Meridian Unplugged - Powered by MrTechGuy.co.uk Forums Discussion Meridian - Systems BR Is the King OF HD.

VK - yeah, I don't know this for certain. But if UK discs are 24fps how will they display them on our 50Hz displays without timing issues?

Mark

Mark, I got some answers on avforums:

http://www.avforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=443689

However, you've got me on the 50Hz thing. According to the answers on the avforums thread, both discs are 24fps and I can't believe the player is capable of speeding up the disc! I'm going to ask the question.

Edit: I think I got it - the output must be 1080i60. All HD-ready devices should be able to cope with this.

You're joking! The Ian to my right (an Iain incidentally) was a friend of mine. If you were a seat apart from a chap in a grey sweater with glasses and a long navy coat it was indeed me.


Ian is spot on. 24p in Europe. The studios, even the European distributors like Studio Canal have - thankfully - sided with retaining 24p encodes for film-based content in European territories. Since 60hz HD support is mandatory in all European ‘HD Ready` sets, there`s no problem sticking with 24p and letting the players do 3:2 pulldown for 60hz output like in the US. Ok, so this adds some judder, but as someone who works with film off and on (and as someone who enjoys film scores), speedup is a conversion element I find to be of great frustration.

In addition, the HD DVD players on sale cannot handle 25p/50hz HD content. The second gen players will get an update for this in March, though out of the box standard definition 25p/50hz content is no problem. I do believe we have Microsoft to thank for pushing that distributors retain 24p for 24fps sourced content.

You`ll find most HD DVDs on sale here literally are the US discs, right down to the FBI logos and MPAA ratings. So if you want Harry Potter, Mark, buy with confidence. It looked to be a superb disc and a stunning achievement for VC1 and HD DVD encoding a 157 minute feature, with Dolby Digital Plus, Dolby True HD, ‘in movie experience` content along with all the supplements from the existing DVD version. I was fondling the box for this one in Harrods today.

Video scalers like the Lumagen models can do perfect 2:2 pullup and remove this judder. All you need is a display device that accepts 48Hz.

Just to prove that I do have some discriminatory ability when it comes to movies, I will pass on this. The first two films were interminably dull and just like Michael Bay films, you only get stung so many times before saying enough is enough!

Another feather in HD-DVD's cap is it's lack of region coding. I already have La Haine from Europe and can play it on my US HD-DVD player and will happily buy a UK disc if it isn't censored compared to the US release.

Mark

[/QUOTE]Video scalers like the Lumagen models can do perfect 2:2 pullup and remove this judder. All you need is a display device that accepts 48Hz.[QUOTE]

True enough; I have a Lumagen feeding a Sony Ruby doing this exact thing. SD upscale looks awefully good...

ken

Indeed.

I must stop you there. Please do not dismiss the third and fourth films, for they are both made by competent directors who actually had a sense of visual imagination. What`s more, neither film was scared anymore of upsetting fans by adding to, and subtracting from elements of the novels. By the third film, they finally accepted what works on the page does not necessarily translate to the screen without some required manipulation and the films became all the better for it. Naturally if you simply can`t abide child wizard shenanigans then continue to steer clear, but I think Azkaban and Goblet are terrific family films.

I saw La Haine in Harrods today too actually. Very nice. In fact Harrods pretty much had every UK HD DVD and Bluray disc on release. First time I had actually been able to fondle the boxes on the shelves.

I'm a sucker for fantasy movies. Give me a sword and a Sorcerer and I'm in my element (cannot wait for Conan to arrive on HD!). I even enjoyed the first Dungeons and Dragons movie - an evil Jeremy Irons - bring it on! The second D&D movie however was a great steaming pile of Dragon's dung :| Perhaps the problem with the Potter movies were that they came out at the same time as Lord of the Rings and they were never going to live up to that standard...

Last time I was in Harrods was to demo some equipment (Linn) for my first cinema. We drew complaints from two floors below us

Mark

Mark- you just nailed it with the HP movies. Its the comparison you are making. To what I consider to be the best movie trilogy of all time. Thats a tough one. I like the musical score of the HP movies. Is this really out on HD DVD? Can I buy it from the UK Amazon and will it play on a US player? Ohhhh Yes you have ruined me for all time. I have a hard time now watching the HD tv shows that are on my sat feed. I used to think these looked so nice (even knowing all the games the sat company plays). Now all I see are artifacts. Its a really nice thing when I go looking for artifacts and I dont see them on VC-1. Are there any?

best regards,
Jerry

Jerry,

Very many thanks for your "thank you" which I just received. It really wasn't necessary but is much appreciated and shall be put to good use.

Cheers,

Mark

Mark,
You are of course welcome. Btw- thanks to you I have ordered more HDDVDs and I am now reading all the HD websites I can find to see what news is coming. I will probably have to get a BR player next year when 1.3 is more widely adopted. Im gonna have the PJ for it so why not go for it.

I still doubt the optical disc will succeed. Heres an interesting article- by no means does it mean my theory is the right one but its interesting reading:

http://www.wired.com/news/technology/0,72303-0.html?tw=rss.technology

He abandons cable tv for internet content.

best regards,
Jerry

Incidentally, I told Amir about Mark's HD DVD dealings on this forum. He was most amused.

Btw- Just watched Aeon Flux and while this movie was more enjoyable than I had feared, I'm not sure the image is any better than Serenity. I will have to go back and look when I am not so tired. Certainly this movie is eye candy.

best regards,
Jerry