HD-DVD & Blu-ray movie boxes unveiled, 1080p standard
DVDActive has posted the fronts and backs of several soon-to-be-released (or not so soon) Blu-ray and HD-DVD titles so you know what color boxes to look for when they hit stores. The most interesting development is that despite rumors to the contrary, all the HD-DVD movies posted state they are formatted in 1080p. Even though most of us don't have 1080p TVs yet and the initial HD-DVD players will max out at 1080i, those concerned about "future proofing" their next generation DVD collection may still have an option in HD-DVD.
[Thaks for the tip SJ!]
Filed under: Toshiba
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Tristan @ Apr 13th 2006 2:31PM
Where's the DTS? I thought it was mandatory?
hmurchison @ Apr 13th 2006 2:41PM
DTS is mandatory according to the spec.
As far as HD-DVD 1080i ALWAYS referenced the "output". Since a vast majority of films are recorded at 23.97(24p) it makes no sense to store the film in an interlaced format. Fear not about 1080i outputs. If you have a de-interlacer in your 1080P set it'll reassemble the interlaced fields back into a progressive picture via a feature called Inverse Telecine.
Bring on the High Def!!!
Dan in DCVA @ Apr 13th 2006 2:55PM
Ditto the DTS comment above.
zombieflanders @ Apr 13th 2006 3:02PM
Except that the majority of HDTVs have poor-to-mediocre IVTC implementation. Even some 1080p-capable sets don't deinterlace properly.
Ben Hobbs @ Apr 13th 2006 3:06PM
#2
1080i doesnt simply turn into perfect 1080p because your using an LCD TV or Plasma etc... If that was the case then why bother having a 1080i/1080p. De-Interlacing isnt always going to be perfect and I'm not sure I would trust any sort of flagging sent from a DVD player, Seems most manufacturers still cant even produce a perfectly flagging DVD player after all these years.
Ben Hobbs
http://www.h3-digital.com
H3-Digital are a smart home automation and home cinema company based in Phuket, Thailand.
hmurchison @ Apr 13th 2006 3:20PM
zombieflanders and Ben Hobbs you bring up good points. I've seen more than a few DVD players fail many tests on Hometheaterhif's excellent reviews.
However if your 1080p set doesn't deinterlace well then perhaps it seems rather foolhardy that you should place much emphasis in "interlace" versus "Progressive".
In audio and video the worst thing you can do is rely on specs. You have two eyes and two ears for a reason. Poor performing 1080p isn't going to look better than excellent 1080i in many cases.
I choose to let my eyes be the final arbiter of what is or isn't quality. I've seen HD-DVD and it looks greeeeeeeeeeeeeeat. I expect nothing less from Blu Ray as well.
However if money wasn't an option I'd love to see an XRD based set with a signal pumped in through a Realta HQV based processor and Algolith Mosquito. There's always ways to improve "assumed perfection". :D cheers
James @ Apr 13th 2006 3:29PM
Just FYI - we received communication today that Million Dollar Baby wasn't going to make ship (well, it might've been Phantom. Can't remember now). Sounds like there will be just two movies plus Serenity next Tuesday.
SJ @ Apr 13th 2006 3:34PM
I downloaded some 1080i videos from Sky TV's website when they were promoting hi-def, and the videos really looked good on my progressive laptop screen, which has a native resolution of 1280 X 800. Then again, I have heard that the difference between 1080i and 1080p shows up only on sets with a size of 50 inch and higher, and my laptop's screen is 14.1 inches.
Chris Lanier @ Apr 13th 2006 4:40PM
"Mandatory" is from a player standpoint, not software. It's "Mandatory" that all HD DVD Players (Hardware) support DTS decode from the start. IIRC it is also "Mandatory" for them to decode DD, DD+, and Dolby TrueHD (2-channel).
Richard Lawler @ Apr 13th 2006 4:43PM
from twice: "The mandatory decoders that must appear in all HD DVD players are losslessly compressed two-channel Dolby True HD up to 96kHz/24-bit quality; a core 5.1-channel DTS HD lossy stream that's compatible with existing 1.5Mbps DTS 5.1 decoders in A/V receivers; and lossy Dolby Digital Plus at data rates up to 3Mbps, including 5.1 and 6.1 variations. The players will convert Dolby Digital Plus to 5.1- and 6.1-channel Dolby Digital at a data rate up to 640Kbps for playback by existing Dolby Digital decoders."
All HD DVD discs must feature at least one of the three mandatory surround formats.
The disc has to have at least one, but it doesn't say which one.
Tristan @ Apr 13th 2006 5:27PM
Why can't they do lossless with multi channel? I love Multi channel music like SACD and DVD-Audio. If it could be lossless I would be very happy.
Richard Lawler @ Apr 13th 2006 5:41PM
they can, however it is optional for the players to support it. The first gen players however will feature support for all optional and mandatory audio codecs.
from the same article:"HD DVD's optional decoders are Dolby True HD with up to 7.1-channel 96/24-quality channels, losslessly compressed DTS HD Master with up to 5.1 192kHz/24-bit quality channels, and all optional variations of lossy DTS HD, including 6.1- and 7.1-channel soundtracks with up to 192kHz/24-bit quality at data rates up to 3Mbps."
Jeff @ Apr 13th 2006 7:22PM
All comments good, i have an LCD Westy 1080p with DCDi by faroudja... an industry icon for such stuff.
Also have a mpeg 2 ts stream HD video cam, and that is interlaced 1080i. Looks fantastic on the Westy. so when i bring that camera to a bad TV ( 1366x768 samsung or dell ) i am stunned by how it is nowhere near as good to look at, but i find if i tell the proud owner of his less than perfect TV that this image isnt even close to right, i will offend him.
He sees it and says wow its great!!
bleh. just shoot me.
... such is life. All HIgh Def DVDs will be 1080 and what people actually see will be at the mercy of the scaler & firmare de-interlace in thier processing path, and the potentially crappy endpoint of thier HD-Ready whatever. so both the DVD player and the monitor get into the act and what happens is not always good.
Problem is partially solved with a 1080p source, reduces the problem to just scaling so i applaud the publishers that recognize the value in all that, and i will buy 1080p and likely be glad to pay more for it.
Hopefully the Progressive play flagging problem will not happen in our HD future.
apacit @ Apr 13th 2006 7:51PM
I always figured these disks would need to offer 1080p to differentiate themselves from cable, ip, sat, or broadcast delivered content. If they don't offer more benefits they won't sell.
Ben Drawbaugh @ Apr 13th 2006 9:12PM
Hmm, no mention of the ICT, I wonder if this movie will force down-rezing?
Trav @ Apr 14th 2006 5:01AM
Blu Ray is going to be the winner I think. Once Universal signs up to release them on Blu Ray, that will be the end of the format war.
HD001 @ Apr 14th 2006 9:26AM
The frontpages are looking much better than a regular DVD frontpage. Do they have higher res or what?
- HD001
HD001 @ Apr 14th 2006 9:30AM
@Tray:
HD-DVD is the pricing winner for now. I agree with your blu-ray comment, but they need to have lower prices til the end of the year, or the next better format will lose.
We remember those format wars from the past and everytime the better......
- HD001
James Depew @ Apr 14th 2006 10:29AM
Am I the only one confused by the fact that special features are listed as being 480i. Seriously? They can't even push 480p? I'm sure there's a reason that's perfectly logical, but it seems a bit odd.
tony @ Nov 26th 2006 12:40AM
If the disc is formated in 1080p and your tv set can only run 1080i what is the tv actually running?