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'Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen' Released on USB
Thu Nov 05, 2009 at 02:00 PM ETTags: Industry Trends, Paramount (all tags)
Kingston and Paramount have teamed up to bring the much watched Transformers sequel directly to USB.
Paramount Digital Entertainment has announced that they’ve signed a deal with Kingston to bring their films to USB drives and SD cards, but the release of 'Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen' just has us scratching our heads.
Everyone seems to agree that digital distribution is the future of entertainment, but just how it will be delivered seems to be in strong contention. Netflix and Hulu take a streaming approach, while Blockbuster and Amazon go for a pay per view sort of download service. Kingston and Paramount have, on the other hand, created a way to combine the inconvenience of having to leave the house to purchase a movie with the video quality of a stream.
For $30, consumers are able to pick up the newest Transformers film on a 4GB USB drive. According to Kingston, users simply need to plug the USB drive into their computer to play the file, but details on what format the file will be in and what kind of DRM will be involved aren’t there.
There’s also no information on the quality of the video included, but since it’s on a 4GB drive, we can assume it’s not up to Blu-ray standards.
All this wouldn’t be so bad if the cost of the USB drive and movie were less than the two purchased separately, but for $30, that just isn’t the case, as a quick Amazon search quickly confirms.
Paramount says that more movies are coming via USB sticks and SD cards, but if a $30 price tag and less than impressive visuals are what we’re getting, expect the trend to end soon.
Source: Video Business
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Best Buy to Embed CinemaNow on Most Connected Devices
Thu Nov 05, 2009 at 11:00 AM ETTags: Best Buy, Industry Trends, High-Def Retailing (all tags)
No, we’re not just talking about Dynex or Insignia here, Best Buy announced today that they’ll be embedding the Roxio CinemaNow service into nearly all capable devices sold in their stores, in a variety of brands. Oh, and there’s more.
The move will effect more than just Blu-ray players and HDTVs, as the CinemaNow digital distribution service will be embedded into not only the usual suspects but set-top boxes, personal media players, and even mobile phones. From what we’ve heard, essentially anything that can play video and connect to the internet.
So with a majority of the hardware purchased from Best Buy set to offer up the digital rental and purchasing service CinemaNow, what’s next? And how exactly does this aggressive move towards digital distribution benefit Best Buy?
Best Buy’s Chris Homeister has the answers. “We’re going into this business in a big way,” he states. “The idea is to let consumers pay once for a DVD and then eventually be able to play it on any device.” This would mean, essentially, that a DVD purchase from Best Buy or BestBuy.com would translate into digital rights for the same content.
Best Buy hopes that the inclusion of the service and the future availability of same day digital copies will create loyalty to the brand from consumers who tend to be increasingly concerned with bargain hunting.
Of course, an advertising and educational campaign is sure to follow, explaining to consumers exactly what they’re getting and how it benefits them. As Dave Habiger of Sonic Solutions puts it, “With Best Buy's ability to drive in-store promotion and education, consumers will come to quickly understand and appreciate the convenience, flexibility, and control that digitally-delivered video entertainment affords them.”
Source: Yahoo News
Blu-ray Brings a Smile to Martin Scorsese's Face!
Wed Nov 04, 2009 at 07:00 PM ETTags: Blu-con, Michael S. Palmer, Industry Trends (all tags)
By Michael S. Palmer
For this year’s Blu-Con 2.0, the keynote speaker was heralded master filmmaker and movie fan extraordinaire Martin Scorsese.
As an avid cinephile, restorer, and collector, he remembers the days when the only way to “own a movie” was through the poster. One could go to revival houses, of course, but after years of use and abuse, prints were scratched, faded, and even missing scenes.
Then came the videotape. The first chance to build a film collection for the home, but VHS was a very limited technology. DVDs were one step better. A boon to the cause of restoration. Yet even DVDs were troubling, with the squabble over aspect ratios (full screen vs. wide screen).
And now, Blu-ray disc. To Mr. Scorsese, despite the fact that the cinema going experience can never be fully recreated, Blu-ray is the closest home theatre has ever gotten. It marks the very best quality picture and sound. Visual clarity is so strong; it’s all encompassing, almost 3D. As for the audio, he recently remarked while mixing ‘Shine a Light’ that he was excited to know that what he and his team mixed, would transfer exactly to the home.
When asked what he thought about the ability to alter classic titles for Blu-ray release, (such as removing production wires from special effects, or remixing mono soundtracks into 5.1 stereo surround) Mr. Scorsese said that one must preserve the vision of the filmmaker, through elements such as correct aspect ratio, color, and sound.
In his own experience, when Mr. Scorsese originally released ‘Taxi Driver’ (which isn’t out on Blu-ray yet), the technology at the time limited him to a mono track, but Bernard Herman had recorded his haunting score in stereo (just like Warner Home Video did with the 'Wizard of Oz' in 2005). Returning to those elements isn’t a desecration of the original exhibition, but a chance for the filmmaker to use technology that was unavailable to them when they were making their movies. He wanted us to remember that there were actually early versions of stereo 60+ year ago (Walt Disney’s ‘Fantasia’ was the first, exhibited in 1940 in “Fantasound”), used for such classics as ‘A Star is Born’ and ‘Shane.’
Regarding special effects, moderator Grover Crisp (SVP, Asset Management, Film Restoration & Digital Mastering, Sony Pictures Entertainment) spoke with Scorsese about the recent 4K restoration of ‘Dr. Strangelove.’ There were strings in some shots of the planes. Sony left the strings in for the studio’s master so they would always have them, but for the Blu-ray release removed the them, as the medium is so clear, on today’s larger television, the strings would have been distracting. Something Stanley Kubrick never wanted his audiences to see. As a fascinating anecdote, Mr. Scorsese said in the early 1990s Kubrick was self-preserving ‘Dr. Strangelove’ using a 35mm still camera, photographing it frame-by-frame. Scorsese chuckled, and then admitted that he wasn’t sure if Kubrick ever concluded this project.
Peter Bogdanovich said there are, “no old movies, just ones you haven’t seen.” And it’s through Blu-ray that Scorsese finds this especially true. Blu-ray has the ability to extend the life of film, in that it presents and preserves all the elements that make this visual medium feel like film (grain, texture, color etc). He said with previous home entertainment formats, audiences might not have been able to tell you exactly why a movie wasn’t as good as it was in the theater. Yet subconsciously they could feel it when clarity, color, and quality were lost.
When asked about his favorite Blu-ray movie, Mr. Scorsese didn’t want to pick just one, but admitted that every time he fires up John Ford’s ‘The Searchers,’ even just to check it out, he can’t turn it off. It still holds up, it’s very moving, and there’s beauty in the landscape and the nature of the faces.
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ViewSonic Announces New HD Media Player
Wed Nov 04, 2009 at 01:00 PM ETTags: Viewsonic, Industry Trends, Product Announcements (all tags)
The ViewSonic VMP70 is the latest media player from Viewsonic, a company better known for their monitors and projectors. Based on the specs though, they might have been better off sticking to what they know.
The VMP70 is a high definition media player, and much like other similar media players, it plays a variety of media formats at a 1080p resolution. The VMP70 shows photos, plays a pretty strong range of video and audio formats, and even offers a pair of USB ports. What it doesn’t do is network.
Coming soon at an estimated $99, ViewSonic’s media player may be a case of too little, too late. It supports a wide range of video formats, including Divx, Xvid, WMV, H.264, MKV, and Real Media. Viewsonic’s official website states “and more”, though there’s no clue as to what those additional formats are.
From an audio standpoint, the VMP70 is decent. It’ll play back WMA and MP3 files, as well as OGG and ACC. Disappointingly, there’s no mention of FLAC.
ViewSonic’s VMP70 offers HDMI and component output, as well as composite and SPDIF outs. A pair of USB ports sits on the back for attachment of various storage devices. Unfortunately for ViewSonic, the lack of network capability makes this a much less desirable device.
Source: ViewSonic
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Apple Could Offer Unlimited TV at $30 a Month
Wed Nov 04, 2009 at 10:00 AM ETTags: Apple, Industry Trends (all tags)
Apple has been out talking to TV networks in recent weeks, trying to round up support for a subscription service which would deliver unlimited TV for only $30 monthly.
