I've been renting both HD-DVD and Blu-Ray discs as I have both types of players and I'm finding that when I have a choice, I prefer Blu-Ray because of the resume function. Will HD-DVDs have this any time soon?

Some Universal discs already do have it. I think Miami Vice is one.

All you have to do is hit the "B" button and it bookmarks your spot. You can have as many bookmarks as you want. Some early discs don't support it. but to me, that is better than a RESUME button.

any discs authored in advanced can't resume due to Interactivity from what I understand, it' like the ability to get raw undecoded sound formats from HD-DVD, we will most likely never see much of that ability if ever from major studios

-Gary

come one guys, read the insiders thread, resume functionallity is being added to new titles.

Yes, and advance can perfectly do it, just need studios don't forget to author it !

--Patrice

Who needs a resume function? :D

The bookmark function doesn't take the place of a resume function. You still have to wait for the disc to start back up and then you have to hit Menu and goto the bookmarks section and find your bookmark.

A resume function works much better. It simply plays from where you left off, no dickering around, and you don't have to remember to hit any buttons beforehand.

You are right mediahound, but what I mention above is a "resume" (that studio have not to forget to include in advanced), bookmark is something else and authored differently...

--Patrice

The bookmark function doesn't take the place of a resume function. You still have to wait for the disc to start back up and then you have to hit Menu and goto the bookmarks section and find your bookmark.

A resume function works much better. It simply plays from where you left off, no dickering around, and you don't have to remember to hit any buttons beforehand.

But at least with a bookmark you can take the disc out of the player and maintain said bookmark. Resume is nice, but it's pointless if you suddenly get the urge to toss something else in right in the middle of what you're currently watching.

Resume is nice, but it's pointless if you suddenly get the urge to toss something else in right in the middle of what you're currently watching.


Most watch a movie and don't put in another movie in between that movie though.

Most watch a movie and don't put in another movie in between that movie though.

I'd guess that most people put in a movie and don't stop it until the end.

Personally, I've never used the resume function -- even on SD DVD. I've paused it for a few minutes, but never needed/used resume.

Are these the people I see at theaters who can't sit still and are in and out of the place every 5 minutes? Or, like a guy last night at Apocalypto, answered his phone 3 times in 5 minutes and stood in the back of the theater talking loud enough to be heard everywhere? Why can't people sit the f*ck down, shut the f*ck up and watch a movie?

Where the resume function really comes in handy is if you've accidently hit the stop button. On earlier titles when you hit play it would start the movie from the beginning and not where you had stopped. Very annoying. Bookmarking does not help here.

Yep. Even my 20 year old VCR resumes from where I stopped last. It's senseless for the HD DVD to go all the way back to the beginning every time stop is pressed. It just doesn't make any sense logically.

Yep. Even my 20 year old VCR resumes from where I stopped last. It's senseless for the HD DVD to go all the way back to the beginning every time stop is pressed. It just doesn't make any sense logically.

And my record player would resume where I left off when I turned it off, too.

But I've got crappy CD players that don't resume when you stop them.

Still, I prefer the CD over the record.

This is a dumb question, but once you create a bookmark with the B button, how do you recall it....haven't figured that out yet. I normally watch movies all the way through.

And my record player would resume where I left off when I turned it off, too.

But I've got crappy CD players that don't resume when you stop them.

Still, I prefer the CD over the record.


Totally different, we are talking about movies here, not music. You don't need to resume a CD album and if you do, it's very easy to go to whatever track you want.

With HD-DVD that have no resume, it's NOT easy to pick up where you left off.

The point is that there is no reason why BD has resume and yet HD DVD does not.

This is a dumb question, but once you create a bookmark with the B button, how do you recall it....haven't figured that out yet. I normally watch movies all the way through.

It's a real pain. First you have to load and startup the movie again. Then you goto Menu and Scene Selection. Then you find Bookmarks. Then you find the bookmark(s) that you set and choose the right one. Then you play it but you have to be careful not to delete it instead. Very kludgey.

The point is that there is no reason why BD has resume and yet HD DVD does not.

Apparently it has to be authored into the disc. And from what I've read new releases are doing it.

I guess that's good for those who use it. I may notice it sometime. I use resume once every decade or so.

any discs authored in advanced can't resume due to Interactivity from what I understand, it' like the ability to get raw undecoded sound formats from HD-DVD, we will most likely never see much of that ability if ever from major studios

-Gary

Not the case. Disks authored in advanced mode, just need to implement resume in their script. its not complicated, it just wasn't done on early disks.

I don't think very many HD-DVD new releases hav resume. I've rented several new releases and none of them have resume functionality. Whereas all the BD discs I've rented since day one have resume.

Anyone else think that this was a MAJOR omission from the HD-DVD hardware spec? This should have been mandatory rather than an optional authoring feature.

It begs the question: Why wasn't it?

Or am I misunderstanding?

benes,

I agree completely. This is basic stuff. Hard to believe that, while engineering a next generation format, that these basics weren't included...even improved upon.

They did very well on improving menu design.

Where the resume function really comes in handy is if you've accidently hit the stop button. On earlier titles when you hit play it would start the movie from the beginning and not where you had stopped. Very annoying. Bookmarking does not help here.
Agreed. Resume feature is a must. Bookmarking is useless, but the resume is needed. I don't like to leave discs paused for more than a few seconds to avoid spindle motor wear.

Not the case. Disks authored in advanced mode, just need to implement resume in their script. its not complicated, it just wasn't done on early disks.

great, good news indeed :)

-Gary

Anyone else think that this was a MAJOR omission from the HD-DVD hardware spec? This should have been mandatory rather than an optional authoring feature.
I agree. I think they thought that bookmarking would replace it and that nobody would miss resume. I also think they were trying so hard to beat BD to market that some basic stuff just slip through the cracks. Overall, while I'd love a resume function for every disc, I haven't missed it that much. Since I a TV that doesn't suffer from burn-in I just pause the disk if I need to step away for a few minutes. If I need to step away for an extended period of time I use the bookmark feature and I remove the disk from the player. Nice to see resume appearing on some disk for those that really want it.

I've never used resume before either. I watch a movie straight through. If for some reason I do have to stop a movie, it's not a big deal to just do scene selection from the menu.

Resume is not a big deal, folks. No one I know ever uses it.

Yes, I'd agree, but it is anyway good to know that
1) It is not a player fault
2) It is not a HD-DVD format problem
3) It is a simple authoring thing and we should lobby so they don't "forget"

IMHO, It is a fault they don't make it mandatory in authoring

But basically I agree, it is something I hardly use... For example, it annoys me a lot less than Warner still not providing any subtitles for most bonuses features ;)

--Patrice

Not that I'm opposed to any extra features, but I don't think I have ever used the resume function on my DVD player ever. And I have a collection of over 700 discs and have probably watched 3000 discs. It's just not that important to me.

But for those who need it, looks like it is just a matter of turning on a switch in the code on the software itself.

Agreed. Resume feature is a must. Bookmarking is useless, but the resume is needed. I don't like to leave discs paused for more than a few seconds to avoid spindle motor wear.

That's funny.

You do realize that watching movies causes HOURS and HOURS of "spindle motor wear", right? And that by pausing for even a few minutes won't significantly increase the wear and tear.

There is no way I could watch a movie with some of you guys. IMO, you can't really watch a movie with all the stop/restarts which I assume is common since resume is sooooooo important.

I could see a bookmark being useful because there are parts of a movie I might want to be able to jump directly to (to show someone else, for example). But resuming goes against my idea of actually watching a movie. Starting/stopping a movie would be as annoying as having someone over who kept talking during the whole movie.

If I ever have to stop a movie, I prefer to use scene access to get back to the correct scene. That way it sets the context up again instead of just going right ahead mid-conversation or mid-action.


But basically I agree, it is something I hardly use... For example, it annoys me a lot less than Warner still not providing any subtitles for most bonuses features ;)


I always hated the discs that just started the movie once inserted. I almost always want to start it myself because I'm always doing something else after I put the disc in (like getting drinks, etc.)

As cool as "Bookmark" is, it will never replace "resume". I ALWAYS use this while watching a movie. Sometimes I'll start watching a movie at night and am too tired to finish it, so I'll watch it on another night. Turn the player back on and pick up right where I left off.

Turn the player back on and pick up right where I left off.

I could never leave a disc in the machine like that. Just couldn't do it.

Why not both, resume is a must nowadays. I am sure we all had to use it once or twice. The bookmark function is great but it cannot compare to an actual resume function.

As cool as "Bookmark" is, it will never replace "resume". I ALWAYS use this while watching a movie. Sometimes I'll start watching a movie at night and am too tired to finish it, so I'll watch it on another night. Turn the player back on and pick up right where I left off.


Exactly. Just last night I started watching Reservoir Dogs Blu Ray about an hour before my bedtime. When I got sleepy, I just stopped the PS3 and turned it off. Tonight, I will resume watching it by just turning on the PS3 and hitting Play.

If I want to go back to the beginning of the scene, one touch of the back button will do it.

This is way easier than HD-DVD where I would have had to either try to remember the scene I left off and find it, or remember to set a bookmark. Even if I did set a bookmark, it would take several more clicks and a lot more time to get back to it than if it just had resume because it has to spin up, display the FBI warning again, start the movie again before I even have access to the bookmarks section of the menu.

The bookmark function doesn't take the place of a resume function. You still have to wait for the disc to start back up and then you have to hit Menu and goto the bookmarks section and find your bookmark.

A resume function works much better. It simply plays from where you left off, no dickering around, and you don't have to remember to hit any buttons beforehand.

yes, this is much better with blu-ray. it can be annoying to have to wade through all the mandatory startup crawls and FBI warnings and all just to get to be able to pick the restart spot (and with blu-ray it automatically sets it for you, at least with a PC player, so even if you forget to press b).

I could never leave a disc in the machine like that. Just couldn't do it.

Why not? Do you have a compulsive disorder?


Even my $100 Sony DVD player that's about 7 years old has a resume feature. Not only that but it can remember where you left off on 3 movies. When I got my Denon 3910, this missing feature made me angry. How can a $1300 player not have the features of a $100 player?

Agreed. Resume feature is a must. Bookmarking is useless, but the resume is needed. I don't like to leave discs paused for more than a few seconds to avoid spindle motor wear.

plus using powerdvd, if you hit pause, it doesn't take long for it to go into an attract mode that I have never been able to get out of without restarting the whole thing from scratch, so spindle motor, well it's spinning for hours anyway watching (of course if you need to continue the next day, which certainly happens, or on episodic TV dvds it brings you right to the end of the last episode you watched, nice if you out the disk aside for a few weeks and don't need to dig up which number was the last one you watched), but on the PC pause doesn't work well.

I can't recall ever using the resume feature for even SD DVD. If I hit the stop button that meant I was done with the movie. Is there any real difference between pause and stop with resume?

Yes, the difference is that not everyone can watch or will watch the entire movie from beginning to end.

Alot of times during movies i will take a break go eat or something then come back to it. The bookmark feature is nice but its still not good enough. You still are required to wait till the movie starts then select your bookmark.

Well, I can understand your needs, but I simply can't do that...

For me a movie experience is from minute one to end...
No stop, no pause, no break, no sound level change...
(Well unless there is an urgent thing of course ! :D)

--Patrice

One more vote that RESUME is a useful feature. My 1998 Sony DVD player had it, as does my current DVD player. I miss having it on my Toshiba HD-A1 (along with some other useful features).