Welcome Van!

Ronald Epstein · 07-17-2008, 03:48 AM

I would like to take this opportunity to welcome Van Ling
to our Insiders Area here at Home Theater Forum.

Van is no stranger to the members of this forum. Most
everyone is aware of his efforts to bring a new level of interactivity
to some of the most popular DVD Special Editions.

If you want say hi to Van and welcome him aboard please use
this thread to do so. If you have any questions, please start a new
thread topic.

troy evans · 07-17-2008, 03:51 AM

Welcome sir.

oscar_merkx · 07-17-2008, 03:48 PM

Welcome aboard

Van Ling · 07-17-2008, 04:52 PM

Greetings to all on HTF and thanks for the warm welcome...

I'd be interested to know what your general thoughts are about the BD format, its pros and cons, and what kind of features you'd like to see implemented on future titles.

Remember though, I'm not the studios or a representative thereof... I'm just a film fan who sometimes gets a chance to play in the digital home video sandbox, and I look forward to posting here on the Home Theater Forum...

Thanks,

Van

oscar_merkx · 07-17-2008, 05:39 PM

Hi Van

Will you set a standard with BD titles like you did when DVD first came out.

Titles like the Abyss, Terminator or T2.

Looking forward to find out what, when your first BD Title comes out.

**HTF Ads**

Van Ling · 07-17-2008, 06:25 PM

Oscar:

Well, when I am granted a budget, time and support to push the format, I try to do my best to innovate in the format! ;-)

I've actually worked on ten BD titles already, but they were mostly generic catalog titles for Lionsgate back in 2006, along with the first version of T2 on Blu-ray. I was mostly learning the ropes of HDMV graphics on titles like Stargate, Devil's Rejects, Stir of Echoes and Total Recall, but I had fun trying to come up with "generic" menus that were still unique and interesting. Nothing spectacular in any of them, since the mandate at the time was to just have something that PLAYED in the first-gen players... But I did get a chance to try to create some new things for Independence Day on Blu-ray, which came out last March. So that was my first BD-J title and it has some interesting features I created or refined. There are some YouTube videos that Scott Hettrick shot of me demoing some of the ID4 features, in case you want to check it out and don't own the disc (yet!).

V

TheBat · 07-18-2008, 04:37 AM

what I like about the bluray.

the picture and sound quality. I like both DTS MA and TRUEHD.
I like being able to view extras when I am in the middle of the film and also being about to use scene selection. I find the BD live a bit lacking and also the games stuff not so interesting.
I have a bunch of bluray titles. I own both the panasonic 30 and the ps3. perhaps you can answer this question..
regarding T2 on bluray.. when I play T2 on my ps3.. I get DTS matrix 7.1 from my onkyo receiver.. however when I play the movie on my panasonic 30, I get DTS matrix 5.1. is there something wrong with this or is this normal?
thanks,

Jacob

Sam Posten · 07-18-2008, 02:48 PM

Hi Van, last time we met we were sharing some terrific Brazilian BBQ, don't think I could quite eat that much these days =)

We had discussed how the open endedness of tech like BD Java would potentially hurt producers like yourself by dramatically increasing how much time you have to spend on QC, as these techs do not allow a mapping of every path a consumer might possibly take through the content the way standard DVD authoring tools do. So far, most examples of the HD media I have seen have taken a rather limited chunk of the potential of these formats for a ride, so it seems like that fear has been avoided simply by not really getting to the edges of whats possible. From your perspective is that true? Do you relish the chance to really play with some of the things that are possible but untried at this point? Is budget the real limiting factor?

Sam Posten · 07-18-2008, 02:50 PM

Also, how do you balance the needs of people like me who HATE content embedded into the feature (ie U-Control) and want these to all be menu selectable, vice those that want really wild interactive elements that are only possible by embracing non-linear content?

Geoff_D · 07-18-2008, 05:31 PM

Howdy Van. Love your work. Do you think that there's any chance of a 20th Anniversary edition of The Abyss for next year? It's a damn shame that there's been no anamorphic DVD release of Cameron's waterlogged epic.