Sony Pictures, Sony Corp. as well other studios and player companies are all looking at how to use rich specifications in Blu-ray to add interesting features to our product. The available options are many (and will all be used in due time), but I would like to ask interested members to provide feedback on what new features they would most like to have from the earliest possible date.

You may already have seen how feedback from the AVS forum has led to requested changes in our software so know that your comments count.

Thanks in advance for contributing...

I'm not an extras fan at all. That said, I wouldn't mind at all if there were HD trailers for upcoming theatrical releases on Sony's BDs.

I hate extras but I'm more and more becoming a fan of IME.

Atleast with movies that are or were an achievement to make in their day. It's fun to watch how they did it.

Those and deleted scenes are about all I get into.

All Pictures and Audio for me. Ive never watched a single extra on any of my discs except for the gag reels on Talladega Nights.

I voted for some extras, but first and foremost the audio/video quality has to be there.

I like extras, but I'm not that into PIP. I just think it's a bit too much to digest at once (I also don't like the increasing amounts of news tickers and graphics on TV these days). So, I would rather have that material available to watch separately. I like commentaries though, since only the audio track is different.

I can't think of any new extras I'd like to see. I really just want them to include what is/was on the DVD, and I don't mind if it's SD either. In some ways, I'd prefer SD extras so they take up less space on the discs. Things like short films and music videos could be HD, but behind-the-scenes featurettes and interviews are fine in SD. The downloadable commentary sounds good though, so I'll vote for that.

One thing I really do not care for is the interactive game. There's only so much you can do, and they are just going to pale in comparison to what can be done on the game consoles. Even with video footage, they'll be reminiscent of the full motion video CD games from the early 90's, and most people did not care for those. I'd rather they leave the game design to the game people.

paidgeek, thanks for asking!!

I'm not an extras fan at all. That said, I wouldn't mind at all if there were HD trailers for upcoming theatrical releases on Sony's BDs.What nyg said, just do not force me to watch the trailers.

I selected everything but the first one (which i believe is for the old fuddy duddies :D )....if i'm going to pay money for something, I'd like to get as much as I can from it...sure, I could be driving a Yugo - it does get me from point a to point b - but why not get there in luxury and in style? :)

Echo the above.

I want a clean interface that lets me view OPTIONAL trailers. Please please please keep those things available on the pop-up menu. Having to Chapter Skip and wade through half a dozen trailers totally kills the mood when I want to watch a film.

Just a quick front screen (elaborate is OK as long as it's still user-friendly and at least adequately visually appealling).

Optional downloadable subtitles would come in a distant second. I've never been much of a fan of voice-over audio, since the inflection and tone is rarely as good as the original. Being able to read the context of dialogue while keeping the original intended emotional impact is a big plus.

As for IME, it's cool and interesting, but unless the video segment consists of more than just a handful of people sitting around talking, I can live without that. What would really be cool would be behind-the-scenes footage, like images or video of prop constructions in particularly interesting scenes, or other tangible video; i.e. maybe some footage in the PiP window of how a stunt was set up and filmed as the staff talk about the difficulties that particular scene imposed.

Oh, yeah, Sony, say with us: "I want to be like Disney when I grow up" :D

The Disney products are almost like works of art in the care and the love they seem to lavish when creating the title - from the cover art, to the disc art, to the menus and features and title itself.

I'd like to add that I hate motion menus which show scenes from the movie I'm about to watch. This practice must stop!

I am interested in seeing a Blu-ray movie with a HD PiP commentary track (720p would be great) that allows for the user to swap between the primary and secondary video streams (as in which video streams occupies the main screen and the PiP screen). Mainly because I am interested in seeing that done on Blu-ray and partly because it is something that can't be done with HD DVD. Considering the trouble that the BDA went through to have better PiP specs it only makes sense to show it off. Also I would like to see more BD-J menus/games as long as it still allows for the resume function to work on the movie.

paidgeek,

I voted for the PiP, which I guess is a "new" feature. However, I'm generally not a big fan of extras except for documentaries. I like docs where there is historical background (for example (History vs. Hollywood for Blackhawk Down on DVD, Docs about Rome in the Gladiator DVD release, history of comic book characters and classic stories like for example on Spiderman, X-Men, Batman). I know not all of those are Sony properties, but you get the point.

Well i don't get a chance to watch a lot of my extras but i do like to listen in on some audio commentary tracks here and there. If no tracks are available i would love to have the option too record/download one later. The Prestige would be an awesome commentary track i would love to have some day

sticky

Audio/video, then trailers.

I don't care for any extras.

I'll take high bitrate video + 6.9mbps lcpm any day.

Picture and Audio quality.
Audio commentaries are important also.

Everything else is meaningless.

Nothing else, really.

I'm mostly interested in the best possible picture and sound quality available. That said, having trailers or teasers of upcoming BD or theatrical releases would be great as well as long as the end user can easily skip past them if desired.

I can't remember the name of the function but I believe it is "dynamic branching". I'd love to see more movies released where you can choose whether to watch the original theatrical release, directors cut, extended cut, whatever on one disc just by selecting which "branch" you wanted to take ahead of time. Lord of the Rings Trilogy immediately comes to mind when I think of this type of functionality. This is one particular area where I see BD50's really being able to blow by the competition.

The only other thing I'd like to see implemented across the board is the ability to "bookmark" where you are in every single movie so it can be stopped and resumed in the exact spot at a later time.

I really like the fact that you (Sony) are asking for direct consumer feedback instead of just assuming you know what the consumer is interested in.

Just give us the best video and audio on the first release, get rid of the extra features and director commentaries and pass on the savings to the consumers.

I am interested in trailers and other AV features, but not as downloads.

I don't have any interest in connecting the player to the internet. That said, subtitle downloads for foreign discs with no English would be perhaps useful (though perhaps beyond the scope of your poll which I imagine is US centric?)

Really, the key features for any disc are (in my order of importance):

A/V presentation
Deleted Scenes
Making of Featurette
Director Commentary

I don't think that there is any good reason to PiP the commentary if it is just a picture of the people talking. Perhaps it would be fun if there where other behind the scenes (of the scenes on the screen) in the PiP along with the commentary.

The big problem with commentaries, PiP or otherwise, is that you have to watch the whole movie over again which it a large time investment which only real fave movies are worthy of.

Edit: I agree with Benes that Seamless Branching for multiple versions is a great feature and should be used at every opportunity where possible.

I agree that i appreciate you taking time out of your schedule to find out what we, your customers, are wanting. I voted for best picture quality and audio quality. Literally, nothing else matters. If those arent top tier, i wouldnt be happy with the disc even if it had 20 hours of extras on it. I have also never watched an extra in my life, however, i do enjoy audio commentary tracks a lot. I dont consider that an "extra" tho, since it is pretty much common practice at this point for any major release.

Thanks again, and please forward the results to warner as well. I am not sure if you saw the pictures of Happy Feet from the master and the blu-ray, but the blu-ray is a horrific mess compared to the master and i refuse to purchase another warner title till they give us what sony and disney have been doing, high bitrate + lossless audio. The discs arent worth owning if the PQ/AQ arent top notch.

I am interested in seeing a Blu-ray movie with a HD PiP commentary track (720p would be great) that allows for the user to swap between the primary and secondary video streams (as in which video streams occupies the main screen and the PiP screen). Mainly because I am interested in seeing that done on Blu-ray and partly because it is something that can't be done with HD DVD. Considering the trouble that the BDA went through to have better PiP specs it only makes sense to show it off. Also I would like to see more BD-J menus/games as long as it still allows for the resume function to work on the movie.

+1 on everything Richard mentions here.

The porn studios have this right where the mainstream studios don't.
The average adult DVD goes like this:

1. FBI Warning
2. Main Menu
3a. Primary Feature
3b. Deleted Scenes/Bonus Scenes
3c. Studio Trailers

For me, anything past this is wasted disk space.

Ideally, we would even get down to the point of DTS-MA audio for every disc saving the space versus PCM and DD+/DTHD and giving excellent output over all connections.

Put the rest of the crap on a $.03 DVD9 and put both in the 2-spindle BD case or on either side of the HDDVD30/9

Univeral Custom Bookmarking in BD would be great.

