You think Hi-Def will make it?

DVD/TV/movies/etc
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MK
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You think Hi-Def will make it?

Postby MK » Wed May 17, 2006 6:44 pm

It'll be a few years before I buy a player, but it's hard to believe this is going to take off. I guess it'll have to just because TV broadcasts are changing as are TV sets.

These are the only discs I'd consider buying that are currently available or planned for release (all HD-DVD, plans for Blu-Ray have been speculated):
The Player
GoodFellas
Full Metal Jacket
Batman Begins
Blazing Saddles
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
2001: A Space Odyssey
A Clockwork Orange
Superman: Ultimate Collector's Edition
The Fugitive
North By Northwest
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Rspaight
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Postby Rspaight » Wed May 17, 2006 7:58 pm

I dunno -- I'm waiting until they figure out what format they're going to use.

I figure normal DVD is going to be around a long time. They'll play just fine on even analog-less HDTVs. And a good DVD on a good player is not night-and-day different from HD until you get a big-ass TV. HD's better on a 27" screen, sure, but not throw-out-your-collection and re-buy better.

Now, those with 50" sets are gonna want HD DVDs in a bad way.

As fas as HD itself goes, though, there IS a night-and-day difference over normal broadcast/cable/DBS TV, even on smaller screens.

Ryan
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Xenu
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Postby Xenu » Wed May 17, 2006 8:28 pm

Dumb question: what are the audio specs like on these formats?
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Postby Rspaight » Wed May 17, 2006 9:35 pm

Geez, it's confusing as all get out. There are these new codecs called Dolby Digital Plus, Dolby TrueHD, and DTS HD.

Dolby Digital Plus - http://www.dolby.com/consumer/technolog ... _plus.html

Compressed, 7.1.

Dolby TrueHD - http://www.dolby.com/consumer/technology/trueHD.html

Lossless 24/96 7.1. DVD-Audio on steroids.

DTS HD - http://www.dtsonline.com/consumer/dtshd.php

I *think* this is lossless 7.1, but I don't know what the bit rate is.

To make it even worse, some players can do some of these but not others, and sometimes stuff gets downconverted, and who knows what all. It's rather insane.

Ryan
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Postby Xenu » Wed May 17, 2006 11:10 pm

Kinda what I suspected...so much waddage is blown on the video that the audio remains sorta compromised. I mean, c'mon...7.1? Is something aking to standard 5.1 too much to ask? Fuck, is LINEAR PCM (stereo!) too much to ask?

Also, do we have any idea as to whether the next gen DVDs will be able to play "compilations" of standard DVD material without conversion? (i.e. multiple VIDEO_TS folders representing multiple standard-def DVD movies) Given as regular DVD didn't support the CD-audio sampling rate--something that seems done simply to break compatibility--I can't imagine something this obvious/convinient will be offered in the next-gen formats.
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Postby Rspaight » Thu May 18, 2006 7:51 am

As far as I know, all the standards supported by DVD are coming along for the ride, so PCM stereo, DTS, and DD should still be an option. Also, 7.1 is the max -- all those formats can be used to deliver 5.1, 6.1, stereo or whatever.

No idea as far as custom comps go.

Ryan
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Postby krabapple » Thu May 18, 2006 2:37 pm

Rspaight wrote:Geez, it's confusing as all get out. There are these new codecs called Dolby Digital Plus, Dolby TrueHD, and DTS HD.

Dolby Digital Plus - http://www.dolby.com/consumer/technolog ... _plus.html

Compressed, 7.1.

Dolby TrueHD - http://www.dolby.com/consumer/technology/trueHD.html

Lossless 24/96 7.1. DVD-Audio on steroids.

DTS HD - http://www.dtsonline.com/consumer/dtshd.php

I *think* this is lossless 7.1, but I don't know what the bit rate is.


if it's lossless, it's not going to matter, is it?
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Postby Rspaight » Thu May 18, 2006 3:35 pm

I meant the bit rate/sample depth of the actual digital stream (24/96 or whatever).

Ryan
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