A buddy of mine got this the other day and as we were watching it I hit the "info" button just to see what kind of codec they had used. I was really surprised to see it say "MPEG2AVS"(or something like that, I can't quite remember that last three letters that were behind "mpeg2"). How can MPEG2 be HD? Isn't that an SD DVD codec? It looked great and all, I was just kind of confused on it, I always thought the HD MPEG codec was MPEG4.

MPEG-2 was the standard codec for SD DVD's, yes, but that's not to imply it's a SD codec only. Because it's not.

MPEG-2 is used for HDTV a **LOT**. HD-DVD broadcasts over Dish Network/DirctTV have always been MPEG-2 (although some select channels in MPEG-4 in HD are available now and they will eventually get rid of MPEG-2 for HD in the next couple years).

Also, many Blu-ray titles are in MPEG-2.


As far as Chronos goes, I'm not too surprised. The picture quality, imo, isn't that great. But that's not to say MPEG-2 can't give a good HD picture -- It can -- I'm just saying...

And Chronos in itself? A good concept but also very lame imo. I regret buying it.

The user RBFilms produced this title. At the time of production, VC-1 was not up to par (his opinion, and he did not have any help from MS at that time), so they went with MPEG2. Also, he listed the film as 1080i, because at the time the HD DVD players did not output in 1080p. He forgot to consider the PC drives and the xbox add on. He did reveal that what is on the disk really is 1080p24, though he was very stubborn about believing he was right in labeling it 1080i.

I appreciate the info, both of you. I remember the guy from R&B talking about "Nature's Journey" in the forums a while back.

As for Chronos, I've got to disagree, I thought it was a really good pieces of work. It wasn't reference video quality or anything, but it was sharp enough to make me go "Wow!" during most scenes. I thought the soundtrack was amazing, and the use of it was flawless. I will be looking forward to this "Nature's Journey" when it comes out. :)

I regret buying it.

Me too :(

Chronos was a really good experience. Not the best quality HD IMO, but the content was there.

Also check out Baraka (not yet on HD). That film is by the same guy and much better.