I'd personally love to see Blu-ray differentiate itself from HD DVD by using its capacity and bandwidth to allow for a 3D version/ 3D playback of the movie. I know Samsung has added 3D capability to its 2007 LED-based TVs, so I've been wondering if Blu-ray can/will offer the ability to use something like this to offer 3D movies in the home.

I like extras, but I'm not that into PIP. I just think it's a bit too much to digest at once (I also don't like the increasing amounts of news tickers and graphics on TV these days). So, I would rather have that material available to watch separately. I like commentaries though, since only the audio track is different.

I can't think of any new extras I'd like to see. I really just want them to include what is/was on the DVD, and I don't mind if it's SD either. In some ways, I'd prefer SD extras so they take up less space on the discs. Things like short films and music videos could be HD, but behind-the-scenes featurettes and interviews are fine in SD. The downloadable commentary sounds good though, so I'll vote for that.

One thing I really do not care for is the interactive game. There's only so much you can do, and they are just going to pale in comparison to what can be done on the game consoles. Even with video footage, they'll be reminiscent of the full motion video CD games from the early 90's, and most people did not care for those. I'd rather they leave the game design to the game people.


Pretty much my feelings.

I have tried watching IME, and the concept just seems bizarre to me. If I want to watch the feature, I want to watch the feature. If I want to watch "making of" material, I want it to take up the whole screen, not a tiny window.

I am not into downloads of anything.

I do like the audio commentaries, but not to download them later.

But the main thing: get the PQ and the AQ of the main feature as good as possible.

I am SO tired about this Extra material crap!

Just give us the movies with the Trailer, that´s good enough for me.

I don´t need crappy Java games and pop up ********.

In the beginning of the DVD age when Special features like behind the scenes and commentary tracks where new and fresh, I usally watched through it all on most of the discs, but now I just don´t give a **** anylonger. It´s all the same ******** "Oh how I love to work with this director" and "This we did with a bluescreen and CGI" (Oh really? like I couldn´t see that from a mile away to begin with ;) ).

I usually ONLY like special features on older films and classics when the people behind the scenes are more honest about their experience with what worked and what didn´t etc.

And what´s up with the whole special edition label anyway? There are no normal editions of movies anylonger, don´t see whats so special about it then ;)

What we need are more movie only editions ;)

Like others, the only elements that *really* matter to me are the best possible PQ and AQ.

However, I would like to see full BD-J profiles and PIP implemented ASAP, if only to call the bluff of those NEUTRAL ;) studios who claim this as the prime reason for not releasing material they claim they will market.

ted

The word "Downloads" is a pretty scary thing to put up there. I know quite a few if not most of us do not want our HD playback device wired to the internet on a permanent basis. This opens up holes and issues I don't want to deal with.

Pretty soon it will lead to us being forced to having the internet connection available and it's all downhill from there.

I'd like in order of preference:

1. 1x lossless track on each release - LCM tracks are great!
2. Best picture quality
3. Documentary in HIGH DEFINITION - but omit if a promotional doc.
4. Trailer in high defination
5. Deleted scenes in high definition
6. Simple menus which are quick- its is flashy and sluggish - omit!

Things which are in my opinion nothing more than a nonsense bullet point on the back of the dvd box:
1. Previsualations - waste of my time
2. Storyboard comparisions - waste
3. Deleted scenes which are practically the same as in the movie (spot the difference time!)
4. Downloads


Personally I'd forget focussing on extras for a the first few years of the format - just get the movies out. Then you'd have lots of double dip opportunities :)
But keep us happy as your priority - Keep it simple, ensure the pic quality is first rate, ensure lossless.

I am most interested in getting BD+ out the door so Fox will kick it into gear.

I'm really ambivalent and think this stuff should go on a second disc, if any, for the marketting goons to triumph.

That said, being a fan of Anime, I'll go with subtitle downloads as my most desired. Particularly if I could substitute fansubs and the like.

Next is directors/actors/writers commentaries.

Not interested in anything but optimal PQ & AQ. If I had to choose an extra it would be deleted/blooper scenes.

