http://blog.ultimateavmag.com/thomasnorton/
These are the main data:
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His impressions of the visual demo:
These are the main data:
- All first titles are expected to be limited to a single layer.
- There are two Blu-ray modes: Movie Mode (used for high definition films) and BD-J Mode (a fully programmable mode that includes interactive features, like games and Internet connectivity). Both modes can be used on the same disc.
- Sony and MGM titles will be encoded on the discs at 1080/24p. The user will set the player to convert this native resolution as required to match the capability of his or her display.
- At this time Sony has no immediate plans to implement the Image Constraint Token (ICT).
- All of the Sony and MGM titles will initially be encoded using MPEG-2, at a variable bit rate, but up to a maximum of 30Mb/sec.
- When other codecs exceed MPEG-2 at all data rates, Sony will begin using them.
- On the audio side, all Sony and MGM titles will include both conventional Dolby Digital and DTS soundtracks. Dolby data rate is still unconfirmed. DTS data rate will be 1.5Mb/sec. Additionally all Sony/MGM releases will include a 5.1 uncompressed PCM audio track.
- The first Sony and MGM titles will each have a hidden Easter Egg containing several setup test patterns— a sweep, a standard SMPTE pattern including, among other things, a PLUGE, color bars, and a resolution monoscope. These patterns can be accessed by entering 7669 on your Blu-ray player's remote (7669 is S-O-N-Y on a telephone).
******
His impressions of the visual demo: