Warner announces first Blu-ray titles with MPEG-2! The question is how long? (1 Viewer)

[Pete T C]

http://www.dvdtown.com/announcement/...lu-raytit/3692

Full specs now available - Warner's titles will be MPEG2 single layer on Blu-Ray. As previously announced Training Day Blu-Ray will lose the TrueHD5.1 soundtrack that is featured on the HD-DVD and the other three titles will lose the standard DVD version that is featured on the flipside of the HD DVDs for those movies.

 

[ChristopherDAC]

I think it was agreed long since that the first 5 or 6 would be like this, since these are the discs which were mastered by Sony months back. These specs should not apply to any future WB BD releases.

 

[Pete T C]

I guess we'll see. The only discs Warner have officially announced are MPEG2. The rest is just rumors.

 

[Dave Moritz]

If VC-1 discs for Blu-ray do not come out soon this may most likely affect my decsion to buy the Sony Blu-ray player at the end of the year. It just seems like one thing after another. Sony keeps pushing the release of there player back, they release inferior MPEG2 encoded discs. We really do not know when the VC-1 disc will be out and when they are there will be no way of knowing what discs are VC-1 and which ones are not.

I will be re-evaluating if I will be buying the Blu-ray player just after I purchase the Toshiba HD-DVD player the first part of October. At least at that point I wll be able to enjoy HD movies from a better source than cable. I still believe that Blu-ray has more potential but whats the point if the software is inferior? And there is HD-DVD that is a great product to begin with and is more than capible to deliver a great HD exsperience.

Wake up Sony, Toshiba is taking the few chances you have and running off with the technical win. Don't get me wrong at this point if Sony does not pull there head out of there rear. I have no problem switching to HD-DVD only and being happy with the HD goodness of HD-DVD.

 

[Rakesh.S]

Are these initial Warner releases going to suffer from the bob issue that plagues the HDDVD titles?

It's kind of ridiculous that they would even release them like that..who knows how many years it'll take for those to be corrected -- probably in the uber ultra spectacular edition.

 

[DaViD Boulet]

ChrisDAC, correct.

Everyone relax... we've known for months that the first handful/wave of WB BD titles would be MPEG2 since they were mastered by Sony months ago before VC1 authoring was ready. WB is already in production with their VC1 BD titles and they'll follow shortly... and from that point on WB will use VC1 for *** ALL *** of their future BD discs.

 

[Dave Moritz]

Hey DaVid,

Will there be anyway to know that the disc you have in your hands at your local retailer is VC-1 and not MPEG2?

This is a problem that needs to be addressed IMHO. At what point will we not have to worry about ending up with MPEG2 discs. I know that I can't afford to run out and repurchase titles just because it came out in VC-1 later. But I suppose that its a great way to double dip the customer. You release inferior MPEG2 titles with Dolby Digital Plus or just Dolby Digital. Then you put out a new release later using VC-1 and Dolby True HD or DTS-HD.

I would at least like to see a VC-1 encoded sticker on the case so we know what we are getting.

 

[DaViD Boulet]

Agreed it would be nice if there was something on the packaging.

But it's simple: Unless otherwise confirmed, assume that ALL of the first-wave of BD titles from WB will be MPEG2, and every BD title after that VC1.

-dave

 

[zaid]

So let me ask this. If the picture quality is the same but, HD DVD releases have better value because they include the in-movie experience, where as the Blu-Ray releases don't, would you still buy the Blu-Ray release?

Just curios.

And for those who might argue that the in-movie experience will be available, think again, the PiP feature of Blu-Ray will not be available until BD-LIVE is enabled which is not until 2nd generation players.

Zaid Al-Ahmar

 

[Sean Bryan]

The only HD DVDs that had this problem are Warner Brothers' The Fugative, Full Metal Jacket, The Perfect Storm, Lethal Weapon, and Enter the Dragon. (Please someone clarify if there are any others.)

So I wouldn't expect these WB BD titles to have that problem.

 

[Robert Crawford]

Looks like you can start sharpening your pitch fork.

http://www.highdefdigest.com/news/sh..._on_HD_DVD/151

 

[DaViD Boulet]

If this is one of their early MPEG2 BD titles there could be a legit reason (in the eyes of the studio):

chances are that a 25 gig MPEG2 BD would look inferior to a 30 gig VC1 HD DVD... and so maybe WB is delaying the HD DVD to avoid critical comparisons that slam the BD since it isn't by their choice that MPEG2 is being used at this time anyway.

I'll bet once VC1 is being used on BD we'll see more same-date releases on HD DVD and BD since they'll basically be matched comparisons without one format looking inferior to the other (at that point it will be other things like added bonus content on future 50 gig discs that may separate the two formats... but VC1 on 25/30 gig with modest bonus features will be virtually identical).

 

[Lew Crippen]

I think that you are correct in that we will see more concurrent BD/HD-DVD releases as other codecs become available for BD. And your idea that WB is deliberately trying to avoid comparisons at this juncture is appealing.

Still WB had a choice: the same one that all companies have in deciding to release an inferior product (BD in MPEG2) in an effort to get to market, or delay until a better product is available.

After all, if we criticize Toshiba for not supporting 1080p and the newer audio formats, and Samsung for some softness issues (among other things), I don’t think that excuses should be made for WB in their decision to go to market with a substandard product.

 

[DaViD Boulet]

True. But what's invisible to eyes at HTF are the complex negotiations and political issues between Warner and Sony at this moment. Warner's decision to continue with plans to release the first round of MPEG2-mastered BD titles was a peace-gesture to Sony to preserve good will. In the long term, that's more important that 5 first-generation BD titles that will be forgotten within a few short months.

Trust me, WB is well aware of the sub-standard PQ of these first discs (due to lack of VC1) and will be taking a strong VC1 position for all titles after that. There are many significant considerations at stake regarding their decision to release their first wave of Sony-mastered MPEG2 BD titles, and most of them are subject to NDA and cannot even be disclosed in forums like this.

 

[Lew Crippen]

And I disagree with none of that. My point was that one can say the same about any company that releases a product that they know to be suboptimal.

 

[Lew Crippen]

Just to be clear David, I’m not bagging Warner’s. Who knows which marketing strategy is correct? Get a product out, or wait and ‘do it right’ (assuming that anyone knows what is correct). Keep the industry peace or stick to perfection?

There are no easy answers and for sure I don’t pretend to be able to forecast the right strategy.

But I do find some humor in that many on this forum (and elsewhere) hold WB as a standard for DVDs (specialty companies excepted), but in this case they (WB) are taking an expedient view.

 

[DaViD Boulet]

It's not expediency with BD that is their concern.

It's their relationship with Sony given all the behind-the-scenes work the two companies have been doing together over the past year (Sony has made enormous accomodations/changes/improvements with the BD format to woo WB into providing support... it's not so simple as describing WBs move as a rush-job).