Apple and TV are two words that just don’t seem to go together well. With the knowledge well in hand that their previous television integration just didn’t work out, Apple is looking to start something new. The service Apple is proposing is just what consumers have been wanting for a long time.
The plan, according to Apple, is to offer television content through iTunes at a subscription rate, rather than making people pay per download. The structure would seem to be similar to that of the current Netflix arrangement, but the service would require iTunes. This would present a bit of a problem from the convenience side, especially if the files aren’t easily streamable or require a set-top to play on a TV.
The other question from a consumer standpoint is that of fidelity. $30 for unlimited 1080p downloads/streams of television show would be well worth it if enough broadcasters were on board. $30 for unlimited standard definition content on the other hand doesn’t look quite as nice.
Networks are hesitant to jump on board either way, as they see that this could be seen as a move away from cable services, which would certainly upset relationships with companies like Comcast. Additionally, the shows would be presented on iTunes in an ad free format, meaning a complete zero in advertising revenue.
Source: All Things Digital
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Ultra-High Definition Television Coming as Early as 2017
Tue Nov 03, 2009 at 06:00 PM ETTags: Ultra-High Definition Television, Industry Trends, UHDTV (all tags)
In-Stat, a market research company that specializes in electronics, reports that Ultra-High Definition television could start broadcasting in as few as eight years.
Back when television debuted for the home, many saw it as the death of the cinema, so theaters responded with a variety of tactics including new wide screen formats. Now with 16:9 high definition displays in homes, theater owners are stepping up their game by adding 2K and 4K projectors. In-Stat says television will be striking back with Ultra-High Definition programming in the next decade.
Featuring a resolution of up to sixteen times that of current high def standards, and twenty two channel audio, UHD is the next step forward for television. UHD, like HD, will come in two different resolutions. The lower resolution of 4K – 3840 x 2160 – is four times that of 1080p, while 8K – 7680 x 4320 – offers sixteen times the resolution.
While the projected date for five percent household penetration in Europe is as far off as 2021, In-Stat expects Ultra-High Definition television to be offered much sooner than that. They suggest that after consumers experience digital cinema for themselves, they’ll want it in their home and “ultimately, broadcasters will start offering UHD content to an addressable market of UHDTVs, between 2017 and 2022.”
Source: Broadcast Newsroom
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Have YOU become a fan of the High-Def Digest Facebook page?
Mon Nov 02, 2009 at 04:30 PM ET
Winter is on the way, and with it, prime movie-watching season! If you're on Facebook, become a fan of High-Def Digest so you'll always get the most for your high-def dollar!
Check out the High-Def Digest Page on Facebook, become a fan, and spread the word, so you and your friends can always find the best Blu-ray and high-def reviews online.
Our Facebook page is still going strong! We're gaining new fans with each passing month, and we'd love you to join in the fun. In addition to our reviews and priceless witticisms, we use the page as one more way of spreading the word about the best high-def releases on the market.
If you haven't joined yet, you can check it out here and become a fan.
Hope to see you there soon!
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HD Advisor on 34th Street
Fri Oct 30, 2009 at 03:00 PM ETTags: HD Advisor, Joshua Zyber (all tags)
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Editor's Note: Each Friday, High-Def Digest's own HD Advisor will answer a new round of questions from our readers. If you have home theater questions you need answered, send an email to HDanswers@gmail.com. |
Answers by Joshua Zyber
THX Optimizer Revisited
Q: I saw your post about THX Optimizer and wanted to clear up a popular misconception. The THX Optimizer settings are not unique to the discs that they are featured on. Optimizer patterns are set to SMPTE industry standards for color, black levels, etc. So, you don't have to tweak your TV when using Optimizer on different discs.
Where did this rumor start? The Optimizer patterns are often used in the DVD/BD mastering process, traveling with the content throughout the production chain allowing mastering/QC houses to evaluate levels of specific discs/content. Somehow this message was lost in translation, prompting some reviewers to claim Optimizer is for calibrating specific discs, which it is not. Let me know if this helps. We are happy to answer any questions.
THX Ltd.
A: This may be THX Ltd.'s current approach to the THX Optimizer tool. If so, please accept my apologies for the confusion.