How about getting a quality resolution of 3.5 k or better with "deep colour" and audio codecs that support more than 8.1 discrete channels in full uncompressed state. How about getting on the ball and get that 100 gig. disk out so that this will be possible. How about showing leadership in getting a new HDMI standard like 1.4 that will be able to transmit the higher digital requirements because 1.3b is already outdated. How about get working on a 2 or 3 dimensional viewing of the movie product sans glasses that will go handily with the aformentioned.

PQ and SQ are by far the number one priority. Other than that, I would say PiP with directors commentary etc. would probably be my second choice.

I think it is great that we have a rep of SPE here to get feedback on these types of issues. :cool:

I think a lot of people chose the most popular answer it because they are rightly paranoid about studios sacrificing picture or sound quality for some marketers' idea of a hot "feature." I think no one in this forum would want to sacrifice any aspect of picture or sound quality for any extraneous reason.

So, assuming there is no sacrifice of pq and audio, and the transfer is the best it can be, I chose the "Download" feature because I'd rather have a film quickly released by the studio instead of delaying it due to time needed for the preparation of audio commentaries or other much more superfluous features.

I find a PiP of a talking head in the corner of the image superfluous, though I might find some visual image of set design or something else relevant to what is in the main feature interesting.

How would the "Download" option work, anyway?

Dan

How would the "Download" option work, anyway?

It would probably stream the replacement audio or subtitles as the disc is playing.

I would like a commentary track (available on the disc) and possibly the trailers/tv spots used to advertise the movies release.

How about getting a quality resolution of 3.5 k or better with "deep colour" and audio codecs that support more than 8.1 discrete channels in full uncompressed state. How about getting on the ball and get that 100 gig. disk out so that this will be possible. How about showing leadership in getting a new HDMI standard like 1.4 that will be able to transmit the higher digital requirements because 1.3b is already outdated. How about get working on a 2 or 3 dimensional viewing of the movie product sans glasses that will go handily with the aformentioned.

The thread was intended to get direction on what consumers are most interested in next. It will take some time for the current features in Blu-ray to be fully utilized, so I think we have a little time before we need 4K and so on...

Best picture and audio (lossless).

Main movie on BD50, extras on 2nd disc if necessary, I don't insist on HD for extras but 16:9 would be nice.

Resume function would be needed.

The extra feature I like most and usually watch is "The Making of".

I hate: animated menus and submenus in which you have to wait for the items to load (and FBI warnings).

I don't care about: trailers/TV spots, storyboads, photo galleries, cast and crew info, games, downloads.

PiP is unnecessary for director's commentary. I don't particularly want to see the director's or producer's facial expressions. There might be some use for multi-angled shots, or some technical or historical factual info at some scenes. PiP and IME can wait until technology is more mature.

Seamless Branching would be useful where there's a need.

I don't get it. Why are so many people claiming they "don't want any extras"? Sorry, but I have to seriously question those responses. Have any of you who responded this way seen the POTC movies on Blu-Ray and all the extras Disney provided? How about watching an IME/PIP presentation on The Matrix?

The studios are working hard on providing new features for us. I think some of these features are very important in getting people to migrate from DVD to the HD formats. I urge Sony/Columbia/Tri-Star to stay in step with what the other studios are including with their releases. I think if done right, these extras can add a lot to the home viewing experience.

I don't get it. Why are so many people claiming they "don't want any extras"? Sorry, but I have to seriously question those responses. Have any of you who responded this way seen the POTC movies on Blu-Ray and all the extras Disney provided? How about watching an IME/PIP presentation on The Matrix?

The studios are working hard on providing new features for us. I think some of these features are very important in getting people to migrate from DVD to the HD formats. I urge Sony/Columbia/Tri-Star to stay in step with what the other studios are including with their releases. I think if done right, these extras can add a lot to the home viewing experience.

Seems that most want the best PQ and AQ first and only after that is consistently being delivered we can worry about extras.

Yep, I watched the POTC movies and never even bothered to put the second discs in. I got what I wanted from those releases...an awesome home theater experience.

I don't get it. Why are so many people claiming they "don't want any extras"? Sorry, but I have to seriously question those responses. Have any of you who responded this way seen the POTC movies on Blu-Ray and all the extras Disney provided? How about watching an IME/PIP presentation on The Matrix?

