 2007. I don't get it, seems like an extremely stupid decision.

 

[mckmas8808]

Ya it's a pointless statement. 18-20mbps for VC1 seems to be fine for the nuts over on avsforums.

At 32mbps the 25gb BR disc would only be able to hold 1:45 hours worth of video content, with no extras. It's a complete waste of space and is completely unnescesary if you just use a better codec. Currently, from my calculations, BR is using ~24mbps MPEG2 (Underworld BR contains 150mins of video + Audio in 25gb)

24mbps MPG2 can not compete with 20mbps VC1.

This is particularly distressing if you're a BR buyer IMO:

If someone can confirm this info please do, it was taken from a post at avsforum

Why is sony being so stubborn with the MPG2 encoding? They're shooting themselves in the foot, and all signs are point to the BD50 disc not being available until 2007. I don't get it, seems like an extremely stupid decision.

More profit for them in the end. They know the crazy nuts like me will buy Blu-ray movies to watch on my new HDTV and PS3 regardless. Then they will hit us with better encoded movies in 2007. Yeah I also think it's stupid.

 

[scooby_dooby]

More profit for them in the end. They know the crazy nuts like me will buy Blu-ray movies to watch on my new HDTV and PS3 regardless. Then they will hit us with better encoded movies in 2007. Yeah I also think it's stupid.

Not more money in the long run if they lose the format war though.

Seems like a risky gamble to me. You have a competitor at half the cost, providing higher quality product at the beginning of a format war.

They risk alienating early adopters(check avsforums - they're pissed) and slowing the standalone sales completely. Sure the PS3's will be out there, but in the meantime AV enthusiasts will all be jumping on board with HD-DVD and buying many more titles than your average PS3 owner.

HD-DVD is looking very strong right now, and the most ironic part about it is that it's nothing more than a software issue.

 

[TheChefO]

HD-DVD is looking very strong right now, and the most ironic part about it is that it's nothing more than a greed issue.

Fixed

edit - I vote both

 

[scooby_dooby]

lol, either greed or stupidity. Maybe both?

 

[mckmas8808]

lol, either greed or stupidity. Maybe both?

I checked both for $500. This is when Sony is at their weakest. I seriously thought that this was the main reason Howard Stringer was brought in. I thought he would keep stupid stuff like Mpeg-2 on HD disc from happening.

I guess I was wrong.

 

[Shifty Geezer]

Why is sony being so stubborn with the MPG2 encoding? They're shooting themselves in the foot, and all signs are point to the BD50 disc not being available until 2007. I don't get it, seems like an extremely stupid decision.

May I enquire where it's said Sony are responsible for the encoding? Are there only Sony movies out there ATM, or are Sony telling the other movie houses how to produce their BRDs?

 

[RobertR1]

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=691250

Looks like Sony is hoping to sell their Blu Ray player off tech demo discs

My spider sense tells me there is trouble in paradise. Their player has been pushed back from July to August and now straight to October and the pre production models won't even play BD media. I wonder if they're having issues with the PS3 and letting their standalone BluRay players sit on the backburner, concentrating on getting the PS3 finalized, in production and start stocking up.

 

[RobertR1]

Ya it's a pointless statement. 18-20mbps for VC1 seems to be fine for the nuts over on avsforums.

At 32mbps the 25gb BR disc would only be able to hold 1:45 hours worth of video content, with no extras. It's a complete waste of space and is completely unnescesary if you just use a better codec. Currently, from my calculations, BR is using ~24mbps MPEG2 (Underworld BR contains 150mins of video + Audio in 25gb)

24mbps MPG2 can not compete with 20mbps VC1.

This is particularly distressing if you're a BR buyer IMO:

If someone can confirm this info please do, it was taken from a post at avsforum

Why is sony being so stubborn with the MPG2 encoding? They're shooting themselves in the foot, and all signs are point to the BD50 disc not being available until 2007. I don't get it, seems like an extremely stupid decision.

The link is valid. I believe there were 2 or 3 50gb titles announced but now they're no longer discussed. They simply disappeared as did the talk of 50gb discs. You might be seeing 25gb mpeg2 media for quite some time and even if they do, by some unholy act start using VC1, they still give up 5gb and ask consumers to play atleast 2x as much for a player.

Sony has been claiming up and down for years now that Mpeg2 is the future of high definition. Also, they make the majority share of royalties when studios choose Mpeg2. With VC1, not only would they have to admit error and ask MS for help, they'd also lose out on royalties while making MS more money.

 

[mckmas8808]

With VC1, not only would they have to admit error and ask MS for help, they'd also lose out on royalties while making MS more money.

We all know that letting MS make a little extra money and losing an extra $.50 per disc on royalites is not worth winning the WHOLE FORMAT WAR!!! (This is directed at Sony not you RobertR1).