Industry Insiders Q&A Thread: only Questions to insiders please - Page 91  

There are a number of reasons for this. For one, we did not have an H.264 implementation until we developed HD DVD playback. Second, it costs us royalties for this codec so we don't want to burden each machine with that. And unlike HD DVD, there is no clear standardization for H.264 on the web. For example, playing Apple trailers would require us to not only handle H.264, but also handle their file format. And their iTunes files require their DRM support which they do not license.

Putting it together, H.264 compatibility currently is for HD DVD only.

So does that statement knock on the head any notion of red laser media playback from the internal drive sans HD-DVD add-on?

That's a shame as HD-DVD aside, an original Xbox running XBMC still utterly annihilates the 360 as a standalone media playback machine. It even runs x264!

Maybe its been asked, but Amir, what are the projections of the # of 360 addon drive's available this holiday season? or by the end of 2006?

Are those numbers available yet?

Can any of the insiders comment on a report in another thread that the Videoscan sales tracker is now showing that HD DVD movies are outselling Bluray by a factor of 11 to 1? Apparently it was 8 to 1 the month before?

Thanks Grandmaster, I had read that a long time ago as well. I asked for evidence of his claims but never received any.

Cheaper packaging. It costs more to make a 2-disc clamshell than a single with a combo inside according to the info I'm getting. Added value or not. You should see more 2-disc releases as the value gets added to the studio bottom line, though. That will (I hope) mean more HD extras, too.

Cjplay.

So a "home-made" h.264 high definition video won't work from the PC even if it's an HD-DVD compliant stream?

I ask again, is it possible to make a hdmi cable for the 360 without picture loss?

I ask from a HD DVD point of view, not gaming.

I just wanna know that my add on will look great for a long time, not just a year until 1080p screens become standard

A complaint about posterization and noise in CB:
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=728647
Is it on the disc?

My estimate is based on Sony's revised estimate of 2M PS3's out by the end of the year, plus some 10's of K's of Samsung / Sony / Panasonic / Philips / Pioneer / Sharp standalone players, and perhaps 10K Blu-ray PC's, laptops, and burners, compared to currently something like 50K Toshiba players, I'm guessing they might sell another 100K players if it's a strong holiday season, and I predict MS will sell less than 200K HD-DVD Xbox add-ons. This isn't quite 10:1, but on the other hand the PS3 will continue to sell as quickly as Sony can make them into the summer (to 6M units based on their estimate), while I would expect HD-DVD standalone and add-on sales to tail off in the typically slow first quarter. So if it's not 10:1 by the end of the year it surely will be early in 2007. Further, I'd expect the lead to be widened unless Blu-ray really stumbles or HD-DVD manages to get to the $250/unit mark early in the year.

- Talk

No, it isn't.



Xbox 360's AV out connector pinout:

1 Red Gnd
2 Green Ground
3 Red (Cr in HDTV mode)
4 Green (Y in HDTV mode)
5 Composite Gnd
6 Blue Ground
7 Composite (Sync in RGB mode)
8 Blue (Cb in HDTV mode)
9 H-sync Gnd
10 V-sync Gnd
11 H-sync (VGA Mode)
12 V-sync (VGA Mode)
13 Audio-R Gnd
14 Audio-L Gnd
15 Audio-R
16 Audio-L
17 Switching voltage (for SCART pin-8 )
18 CBL-ID1
19 Blanking Signal (for SCART pin-16)
20 CBL-ID1.1
21 Unknown
22 CBL-ID2
23 Unknown
24 CBL-ID2.1
25 Optical - Audio (SPDIF)
26 CBL-ID3
27 Optical - Gnd (SPDIF)
28 CBL-ID3.1
29 Optical - +5V
30 See J2B1 or J8C1

Setting Cable ID:
ID1-1.1 = VGA mode enabled
ID2-2.1 and ID3-3.1 = RGB (SCART) mode enabled
ID3-3.1 = HDTV (Y/Cb/Cr) mode enabled
ID2-2.1 = Composite (TV) mode enabled



HDMI:

1 TMDS Data 2+
2 TMDS Data 2 Shield
3 TMDS Data 2-
4 TMDS Data 1+
5 TMDS Data 1 Shield
6 TMDS Data 1-
7 TMDS Data 0+
8 TMDS Data 0 Shield
9 TMDS Data 0-
10 TMDS Clock+
11 TMDS Clock Shield
12 TMDS Clock-
13 CEC
14 No Connect
15 DDC Clock
16 DDC Data
17 Ground
18 +5V Power
19 Hot Plug Detect
20 SHELL

I'm taking all of the PS3 volume predictions with a big grain of salt. I'm sure demand will be sky high, but availability will probably be scarce. Sony has developed a track record of being consistently too optimistic about the PS3.