The studios are working hard on providing new features for us. I think some of these features are very important in getting people to migrate from DVD to the HD formats. I urge Sony/Columbia/Tri-Star to stay in step with what the other studios are including with their releases. I think if done right, these extras can add a lot to the home viewing experience.

I tried looking at one of the POTC extras discs. After I saw that the extra was clearly not HD, I said to myself, I don't want to watch this, and ejected the disc. Doubt very much that I will ever look at it again.

For me, the most important feature of BD is optimum VQ/SQ.
Without that, the rest is immaterial.

Of the possible extras that might interest me: Blooper reels or other silliness can be entertaining.
The standard "Isn't the director a super-nice guy and/or genius" is beyond the pale. :rolleyes:
Please end that crap.

THANK YOU paidgeek/Sony for reaching out to us early adopters for input. :) :)

Here's my opinion,

#1 importance to me personally, give me the option to download additional subtitles, specifically Chinese (traditional). My parents love watching movies but can have a hard time understanding some of the dialog.

In regards to extras, get the BD studios to use BD-50s and give me all of my extras in HD. Why keep touting the extra 20gb when it's not used? Like the POTC extras, give them to me in HD not SD! Isn't this supposed to be next gen?! :D (Pretty much in agreement with what Patrick99 said) It was advertised as '75gb of pirates per movie', yet why hold back on giving us HD extras?

Also, I want the movie trailer in HD! (as some movie trailers can be very well done and cool to watch), please exclude the "oh btw you can buy these movies from Sony" trailers. I don't care about those movies, if I did, I would've purchased them already.

Games, I don't care about at all. If I wanted games, I got my PC, XB360, Wii, PS3 etc, I'm not going to load up a BD/HD DVD disc to play whatever boring java game. The exception would perhaps be children's releases, but then again, when was the last time a child would want to play a "game" with a bulky BD/HD player remote? :)

It's not on the list but I want to vote for STANDARDIZED seamless branching on mutiple cut movies.

I hate being stuck with "Extended/Unrated" cuts because they are longer. I want the option to watch one or the other.

Seems that most want the best PQ and AQ first and only after that is consistently being delivered we can worry about extras.Understood... I do as well, but Paidgeek states in the Poll thread title that "Picture and Sound come first". So I took that as a given. Obviously if extras come at a cost to the quality of the film itself that is something I do not endorse.
I tried looking at one of the POTC extras discs. After I saw that the extra was clearly not HD, I said to myself, I don't want to watch this, and ejected the disc. Doubt very much that I will ever look at it again. I agree with you here. I am often disappointed that 90% of extra content on HD media is only SD. This is an area where the studios need to take notice. I'm hoping this will change over time and that space doesn't become an issue.

It's not on the list but I want to vote for STANDARDIZED seamless branching on mutiple cut movies.

I hate being stuck with "Extended/Unrated" cuts because they are longer. I want the option to watch one or the other.
Bingo!
I agree.

Optimal audio and video are all I care about (was even the case with SD DVD).

If I had to select a feature, I think the branch seaming idea for multiple cuts of the film wouldn't be bad.

I cannot believe this thread was made sticky, and yet the Tier thread was made un-sticky. WTF is going on in AVS...

I cannot believe this thread was made sticky, and yet the Tier thread was made un-sticky. WTF is going on in AVS...

It was started by a Sony insider, and it is for a limited time.

It's not on the list but I want to vote for STANDARDIZED seamless branching on mutiple cut movies.

I hate being stuck with "Extended/Unrated" cuts because they are longer. I want the option to watch one or the other.

+Eleventybillion! Seamless branching has been around for a while now on DVD, and no one has used it for this purpose yet. Well, at least on any of the DVD's or next-gen optical discs I've purchased. It seems like this is the perfect use for it.

Also, SD extra features in HD releases are beyond stupid. I'm also not a fan of IME type functionality (especially when it holds up releases), but I think most people know that already.

Subtitle downloads would be GREAT. My wife is Japanese, and it sucks that the vast majority of US releases don't offer Japanese subs as an option (even releases like the BD's of CASINO ROYALE and IDENTITY, that are loaded with subtitle options, do not have Japanese subs). It would be great if we were able to download the subs so that my wife could enjoy watching English films more fully. I'm sure there are many immigrants who live here in North America who would appreciate being able to buy a US release and have more than just the usual French/Spanish sub options. So this would get a big thumbs up with me.

