What can we do about Warner Bros? (1 Viewer)

[John H Ross]

So you have to decide whether to watch an integral (i.e. as broadcast!) segment of the show WHILE THE SHOW IS PLAYING and reset it for each and every episode?

That's almost... comical.

Remind me not to buy any WB shows until they sort out THAT little fiasco!

 

[Jesse Blacklow]

Even when (as pointed out by others) all but one of those points have been proven to be factually wrong or exaggerated, and even that last point may have a huge mitigating factor?

 

[Yumbo]

Everyone can apparently hear sound with SONY's TrueHD only tracks.

Why not Warner if they followed suit just like other studios?

Answer THAT question.

Jonathan has a valid point, backed up by real data.

 

[Michael Reuben]

It's been answered. Multiple times.

 

[John H Ross]

But come on. All the other studios manage it.

Is there a DD5.1 track on Paramount titles? (There isn't on The Duchess, one of their latest releases, Dolby TrueHD only)

Or Dreamworks? (There isn't on Ghost Town, Dolby TrueHD only)

Or Sony? (There isn't on In The Line Of Fire, Dolby TrueHD only)

Or Anchor Bay? (There isn't on Heathers, Dolby TrueHD only)

Or Fox? (there isn't on the new X-Files, DTS-MA)

Or Universal? (There isn't on Burn After Reading, DTS-MA)

I guess there are no complaints from people not being able to hear sound from THOSE studios!!

No, the truth is that the DD5.1 track is completely unnecessary. Warners don't need to use it. They certainly don't need to DEFAULT to it.

Paramount DVDs used to default to the 2.0 track. They quickly learned the error of their ways. I hope Warner Bros does too!

 

[John H Ross]

Double post.

 

[Yumbo]

There hasn't been a valid answer as far as I can see.
I'm with J on this.

 

[Michael Reuben]

Emphasis added.

 

[Yumbo]

Show me (and many others).

 

[John H Ross]

This is truly ludicrous.

Okay, if I were to put this in basic terms and ask, given the choice, what would everybody prefer?

a) You insert the disc. The movie starts with the HD track automatically selected. The end.

or

b) You insert the disc. The movie starts with the DD5.1 track selected, you pick up the remote control, press "audio" or "menusetupaudioDolbyTrueHDmenu" (there's a momentary sound dropout during which music or dialogue is clipped), you put the remote control down having missed a couple of seconds of the movie.

or

c) You insert the disc. The movie starts with the DD5.1 track selected, you pick up the remote control, press "audio" or "menusetupaudioDolbyTrueHDmenu" (there's a momentary sound dropout etc) you press CHAPTER BACK to return to the start, you put the remote down having lost the "wow factor" that you get (or at least I get) when a movie starts.

Go on, given the choice, who would really choose options B or C? (bearing in mind that this is a forum for people who love movies!!) And if not, ask yourselves why you're so willing to put up with it when option A is so easily achievable with one small (and fairly logical!) tweak at WB!

 

[Yumbo]

Pick A! I like 'em apples.

 

[Jesse Blacklow]

I'd love to see you telling this to anyone who is required to use a Blu-ray setup with SPDIF, and then following it up with the rationalization of the inability to pick up a remote and/or recreate the mythical theater experience, which others here have pointed out is unrealistic no matter how you attempt to frame it. I'm sure you'd get quite a response.

 

[Yumbo]

I use a TOSLINK rig in my lunchtime theatre.

Frozen River (TrueHD only) sounded just fine, with good old plain vanilla DD 5.1 coming through.

Does that answer your Q?

 

[John H Ross]

So what you're suggesting (I think) is that Warners are getting this right while every single other studio is getting it wrong?

Funny, I seem to have missed the 10,000 complaints from people who aren't getting sound!!!

 

[Brandon Conway]

Chris and John, what we've learned is that, in regards to TrueHD audio, Warner and Sony are encoding the discs the same way. If you have TrueHD selected, and can't get TrueHD, you get the AC3 track.

What Warner is doing different than Sony is allowing for the AC3 track to appear on the disc via the menus, and via Audio Track 1, as a selectable option, and as the default audio. This is, as I tried to say initially but was thwarted by my faulty technical term mumbo-jumbo, unnecessary and redundant programming.

 

[John H Ross]

Excellent. Right. So Warner could remove the DD5.1 option from the menu (but leave it encoded on the disc), and then default to the DolbyHD track, and nobody would be any the wiser. The discreet DD5.1 (AC3) track would just kick in if it was needed, as it does on Sony discs.

So Warner Bros CAN default to the HD track after all. No more unnecessary fiddling with the audio settings while the movie is playing!!

Point proven I guess!

Now all they have to do is implement it! (D'OH!)

 

[Brandon Conway]

Yes! (Even if it took much more typing and clarification than I expected going in. )

 

[Jesse Blacklow]

Funny, I wasn't aware that everybody who bought Blu-rays posted here. I asked the question, and at least someone was willing to do some research before flipping out.

That, more than anything, seems to be the point of this thread.

 

[John H Ross]

The point of the thread was to raise 4 issues that I have with Warner Bros Blu-ray Discs. And I stick by all 4 of those issues.

The fact that other studios are guilty of the same things (particularly points 2 and 3) is irrelevant. Warner Bros. is guilty of them.

The reason I singled Warner Bros out is because of their ridiculous habit of forcing movie watchers to interrupt movies to change the most basic of settings while every other studio makes the process seamless and separate to the movie-watching experience. This is the biggest gripe I have about the functionality of ANY studio's Blu-ray Discs.

I think it's now been established that they don't need to force the lossy DD5.1 track upon us as default.

I've given up pursuing the other 3 issues because I'm tired of banging my head against a wall of Warner Bros apologists for whom "almost zero effort" is just as acceptable as "zero effort".

 

[Christian Preischl]

No. You select "recap on" in the pop-up menu and then select an episode manually (or restart the one you are currently watching). If you don't do this last part your selection won't stick. But after that all episodes will play with the recaps on. You don't have to reset it for each episode manually.