However, respectfully, I can tell you exactly where this "rumor" started. It started from THX's own documentation. I see that the Optimizer page on the currently active official THX web site has been revamped. Using the power of the internet, we can take a look at the same site as it appeared in December of 2006. Doing so, I find that the Optimizer page states the following (emphasis mine):
"THX Optimizer consists of a series of tests that make it easier to fine-tune the audio and video performance of a home theater system. But best of all is that the signals used are equal to the final reference levels set during the mastering of each individual release. Thus, the system's performance can be tailored to each specific movie. As a result, the movie is seen as the director intended. "
This reads pretty clearly to me that Optimizer was intended to be used on each and every movie, and may result in different calibration requirements each time.
If THX has changed its approach to how the Optimizer tool works, or if that original language was simply worded misleadingly, I am glad to hear that this is no longer the case. As I mentioned in my previous article, I feel that calibration should be a set-it-and-forget-it activity performed only periodically as needed by the aging characteristics of the user's hardware. A good calibration disc will allow a viewer to find the display's best settings for all discs he or she watches.
Dolby TrueHD on 'Akira' Revisited
Q: In reference to your article about the Dolby TrueHD soundtrack on the 'Akira' Blu-ray, I have a similar question. I have a first generation Playstation 3, which is connected via HDMI 1.3 to a Pioneer Elite VSX-03TXH. The PS3 displays the output signal as being 192 kHz, but the receiver reports the signal at 96 kHz. The PS3 is set to output all signals (from 192 kHz down), and the receiver is able to handle Dolby TrueHD at 192 kHz, according to the manufacturer's specifications. Is it possible that this just an inaccurate display from the receiver since the track is decoded by the PS3? Also, is there a difference in quality between the two kHz rates? Any insight and advice is greatly appreciated.
A: My best guess is this is either just a display error on your receiver, or some sort of HDMI handshaking problem between the two units that's causing your receiver to downsample the audio to 96 kHz. I can understand that being frustrating. However, in reality, the difference between 96 kHz and 192 kHz is largely beyond the ability of human ears to detect. Most movie soundtracks are mastered at 48 kHz, and research has shown that higher sampling rates have diminishing returns, with 96 kHz being pretty much the upper limit. The 'Akira' disc authors chose to use the maximum sampling rate available on the format primarily just so that they could say they did for marketing purposes.
So, when you watch the movie, if you don't hear anything wrong with the soundtrack, I wouldn't worry about it.
Dolby TrueHD vs. DTS-HD Master Audio Revisited
Q: There has been a debate concerning the issue of what's the better lossless audio codec: Dolby TrueHD or DTS-HD Master Audio. Most professionals claim that one isn't better than the other, that both are lossless soundtracks exactly how the source material was made. Despite this claim, the debate has raged with comparisons of discs that have these soundtracks. However, the problem is that it's like comparing apples to oranges. (Like comparing 'Iron Man' to 'The Incredible Hulk'.) The problem with this is that soundtracks aren't created equally, so you can't really discern any quality difference dealing with the codec, only the soundtrack. However, we do have a movie that includes both codecs on the disc: 'Top Gun'. I gave it a listen and without a doubt, I liked the DTS track over the TrueHD track. The DTS track was more immersive and fuller than the TrueHD track. Now how is this possible if both codecs are supposed to be accurate representations of the source?
A: As I've mentioned in previous columns, both Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD Master Audio are lossless compression codecs. They work similarly to a ZIP file. What you put into them is compressed, and then reconstructed exactly the same when you open the file. Because both are lossless, assuming all other factors are equal, there will be no quality differences regardless of which of these codecs you use. Lossless is lossless. No loss.
'Top Gun' is an interesting, but ultimately misleading, test case. Although the disc contains two copies of the movie's soundtrack, one in Dolby TrueHD format and one in DTS-HD Master Audio format, it turns out that the two tracks are actually not the same sound mix. If you take a look at the disc case (or your receiver's input display), you'll notice that the Dolby TrueHD option is a 5.1 audio track, while the DTS-HD Master Audio option is 6.1 track. Before releasing the movie on Blu-ray, Paramount had the movie's soundtrack remixed into 6.1 configuration for the DTS track. But they left the Dolby TrueHD track as the older 5.1 mix.
As a result, this is really another apples-to-oranges comparison. In addition to the extra rear channel, there's no telling what other aspects of the sound mix the studio may have tweaked. Because the two codecs were each fed different sources, naturally the end results are also different.
I have a couple more points to make here. First, please note that the Dolby and DTS companies have different philosophies in regard to the usage of Dialog Normalization. Dolby uses it, and DTS usually doesn't. Dialnorm sets the overall volume level of the soundtrack. (However, contrary to popular misconception, it does not in any way change the sound mix or boost the dialogue channel in relation to the rest of the audio.) Because of this, DTS tracks are almost always set louder than Dolby tracks by default. That doesn't make them "better" than Dolby tracks, just louder. I advise you to volume match the two with a sound level meter before attempting any comparisons. Even a small difference in volume can radically affect a listener's perception of audio quality.
Secondly, it's worth noting that 'Top Gun' played in theaters originally with either Dolby Stereo (in the 35mm release prints) or 70mm 6-track audio. In 1986, there was no such thing as the 5.1 configuration as we now know it. Both the 5.1 and 6.1 soundtracks on the Blu-ray are remixes that have been tweaked and enhanced for home video. While both TrueHD And DTS-HD Master Audio will both losslessly represent the studio masters fed into them, those masters are not exactly 100% faithful to the way the movie was originally mixed back in 1986. As such, even if you do find differences between the 5.1 and 6.1 options, those differences do not necessarily mean that one is "better" than the other, just different. "Better" is subjective in this case.
Some questions that the HD Advisor receives are best answered with a consensus of opinions from our readers. If you can help to answer the following question, please post your response in our forum thread linked at the end of this article. Your advice and opinions matter too!
Blu-ray Players with Netflix Streaming
Q: Simple question: What's the best Blu-ray player that also offers Netflix streaming?
Check back soon for another round of answers. Keep those questions coming.
Joshua Zyber's opinions are his own and do not necessarily reflect those of this site, its owners or employees.
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Broadcom Launches Ultra Capable DVR Chip
Fri Oct 30, 2009 at 02:00 PM ETTags: DVR, Broadcom (all tags)
The new Broadcom DVR chip features compatibility for tru2way, MoCA, DNLA and more.
Broadcom chips are used in a great number of DVRs on the market, and while DVRs may vary, the chip is at the very core of the functionality. If the chip can’t do it, the DVR can’t do it. So, while it may be a bit preemptive, we’re still fairly excited about Broadcom’s new BCM7125 SoC.
The BCM7125 offers the expected, such as tru2way and cablecard compatibility, but it also offers a lot of things that we’ve been hoping to see in a set-top box for a long time such as Flash and a 3D graphics engine. Two things in particular, though, stand out among the rest.
While DLNA support isn’t new in a set-top box, it certainly isn’t common enough. Having network media streaming functionality built into a DVR could save not only a little money, but some extra hassle as well.
The second thing to get us all excited is of course, MoCA, which allows media to be streamed through coaxial connections at breakneck speeds.
Just because the BCM7125 can handle all of this doesn’t mean that every DVR using the chip will take advantage of it, but we can sure hope.
Source: Broadcom
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MTube Shows New Steaming Capable Mobile Internet Device
Fri Oct 30, 2009 at 12:00 PM ETTags: MTube (all tags)
The new MID from MTube was shown recently at a Tapei tradeshow, and it carries a few surprises including streaming video to and from a TV.
Though better known for their netbooks, MTube certainly stands a chance to make an impression with their new Mobile Internet Device. With a 7.6 inch capacitive touch screen and an ARM processor, MTube’s new MID doesn’t look all that much different from others on the market.
Thanks to its Android architecture, the MTube MID is an impressively capable machine. It can browse the internet, view pictures and run various applications. Most importantly, it can stream video both to and from your television.
While no information is available on the streaming method – WiFi seems most likely – users only have to select a video, drag it to the appropriate spot on the screen and it pops up on your connected HDTV. Similarly, video can be streamed directly from a TV to the MID’s 800x480 OLED screen.
The MID is still in development and as such, price and availability are unknown at the moment. We’ll certainly be looking forward to more on this from MTube.
Source: Netbook News
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