It's not on the list but I want to vote for STANDARDIZED seamless branching on mutiple cut movies.

I hate being stuck with "Extended/Unrated" cuts because they are longer. I want the option to watch one or the other.

DITTO!!

Since that was not a choice on the poll, I voted for "Trailers" as that's the only "Special Feature" on disc that I ALWAYS watch. Whether it's teaser trailers or theatrical trailers, they should all be on there.

Music videos are great for titles as well.

I also miss the days of "Cast & Crew" Biographies and Filmographies, but I think those would be better once networking features are working so as to keep both up to date.

Deleted Scenes can be nice...

Documentaries can be interesting, but are most of the time, nothing but fluff with the actors stating how much they loved working with each other. When you can offer a documentary that is interesting (the documentaries on any LOTR movie, "The Saga Begins" from Star Wars: Episode I, etc...) or retrospective documentaries and where are they now pieces for classic films.

Spoofs/extras from various sources (I was always disappointed that the DVD release of "Clueless" didn't have the GREAT "Golden Girls" spoof from the MTV Movie Awards that time), or like the "Natalie Raps" SNL skit on the "V For Vendetta" DVDs/HD DVD/eventual Blu-Ray release.

X-Ray Vision camera for the eventual "Special Edition" re-releases of "Into The Blue", "Underworld Unleashed", and "Casino Royale".

"Make Friends With An Actor" special feature on all Morgan Freeman releases (I'd like to talk with Morgan Freeman).

A "Make it rain" feature for those us in drought country...

OK... the last three were a joke... well, the last one was a joke, but the other ones were my choices.

~Alan

Since we are throwing out ideas...

How about some of those movie trivia questions with "fresh popcorn" and "ice cold drinks" advertisement splashed in? I know there are some discs out there that have this exclusively, but it would be easier and add more trivia variety if there was like a 15 minute clip on each disc. And how about some trailers of other movies? I know Sony still does a pretty good job with trailers of other films on SD-DVD, however, lets not make that mandatory at the start. Make them selectable only. If those two things were on every disc, it would add a lot of fun for some of us who like to try and duplicate the theater experience at home. It would go great with our popcorn machines and theater lighting :)

It's not on the list but I want to vote for STANDARDIZED seamless branching on mutiple cut movies.

I hate being stuck with "Extended/Unrated" cuts because they are longer. I want the option to watch one or the other.

I agree 100% there. I even had a chat with paydgeek on the insider thread a while ago on this matter.

And throw some more HD trailers in there too ;)

I just love trailers, sometimes I like them even better than the movie.

It's not on the list but I want to vote for STANDARDIZED seamless branching on mutiple cut movies.

I hate being stuck with "Extended/Unrated" cuts because they are longer. I want the option to watch one or the other.
Want to chime in here with my support for this, since it's not one of the options in the poll. This is, really, a very important issue to me. A lot of movies I own (or will repurchase on BD) are good in both extended and theatrical cuts, and many of them I'd seen in the theater and enjoy viewing in their original theatrical presentation. While not Sony properties, these are usually films like Aliens, Terminator 2, and The Lord of the Rings trilogy.

I'd like to see Sony utilizing seamless branching in their releases as well (see the upcoming The Patriot, which could have benefited from this).

Back to picture/sound, please, no more PCM + DTHD releases. PCM, while nice for some, is a waste of space (especially alongside an equally or more capable DTHD track). Standardize on Dolby TrueHD or DTS HD Master Audio and be done with it, leaving the rest of the disc available for an awesome AVC/VC1 encode.

AV quality is my only main consideration. I specifically do NOT want frills like PiP BS unless there's not enough content to fill the disc otherwise (that is to say, if encoding the disc at the maximum spec-allowed bitrate won't fill the disc, then frills can be considered). A secondary wish would be downloadable subtitles if I can get them from any source, so I can buy foreign DVDs and download some subtitles from some random site on the internet and I'm good.

