How will Blu-Ray DVD compare... (1 Viewer)

[Justin_M]

to HD-DVD feature/menu programming wise? We have all seen how the HD-DVD titles auto-play and the menus appear on-screen with that stupid "whoosh" sound.

The thing that bothers me is when you press the Subtitle button while the feature is playing, it will put that blue box in the middle of the screen with instructions. Why doesn't it also show which Subtitle track is selected in this dumb blue box? Would it be so hard to have for example "1/3 ENG, 2/3 FRE, 3/3 Comm." appear in the top corner of the screen? You don't know what you selected until the blue box disappears and the subtitles finally appear.

Is Blu-Ray going to be the same way as far as auto-play and on-screen feature menus? I hope not. If you could design the layout for a Blu-Ray disc, how would you have it? Would you want it to auto-play or go directly to a Main Menu so you can set it up before the feature actually starts?

I'm just looking for some comments...

OXonce

 

[Paul McElligott]

I think a lot of the wooshy sounds and the interface will be up to the hardware manufacturer. There's a big difference between the look and feel of my Sony DVD player and my brother's Toshiba.

 

[alanR]

I always like to go to the main menu first. Somtimes there is a DTS option on the sound and the only way to know is to bring up MENU FIRST!!!

 

[Sean Bryan]

I think it will be studio dependent, just like HD DVD is now.

Only the Warner HD DVD titles are autoplay. The Universal HD DVDs go to a main menu. Also, at least some of the HD DVDs definitely give you the option to turn off menu sounds (not certain if ALL of them do).

My preference right now is the way Universal is doing it. When you put the disc in, after the UNIVERSAL HD DVD thingy, it goes to a nice (not overly complex) main menu with music and images from the film, the options (set-up, scene select, extras, etc..) are superimposed over that. During playback, you can hit "menu" and pull up the (superimposed)menu options over the playing film or you can hit "top menu" which takes you out of the film and back to the simple "music and images from the film menu".

With the Warner titles, there is no "top menu". It is just the film and the "superimposed menu options" over the playing film. With both Universal and Warner titles you can pause playback if you want when you pull up the menu options over the playing film.

I have to say, I initially thought the idea of pulling up menu stuff over the playing film seemed gimmicky and unnecessary when first hearing about it. But after using it I like it quite a bit. It actually seems a bit jarring now with regular DVD when I want to skip around to different chapters and you get yanked out of the film back to the main menu in order to get the scene selection option. So this is a definite thumbs up for the evolved user options.

When playing with a disc and chapter skipping and stuff, it is great to just be able to pull up the superimposed menu options over the playing film. However, when sitting down to watch a movie, I like the option to have a simple "main menu" up first and then start the movie from there (like Universal is doing and Warner Brothers is not).

So these two HD DVD studios are both doing it a bit differently. I won't be surprised if Paramount's releases are a little different from both of these as well.

Blu-ray Disc (BD) will probably have differences in the implementation of the menu options between studios just like HD DVD. While there may be some type or style of interaction that is unique to BD (or HD DVD), I think there will probably be more differences between studio implementations than between the formats themselves.

 

[Ed St. Clair]

What are the MSRP or retail price points?
Paul, if you don't know, post the model numbers.

'cause "there's a big difference between the look and feel of my" Pioneer "DVD player and my Toshiba" DVD player.
Butt...
What in the heck does that mean to anyone???

 

[DaViD Boulet]

All these details are implilmentation specific. Any HD DVD or Blu-ray player could be designed to handle the look/feel of menus etc. in a more pleasing way.

 

[Jack Briggs]

A correction is called for here, vis. the thread's title: Blu-ray Disc is not DVD. HD DVD, though, is.

 

[Chad R]

Well, I took it to mean that the on screen displays of the two players are different. I have two players, a Toshiba in the back bedroom and a Sony in my Living Room. One has a blue box that superimposes over the picture when I hit display, one has a little blue box that just sits up in the corner when I hit display.

They both do the same thing, I can pick subtitles, audio, chapter skip from these player generated menus, but they both look entirely different.

And, I think I read on AVS that the whoosh sound could be turned off on Goodfellas via a menu on the disc itself.