I'm interested in the ps3, but only after it's been out a while, and the early adopters have had a chance to provide feedback on how well it works as a BD player.

http://www.tgdaily.com/2006/09/06/ps3_allocation_cut/

And your question to insiders is...??

Probably. I've read that. However, look at Training Day's opening sunrise. See banding? I can point to digital theatrical releases with posterization. It can be masked by grain injection, but after reading a lot on this forum about the complaints of too much grain, do you really want MORE??? Just look at Devil's Rejects. I've heard its really grainy according to the above thread. Is he SURE that's all intentional?

We don't inject grain into our encodes as it's unnatural. But what do you think about that? Chime in at that thread and let me know!

Cjplay.

CJ can we expect exact same encodes for HD vs BD? When the HD version comes out next week I will be first in line to pick it up as I am a HUGE fan of Burton's animation films. Would like to check this out for myself.

Sad thing for me is that when I go looking for errors in the encode if I ever see one then the rest of the time they glare out at me since I have apparently adjusted my eyes to see them (I see "noise" all over the BD demo disc at BB and when I pointed it out a week or so ago to one the drones talking about how wonderful it looked...well he came back to me this week when I wandered in and was cussing at me (they all know me there as I go every Tuesday) saying that once I showed it to him now he sees it all over the place in everything he watches. Guess I am not the only unlucky one :)

Amir and CJ,

What is the word or buzz back from the studios regarding media sales of HD DVD movies?
1. More than expected.
2. Right in line.
3. Less than expected.
4. No comment (Amir's not allowed to use this one since he abuses it :) )

Amir, some days ago i posted this question:

"Can the 360 with HD-DVD drive output 1080p at 24, 48, or 72 Hz on VGA (for movies, of course)?"

but received no answer.

I just want to know if you intentionally did not answer it because you can't comment on that subject, or if you just didn't notice it.

Thank you.

Sorry, I did see your question :). But I don't yet have a definitive answer to provide here.

amirm and comment on this?

Questions for Sony / Blu-Ray insiders:

1) Will the PS3 be able to output BD movies in 1080p24 on HDMI?

2) Will the PS3 be able to output games and movies in 768p60 on HDMI?

Thanks.

Question: What model HD-DVD drive is going in the Xbox add-on?

Thanks,
Chris

Amir,
"The Look & Sound of Perfect" seems to be running out of movies in the 'coming soon section'.
Question: Who is in charge of the site? & how often have they been updating it?
Thanks,
will.

OK, I see where you got your estimate, altho in my opinion it's relatively optimistic on the BR side and pessimistic on the HD side.

I think actual end of year manufacturing might be more like 4:1 or 5:1.

Thanks for the answer.

amirm,

So a "home-made" h.264 high definition video won't work from the PC even if it's an HD-DVD compliant stream or a red-laser DVD authored with HD-DVD content?

That brings another related question: Does the 360's add-on play HD-DVD on red-laser media?

Amir,

Do you know if or when Vista Media Center will record tv using the VC-1 codec?

How much more computer power will be required to encode the signal in realtime vs. the current codec?

It seems the advantages of smaller file size and bandwidth would make it an ideal solution for Media Center.

Thanks,

Scott

Do you mean who makes it?

No it will not. As you know, the current US standard for digital TV is MPEG-2 so the system simply records that stream unchanged. For analog TV, it could encode in VC-1 but given the MPEG-2 encoder on the card, that is the format used. However, there are third-party converters which in the background, transcode the MPEG-2 streamst to VC-1 so that you can for example, create smaller files to take with you on a laptop.

For standard definition, modern PCs can do that in real-time. For 720p, a dual-core, dual-processor systems should do the same. I don't have a good feel for 1080p right now (or 1080i60 which is even more difficult).

It would :). I hope such a solution comes to market some day because it also allows easier streaming around the home due to lower rates.

Correct because this release is about local playback of such content, rather than remote.

Sure. That is a required part of the spec.

The site is run by an outside agency on behalf of the HD DVD promotion group. I will ask someone to ping them on this.