Though one exception for frills that I always like to see would be bloopers. I love watching those.

Only interested in the highest quality image and sound - don't waste bits on other content but if you must please put them on a separate disc.

Thanks,

Mark

after pic and sound, I want them to cram as much content and interaction as possible specially on 50gb discs. I want my money's worth.

I'd like the highest picture and sound quality possible. However, I would like to urge studios to ALWAYS include the the movie's trailer (and teaser) in 1080p on the disc. To many Blu-ray discs lack the trailer of the given movie in high def. This is the one extra I'd like to be mandatory.

I don't like where the poll is headed. It sounds like we're giving Sony an excuse to release barebones discs.

I say devote 45gb for presentation and the 5gb for extras, whatever they are. If there's a lot of extras, move it to a 25gb disc like pirates.

Sony Pictures, Sony Corp. as well other studios and player companies are all looking at how to use rich specifications in Blu-ray to add interesting features to our product. The available options are many (and will all be used in due time), but I would like to ask interested members to provide feedback on what new features they would most like to have from the earliest possible date.

You may already have seen how feedback from the AVS forum has led to requested changes in our software so know that your comments count.

Thanks in advance for contributing...

You know honestly as a consumer, ease of use would be my biggest complaint. I don't mind all the techy stuff, but the sheer amount of specs, standards, implementation variations, it is just not family friendly. Beyond myself and other tech fiends I don't see good PQ/AQ without a lot of work. So I would say that if you can get PQ/AQ working, the next best step is to work with the source component, AVR, and Display component groups to make everything work together seemlessly.

For example, figuring out how to get BD players to auto detect what audio codecs are on the disc and then having the BD player negotiate with the AVR to figure out what the highest audio (and video for that matter) that can be supported.

At the very least having hte different groups for LCD/Plasma talk to BD Players talking to PS3 talking to the Sony AVR groups can only help the user experience.

I realize this well outside the jurisdiction of any one group, but ease of use would be one thing for me to buy one name-brand for all my components. I don't think most people know it, but most people complain about it.

Hope that helps!

-Splints

Many thanks for all of the good comments on this topic.

The preference for the basics is understood, but don't worry, for those who are fans, we will not do away with added value. The comments requesting multiple versioniong (theatrical vs. director's cut) was noted and we are working on a title with this feature for later this year.

Best regards

Not sure if it has been mentioned already but it would be really nice if you would let us store studio specific sound and subtitle settings so we don't have to make changes every time we put in a disc. Then I could have:

Sound: original language track LPCM or lossless first then DTS or DD
Subtitles: if original language is english, no subtitles; otherwise swedish if the disc has it, if not english

And the main feature should play with my preferred settings when I insert the disc. After the standard copyright warnings of course.

Patrik

Many thanks for all of the good comments on this topic.

The preference for the basics is understood, but don't worry, for those who are fans, we will not do away with added value. The comments requesting multiple versioniong (theatrical vs. director's cut) was noted and we are working on a title with this feature for later this year.

Best regards


Thanks Paid for taking the time and effort to find out what "the people" really want. Keep up the great work!

Subtitle downloads sounds pretty neat. I often have friends visit from Japan and it's nice to have Japanese subtitles so they can also fully enjoy the story in their native language while I listen to the audio track.


Downloads or not, more subtitle languages available for a movie shows a positive move from the standard English/French/Spanish tracks we usually get in the Americas on normal DVDs.

The word "Downloads" is a pretty scary thing to put up there. I know quite a few if not most of us do not want our HD playback device wired to the internet on a permanent basis. This opens up holes and issues I don't want to deal with.

Pretty soon it will lead to us being forced to having the internet connection available and it's all downhill from there.

Agree.

After the FBI Warning, we should have option to go straight to the movie.

Do what ever you like, but don't interfer with just watching the movie from the disk.

And thanks for your hard work and time here.

The pip stuff that some of the HD-DVDs have would be cool. After BR's get that what else can the red camp brag about? Dune?

Make it so that if you hold down the PS button for more than 3 seconds, the machine shuts itself off.

There is no easy way to turn the machine off from the remote.


(I've been banned from bluray.com for "trolling" because I complained about this)

I can't believe there was a poll for this. :D