Warner does Dolby TrueHD on Blu-ray!!! (FINALLY)

DaViD Boulet · 05-18-2007, 10:08 AM

from the bits today (Friday 18th) www.thedigitalbits.com

Quote:

Warner has also revealed that the HD-DVD version of 300 (due 7/31) will include the ability to watch the entire film with an In-Movie Experience featuring special commentary by Zack Snyder, as well as an exclusive HD strategy game, Vengeance & Valor. Both the HD-DVD and Blu-ray versions will include Dolby TrueHD 5.1 audio.

Sigh.

It's about time. TrueHD authoring on Blu-ray has been available for MONTHS and yet Warner has been dragging their feet providing audio-parity between HD DVD and BD (HD DVD typically getting TrueHD when the BD does not).

Hopefully the release of 300 on both formats with TrueHD is a sign of a new strategy with Warner and not an isolated case.

Now, if we could get Warner to stop applying Dialog Normalization to their TrueHD streams we would *really* have something to get excited about.

(applying DN forces the decoder to recalculate the entire waveform for digital-level-adjustment which negates bit-for-bit accuracy. Sony has committed to not applying DN to their TrueHD tracks, now it's time for Warner!).

also some good news from the bits:

Quote:

Not done yet... Warner has also re-upped their distribution deal with producer Saul Zaentz for five years. As part of this deal Warner will be releasing One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest and Amadeus in both HD-DVD and Blu-ray Disc formats in February '08. You can read more here at Video Business.

Still not done with Warner: Some HD-DVD copies of The Ultimate Matrix Collection (due in stores next Tuesday) will come packaged with a pamphlet promoting the forthcoming high-def release (in both formats) of Blade Runner and a number of Stanley Kubrick films including 2001: A Space Odyssey, A Clockwork Orange, The Shining, Full Metal Jacket and the unrated Eyes Wide Shut. All are expected before the end of the year.

Let's hope that we get TrueHD on some of these other releases as well. Would LOVE lossless for Amadeus, 2001, and Matrix (on BD).

ScottJH · 05-18-2007, 10:40 AM

I guess you missed the thread about Letters From Iwo Jima. The Blu-Ray has TrueHD on it, same as HD DVD. So you won't have to wait until July.

Nick Graham · 05-18-2007, 10:43 AM

You could always have gone format neutral and been enjoying the best of both worlds all this time..... : )

DaViD Boulet · 05-18-2007, 10:59 AM

Scott, GREAT NEWS! I did indeed miss that. Thanks for informing me (and a great movie I plan to pick up).

In that case, it *does* look to be a new trend... both formats getting True HD. Sigh... if only it had happened prior to Happy Feet.

Nick,

given the eventuality of TrueHD on BD, I didn't feel the need to invest in a completely new HD format just for a handful of initially-released titles sans lossless. (and for Universal titles, I'll happily wait a year or so to see if Universal changes their stance as I can't afford all the HD releases I want on BD even now).

Grant H · 05-18-2007, 11:33 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DaViD Boulet

Scott, GREAT NEWS! I did indeed miss that. Thanks for informing me (and a great movie I plan to pick up).

In that case, it *does* look to be a new trend... both formats getting True HD. Sigh... if only it had happened prior to Happy Feet.

Nick,

given the eventuality of TrueHD on BD, I didn't feel the need to invest in a completely new HD format just for a handful of initially-released titles sans lossless. (and for Universal titles, I'll happily wait a year or so to see if Universal changes their stance as I can't afford all the HD releases I want on BD even now).

You make a good point there, Dave, on holding off on neutrality. Software prices are still too high for me. If I blew another couple hundred bucks to go neutral, I'd feel compelled to buy all those HD DVD exclusive titles, when I would otherwise wait for software prices to fall. Hopefully, Universal will eventually go neutral and all the software prices will fall by then. It's helped ease my temptations that a lot of the titles I've held off on I foresee coming in special editions or box sets which will end up being cheaper per disc anyway.

I wouldn't be at all surprised if in the near future blu-ray software ends up cheaper, as HD DVD seems to be striving for combo discs and Total HD, both of which have to be tougher to produce than a BD 50. Once replication ramps up and studios like Fox drop their prices to something reasonable things will be a lot more fun. Even most of the delayed titles people are getting worked up about don't really do anything for me, so I'm happy to hold onto my dollars until we see the big guns come out.

**HTF Ads**

Nick Graham · 05-18-2007, 03:44 PM

David, I have a big fear that assuming Universal jumps to neutral, even if it's in a year or more, that they will opt to include lossless tracks on some of their titles in Blu that did not have lossless in HD. Granted, for most catalog titles it is unlikely, but worrisome for newer ones.

I'm curious to hear the difference between a dial normless TrueHD track and a standard one (though first they are gonna have to release a title I actually want to buy in with TrueHD, and Stomp the Yard it ain't).

Cees Alons · 05-18-2007, 05:00 PM

Quote:

Now, if we could get Warner to stop applying Dialog Normalization to their TrueHD streams

Who says they do apply it? I know it seems to be a default setting somewhere, but that doesn't mean a thing.

All you know is: they don't guarantee not to apply it.

Cees

DaViD Boulet · 05-18-2007, 05:08 PM

Cees,

Unless WB has recently made an unannounced change in policy, all their Dolby tracks have DN (it's been confirmed on every release that's been tested by AVS members thus far to the best of my knowledge). I use the word "applied" to mean that it's applied to the signal... whether by intention on the part of the mastering engineer or by default due to Dolby encoder design when the setting is not modified by the user.

My reciever doesn't indicate (that I'm aware of) if the dialog norm flag is set or what that setting is, but some AVS members do have access to equipment that can detect the setting (in addition to some audio engineers from WB giving direct information) to confirm.

Douglas Monce · 05-18-2007, 05:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DaViD Boulet

Cees,

Unless WB has recently made an unannounced change in policy, all their Dolby tracks have DN (it's been confirmed on every release that's been tested by AVS members thus far to the best of my knowledge).

Warner Bros. has no policy of how the movies they release are encoded because they don't control most of the movies they release. Virtually every movie they release is made by an independent producer and or production company. Warner's has little to nothing to say about such matters.

DN being turned on or off is strictly up to the producers, the director and the sound engineer on the individual movie. Most likely the sound engineer makes the choice with out even consulting the producers or the director because the whole idea would be lost on them.

Doug

Tim Glover · 05-18-2007, 08:21 PM

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